Content analysis & blueberry tort

05.12.2003

Coffee and pastries w/ Kevin & Katia is always fun. I'm so glad they're back from Eatern Europe. They were in Poland, Russia, and the Czech Republic doing research on various things (Kevin's a historian, Katia's a political scientist) for over a year now.

We caught up on their adventures. Kevin was deported and told "never to come back" from Belarus. He tried taking a train from Poland to Russia — the train goes through Belarus — and he didn't have a transit visa. Apparently, you also can't buy a transit visa. So when the train stopped to switch tracks (Russian tracks are wider than standard tracks, a holdover from the Czarist era), Kevin was taken out of the train. He was sent back w/ other deportees. A motley crew of rejected black marketeers, prostitutes, other "undesirables" — and one American Russian medieval history specialist traveling to a research center in Moscow.

Both Kevin and Katia were also Fulbright scholars, though on different types of grants. They gave me practical advice and horror stories of their preparations to travel. Apparently, my Fulbright comes from the State Department — so it gives more money and offers less restrictions. Well, there is one: I have to spend all the money. Not a problem. I can spend thousands of dollars like it's nobody's business.

Katia and I chatted away about content analysis and methodology. It's been a while since I've had a chance to do that w/ anyone. I've always tried to be very careful about methodology; it's the one aspect of research that I'm most uncertain about. Talking through the practical "hows" of any method w/ someone who's just recently done it is always useful. Thanks, Katia.

All in all, a great evening.

Posted by Miguel at 11:54 PM

Comments

tell them i said hi and welcome back.

Posted by: sam at May 14, 2003 02:18 PM