the words "test paper" was in subject line of email and full paper was pasted in the body of the email, which is below,
Final Paper
Kyler Lorin
Fresno State University
Final Paper
I observed a local college rugby team over the course of a week in order to find out how they act, communicate, and applied that to different sociological theories. I performed two formal participatory observations that consisted of two hours each. These observations were in two different locations and events in order to get the best results possible. I found that rugby players often occupy different statuses and play different roles depending on the situation. These roles change depending on the definition of the situation and can include many factors.
In the interview section of my study, I got the chance to sit down and have three face to face interviews with three players which allowed me to go much deeper than regular observations. While interviewing these players I got information on many sociological concepts as well as got a great insight on how the group functions both at practice while playing rugby but also away from practice. This method of research allowed me to go deeper than just outward observations.
In this content analysis section of my research I looked at different articles and sources that related to the local rugby club. These sources included news articles, Facebook posts, Twitter posts, websites, and more. In these sources I focused mostly different types of framing, context, and typification. I found that the content is framed in many ways and that sometimes society makes assumptions of groups based on personal knowledge. The different framing that goes on in the group is fascinating to study because it shows the problems the group faces, how to solve them, and how they gather resources to be successful.
Literary Review
Early Refinements- Looking Glass Self
Created by Charles Horton Cooley in 1902, the looking glass self is a concept of how we define self. He explains that our idea of who we are is a byproduct of our interactions with our environment, and the reflection that comes from those interactions. Cooley gives three main components of this theory which he calls the principal elements of the looking glass self. The three concepts consist of how we imagine ourselves to other people, the imagination of the judgement of that appearance, and some sort of self-feeling such as pride (Levine & Hogg, 2010).
Cooley started developing his concepts while observing his daughter from birth to about 3 years old. He worked with the idea of appropriation which he defined as a child taking something and taking ownership of that thing. He found that children usually took control of things closest to them and moved outwards. This started with their own bodies and moved toward the people around them. Cooley stated that people's idea of self comes from the people closest to them like family, loved ones, or caregivers and continues as we grow and acquire more acquaintances (Levine et al. 2010).
Just like children try to control the people around them, adults do it too, but in a subtler way. Cooley explains that we imagine others perception and judgements of us and use that to develop a dynamic process of self-concept. The image that we create of ourselves is the product of the images we imagine others to have of us (Levine et al. 2010).
Mid Century Refinements Day 1- Symbolic Interaction Theory (Goffman)
Goffman uses the idea that daily interactions are a theatrical performance that change depending on the situation we are in. Goffman explains that our presentation of self is a performance by social actors of different roles, on different stages with a different setting. The success of the performance is dependent on which audience is present and the cues that the actor portrays. This shows that Goffman uses a dramaturgical approach to social life (Dillon 2013).
We play a lot of different roles every day for example some people are moms, dads, sons, or students. In these different roles, we enact an expected behavior because the audience for each role is different. While role playing may be scripted or thought of beforehand, they are not fake by any means (Dillon 2013). We depend on people to act a certain way in certain situations and when people act out of character, it can disrupt everything.
Mid Century Refinements Day 2- Symbolic Interaction Theory (Goffman)
In the readings Goffman explains that the self is a dramatic effect. We are performers, not an organic thing that's only purpose is to be born, mature, and die. Our actions are influenced by the situations we are in and that determines how we interact with each other. Who we are is defined by how we act and how other respond by those actions (Sandstrom 2014).
The basic idea that Goffman is trying to convey is that social life is like the theater. When we interact with people it is like actors on a stage in a way. We must communicate our feelings, desires and beliefs into a way people will understand. This translates into a performance that people put on for the people around them which is the audience. We also want people to like us, so we act in such a way that provides us the best chance to be liked (Sandstrom 2014).
Intro to Advanced Symbolic Interaction Theory
In the reading's, Turner talks about the hierarchy of transactional needs which is a list of needs that drive interactions. Turner says that all people need to verify at least one form of identity in every encounter. The four forms of identity include core identity, social identity, group identity, and role identity (Turner 2011). The next thing we try to do is make a profit in the exchange of resources (Turner 2011). We like to feel like we get something out of engaging with people and if the cost is too high, we most likely will choose not to engage with them. Group inclusion is the need to feel like you belong and are a part of the interaction (Turner 2011). Nobody wants to feel left out of any situation so that is where group inclusion comes in. The last two points that Turner lists are trust and facticity. Trust means that an interaction will be predictable, and you have a good felling you know what is going to happen. Facticity means that there is an agreed upon common inter subjectivity and that everything is what it seems (Turner 2011).
In the article about dark humor and compassion, Cain used data from hospice workers to identify front stage and back stage behaviors. In the front stage, the workers showed compassion but in the backstage, workers used dark humor as well as detachment (Cain 2012). The use of this dark humor is a way for workers to release stress from an extremely hard job as a hospice worker. The front stage is more of a performance and the backstage is more authentic to how the workers feel (Cain 2012).
Methods
Ethnography Literary Review
In chapter 4 of "Discovering Qualitative Methods", the authors discuss roles, status, and relationships in ethnographies. In the section on researchers as mascots, apprentices, and dancing daughters, the authors talk about how men and women are treated differently when they are completing ethnography studies. Men are more seen as apprentice or someone who has taken an interest in the group with potential to one day join them. On the other hand, female researchers are more viewed as mascots, or someone who is nice to have around but not taken seriously (Karner & Warren 2015). This can affect the research and can make it harder for women to get as good of information as men because of how they are perceived.
