Elly Mae

When I was at UGA pursuing my doctoral degree, my favorite class was a qualitative research course. Qualitative research involves subjective observation of the themes and patterns of behaviors in a set of people; quantitative research involves measurements and calculations of specific and concrete actions in a set of people. I'm not sure if it was the content matter or the professor, Dr. Elizabeth Payne, that intrigued me. At first, I was certain that the professor was going to live up to her last name! I remember my sister, Wendy, telling me when I was beginning college to not be fooled by my first impression of my professors on "syllabus day", the first day of class. She was absolutely correct because on the first day, professors put up a front to weed out potential problem students and show that he/she has the authority and power over your grade. I know firsthand after teaching courses through my three years of graduate school.

Anyway, Dr. Payne was an intense teacher. She loved her job and it showed. In addition to the four textbooks we had for the course, we had various other book assignments to read about every other week, each about a various culture and the roots of its behaviors. Dr. Payne challenged each of us at a new level. For her dissertation, she moved to an Indian reservation for over a year. She moved in with a family and adopted the culture of the tribe to immerse herself into her research. Dr. Payne believed in the theoretical construct that to truly understand the behaviors and customs of a population, the researcher must "walk in their shoes" to grasp the true foundations of behaviors. She was a cool teacher.

Qualitative research is more time consuming than quantitative, so it is not often the method chosen to collect data. Constant observation and memorization collects qualitative data; the researcher must continually treat every encounter as a collection point. The key to successful qualitative data collection is to blend in with the environment so behaviors of the population are not altered. You know how we each feel knowing a camera is aimed at us or a microphone is near our mouth; we tend to behave just a bit differently. It takes a while to be accepted into another's environment, but after a while, a level of comfort and normalcy is established and true behaviors emerge.

So...why am I babbling about qualitative research? I have had several people ask me if I regret my choice to become a homemaker over completing something as prestigious as a doctorate of philosophy. My dad's joke, which I have used quite often, is that I decided to get my "MRS" instead of my "PHD". I've battled the thoughts that I am wasting my education but recently I have felt true peace about my decision. Ironically, I have had about the same number of people joke with me about all of our animals and my interactions with each. I have even had multiple people, mostly family, call me Elly Mae from the Beverly Hillbillies.

I feel like each day is a collection point of qualitative research because I truly enjoy observing the animals' behaviors and routines. Since we have a variety, boredom is not an issue for me. Research has always been a strong point for me because of my keen perception and memory. If you just watch an animal, you can learn to predict it's behavior and train it easily. Now I'm no horse whisperer, but I am good with animals. They are fun to watch and since most of you don't have 2 fat cats, 5 dogs, 4 horses, and 4 cows plus 3 cows and 3 chickens at the Fowler Farm, I plan to utilize my blogspot to record and share with you some of the interesting observations and encounters that I have.

Some people think I am wasting my time and compassion on animals and should be raising a family instead, for animals have no soul and short lifespans. Some people think I'm just a little crazy. But I feel the Lord has His hand in our lives right now. I feel that He is pleased that I am tending to His creatures, in some way preparing me for the hopeful family ahead.

I am content being called Elly Mae instead of "doctor". I love the companionship of the animals and the labor they require while I am making our home. I believe that my educational training has helped me to adapt to my new home in the mountains and care for the animals that I have acquired. (When Danny and I married, it was just the cats, Bo and Luke, our dog, Scout, and two horses, Sunday and Shadow.) I have immersed myself into mountain living, the job of tending to our home and small farm and the animals that come with it. I wrote in my last blog that I would write about the animals, but I felt it was necessary to explain or perhaps justify my interest of their routines and behaviors before sharing our "barntales". I am also trying to figure out a way to link a story I wrote about the loss of some of our animals in the past year; from what I've heard, it's a good story, but it is too long for a blog. It is the spark flaming my desire to write more...but not right now. :)