Research Project Final Draft

Katie Woodworth

December 12, 2011

Research Project Final Draft

Wearing clothes is obviously a basic necessity for people every day. We may wear certain brands of clothes from our favorite clothing store/designer, what school we attend or used to attend, or clothes designed by our favorite actor/actress.  A lot of people also might wear clothing of their favorite sports team(s).  No matter what clothing we wear, it gives each of us an identity of the kind of person that we are and how we are viewed by other people.  In fact, according to researcher Laura P. Naumann from the University of Texas at Austin, “physical appearance is one domain that people frequently use to formulate impressions of others.”  (Naumann, 2)    

My paper will be specifically focusing on how wearing baseball and football team clothing can characterize the type of behavior we may have while wearing these clothes.  Researcher Robert J. Fisher from the University of Southern California did a study on this and reported that “self-defining relationships may be found between fans and their favorite sports teams.”  (Fisher, 285)  This can include more friendly interactions between people wearing the favorite team’s clothing.  In contrast, this research will also be looking at how people interact with one another when they see someone else wearing disliked or non-favorite team clothing.  This will include the not as friendly and even aggressive and inappropriate interactions/behavior toward people wearing the disliked team clothing.  For this project, I will have two subjects, myself as well as my mom’s best friend.  I will be a subject when I introduce the method of autobiography.  I will also be interviewing my mom’s best friend for this project.  The four methods I feel are most useful for this type of research that will be discussed in this paper are autobiography, ethnography, interview, and discourse analysis.    

I am a die-hard New York Mets fan, so I like to wear Mets clothing frequently, especially during baseball season.  Researcher Robert Fisher perfectly states what myself and fans of certain sports teams are likely to do, “wear team-licensed products, watch and attend games, read the sports page frequently, and talk about the team whenever they get the chance.”  (Fisher, 284)  For example, when I wear Mets apparel, I identify myself as part of a group of people who are also wearing this baseball team’s clothes.  This is basically what Fisher is saying when he says “Identification leads the individual to view the group as an extension of the self such that he or she experiences vicariously the successes and failures of the group.”  (Fisher, 284) There have also been fans who “may even participate in acts of vandalism because they believe that it is an appropriate response to a playoff loss (or win).”  (Fisher, 284)  Because of these actions, other fans may make assumptions on the identity of these other individuals.  I have been a fan of “the orange and blue” for my whole life, so over the years I dislike certain teams (e.g. Philadelphia Phillies) and some of their fans because of the rivalry between the two teams.  I have also been a New York Giants fan my whole life and will often wear Giants clothing during football season.  Both my mom and dad were fans of these two teams growing up, so that is how I became a fan of the Mets and Giants.  Just as the case was with strongly disliking certain baseball teams and some of their fans, I have also realized that I dislike certain football teams (Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys) because of the division rivalry that exists between my favorite team and these other two teams.  My project is going to be looking at this part of my identity when I wear Mets/Giants apparel and how I look at people wearing clothing of rival teams.

I have probably been to approximately 50 Mets games in my life time, both in New York and when the Mets are on the road.  For the purpose of this paper, I would attend a Mets and Phillies game in Philadelphia to observe the behavior of Phillies fans when they are wearing clothing apparel of their favorite team.  Although Philadelphia has always been known as “The City of Brotherly Love”, certain actions of their fans over the years may make some people question this nickname.  According to an April 2011 article in GQ Magazine, the Philadelphia Phillies were named the number one worst fans in America.  Although there have been numerous incidents of inappropriate fan behavior by Phillies fans, the one that in my opinion is the most disgusting is when a twenty-one year-old fan intentionally vomited on an 11-year-old girl and her father.  (http://www.gq.com/sports/lists/201104/worst-sports-fans-in-america#slide=14)  Photos of Phillies fans depicting this type of behavior have certainly contributed to my identifying them as a group of people that are rude and inappropriate even though they may not be as individuals. 

One of my mom’s best friends happens to be a die-hard New York Giants fan, so I might conduct an active interview her for my research project.  I would ask her some questions such as the following: How long have you been a fan?, How often will you wear Giants apparel?, How many games per season will you attend?, Do you act differently when you wear Giants clothing?, What do you do when you see someone else wearing Giants clothing?, and How do you respond when you see someone wearing Eagles or Cowboys clothing?  I would then use discourse analysis after interviewing her and carefully examine certain parts of the interview.  I might look to see there was a certain tone in the interviewee’s voice and what could have possibly led to this.  I am not sure if this would be something to look for, but maybe I could look at her body language too when I ask certain questions, such as the one that includes “Cowboys” and “Eagles”. 