Research bargains explains that researchers sometimes have to do some kind of service for their group they are researching. The researcher is getting something from the group so in tern the group sometimes gets something from the researcher, which can be intentional or unintentional depending on the situation. The author gives the example of a man named Fine who observed restaurant kitchens. He would sometimes peel potatoes or retrieve food from the storage and that was kind of his gift to the workers for allowing him to research those (Karner & Warren 2015).
Lastly, leaving the field is the last thing required of an ethnography researcher. The author explains that when your observations are no longer yielding new or interesting data it is time to leave the field (Karner & Warren 2015). Sometimes researchers can get attached to the setting in which they study which makes it hard for them to leave or they do not want to blow their covers, so they simply stop going. Leaving the field can be hard either way, because researches become accustomed to being in a certain environment every day so when they stop their research, it feels weird to them (Karner & Warren 2015).
Interview Literary Review
Chapter 6 in the textbook is all about qualitative interviews and how they help researchers get an even better idea of the group they are studying. In ethnographies, the researcher learns from observing outward appearances while interviews allow to gain insight on personal experiences and social attitudes (Karner & Warren 2015). The book says whether or not you use interviews as your research method will depend on your research question. If you want to study biography and accounts of something that has happened, then interviews are the method to use (Karner & Warren 2015).
Before you start interviews, you should start with a general research question or a set of questions. Then, after you have a general research question, you should gather 10 to 15 open ended interview questions. These interview questions must be written out before interviews start so they can be submitted in a research proposal to IRBs (Karner & Warren 2015). This step is important because the IRBs make sure the research will be ethical and will need to know what interview questions you will be asking.
Interviews should start with the easiest questions first which will allow for the interview and respondent to get comfortable with each other. A respondent might be reluctant to answer a certain question at the beginning of an interview but if you build up trust, they will be more willing to answer it towards the end of the interview (Karner & Warren 2015). The whole purpose of these interviews is to elicit narrative stories from the people you are interviewing that indicate the meanings they give to different aspects of their life (Karner & Warren 2015). This is done by coming up with pre-interview questions, but interviewers must still be flexible in order to get the best possible responses from the respondent (Karner & Warren 2015).
Content Analysis Literary Review
Qualitative researchers rely on data from face to face interactions but also utilize data from the media. This can include printed work such as magazines or newspapers, films, historical documents, websites, blogs, and photo sharing sites. Researchers study things like how media consumption impacts audiences and the cultural meanings of media representation (Karner & Warren 2015). Content analysis is vital for researchers to understand on a deeper level that can strengthen a study beyond interviews and ethnographies.
When it is time to analyze data, you have to have a sense of where you would like to end up. You should get a sense of what kind of research questions you are trying to answer through your research. Gubrium and Holstein refer to this as the leading questions of qualitative research (Karner & Warren 2015). The focus of qualitative research is mostly on what is happening, what are people doing, and what does it mean to them? These questions address the content of meaning that is created through interaction in society (Karner & Warren 2015).
When you are selecting sources for your content analysis it is important to choose appropriate documents. This is important because if you do not choose appropriate documents, your study will reflect an unknown number of audiences to which the document is aimed (Karner & Warren 2015). For example, if you are using a magazine, it can be aimed at young women, Christians, or car enthusiasts so if you do not choose carefully, you could end up trying to represent all of them and your work will suffer. You must choose specific magazines that match the demographic you would like to study, such as Seventeen if you are trying to study young women or a car magazine if you are trying to study car enthusiasts (Karner & Warren 2015).
Ethnography Methods
I observed a local college rugby team over the course of a week. This included two participatory observations in which I participated in group activities and wrote out field notes as soon as the activity was completed. In the two observations I made sure to complete them in two different environments at two different events in order to get the best results. This allowed me to see different roles in different situations as well as get to know the players better.
The first observation was completed at a scheduled practice on October 29th, 2018. This was a participatory observation that began at 7pm and concluded at 9pm. The location of this observation was a public park that was close to campus. There was a total of about 20 players and 4 coaches that were participating in the group. The second observation was an unscheduled hang out between some of the players on November 3rd, 2018. It was at a fellow players' apartment and consisted of about 6 guys from the team. This was also a participatory observation that started at 9pm and concluded at 11pm.
In my observations I focuses on a few different theories as well as thick description. A big chunk of my data collection consisted of thick description in which I tried to describe everything I saw in as much detail as possible. In terms of theories, I focused on status, roles, frontstage/backstage, definition of the situation, and meaningful action. I analyzed my data using a qualitative research software called NVivo. This allowed me to complete word queries, create nodes, and organize my findings. Using this software, I created five main nodes which consist of thick description, status and roles, frontstage/backstage, definition of the situation, and meaningful action. I also ran two word-frequency queries to find out which words were used the most in each observation.
Overall the process of data collection and analysis was a huge success. The observations went great because I participated with the group and got a lot of good information. The group accepted me in with open arms, probably because I am already a part of the group and know everyone. It was clear to see the different theories in the group's actions and the group was more than happy to help me collect my data. I did participatory observations which meant I had to write my field notes afterwards, but I did it as soon as I finished so the information was still fresh. The analysis on NVivo was great and I organized all my findings in easy to follow nodes.
Interview Methods
I got the chance to sit down with three rugby players from the local rugby club to conduct face to face interviews. All the interviews took place on Wednesday November 21st and consisted of three different aged male players. The first interview was of an 18-year-old freshman, the second was of a 22-year-old senior, and the last interview was of a 23-year-old senior. All interviews took place in a public place, so everyone was safe and comfortable. The three interviews lasted for about 15 minutes each with one going closer to 20 minutes for a total of 49 minutes.
