1. WAL_RSCH8310_05_A_EN-CC.mp4
From Content to Coding
From Content to Coding
Program Transcript
[MUSIC PLAYING]
SUSAN MARCUS: Hi. My name is Dr. Susan Marcus. And
today, we're going to be
looking at the process of going from content to coding for
qualitative data analysis.
2. So what you're seeing now is a transcript of an interview done
with a graduate student
about her experience with social change and the meaning of
social change. And we're
going to prepare this transcript for coding. So the first thing to
do is to go to Layout and
line numbers and add Continuous line numbers. And see how
they appear down the
left--hand column so that when we start the process of moving
this content onto our
Excel spreadsheet, you'll be able to, if need be, go from this
spreadsheet back to the
transcript and locate where you are.
The next thing to do is to locate the questions that are going to
be analyzed. Now, this
interview was about 32 minutes long and has a number of
questions. For the purposes
of this demonstration, we're going to focus on the first four
questions. But it's really hard
to find them in the text. So I'm going to highlight those
questions and number them.
So for example, if we look down here, we can see here's the
very first question. Could
you tell me what program did you graduate from at Walden?
And I'm going to highlight
that. And here is the next question---- and what year? And
that's really part of the first
question, finding out when they were in graduate school.
So let's scroll down to find the next question. And you'll notice
that as I'm scrolling down,
I can see in the content that she and the interviewer are having
a conversation that's
4. From Content to Coding
So now we're going to go to our next document---- an Excel
spreadsheet. So you're using
the most current version of Excel. So even if you're using a PC,
that it should look fairly
similar to what you see on your video. And what we want to do
is prepare this so we'll
be able to easily move both content and questions into the
spreadsheet.
So I'm going to set up a template. And it looks like this. In the
first box up here, I'm
going to put Q because the first line is going to hold the
question. In the second row
right underneath, I'm going to identify this as where we'll put
the line numbers, then the
interviewees actual response, and then columns for where
we're going to put our codes.
You do have to spell correctly. So in your spreadsheet, you'll
5. be doing the same thing.
You'll also notice that I'm going to put a column in here called
memo. Memos are a very
important part of the qualitative data analysis process. Here,
because you're going to be
doing multiple things at once, this is a great place to put very
short notes which you can
expand and place in your analytic memo notebook.
So now let's just adjust this so it becomes more user friendly
for the data analysis
process. We're going to go under Page Layout and adjust the
orientation so we're in
Landscape. In fact, I'll make this a little bit bigger so it's
easier to see.
Now, the response is each of the participants actual content.
So we're going to make
that a little bit bigger. And then some room for your coding
here. And then your memo
notes here. And then I'll just create a line so that I'll be able to
distinguish each question
and each question's response.
So the only other thing to do here before we start is to label
the tabs of the sheet for
each participant. So in this worksheet you'll be having each
participant's answers in
each of the tabs. And I'm going to save it just onto the desktop
for now. And we'll save it
as First Cycle. OK.
So the next step here is using the two documents at once----
moving from the Word
document back and forth between the Word document and the
Excel document. Let's
7. From Content to Coding
And here is the follow up question. But it still belongs with
question 1. So we'll put it in
the same line.
Now let's move the content underneath the question. So I go
back to the interview
document and I Copy and Paste and put the content there. Now
you can see that this
would be a little bit hard to read. It runs past the column. So I
use the Wrap Text
function. And now the text is all in one place.
I also want to remember to put the line numbers for where the
text was located. So it
starts here. And you'll see that's line number 9. So I'll put that
here. And I'll do this for all
of the content for each of the questions that we'll be
examining.
Here it's interesting that the interviewee has mentioned a date
that she graduated and
then corrected herself a little bit later on. So I'm going to put
both pieces of data in there
and adjust it and put the line number in. And then I note that as
I'm looking for the next
question or the next piece of text that the interviewee tells an
8. interesting story about her
experience with Bill Clinton at the graduation ceremony. Now
it's not pertinent to the
interview. But as the researcher I think to myself, well that's
kind of interesting.
So as a memo, I'm going to put a note---- "interesting story
about Bill Clinton at
graduation." So if it becomes relevant to the data analysis or
my reflection later on, I'll
know what part of the text it came from and what I was
thinking about at the time.
So it looks like that's about it for the first question. That was
pretty straightforward. Now
we're going to get into some of the meatier parts of the
interview. So I scroll down and
find the next question about social change.
