Observations and Conclusions

When observations are made and analyzed with correct knowledge conclusions can be pretty accurate. The other day I was coming home with my roommate. As we were driving up to the house we saw our other roommate getting into her car to drive off. Later that night, to the same roommate who had been with me earlier, I said something about how the other roommate was at work. She asked more or less, "How did you know that?" I then went on to explain that as we drove up to the house and saw our friend get into the car I had seen her lunch box. She had taken it with her the other night when she had to go to work. She works the night shift. So with the information I had gathered (such as the time being late and her carrying her lunchbox) I had concluded that she was at work. My friend agreed and we found out the next day that my conclusion was correct.

I have been thinking quite a bit about this experience. In Mexico I will be studying how people view children with special needs. I have been worrying a little about the fact that this is such tender subject, especially in a culture where having a child with a disability can be looked upon as the parents fault. Some people in this area believe that if your child who has a disability it is because you or your husband have sinned. That is a generalization, but some of my friends and coworkers from Mexico have shared this with me and I do feel that this will play into their cultural views. As I have learned these things I have really been wondering, "How am I going to talk to people about these things when it is looked upon in their community as a bad thing?" In order to do interviews with parents who have a child with special needs I probably will to have build good rapport, which could take a while to do. Thus, the numbers of parents interviewed will be limited. I have been thinking that I will need to do quite a bit of my research through observation.

Through observations I felt that my personal views and understanding could really affect the validity of the information gathered. However, I am realizing that this might not necessarily be the case. Such was the situation with my roommate. I concluded that she was working because of correct facts that I had gathered. Observation can be a good way to gather information. I will just need to be sure that the facts I pull from or accurate and complete to get me to the correct conclusion.