I completed these interviews using my phone to record and transcribed by using transcriptone that was provided to us. After the interviews were transcribed, I had to edit them and include tags for who was speaking. For these interviews I focused on 5 main sociological concepts which included status, roles, frontstage/backstage, meaningful action, and role exit. These were the nodes that I came up with in NVivo, our qualitative research program. I had a few more nodes but due to the length of the paper, I could not include them. The whole process of interviewing was a lot of fun and I felt like the respondents enjoyed it also. The transcribing and editing were my least favorite parts because they were so time consuming and boring. The coding in NVivo was relatively easy because we worked so much on it.
Content Analysis Methods
To gather enough information to study on the local rugby club, I had to pull from a few different sources. One source was Facebook which allowed me to get a lot of flyers from the team. Another great source was Twitter because it had a lot of posts directly from the team. I pulled a lot of news articles about the team which helped the most because these are basically a snapshot of the team that includes interviews, context on the club, and a lot of information. The team website also had good content that I was able to analyze. Overall, I found about 28 different sources which was more than I thought I would originally find.
I used the qualitative analysis software NVivo to creates nodes and organize my findings. NVivo allowed me to create nodes and sub nodes which represent different sociological concepts. I had about ten nodes but will only be using the strongest 5 nodes. These include typication, resource mobilization, prognosis frames, status, and context. I will go into detail more in my analysis section on what these concepts are and how they tie into the group. I also used NVivo to do a word frequency query that allowed me to find the words most used in the content. Overall, the content analysis part of the project has been the toughest because I am not as familiar with the concepts. I am really confident with the concepts used for ethnography and interviews but the content analysis concepts were kind of brushed off and I had to learn them again to complete this part of the paper.
Analysis
Ethnography Analysis
Thick Description
My first participatory observation of the local rugby club was at a scheduled practice. The practice was held at a local park on Monday October 29th from 7pm to 9pm. In my field notes I discuss how I entered the field and what the weather was like,
I arrived at 6:45 to get my cleats on and be ready for when practice started at 7pm. The temperature outside was cool, probably around 65 degrees with a slight wind. The sky was clear and there were no clouds in sight.
The weather was nice, but the field was really worn down and dead in some spots. I explain the field conditions in my notes as,
The field is worn down and has a lot of patches of dirt were the grass is dead. The field also has a lot of pot holes, so you have to watch out as you run.
The field condition made it hard to run because of all the uneven ground. There were about 20 players that participated in practice and 4 coaches in total. There is a head coach, and 3 assistant coaches that perform tasks the head coach assigns to them.
We started the practice with a warm up that included,
…a short burst of jogging, high knees, butt kickers, and lunges. Then we moved on to a drill called four corners which is where we do different ball handling skills, still during the warm up. After that we moved into "lines of five" which is a passing drill that consists up 5 players running down the field passing the ball to one side and then back to the other side.
The warm up starts with simple exercises to warm up our bodies and get them ready for practice and that is followed up with ball handling drills that warm up our skills. Four corners is a drill in which we get in a square with players on all corners and we do simple rugby specific skills. Lines of five is a passing drill to get our handling better and get us running a little more. After the warm up we did conditioning which only lasted about 20 minutes and consisted of sprinting different lengths at different levels of intensity.
After conditioning was over, we moved into the main practice in which we practice game specific drills to prepare for upcoming games. In my notes I explain exactly what we did,
We have a big 7s tournament coming up this Saturday, so we worked on 7s specific training. We had to practice kickoffs and kick returns because we messed up on them in our last tournament. Then we practiced our game pattern to make sure we all have it down.
This lasted for the rest of the designated practice time and we concluded at 9pm. At the end of practice, the head coach talked to us about what we did well, what we did bad, and about upcoming games. I exited the field after the final team break and concluded my participatory observation.
My next observation was at a hangout that was being held at a fellow player's apartment. I explained how I entered the field, and how many people participated in my notes,
On Saturday November 3rd from 9pm to 11pm I completed a participatory observation on the local college rugby club. The last observation was at a scheduled practice so to get a different view of the team I chose to observe them in a more relaxed environment. The location for this observation was at a fellow player's apartment and consisted of about 6 guys from the rugby team.
I wanted to get a different perspective on the team in a different environment, so this was the perfect opportunity. When I arrived, I realized that the neighborhood was a little run down and I explain what the environment was like,
When I arrived at the apartment located just across the street from school, I noticed that the neighborhood seemed a little run down and not well maintained in general. The streets were cracked, the buildings seemed dirty, and the streets were packed with cars. The apartment is set up in a "U" shape around a patch of grass that was semi green but had some dead spots. This apartment is probably cheap, so students or low-income families can afford to have a place to live.
The apartment was close to school, so it is mostly populated with students and low-income families. Next, I explain what the inside of the apartment was like,
When I walked into the apartment, I noticed that there is no carpet, only hardwood floors in the living room, with tile in the kitchen. There is only one couch that can seat three people positioned toward a 32" television. There was a TV tray with a joint rolling station set up on it which provides me with a little insight into some of the outside of practice culture some of the guys partake in. The kitchen was relatively small, with some dirty dishes in the sink but not much. There was a hallway that goes two ways, one way goes to the bathroom, the other to the host's room.
