Free Lists

Last Friday, I started the first phase of my research. I distributed 140 free-list surveys to students at AUCA. A free list is a piece of paper with a question at the top. The question asks you to list as many of a certain kind of thing as you can. The rest of the paper has numbered lines on which you can list those things. I had seven different questions:

1. What kinds of group differences are there in Kyrgyzstan? For instance, it’s possible to divide people by gender (into men and women). However, often group differences have more to do with social distinctions than biological ones. Please list all of the group differences in Kyrgyzstan that you can think of.
2. What do you worry about most in your life?
3. In your opinion, what are the biggest problems facing Kyrgyzstan today? If you had the chance, what would you change about this country?
4. Please list some of things in your life that you would fight the hardest to protect or save.
5. What people in Kyrgyzstan have the greatest effect on how this country is run?
6. Please list your greatest needs. Be sure to list only needs, and not simply wants.
7. What do you want to change most about your life?

I use free lists at beginning of my research in order to get a general picture of what I’m looking at. My research is focusing on the ways people think about their everyday lives and how things like group affiliation and participation in national institutions fit into those everyday concerns. These free lists (I hope) will give me a rough idea of what categories people use to understand these aspects of their lives. I gave 20 copies of each of these seven questions to students at AUCA.

I expect that there will be five to ten things that get listed on the majority of the surveys. Then there will be a few things that get mentioned by a small portion of the people, and then there will be tons of random stuff. As I go into the next phase of my research--in which I interview people in depth--I will be sure to ask a lot about the things that got mentioned a lot, a little about the things that got mentioned a little, and I’ll ask about the random stuff if it comes up. This initial phase was just a way to help me focus my research and to help minimize the chances of me missing something really important.

It actually didn’t take me too long to do the free lists, either. I’ve had several undergraduates volunteer to be my research assistants. I’ll write more about them in a later post, once I finalize who is going to be on my team and once I can get pictures of them all. They were great: they grabbed some pens and surveys and wandered through the halls of the university getting people to fill them out. It made my job a lot easier.