"The more words you speak, the less they mean. So why overdo it? " Ecclesiastes 6: 11 NLT
Solomon's words are ringing true to me today. How many words do we use each day and what is there meaning? James also gives advice to be careful what you say and the challenge of controlling the tongue.
Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the
church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly. Indeed, we all
make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would
be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way. We can
make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its
mouth. (James 3, NLT).
There are a couple of ways to understand this message. One is to watch what one says - good, practical, advice. So many times I have caught myself saying things I don't mean...but also not saying something that I should say. It's easier to be silent in the face of conflict or not share how my beliefs are in conflict with the action of others...or my own actions. Words and silence both speak.
Another way I hear Solomon is to listen carefully to others. In conversations, it's too easy to fill the void with my own voice or to be thinking ahead of how I will respond. As a qualitative researcher it will be particularly important to set aside what I think and listen to my participants say - and let their voice speak.
Finally, words have meaning. Understanding that meaning takes wisdom, understanding, patience, and grace. Knowing what the words mean in the speakers context requires listening and asking for enough information to ensure that I know how the person is using the word. Just as I attach meaning to words based on my experience and life, so do others.
I pray that as I write today that I will be provided with a rich measure of insight and wisdom so that I am able to understand.
"The thinking in your own head" – I've been thinking a lot about this topic since it came up in our discussion in the qualitative research class. How do we ensure that what we already know about a specific topic is bracketed to the degree that is most appropriate and necessary when the whole reason why we are engaging in the research topic is to understand it in greater detail? How do we forego our preconceived notions about a topic that has at least some semblance of being researched prior to the engagement of our own research in order to determine whether our findings add anything meaningful to the knowledge base?
ReplyDeleteYou know, I had another conversation about this today with a colleague. As we are whole people, I think it's impossible to set aside or bracket what we know and how think. We sometime will describe our worldview as "lenses" as if we can remove them at will. I think our worldview is deeply engrained in our lives - we can look for how it affects our research but it's almost impossible to filter it out in the meaning making process. I think it's as problematic as the sense of objectivity in quantitative research...but feel that at the very least, qualitative research is being honest about having a worldview.
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