This article was published in an Australian Journal,
and concerns a study conducted in Great Britain. The subject
of the article concerns the development of communicative styles
that will help involve consumers more completely in reserach
and planning than might otherwise be possible. The implications
for investigators is obvious: if we can communicate more effectively
with consumers, we will learn more, and therefore be more capable
of drawing valid conclusions.
Without providing all of the details associated
with the research design, it is enough to point out that the
authors were part of a project that sought to more fully involve
consumers in research studies associated with their movement
from institutional to community settings. Various portions of
the study occurred over a period of 12 years. The activities
generating findings related to individualized communication strategies
occurred during the last phase (the 12th year) of the cycle.
The authors compared the amount of information gleaned from consumers
they interviewed during the 12th year vs. the amount gleaned
from the interviews conducted during the 5th year. The primary
difference in the two sets of interviews was that the authors
used an flexible and individualized communication strategy.
What is such a strategy? Working with other
organizations in Britain, the authors sought to combine the common
activities of language and active listening skills with a variety
of other techniques that could help augment individual participation.
First the authors identified unique vocabularies associated with
discrete physical locations and individual experience. Such vocabularies
are often reflected in a variety ways, such as:
Identifying these individual characteristics
that would help make the interview process more successful, however,
was only part of the process. The researchers also had to make
extensive preparations to properly use the resources. Since no
two consumers were identical, interviewers had to become knowledgeable
with respect to communicating with those individuals for whom
they were responsible. That would include learning each person's
unique "dialect." And they spent considerable time
on such mundane issues as where the person was most comfortable
when interviewed. Some chose their homes, others a particular
room at a day program location, etc.
The data gathered by the authors supported
the notion that the more flexible and individualized approach
used during this last phase of the research resulted in more
information than was previously gathered. The authors were candid
that there were imperfections in the study's design that might
compromise the validity of their conclusions; however, for our
purposes the article is particularly useful if only to remind
us that taking time to learn about a consumer's unique communication
styles and treating each individually would be no less important
to an investigatory interview.
By the way, such a flexible strategy takes
time and effort. But we have to believe that the payoff -- more
information, better decisions and the ability to help individuals
develop their own every day lives -- is worth it.