I am a wee bit tired from late night socializing in IV this past week.
No, it's not what you think. Instead of partying, I've been researching why students want to live in IV. By immersing myself via crashing on floors or couches of Isla Vista residents, I am trying to better understand their living environment.
The term "sleep over" has a weird connotation, especially since I'm a grad student and the folks that have had me over as a guest up to date have been my former section students. So I have decided to call this project for the time being, "Couch Surfing in IV."
Here's the 101 on the process of initiating this project:
For now, this is the process plan. I may have to edit and tweak the parameters of this project for various safety reasons.
OK, I'm off to crash out!
No, it's not what you think. Instead of partying, I've been researching why students want to live in IV. By immersing myself via crashing on floors or couches of Isla Vista residents, I am trying to better understand their living environment.
The term "sleep over" has a weird connotation, especially since I'm a grad student and the folks that have had me over as a guest up to date have been my former section students. So I have decided to call this project for the time being, "Couch Surfing in IV."
Here's the 101 on the process of initiating this project:
- I contacted some of my students and asked if it would be ok for me to crash on their floor or couch for a night as part of a research study of people that live in IV.
- We would communicate via email/phone about what date works best for their schedule, and determining their usual bedtime.
- Part of this negotiation is also my asking the host if there is something that I could offer/bring, or help with. These exchanges vary upon the subjectivity of each participant.
- Upon my arrival, the host and I engage in conversation. I get to pick his/her brain about why he/she has decided to live in IV and get a sense of the person's living condition. The conversation is not just limited to this.
- Bedtime occurs at some point in the night. I try to keep track of my sleeping experience and record them here. Any other pertinent details to my experience walking in and out of IV in either the night of or morning after of my scheduled crash is also documented.
- If the host agrees, I take and post a photo of the area where I had slept here and/or tape record our conversation. I also write about the host's living situation and stats.
For now, this is the process plan. I may have to edit and tweak the parameters of this project for various safety reasons.
OK, I'm off to crash out!