Application of the vignette technique in a qualitative paradigm
Vignettes are short depictions of typical scenarios intended to elicit responses that will reveal values, perceptions, impressions, and accepted social norms. This article describes how vignettes were developed and used in a qualitative linguistics anthropology study to elicit those responses as...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
2017
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| Online Access: | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/11767/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/11767/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/11767/1/21030-63572-1-PB.pdf |
| Summary: | Vignettes are short depictions of typical scenarios intended to elicit responses that will reveal
values, perceptions, impressions, and accepted social norms. This article describes how
vignettes were developed and used in a qualitative linguistics anthropology study to elicit
those responses as experienced by mixed-heritage individuals in attaining heritage legitimacy
despite their inability to speak their heritage languages. The vignettes were administered
during in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Eight participants were asked to reflect and
respond to prompts which revolved around typical experiences where speakers were limited
by their lack of heritage language proficiency. Based on the vignettes, the participants
described how the speakers would linguistically strategize to compensate their limited
abilities in using the heritage languages. At the same time, the cultural means through which
speakers gain legitimacy within their own heritage groups were also identified. Essentially
the use of the vignettes facilitated in generating data that would have otherwise been
challenging to elicit given the culturally sensitive as well as highly private nature of the
phenomena under investigation. The application of vignettes provided a less intrusive and
non-threatening way of obtaining perceptions, opinions, beliefs and attitudes based on
responses or comments to stories depicting lived experiences of the participants that the
researcher is otherwise not privy to as an observer. However, application of this data
elicitation technique can prove challenging for the researcher. A critical analysis of the
development, implementation and validity of vignettes as a research tool is extrapolated here
within the setting of a heritage legitimacy study as an exemplar. |
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