And again, here, we see that the question was asked, the
interviewee was a bit
confused, and the interviewer had to clarify. And we can see
that right here is where the
actual answer starts. So I go to my Excel spreadsheet and
Copy and Paste so now I've
got the next question ready to go.
I place the question just like we did before. I merge the cells,
highlight it, and then start
to put the text in. So she answers the question, "yes, it was."
And I put that here. But
then she explains in more detail.
Then here we have the interviewer having a conversation about
the degree. So we have
to scroll through and see if the interviewee is saying something
11. SUSAN MARCUS: Hello. My name is Dr. Susan Marcus, and
this is an introduction to
coding qualitative data. Before we get started, I'm going to give
you a definition and
some visuals of what we mean by coding qualitative data. A
code in qualitative inquiry is
most often a word or a short phrase that symbolically assigns
a summative, a summary,
a salient or essence--capturing attribute, for some portion of
language, or visual data.
So what does that mean? With these certain words, short words
or phrases, we're trying
to capture a meaning that's been attributed to, or contributed to,
by another source. So
the process of coding means we identify distinctive features
of a piece of text, and see if
there are similar features to other pieces of text from other
sources.
What this also means is you can code just about anything.
You can code transcripts
from videos. You can code transcripts from written, or
phone, or live, interviews. You
can also code observations of a field experience. Or code
observations of a photo.
So once you get anything that you have observed, and want to
include, in your
qualitative data analysis into a language--based form, typically
in the form of a transcript
in a word processing document, you can then start the process
of coding. What we're
doing is we're looking for patterns, similarities in features,
similarities in order of
presentation, similarities of context, similarities in meaning.
12. So what these marbles represent are the different thoughts, and
feelings, and
experiences, each person has about being in nature. And my
quest as a qualitative
researcher to see if I can understand each individual's
experience, and then look for
shared meaning across those experiences. So here's person A.
And each type of
experience they share is noted by a different marble.
And as a qualitative researcher beginning to code, I say, hmm,
maybe I can first
organize them according to a distinctive feature. Let's try
color. And as I'm organizing
the marbles, I see, well, some of the colors are really distinct,
and some of them are not
quite as distinct as I thought. But I'm going to group them
together anyway. So in a
sense, I've created a code for this person according to color.
Now I'm going to do it with the next person's---- marble's----
experiences. And I'm going to
organize them and sort them so that they line up with, to the
best that I can surmise, the
preceding person. And I'll do the same for the other two
individuals. And as I'm doing
this, I'm also reflecting in my mind---- but if I was doing this
as a qualitative study, I would
be taking notes, writing memos---- about the choices I was
making about where to group,
or where to put, which marble with which group.
So, obviously, color is a really easy way to sort. We could
sort on size. We could sort on
clarity. We could sort on whether some of the marbles were
14. similarities across these different individuals.
And one of the things, for example, I would note, is that while
most of the group share
this experience, indicated by the red marbles in color, this
person has a similar kind of
experience, but it's not quite the same. So as a qualitative
researcher, I would make a
note---- I'm grouping these codes together into a category that
I could call red. Noting that
some of the codes are approximations, but not identical, to the
final category. And then I
can do that with the other marbles as well.
So again, you can see that I have made groups of like objects
some of them---- Oh,
here's another. Look at this. I had one set of objects over
here, but they actually can go
over here. And I also have a couple of discrepancies that don't
really fit in any particular
category. And so as a qualitative researcher, I also have to
make a decision. Do I want
to force, or try and make, every bit of information fit into a
category, or do I want to use
these as what we call discrepant cases, to explore what these
individual items or codes
mean?
So I hope that helps illustrate what we mean by the process of
coding. Taking individual
bits of information, grouping them. I could also try grouping
them with another approach.
For example, some of these marbles have two different colors.
So I could also see what
pattern emerges if I take marbles with two different colors
and put them all in one group.
15. And marbles with single colors and another group. Looks
different.
So that's the idea of approaching coding from different
perspectives. That is, if you code
just one way, you get one picture. But if you code taking
another approach, you may get
an entirely different picture.
The other point I'd like to share with you is the choice of
doing manual coding. What we
mean by manual coding is using basic word processing and
spreadsheet tools to move
bits of data around in order to create codes, categories, and
themes.
The other alternative, is computer--assisted qualitative data
analysis software. There are
many, many choices available. And of course, the advantage of
using a computer
application is that you have a bit more efficiency. They have
lots of great visual displays,
and other ways to manipulate data. The challenge is, most of
these software programs
have a very steep learning curve. So you're learning both how
to code qualitative data
and learning a software program.