I felt that each of the four research methods I chose for this project were the appropriate ones for many different reasons.  The first method I chose was autobiography and I felt this was a good one because I thought it was important to introduce myself as a sports fan so everyone would know what made me choose this topic.  I also found it necessary to state why I am focusing on certain baseball and football teams in this project.  If nobody knew why I disliked certain teams, they could think I am being biased against those teams when in reality, I am not.  I have a boxful of Mets clothes, ranging from jackets, sweatpants, sweatshirts, tank tops, t-shirts, hats, jerseys, socks, scarves, flip-flops, and even sneakers.  I have bought many of these clothes because I collect anything Mets related and some of them I have received as gifts from people who know how passionate I am about the team.  In addition to the Mets clothes that I own, I have some Giants apparel as well. 

I tend to wear New York Mets clothing anytime following a big win or if I happen to be going to a game.  If I am wearing Mets apparel at a game, I feel like I am part of a mutual identity with other Mets fans and can have a special bond between other fans wearing Mets clothes.  In addition to wearing a hat or shirt with the team logo, some fans, myself included feel like we can identify and have positive conversations with other fans when we wear a certain player’s jersey.  A particular instance of this occurred when I happened to be wearing my favorite player’s (David Wright) jersey to a game and someone acknowledged I was wearing Wright’s jersey.  My dad told him a story of when I met David Wright and even got my picture with him.  Because this person was also wearing a Wright jersey at the time, he thought it was so cool and said how David Wright seems like such a nice guy.     

The second method I chose was ethnography.  This was an important method to me because most people wear their favorite sports team clothing when they attend an actual game.  Therefore, it made sense for me to actually attend and observe either a football or baseball game.  If this research study were to have ethnography, it would show how different races, genders, and sexual orientations behave when they are wearing a certain sports team’s apparel.  For instance, they might start up a conversation with someone else who happens to be wearing the same team’s clothing or a rival’s apparel.  An example of this is an NFL crosstown rivalry game between the Oakland Raiders and San Francisco 49ers, that “included two shootings in the parking lot, and one severe beating in a restroom.”  (http://www.usatoday.com)  This is just one instance when people wearing sports team apparel have acted in inappropriate ways.      

  Interviewing was the third method that I chose for my research project.  I would ask my subject some questions such as the following: How long have you been a fan?, How often will you wear Giants apparel?, How many games per season do you attend?, Do you act differently when you wear Giants clothing?, What do you do when you see someone else wearing Giants clothing?, and How do you respond when you see someone wearing Eagles or Cowboys clothing?  I thought it would be useful and interesting to hear another sports fan’s perspective on this issue and find out whether or not she had the same opinion as me.  I might find out some new information about this person that I may not have previously known.  This would not necessarily be a female oriented study; I mainly picked my mom’s best friend because I know she happens to be a huge Giants fan.  I could also interview her husband who is also a big Giants fan so that I can get both a female and male perspective.

I would then use discourse analysis as my fourth and final method after interviewing my subject and carefully examine certain parts of the interview.  I might look to see there was a certain tone in the interviewee’s voice and what could have possibly led to this.  I could also look at her body language when I ask certain questions, such as the one that includes “Cowboys” and “Eagles”.   (Cowboys and Eagles = division rivals of Giants)

There could be some possible difficulties I may face while conducting this research project.  For instance, going to a baseball game is expensive and I may not be able to afford to attend one to observe fan behavior when they wear their team’s apparel.  Not only is it expensive, baseball season is over now, so I could not attend a game at this point in the semester.  However, I could possibly attend a football game between the Giants and one of their division rivals on the road and observe the opposing team’s fans since it is currently football season.  Another difficulty I might face with this project is trying to find a date and time when I could interview my subject.  Although I live relatively close to her, we are both busy with school and work, so it might be hard to make time for us to arrange an interview.  If I am unable to conduct an interview with my intended subject, I would obviously not be able to use discourse analysis.

My data will show researchers that when people wear certain sports team clothing, they might behave differently than when not wearing team apparel.  I do not think that this would apply to just me; it could apply to anyone else who happens to wear certain sports team apparel.  They could look to see if certain genders, races, and sexual orientations of people tend to do this more than another classification of people.  They could also use interview and discourse analysis to get information from a sports fan’s perspective and look for a certain tone and/or body language when certain questions are asked.      