Lastly, in my notes I explain how the rest of the night went and what it consisted of,
When everyone was there, there was about 6 of us which meant three people sat on the couch, one person sat on a kitchen chair, and the others either stood or sat on the floor. The players and I hung out, talked, and played Fortnite. Some people smoked marijuana, others just drank a beer. The mood was relaxed, and we had a fun time hanging out with each other outside of practice. Around 11pm I concluded my observation and left the field with all the information I needed.
We had beer, played video games, and some people smoked. I concluded my participatory observation at 11pm and exited the field.
Status and Roles
There were many statuses that players and coaches occupied in each of my observations as well as roles they perform. As I am a part of the group, I actually hold my own status and roles that include,
I am the captain of the rugby team and a teammate so those are the roles I play when I am at practice. I try to lead by example and be a good role model for the rest of the team as well as be their friend. I am also the team treasure, so I take care of all the dues and finances for the team. This requires a different role than captain or teammate. This requires me to step out of my teammate and captain role to make sure we have enough money coming into the club to pay for the things we need to pay for. This means I must make announcements about paying our dues and ask people that have not paid, to pay. As a friend or teammate, I obviously would not be asking for money but as treasure, my role requires me to. I think people respect me more because I am the captain and it gives me a little higher status. I know the game very well and people know they can come to me if they have questions.
As stated in my notes, I am the captain, treasure, and leader on the rugby club which requires me to perform a lot of different roles. At practice, coaches have a higher status than players, for example,
Our head coach has the highest role and status on the whole team. He is the most respected and everyone follows his lead. As head coach he must create game plans, choose who plays where, make sure we are in shape, teach us the game, and discipline us if we are messing around. Our head coach is not our friend, we get along with him of course but he makes it known that he is our coach and puts us in line if we forget
Our head coach has the highest status out of all the coaches and performs the most roles. As stated, the head coach is not our friend, he is there to do one job and that is to make us better rugby players. The head coaches have less status and less roles but are still instrumental in the coaching process.
In terms of the apartment observation, these statuses kind of change and become less important. Some of the roles include,
We all occupy the status of students and rugby players so that is one thing that brings us all together. Since we are students, we all have the same struggles but also share common interests. In this situation, nobody is above anyone, we kind of are all on equal ground in terms of status. There are a couple people that naturally lead how the night kind of goes but everyone always has a say. There are also people that are just along for the ride who do not care to have a say. They just want to hang out and have a good time without having to lead, they just want to relax and go where the wind takes them.
In this situation, we are all on equal footing and there is no coach to lead us.
Front Stage and Back Stage
During my observations I got to witness a lot of front stage and back stage behavior. The easiest one to look at is how players act at practice versus when they are away from practice. This is explained in my notes,
If we are looking at rugby as the front stage, we all try our best to be the best rugby players we can be. We do not talk back to coach, and we usually try to keep conversation to a minimum while at practice. We wear the rugby cloths and do rugby drills because we are at rugby practice. While we are away from practice things change. The group is much more laid back and relaxed when we are not at practice. We usually talk about what we don't like about practice which we would never say around coach. This is the difference between the front stage that we show to coach and the team, and the backstage where we can let loose.
At practice we are serious and try to get better at rugby but when we are away from practice, we are relaxed and totally different people. This is evident in our coach as well, for example,
Coach is very serious and down to business at practice but when we are not at practice and in a social setting, he is laid back and nice. Coach turns into a totally different guy when we are not playing the roles of coach and player and you see a side you didn't know existed.
This is a very weird thing to witness because you assume that he would be the same outside of practice, but he is definitely not.
For me personally, I have a different front stage when I am at practice rather than when I am outside of practice. For example,
I am the captain of the rugby team so naturally I try to lead the team but in a setting like this [outside of practice], I can take a step back and relax and be just one of the guys. This shows my front stage back stage because on the field I am serious and try to work hard but off the field I am a very laid-back person.
This came out when I was hanging out at the apartment with the team and I even got to see some of their backstage. This came out in my notes,
Some guys at practice are focused and get on you for slacking off so you think they are naturally mean in general, but this is not the case. Everyone off the field was nice and laid back unlike my previous conception of them.
I was pleasantly surprised that the guys that seemed mean on the field, were actually some of the nicest guys off the field. This just goes to show you that front stage and backstage are important to consider and not everything is as it seems.
Definition of the Situation
The definition of the situation is set up by players, coaches and the environment we occupy. At practice it was set by multiple factors that include,
Coach sets up the guidelines for how practice should be and how much effort he expects out of us. He comes dressed like a head coach and the players come dressed in rugby gear ready to play rugby. We have a practice field, cones, rugby balls, and other gear that sets the definition of the situation. We are expected to show up on time ready to practice at 7pm and if we are late, coach lets us know that he is unhappy.
All of these things set up the definition of the situation for practice and give us guidelines on what to expect and how to act appropriately. We also set the definition of the situation by what we wear, for example,
We are expected to wear rugby shorts, cleats, and a practice jersey. This is known through coach defining the situation and letting us know that is expected of us to wear this attire to practice.
This was set up by past experience, the first time someone comes to practice they might not have rugby shorts, or cleats but after a while they figure out that they are needed and end up wearing them.
In regard to the apartment observation I performed, the definition of the situation was very different than at practice. The definition of the situation included things like,
We all knew that we were going to go over to his apartment to hang out, smoke, drink, and play video games. This was known because most of us know that the host smokes and likes to play video games. When we arrived, there was supplies to smoke and a video game console to play so the definition of the situation was clear.
