By Delilah, Alejandro, Lesley and Vanessa R.
Our experience in Lake Merritt was o.k. It was really hard to get interviews there, even though there were a lot of people. They were mostly busy. The people we got to interview said that they were mostly middle class.
Food and things in the shops were affordable there compared to other places we've been so far, but the prices in Lakeshore are higher than East Oakland. When we were in Foot-Locker, there were some shoes that were $99. Some of their food places are expensiv: there was this one burger place where their burgers $7 to $8. But even though some of the stuff was a little more expensive that we'd like, it was good quality.
A lot of people we asked to interview said no. We went inside this office to see if they could answer some questions, but they said they were too busy and gave us their manager's email address. In some ways, this trip was a waste of time because we waited for people who ended up saying "no" to an interview, and only three people said yes to an interview.
4 comments:
Was it really a waste of time? If you were a newspaper journalist, would you give up on trying to ask questions of people at that location for future stories or research projects? Why do you think people were resistant? Did they need more information about what you were doing? Perhaps a formal "badge" to show that you are part of a research group or something? I think people there probably get approached frequently by others that are trying to get them to sign petitions, answer a survey, try a product, etc. and they are busy working. Add on to that a general skepticism when it is a group of youth approaching them. Do you think you were judged based on age, race, ethincity, etc.? Again, what impact does this have on your future endeavors and attempts to inteview others?
After reading a couple of group blog reflections on Lakeshore, it sounds like there was nothing "new." Did you notice that everyone wrote less for Lakeshore? I didn't even go, and it sounds like regular East Oakland because of the prices, everything seems affordable
I think about the times when I'm rushing to pick up some groceries for dinner, take stuff to the laundry, pick up a card for a wedding and I'm trying to do all this while on my lunch break---and oh, yeah, i'm trying to get some lunch, too. Don't take it as a waste of time if people can't stop to be interviewed. Maybe re-think how you can get people to talk. Can you interview them when they're in line waiting? Can you walk with them as they are running errands? Can you limit your questions to just two or three in less than 3 minutes. I think you just need to re-think your approach. Don't give up!
I think about the times when I'm rushing to pick up some groceries for dinner, take stuff to the laundry, pick up a card for a wedding and I'm trying to do all this while on my lunch break---and oh, yeah, i'm trying to get some lunch, too. Don't take it as a waste of time if people can't stop to be interviewed. Maybe re-think how you can get people to talk. Can you interview them when they're in line waiting? Can you walk with them as they are running errands? Can you limit your questions to just two or three in less than 3 minutes. I think you just need to re-think your approach. Don't give up!
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