This project would certainly take a lot of time and effort to complete.  I feel that I definitely have the resources/access to do this project.   I am not sure exactly how long it would take to actually complete this project.  My guess would be that this project would take approximately five or six months to finish, possibly even longer than that.

    

Works Cited

Fisher, Robert J. ed. Joseph W. Alba and J. Wesley Hutchinson “Group-Derived Consumption:

The Role of Similarity and Attractiveness in Identification With a Favorite Sports Team

            Advances in Consumer Research 25 (1998): 283-288

            <http://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/display.asp?id=8171>.

Lopresti, Mike. "Violence At American Sports Stadiums Becoming All Too Common."
         USA Today.  4 Dec. 2011. <http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/lopresti/
           2011-08-22-stadium-violence-shooting-raiders-49ers-game_n.htm>. 

Naumann, Laura P.  Express Yourself: Manifestations of Personality in Clothing and

            Appearance.  <homepage.psy.utexas.edu/HomePage/Class/Psy379H/…/proposal.doc>.

Winer, Adam. "The Worst Sports Fans in America." GQ Magazine

< http://www.gq.com/sports/lists/201104/worst-sports-fans-in-america#slide=14>.

Rough Draft for Research Project

Katie Woodworth

December 7, 2011

Research Project Rough Draft

Wearing clothes is obviously a basic necessity for people every day. We may wear certain brands of clothes from our favorite clothing store/designer, what school we attend or used to attend, or clothes designed by our favorite actor/actress.  A lot of people also might wear clothing of their favorite sports team(s).  No matter what clothing we wear, it gives each of us an identity of the kind of person that we are and how we are viewed by other people.  My paper will be specifically focusing on how these types of clothing, particularly wearing baseball and football team clothing, can characterize the type of behavior we may have while wearing these clothes. 

For this project, I will have two subjects, myself as well as my mom’s best friend.  I will be a subject when I introduce the method of autobiography.  I will also be interviewing my mom’s best friend for this project.  The four methods I feel are most useful for this type of research that will be discussed in this paper are autobiography, ethnography, interview, and discourse analysis.    

I am a die-hard New York Mets fan, so I like to wear Mets clothing frequently, especially during baseball season.  Researcher Robert Fisher perfectly states what myself and fans of certain sports teams are likely to do, “wear team-licensed products, watch and attend games, read the sports page frequently, and talk about the team whenever they get the chance.”  (Fisher, 284)  For example, when I wear Mets apparel, I identify myself as part of a group of people who are also wearing this baseball team’s clothes.  This is basically what Fisher is saying when he says “Identification leads the individual to view the group as an extension of the self such that he or she experiences vicariously the successes and failures of the group.”  (Fisher, 284) There have also been fans who “may even participate in acts of vandalism because they believe that it is an appropriate response to a playoff loss (or win).”  (Fisher, 284)  Because of these actions, other fans may make assumptions on the identity of these other individuals.  I have been a fan of “the orange and blue” for my whole life, so over the years I dislike certain teams (e.g. Philadelphia Phillies) and some of their fans because of the rivalry between the two teams.  I have also been a New York Giants fan my whole life and will often wear Giants clothing during football season.  Both my mom and dad were fans of these two teams growing up, so that is how I became a fan of the Mets and Giants.  Just as the case was with strongly disliking certain baseball teams and some of their fans, I have also realized that I dislike certain football teams (Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys) because of the division rivalry that exists between my favorite team and these other two teams.  My project is going to be looking at this part of my identity when I wear Mets/Giants apparel and how I look at people wearing clothing of rival teams.

I have probably been to approximately 50 Mets games in my life time, both in New York and when the Mets are on the road.  For the purpose of this paper, I would attend a Mets and Phillies game in Philadelphia to observe the behavior of Phillies fans when they are wearing clothing apparel of their favorite team.  Although Philadelphia has always been known as “The City of Brotherly Love”, certain actions of their fans over the years may make some people question this nickname.  According to an April 2011 article in GQ Magazine, the Philadelphia Phillies were named the number one worst fans in America.  Although there have been numerous incidents of inappropriate fan behavior by Phillies fans, the one that in my opinion is the most disgusting is when a twenty-one year-old fan intentionally vomited on an 11-year-old girl and her father.  (http://www.gq.com/sports/lists/201104/worst-sports-fans-in-america#slide=14)  Photos of Phillies fans depicting this type of behavior have certainly contributed to my identifying them as a group of people that are rude and inappropriate even though they may not be as individuals. 