We all knew what to expect when we went over to this specific player's apartment because we have done it before and the results were the same. Therefore, we expect future hangouts to be the same and thus, the definition of the situation was created.
Meaningful Action
Meaningful action is how other people's thoughts of you effect how you might act in certain situation. This comes into play a lot with the rugby club and actually makes us better players because of it. One good example of meaningful action is,
The group has its own expectations of how things are supposed to go. This causes people to get onto the slackers if they see them because the slackers will make everyone run more. Coach does not just punish the few slackers, he will punish everyone. This causes people to work harder because they do not want to cause everyone else to be punished.
The shame you might feel from not running hard and making the whole team run more is enough for you to work harder. You do not want to be the one guy slacking because it is looked down on during practice. Another example would be how coach views you which can be seen using this quote from my field notes,
…nobody wants to disappoint coach so that causes people to try harder than they would if nobody was looking. If coach points out, you slacking that is the most shameful because he is the highest status. He is the guy we want to please the most and can choose to not play you.
The thoughts and opinions of your teammates and coach affect the way you act which is the meaningful action of this group.
Word Frequency Query
The last thing I performed using NVivo was the word frequency query on my two observation field notes to see what words were used most often. My findings were that coach, coaches, and coaching were the most used words in my practice notes with them being used 31 times. The next most used word was practice which is understandable because we were at a rugby practice, and it was used 29 times. Two words that I found interesting were team and expected. These words were used 14 times for team and 9 times for expected. Rugby is a team sport and players rely on their teammates heavily to perform and have their back. It is expected that we have each other's back and give our best effort because everyone is in this together.
The next word search query that I ran was for the apartment field notes to see what words were used more compared to the practice field notes. The most used word for this word search was practice at 13 times. This was because rugby practice takes up so much of our time that we naturally tend to talk about it even when we are just hanging out in a non-rugby environment. Expected was used 8 times which was pretty high again compared to the other words. This is interesting because it shows that even in other environments, we expect certain things from each other and out of certain situations. Two words that would never be used during a practice observation are smoke and relax. First, we would never smoke or talk about it during practice but also there is no time to relax at practice. When we are at practice, we are usually giving maximum effort unlike when we are hanging out and trying to relax our bodies.
Interview Analysis
Status
The people in the local rugby group hold many statuses but they all have a few in common. All of the people on the rugby team are rugby players and students as seen in my interview notes,
I'm a student, I'm a rugby player…
Although they hold these statuses, there were many other statuses that these players held that some people do not think about. Some of these statuses include,
I'm a boyfriend to my girlfriend I'm a grandson to my grandmother who took care of me, a brother to my siblings…
This was an interesting response to me because he began with his other statuses outside of rugby and college student. This kind of shows where his priorities might be or that maybe he just thought of those as what defines him. Either way, there is a diverse group of players with many different statuses.
There are also many statuses on the rugby team that makes sure the club runs smoothly. These include,
We have students, rugby players, captains, president, vice president, treasure, the coaches and people that are out there doing fundraisers and making us money. We have a board that has a couple alumni players that help us get money to fund our program.
There are so many people doing things behind the scene that nobody thinks about. The president takes care of a lot of administration issues, the treasure takes care of the finances, and the board helps the club financially but also supports the club in other ways. There are also informal statuses in the group which could include,
Definitely slacker there's a couple you know the back of the pack um you also get a lot of a silent leaders' guys that just do things the right way. They speak with more of their actions instead of words which is always good.
These informal statuses are harder to point out, but all three respondents could identify a few informal statuses in the club. There are always two main informal statuses in mostly any group and those are the slackers and the hard workers. In the rugby club there are definitely a few people that could be identified as one or the other but for the sake of keeping things anonymous I did not ask for them to point anyone out.
Roles
In rugby, there are many roles that you are expected to fulfill. These roles change from person to person but most of them are similar to everybody. Some of these roles include,
Bringing the guys together, leading the guys in the right direction, I'm expected to lead by example. Doing all the right things right like be on time, Looking good in uniform reppin in the school that kind of stuff.
This is a response from one of the leaders on the rugby team, so his roles and expectations are a little bit higher than someone who is not in that position. He is expected to be on time and in the right uniform like everyone else, but he is also expected to lead by example and go above what is expected of everyone else.
On the other hand, everyone on the team is a student so they have other roles they are expected to fulfill. When they are occupying the status of student, they are expected to do things like,
Going to class, studying getting good grades and passing classes, paying attention, taking notes, it kind of all ties in to being a student.
These other roles are important to think about because sometimes they can conflict with other commitments. I asked one respondent if rugby and school ever conflict and he said,
I mean, I try I try not to let him conflict but sometimes you know I might only have the opportunity um like there might just be one class that's only at night and I have practice at night so it's kind of hard to plan around that.
This is one conflict that is bring the rugby team down because not everyone can make every practice, and this makes it harder for them to mesh as a group. The roles that are required in each status require time, effort, and dedication which can be hard at times, but these guys really love rugby and make it work even though it is hard.
Frontstage/Backstage
This sociological concept is one of my favorites because it is so interesting how people put on a different performance for different situations and sometimes don't even realize they are doing it. With one respondent the difference is pretty dramatic from his front stage and backstage. When this player is on the field, he explained it as,
So obviously when you are on the field you are very aggressive, your looking to be tougher than the other team, and you know, I'm not that way when I leave the field.