The other issue is that because there are so many different
kinds of programs to choose
from, you, as you become a more experienced qualitative
researcher, and if you choose
to go on and do a qualitative dissertation, you may, after
looking at different programs,
develop your own preference. Or your chair may have a
preference for which one to
18. How to Plan and Conduct a Focus Group
How to Plan and Conduct a Focus Group
Program Transcript
SHERRY: The goal of a focus group is to collect in--depth
information about the
perceptions and behaviors of a small non--representative
sample of a population.
Focus groups take careful planning. In this program, we'll
show you how to plan
and conduct a focus group.
So, what is a focus group? A focus group is a research
method used for
collecting qualitative data to gain a deeper understanding of a
particular issue or
topic.
We convene a selected group of six to eight people with a
specific demographic
background, and then lead them in a semi--structured
conversation about a
particular issue of interest.
The conversation lasts about one to two hours and Is recorded
for analysis later.
But before you begin, you need to be clear about your
objectives.
Start by identifying what you intend to cover with your focus
group. Maybe you
want to understand the feelings of a certain demographic on a
given topic---- their
needs, their behaviors, or their knowledge. Maybe you want to
find out what
19. people think about an idea you are considering, like a new
initiative for your
community.
It all depends on the research question you want to answer. In
the focus group
that I'm conducting, my research question is, why is the rate of
breast cancer
screening so low among African--American women?
So whose experiences or attitudes do you want to explore? It's
important to be
clear on the population you need to sample. In my focus
group, I want to explore
the views of African--American women aged 30 to 50.
It's also important that I set up enough groups to provide
complete information to
reach what we call saturation. It's helpful to offer an incentive
to people to sign
up. You don't have to pay them, and you certainly don't want
them to come just
because of the money, because that might bias what they say.
But people are giving up their time to join a group, so it's
respectful to offer
something in return, like a gift card to a grocery store. The
next thing is to find
your group members.
One approach is to recruit people out in the community. For
example, you might
recruit at a community event as you hand out a flier,
advertising your focus
group. Another approach is to recruit by phone. But you will
need a list of names
21. background and experience of each potential group member
before you make
your final decision.
Once you have your focus group, you need someone to lead it-
--- A moderator. An
effective moderator has a full plate of responsibilities.
When did you first learn about breast cancer screening?
You need to know something about the topic of the research,
keep the
conversation on track, and know how to listen. It's important to
relate to members
of the group regardless of their age, their interest, or their
backgrounds.
You also have to be able to calm down anyone who tries to
dominate the
conversation, and encourage the shy ones to talk. It also really
helps if you can
read body language. And, of course, you have to stay on
schedule.
That's a lot, which is why some researchers employ a trained
moderator, but
many of us lead our own groups. Leading a group and
collecting data at the
same time is hard work. Some moderators can do it, but it's
best to have a
partner that can help you, like my research assistant, Maria.
MARIA: The research assistant has a lot to do, and it's all
important. I greet
people as they first come in, and help them get comfortable. I
keep an eye on
23. How to Plan and Conduct a Focus Group
MARIA: Provide refreshments. Make sure you have water on
hand. Snacks, too.
Also, there has to be a restroom nearby---- for women and
men. If you plan your
focus group carefully, the chances are that things will go
smoothly.
For example, send out clear directions to everyone in
advance. And if you can,
call all the group members the night before to remind them
you want a full turn
out.
Most of the focus group is unscripted, but you do need to
script a few things,
such as the questions you want to ask. Sherry has been
working on the
questions for our focus group for a while now.
Since this is qualitative research, our questions are designed
to give us rich, thick
data. We've tested them on a couple of non participants, so we
24. know they're
easy to understand and culturally sensitive.
SHERRY: In addition to the questions I want to ask, I also
script the points I want
to cover before we start. The script comes in handy and helps
keep me focused.
Hi, everyone.
PARTICIPANTS: Good morning.
SHERRY: I want to welcome you all today. Thank you so much
for giving up a
couple of hours of your time to participate in this research.
I'm excited about this
study and look forward to our discussion today. Just a few
housekeeping items
before we get started.
We want this to be a casual discussion, but we do need it to be
respectful. We all
hold valid opinions, and that's the point of our focus group
today. We want to
learn from all of you. I may stop the discussion if we start
veering off track.
This is the consent form that you read and signed before
coming into the room. It
says that our discussion here today is completely
confidential. Your name, nor
anything about your identity, will appear anywhere in the
study findings.