One of my mom’s best friends happens to be a die-hard New York Giants fan, so I might conduct an active interview her for my research project.  I would ask her some questions such as the following: How long have you been a fan?, How often will you wear Giants apparel?, How many games per season will you attend?, Do you act differently when you wear Giants clothing?, What do you do when you see someone else wearing Giants clothing?, and How do you respond when you see someone wearing Eagles or Cowboys clothing?  I would then use discourse analysis after interviewing her and carefully examine certain parts of the interview.  I might look to see there was a certain tone in the interviewee’s voice and what could have possibly led to this.  I am not sure if this would be something to look for, but maybe I could look at her body language too when I ask certain questions, such as the one that includes “Cowboys” and “Eagles”. 

I felt that each of the four research methods I chose for this project were the appropriate ones for many different reasons.  The first method I chose was autobiography and I felt this was a good one because I thought it was important to introduce myself as a sports fan so everyone would know what made me choose this topic.  I also found it necessary to state why I am focusing on certain baseball and football teams in this project.  If nobody knew why I disliked certain teams, they could think I am being biased against those teams when in reality, I am not.  The second method I chose was ethnography.  This was an important method to me because most people wear their favorite sports team clothing when they attend an actual game.  Therefore, it made sense for me to actually attend and observe either a football or baseball game.  Interviewing was the third method that I chose for my research project.  I thought it would be useful and interesting to hear another sports fan’s perspective on this issue and find out whether or not she had the same opinion as me.  I might find out some new information about this person that I may not have previously known.  The fourth and final method I chose was discourse analysis.  Quite honestly, I am not so sure that this was the perfect method to choose.  It might help me based on the interviewee’s tone and/or body language to see if she feels the same way that I do about this subject matter.   

There could be some possible difficulties I may face while conducting this research project.  For instance, going to a baseball game is expensive and I may not be able to afford to attend one to observe fan behavior when they wear their team’s apparel.  Not only is it expensive, baseball season is over now, so I could not attend one at this point in the semester.  However, I could possibly attend a football game between the Giants and one of their division rivals on the road and observe the opposing team’s fans since it is currently football season.  Another difficulty I might face with this project is trying to find a date and time when I could interview my subject.  Although I live relatively close to her, we are both busy with school and work, so it might be hard make time for us to arrange for an interview.  If I am unable to conduct the interview, I would obviously not be able to use discourse analysis.      

            This project would certainly take a lot of time and effort to complete.  I feel that I definitely have the resources/access to do this project, but am not sure exactly how long it would take to actually complete this project.  My guess would be that this project would take approximately five or six months to finish, possibly even longer than that. 

Works Cited

Fisher, Robert J. ed. Joseph W. Alba and J. Wesley Hutchinson “Group-Derived Consumption:

            The Role of Similarity and Attractiveness in Identification With a Favorite Sports Team

            Advances in Consumer Research 25 (1998): 283-288

            <http://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/display.asp?id=8171>.

Winer, Adam. "The Worst Sports Fans in America." GQ Magazine

< http://www.gq.com/sports/lists/201104/worst-sports-fans-in-america#slide=14>.

Blog 17 (Research Question, Methods, and Relevant Research)

1.      The focus of my research project will be how identity on clothing (particularly baseball and football teams) characterizes the kind of behavior we show while wearing these clothes.

2.      I will be using four methods in my research project: autobiography, ethnography, interview, and discourse analysis.  I will use autobiography to introduce how, when, and why I became a fan of certain baseball and football teams (New York Mets and New York Giants respectively).  I will also talk about how I came to strongly dislike certain teams and some of their fans because of the rivalry that exists between them and my favorite teams.  I would use ethnography by attending a Mets and Philadelphia Phillies (Mets division and most hated rivals) game in Philadelphia to observe how classless and immature their fans truly are when they wear team apparel. (no offense if anyone in this class likes Philadelphia sports teams)  I plan on using interview as a method and I would talk to my mom’s best friend who happens to be a die-hard Giants fan and would ask certain questions like

·         How long have you been a Giants fan?

·         How often will you wear Giants apparel?

·         How many games per season do you attend?

·         Do you act differently when wearing Giants clothing?

·         What do you do when you see someone else wearing Giants clothing?