This is a pretty normal response for how players act in their frontstage or their on-field performance. When asked about how the same respondent acted away from rugby, in the backstage, he responded,
Far more mellow, I would say not as aggressive, not as loud, I'm very calm, I kind of let stuff roll off, chill if that's appropriate to say.
This is fascinating to me because on the field, this guy is aggressive, and nobody would want to mess with him but in the backstage, he is super mellow and calm. You would not expect a guy like that to switch between two polar opposite attitudes, but he does.
Another respondent had a different response to how he acted on the field saying that was when he could show his true colors. The full response was,
Honestly, you know when it comes to practice, not really, I feel like when I go to practice that's where I can actually like show my true colors you know be a leader be excited um you know laugh around joke with the guys but also work hard and you know it's just kind of my persona but I do definitely think that there's other places where I'm different than how I am at practice.
This response was interesting because he said that he felt like he could show his true colors when he was on the field. This response was different when I asked the same respondent how he acted at work,
Yeah exactly so you know at rugby if I have a problem with another player I can kind of you know take it out on him physically more as at work you know I can't really do that with the customer they give me lip or if something that is wrong, I have to be more reasonable about it. I have to kind of talk them down and talk my way through it.
At work this player puts on a different performance for customers in his front stage than he does at rugby where he can be more himself. This is a perfect example of front stage backstage in two different statuses. In one aspect, this player has to be nice and put on a pretty face for customers even though he can't stand them but at rugby, if he doesn't like something, he can let it be known because it is not his job on the line.
Meaningful Action
Almost everyone cares what people think, and this can affect how we act on a daily basis. We like people to think of us in a favorable light and this came out in my interviews. On the rugby field, one player feels like people look up to him and he has to be the leader on the team. His full response was,
Yeah I think especially being a leader on the team at first you don't really know you are and then you realize how your team looks at you and what they think of you and that makes you take on that role and you realize these guys look up to me I have to set an example. I have to be a leader, show them what we all expect, so yeah, I would say so.
Everyone views this player as a leader and he knows that, so he doesn't want people to change their perception of him but also, he doesn't want to let his team down. He is always thinking of other people's thoughts of him and responding in his actions. Everyone works harder on the rugby field in order to not let their teammates down.
In terms of school, these guys all are trying to graduate college and their family and friends definitely motivate them to finish. When asked about how others view you as an almost college graduate, and if anyone motivated you, one respondent said,
Yeah it makes me push harder because I would be the only one in my family that would graduate and just that alone kind of just pushes me to want to graduate because you know no one else is done it and I still like when I do it then my family will be really proud of me and it will be a really good feeling.
This respondent knows that his family will be happy for him and are expecting him to graduate. This motivates him to push through the tough times and finish college. Another respondent said,
People view me as a student they obviously look at my work and what I do other than me other than what I kind of think because they're going to look at my work and judge me based on my work so yes, it'll make me work harder.
This is a constant thought in this respondent's mind that makes him work a little bit harder in order to show people that he is a good student. It will also help the respondent finish college because he does not want people to view him as a bad student or drop out.
Role Exit
People have to navigate different statuses throughout their day and for some people can be kind of a challenge. For the most part, my three respondents did not find it that hard to switch from one status to another, but they can recognize the switch when it happens. When asked how one respondent navigated his different statuses throughout the day, he responded with,
Oh, that was a good question um, gotta know your environment you've got to be able willing to wear a lot of different hats. Obviously, my work life and my personal life are completely separate, I gotta be in a certain mindset in each one. For me I know myself very well I know my personality, so I know when I'm able to flip that switch on and off. I think I've mastered that.
This respondent is able to go from his work life, which requires certain roles and performance, to his personal life which includes school, or rugby. He states that he knows when to flip the switch and change pretty effortlessly which is pretty cool that he can recognize when he does it. At work he might need to put on a performance for the customers but when he gets to rugby, he flips the switch and can be aggressive and more himself.
Another respondent goes a little more in depth about how he navigates his statuses and roles in his daily life,
I kind of just seamlessly happens because I'm not exactly the same through all of them but I have small changes in my life that I have to make from being a worker a boyfriend or student into a rugby player like some of them combine and kind of become one if I'm switching from being a boyfriend his student that's not hard for me because I'm just being the same person and I'm working towards what I wanna be but at work I'm going to change because I need to work hard and disregard everything else because I need to focus on whatever I'm doing and when it comes to being a rugby player I gotta be kind of selfless kind of like being a boyfriend but at the same time be very strict with what I do and I know other players are counting on me.
This respondent pointed out that he acts relatively the same in most of his statuses throughout the day but makes little changes. This is an interesting take on role exit because it is not like you change into a totally different person when you exit one status or role into another, you change little things in order to put on the best performance possible. The respondent does this with ease and all respondents are able to navigate their statuses throughout the day by just switching small things. This sociological concept is very important to our daily lives and sometimes navigating through our different statuses and roles can be difficult. When we can recognize how to make the switch, role exit can become much easier.
Content Analysis
Typification
Typification is the process of relying on general knowledge as a way of constructing ideas about people and the social world. For example, when you go to the bank teller, you do not know the bank teller personally, but you have a pretty good idea of what a bank tell does and how they conduct themselves. This is true in all aspects of our social life and allows us to know how to act in different situations easier. From the content I analyzed from the local rugby club, there were a few examples I found of typification. The first one said,
Rugby culture is created out of two different, but connected, parts: The sense of brotherhood (or sisterhood) and camaraderie shared between players in a club; and the mutual respect between all clubs, which comes from their collective respect for the game.