·         How do you respond when you see someone wearing Dallas Cowboys or Philadelphia Eagles clothing?  (Cowboys and Eagles= division and hated rivals of Giants) 

I would finally use discourse analysis to find out if she had a certain tone in her voice and what might have led to that tone.

3.      I would use many different outside sources to prove some of these points.  One article in particular from GQ Magazine briefly explains how and why Philadelphia Eagles and Phillies are the number 2 and 1 worst fans in America. (http://www.gq.com/sports/lists/201104/worst-sports-fans-in-america#slide=14)

There is also an article from USA Today that talks about how sports fan violence has gotten way out of control.  (http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/lopresti/2011-08-22-stadium-violence-shooting-raiders-49ers-game_n.htm)

I might also use a book entitled Sports Fan Violence in North America by Jerry Middleton Lewis. 

Blog 16 (Possible Research Project Idea)

One possible idea I have for the next essay is to do something related to people wearing their favorite sports team jersey or other team clothing.  For example, I am a die-hard Mets fan and will proudly wear my favorite player (David Wright) jersey or a Mets t-shirt on opening day or the day after a victory.  I will be looking into how wearing sport team clothing will affect people’s interactions with other people.  This project will probably include two types of research methods, interview and discourse analysis.

I would possibly interview my mom’s best friend, who happens to be a huge New York Giants fan.  Some of the questions I might ask her would include something like the following:

·         How long have you been a New York Giants fan?

·         How often will you wear something that says Giants on it?

·         How do you react when you see someone wearing a Giants shirt or how have other people reacted to you?

·         If you see someone wearing a Dallas Cowboys or Philadelphia Eagles (two of Giants most hated rivals) shirt, do you automatically assume that you’re not going to like the person based on their sports team?

I would also use the method of discourse analysis to see how people wearing different sports team clothing respond to someone wearing either the same sports team clothing or a different one.  I could do this research pretty much anywhere from school, the mall, food store, or a restaurant.     

How I Plan on Revising My Discourse Analysis Essay (Blog 17)

I plan on revising my discourse analysis essay in many different ways.  One of the first things I will need to do is not include Dr. Chandler’s name in the essay since names are supposed to be anonymous.  I will need to replace Dr. Chandler with the letter S for Sally.  I didn’t realize this when I was writing, so I’ll have to fix that.  I will also need to keep in mind when editing this essay is that it I am writing this as a researcher, rather than a student.  I might have to use better language and vocabulary if I want to make my writing sound more like a researcher instead of a student.  Another thing I may need to do is either take out my introduction paragraph all together or make it sound more like a researcher.  Even though I gave some good evidence from the transcript, I could use longer quotes and more specific evidence to prove the point I am making, particularly when I mention the use of A using many pronouns as a result of possible nervousness.          

Blog 14 (What I did well, where I need to improve, and feedback I want for Discourse Analysis essay)

I have to be honest and say that I struggled quite a bit when writing this essay.  Eventually after many hours of hard work, I was finally able to put something together.  I feel pretty confident that I did a good job on completing this assignment and did many things well.  I thought that I had a very good focus and backed it up with good evidence from the transcript.  I proofread my essay before submitting it, so I am pretty sure that my grammar and sentence structure is very good.  I also had over 1200 words, which was required for this Discourse Analysis essay.  Like any essay or writing assignment, there are certainly some things that I need to improve on this essay.

            One of the things that I may need to improve on this essay is making sure not to be too repetitive with certain words.  I have a tendency to repeat myself in essays at times, so if I did that in this one, I will have to improve on that.  I might want to improve this essay by using a little more evidence to back up some of my points. 

            Receiving feedback after doing an assignment is extremely helpful in my opinion.  It gives the writer an opportunity to use ideas that he or she may not have thought of the first time.  A couple of the things I would like my reviewers to comment on is whether or not they think that I have a good focus and if so, do I  back it up with good examples.  When writing this essay, I wasn’t too sure if my focus was a good one, so I would appreciate hearing what my classmates think.     

Discourse Analysis Assignment Rough Draft

Katie Woodworth

November 2, 2011

Chat Room Experience Transcript

Prior to taking this class, I had never heard of the term discourse analysis and had no idea what it even meant.  After reading the definitions in the textbook Research Methods for English Studies, it seemed to make sense that everyone of us uses discourse every day of our lives. We also use discourse analysis everyday when we respond to a question or remark that someone makes during a conversation.  It had never occurred to me that these every day conversations I have with my friends, family, coworkers, professors, etc. could be analyzed as a research method in English studies.  I also never thought to look at the specific tone that a person uses while they are talking to someone else and it can change based on the discourse and the relationships.  I learned that there are multiple ways to look at a conversation and there is no right or wrong way to do so.

For this discourse analysis assignment, I will be using the transcript that deals with one of Dr. Chandler’s former students, known as A, and her experiences in chat room sessions.  This transcript shows specific experiences and personal stories that A had discussed during the chat room sessions.  There are many different parts of the transcript that can be closely examined and for this assignment I will be specifically focusing on for this assignment is what led the tone of A’s voice going from scary in the first excerpt to funny in the second excerpt.  I will also be focusing on the impact that an interviewer can have in changing the tone of the person being interviewed.

After reading the first part of the transcript, I could immediately get the impression that A appeared to have a scared tone in her voice.  There was a specific instance when she tells Sally that she thought she talked to a pedophile and she gave the man her number.  He had called her and she hung up on him because she was so terrified.  This is evident in the transcript when A tells Sally, “I was so scared.”  Later in the transcript, when the man called A, she had told him what she was wearing and quickly says goodbye.  A even said “Oh my gosh, he’s going to find out where I live, my mom’s going to kill me.”  This is another example of the scared tone used by A in the transcript.    

When I first read this transcript, I did not think to look at what Sally may have said to A that could have led to A using a scary tone.  However, after looking at the transcript a few more times, it seemed to me that when Sally leads A into talking about her opinion on computers when she was younger, this could possibly have led A into remembering the experience she had in fifth grade when she thought she was talking to a pedophile.  I also realized at this point that Sally mentions something about “the call” and A immediately can recall the time that she was in a chat room talking to someone.  It was very important that Sally asked the questions to A in this specific way so that Sally could get A to talk about this subject the way that she intended to.  This totally set the tone on how the whole interviewing process turned out.

By the second excerpt, A’s tone had shifted from frightened to a more relaxed and even funny tone.  I feel that the first question that Sally asked A in the second excerpt made her feel less anxious.  Sally had asked A what she and her friends normally do while they go on the computer.  A talked about how the computer came with paint and that she and her friends would make pictures and use photoshop and mentions that they “had a lot of fun.”  This comment really shows the change of tone in A’s voice.  After hearing this answer, Sally started laughing, which may have led to A remembering additional, less scary, chat room experiences. 

I felt that the question that really led to A’s transitioning to a funny tone was, “Do you have a particular story about one adventure with technology”?  A responds with a story about a time when she and a friend were in a chat room and decided to go on some guy’s profile and he asked them for a picture of themselves.  As it turned out, they were talking to their pastor’s son, which seemed awkward for them at that time, but now A laughs at it.   

Although I did not hear or see the actual interview between Sally and A, just by reading the transcript I could really get the sense of how A felt when she remembered the phone call she had received in fifth grade.  A even admitted that she was really scared at one point during this phone call and I do not blame her at all; I would have felt the same way if something like that happened to me.  When A talks about hearing a voice that was not a kid, I could almost picture this scene taking place in my head.

It is possible that A may have been nervous during this interview.  This could have led to the scared tone in the first excerpt.  The main reason I feel that A may have been nervous is because it seemed to me that she had very lengthy answers to Sally’s very short questions.  A also did much of the talking and it took her more than one time to get the story out to Sally.  A uses a lot of pronouns too, which could have been another result of her nervousness.  In the second excerpt, it seemed that A was much more relaxed than in the first one.   The fact that A’s answers were much shorter proved this possible explanation to be true.  This could possibly be the result of A becoming less nervous and more relaxed during the progression of the interview.  Unlike the first transcript when Sally did much of the talking, A and Sally had each done a fair and consistent amount of talking during the second excerpt of the transcript.  The only parts of the second excerpt that A’s responses appear to be longer are when she told a personal story about additional chat room experiences.      

Rereading a transcript multiple times can certainly make you think of and realize different ideas that you may not have thought of the first time.  The first thing that I had noticed after reading this transcript was the many uses of pronouns by A.  After discussing this transcript in class and reading it a few more times after class, I realized that A’s tone had changed from a scary and nervous one to funny and relaxed. Although I was hesitant at first on whether or not I could analyze a transcript, I feel somewhat more confident about analyzing not only a transcript of a previous interview and even a group of people having a conversation.  After learning more about discourse analysis, I now know that you may need to have a more open mind about looking for specific thoughts and ideas on a particular subject.