I like this quote because it encompasses what rugby is all about and how rugby players are viewed by people. The general knowledge about rugby culture is that it is a brotherhood or sisterhood based on camaraderie. So, when someone finds out that you play rugby, they have a pretty good idea of who you are and what you stand for.
Another example that I found was demonstrated with this quote from a player in a news article,
"At first, I thought the sport is kinda rough, and I didn't know the rules too well," [player] said. "I was just trying to do as well as I could."
This is a good example because this player had an idea of what rugby was before he tried it based on his general knowledge that he had gathered. Rugby is not as popular here in the United States as it is in other countries so not a lot of people know what it is like, so it is impressive that this player had a little knowledge of the game before trying out.
The last example comes from a different article in the college news which said,
In reality, part of what draws people to the game – players and fans alike – is the cultural core of rugby. It features a noble and honorable combination of camaraderie, loyalty and respect that's not found in other sports.
Again, you can see that camaraderie, loyalty, and respect are important to the rugby culture and it is general knowledge. Everyone knows that rugby is a game that rewards sportsmanship and respect over anything else. This is where it differs from other sports like football where people play as individuals a lot and do not have the culture that rugby has.
Resource Mobilization
Resource mobilization is when a group or social movement acquires money, people, or skills. Every successful group does needs funds, personnel, and skills in order to be successful, and rugby is no exception. The local rugby club I studied is always trying to recruit new players even without experience. This is evident in a tweet by the rugby club which said,
New players welcome!! Come out to practice Monday, Wednesday, or Thursday at 7pm to learn the game of rugby. The location is [a local park]. Must be a [local college] student. No experience necessary!
This tweet encompasses resource mobilization because the team is trying to recruit new players to join their group. When a group has more people, they will have a greater chance of success.
Groups don't just need people, they also need to acquire money which is a tough feat for a small club like the one I studied. In an interview for the school news, a player said,
"Having to fundraise and get your own money is hard," [player] said. The men's team has ongoing fundraisers with MB2 Raceway and No Surrender Laser Tag, and the women's team partners with ASI and Panda Express. Even with fundraisers, [player] said, the club still requires members to pay club dues in order to afford everything the team needs.
A successful club needs money to operate so these fundraisers are important in the resource mobilization process. Even with the fundraisers though, the players are still required to pay dues in order to afford everything they require such as practice uniforms, conference dues, paying referees, and much more.
Another example of fundraising came from an event that the club put on called blues and brews. The flyer said,
Rugby Foundation Presents
Saturday, July 9, 2016 6- 10 PM
$25.00 per person includes: All-You-Can-Drink Beer from Tioga-Sequoia Brewery Live Music by Bev Moss and the Lowlanders Celtic Alchemy (Food available for purchase).
The event was $25 per person and had beer for people over 21 as well as live music from two different bands. This is a way to fundraise without getting businesses involved like previously discussed. The beer was bought at a discounted rate through sponsorships and the bands were also discounted because they were friends of the foundation. This form or resource mobilization requires the whole team to participate and help out which also helps with camaraderie.
Prognosis Frames
When there is a problem in a group, the prognosis frame is basically what needs to be done to correct the problem. In terms of this rugby club, recruitment has kind of always been a problem and there always seems to be a shortage of players. One solution was offered by the head coach in an interview by the school news where he said,
With rugby recently starting up in a handful of local high schools, more new players have experience in playing rugby coming into college.
Rugby only started in high schools about 7 years ago which is not very long ago. In order to get more players out on the college rugby team, one good solution was to start teams at all the high schools. This exposes more kids to rugby and gives the college team a better chance of getting more skilled athletes.
The local rugby team is also relatively new compared to other teams in their conference. At only 10 years old, the local rugby team is going against teams with 100 years of tradition which can be a tough battle. In a quote from a news article they said,
With more experienced players and familiarity with second-year coach [head coach's] system that's translated into success, [local rugby team] believes it can match up with [other college team] this time. Even if the [other rugby team] have elevated their status to two-time defending national champs.
The team is relatively new and was not very good in its first few years but because of the current head coach and his system, the team had an actually shot at winning against two-time national champions. The solution was a good system and enough people trusting in the process for the team to be good.
The last issue that I will discuss is one that I already talked about and that is funding. This club struggles to get adequate funding and requires more fundraising on the players end to support the team. A good example of this would be an article on the rugby clubs websites that said,
Rugby calendars are here, don't miss out! Help Support the team by purchasing one for one $15. This year we are trying to reach out to those beyond [city] too and we are offering delivery on our calendars.
This is a great solution to a funding problem that the players came up with. It is a calendar with pictures of the players on each month. This requires very little up-front cost to the players and is a fun, easy way to raise money for the club.
Status
Status is the position you hold in society which can be anything from boss, student, athlete, rugby player, or teacher. In terms of the rugby club, there is a quote from an interview that said,
Our goal at [name of school] Rugby is simply to get better; as a student, boss, friend, father or athlete, our possibilities are endless.
The players on the local rugby team occupy many statuses like stated above. They are all students, rugby players, friends and one day could be a boss. The idea that this quote was trying to get across is that rugby teaches you to be the best you can be in all statuses you occupy.
Most of the guys that try out for the rugby club have played sports before but never rugby. This is a quote from a player who explained his experience,
All my life I have played sports, and the brief time in college I wasn't associated with any team I knew I was lacking some-thing in my life.
This player occupied the athlete status all his life but when he got to college, he stopped playing sports like most students do. Most college sports are extremely competitive and hard to get into, but he found rugby and it filled a whole he had in his life. This is the usual story for students who come out and try rugby.
In the next quote from a player, he explains how being a rugby player has changed his college experience for the better. He said,
Rugby has been that sport that satisfies my competitive personality. It allows me to take a step back from whatever kind of day I'm having and just focus on improving my skills and work towards a collective goal. On top of that the people I have met throughout my rugby career have grown to be some of my best friends and I couldn't imagine my college experience without them
This student now occupies the status of rugby player and teammate, which has changed his experience as a student for the better. He also has new friends that he has made along the way which is not uncommon on the rugby team. Most people find their best friends on the rugby field and there is no shortage of stories from our coaches about the "good old' days".
Context
I want to conclude my last section of the paper by giving some context to the rugby club. I talked about funding as being hard for a club sport but there are other issues like,
Fundraising isn't the only challenge of being a club sport. [Player] said campus recognition is not easy to come by.
This is a big deal for the rugby club because nobody really things of rugby as very important around campus because it is just a club sport. The school doesn't support the club very much like other schools support their clubs and it hurts the club. In recent years the rugby club has gotten a little more recognition from the school and around campus, but it has been a long fight for that and the school could still do better.
The rugby club has not always been very good, it has taken years to get where they are today. A quote by the head coach sums it up nicely,
We're just trying to get better. We are a new program," [head coach] said. "We have lost games by over 100 points, so you kind of have to know where we started, and Northern California is a hotbed for rugby in the United States.
This quote shows how far we have come in just the last few years. The team would lose every game by 100 points but now are having winning seasons. Like I said earlier in the paper, this club goes against teams that have been around for 100 years, and this club just barely turned 10. So, the club is actually doing very well for how young it is. A good example is from when the team played a good school with 100 years of tradition. The score was no pretty, this is a quote from a news article on the game,
[Good rugby team] ran away with big win in their final home game Saturday, blasting [Local rugby club] 87-5 on a beautiful, hot, sunny day at [good team's] Field.
This was the norm for the rugby teams of the past but with good coaching and more support the team has turned into a contender for 1st place. The team has more players and financial support than it ever has, and it is making a difference in how well the team does. If this continues throughout the years, the local rugby club will be a national contender in no time.
Word Frequency Query
I ran a word query search in the qualitative research program NVivo to find the most used words through all my sources. The findings are not very surprising with rugby as the number one used word. The next two words are the schools name which I cannot disclose but this is also not surprising. Lastly, the next two most used words were teams and game. I didn't think these words were used that much but they are in the top 5 which is interesting. Maybe it shows that at the end of the day, it is just two teams playing a game.
Conclusion
Overall, there was a lot of good information that I collected over the two participatory observations. I found out things about my group that I didn't realize even though I have been a part of this group for two years. I was able to identify front stage and backstage behaviors, different statuses and roles, and figure out what meaningful action meant to a rugby group. I learned that people aren't always what they seem because we behave differently based on the situation. Lastly, I got better at observing using thick description which made me realize how much detail I miss in everyday life. There were so many details in my observations that I never thought of before and it was really cool to take everything in and put it into words.
The three interviews I completed gave me great insight into the rugby club and the players that participate in the club. I got much deeper information that I could not otherwise get doing just an observation. I learned about the players occupy many different statuses in their personal lives but also that there are a lot of statuses on the team. Players also have different roles they are expected to do in their different statuses. I also learned that players have a frontstage and backstage in many situations. For example, people can have a frontstage at work and a backstage at rugby or if school is the frontstage, home is the backstage. Depending on if you are in frontstage or backstage you will act very different. I learned that different players have different meaningful action and that it effects all aspects of our lives. In rugby, players work harder because of meaningful action and also in school, people are pushed by how they think people will perceive them. Lastly, I learned that people navigate their different statuses and roles in different ways, but most people are able to do it easily. All of these concepts allowed me to identify how the rugby group thinks, acts, and communicates with each other. I have been able to learn so much about this rugby club in such a short amount of time by using these concepts.
In the content analysis section of my study, I learned even more about the rugby team than I had previously in other parts of my research. I learned about things like resource mobilization and how the team recruits player and raises money. I learned about the statuses of players and how it effects their life, both daily and overall. I learned about prognosis frames which are what a group proposes should be done about a problem such as not enough players, or not enough money. I also learned about how people see the rugby team and that there are expectations for them. This was in the typification section which was very interesting to realize that the culture gives people a general idea of what to expect from a rugby player. The content analysis part of the research was a little harder for me than the interview or observation because these concepts were not my strong suit. I was comfortable with the concepts discussed in the previous sections, but these were kind of brushed over. Overall, the experience was fun, and I still learned a lot about my group.
References
Cain, C. (2012). Integrating Dark Humor and Compassion: Identities and Presentations of Self in the Front and Back Regions of Hospice. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 41(6), 668-694.
Karner X. T., Warren A. B. C. (2015). Discovering Qualitative Methods Ethnography, Interviews, Documents, and Images. New York, New York: Oxford University Press.
Levine, J. M. & Hogg, M. A. (Eds.) (2010). Encyclopedia of group processes & intergroup relations Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. doi: 10.4135/9781412972017
Sandstrom, K. (2014). Symbols, selves, and social reality. New York, NY: Oxford University Pres.
Turner, J. (2011). Extending the Symbolic Interactionist Theory of Interaction Processes: A Conceptual Outline. Symbolic Interaction, 34(3), 330-339. doi:10.1525/si.2011.34.3.330
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