As health professionals, this is something we take very
seriously. Upholding
confidentiality is an important part of our professional
26. How to Plan and Conduct a Focus Group
SHERRY: So everything is all set up for your focus group to
run successfully,
and you're ready to start. The space is inviting. There are
snacks and drinks. Hi,
everyone.
PARTICIPANTS: Hello.
SHERRY: You've welcomed everyone, you've got your script,
and you're ready to
ask the first question. You go to turn on the audio recorder and
it won't work.
This is exactly what happened to me in my first focus group,
and I didn't have an
assistant to help me. So it's good to have an assistant, and to
double check your
recording equipment ahead of time.
We're here to talk about mammograms, and what women of
color think about
them. Because as you may know, about 70% of all white
women get their
mammograms as recommended, but only about 40% of women
like us. So
what's going on here?
PARTICIPANT: Well, I can tell you, for one thing the clinic is
all the way across
town, and that's a long way for me. I have to go get child care
27. because they don't
have any there.
SHERRY: Every moderator has their own style, but most
researchers agree on
the basic principles, like everyone's opinion is important.
However, sometimes
you have to restrain people who get over enthusiastic.
OK. Transportation is an issue. That's clear. What about the
rest of you? Do you
have easy access to public transportation to reach the imaging
center?
ANN: Yeah, we have some buses, but they're real old,
TINA: Oh man, they're smelly. I hate when you get inside the
bus and it is ripe.
One time I had to take a 20 minute bus ride downtown, but it
felt like the longest
ride of my life.
ANN: Well, yeah, there's that, but I was going to say that the
older buses break
down a lot, so----
TINA: Like scream at your city councilmen, right? Like, hey,
fix this thing already.
What are my taxes for?
SHERRY: What we're you going to say, Ann?
ANN: The buses---- you know my friend Tricia? She almost----
SHERRY: Can we please let Ann finish her thoughts, and then
we can listen to
29. about how and when to speak. A good moderator involves
them and pulls them
into the discussion
ANN: She was really rude to me, so after that experience I
refused to go back.
SHERRY: Does anyone else have another story they'd like to
share? Something
similar to Ann's experience? How about you Maggie? Earlier
you mentioned that
you wouldn't use this imaging facility even though it's not far
from where you live.
Can you tell us some of the reasons why your family
members don't like the
facility?
MAGGIE: The facility's OK, I guess. We just don't talk about
it much, that's all.
SHERRY: You mean your family doesn't talk about the
facility, or something
else?
MAGGIE: We don't talk about the screenings or breast cancer.
SHERRY: Was there something about the facility you didn't
like?
MAGGIE: Well, I used to take my nana there every year to
get her screens, and
they weren't real nice to her there. And then she got the
cancer, and she passed
away really fast.
SHERRY: If she were still here, what do you think your nana
31. How to Plan and Conduct a Focus Group
everything that you've said, and we'd like to invite each of you
to read it, and
check it for accuracy.
This is called member checking. We're happy to change
anything you said if
you'd like us to do that. But, of course, we won't change what
anyone else has
said.
In theory, qualitative researchers continue to collect data until
no new information
arises. At this point, the data is set to be saturated.
In practice, most major themes have emerged after three focus
groups. So you
may want to end your first group asking for help, gathering
people for the next
group.
32. MARIA: Here's a flier about our next group for anyone you
know who might want
to be a part.
SHERRY: This is a technique called snowballing. You get
members from one
group to connect you with new people.
MARIA: Our next step will be to analyze the data and figure
out the main things
that were expressed in the group. A second or third group may
add to those
themes or even contradict them. That's OK.
The idea is not to come up with any generalizable truths. We
just want to
understand the different ways that people think about this
topic.
SHERRY: Well, that's it. Our time is up. So thank you all,
and have a wonderful
rest of your day.
PARTICIPANTS: Thank you.
SHERRY: If you have any questions, just give me a call. The
number is on the
paperwork.
A focus group takes practice, so you may not master it on
your first try. Working
with an experienced researcher to conduct your first focus
group is a great way
to learn this method of collecting information.
35. Halfway Point
Halfway Point
Program Transcript
ANNIE PEZALLA: Hello again, and congratulations on
making it this far in the course.
You're about halfway through qualitative reasoning and
analysis. And now is a good
time to stop, to pause, to take a deep breath, and to take stock
of where you've been in
the course, where you are right now, and where you're going for
the rest of the time in
this course, and perhaps even beyond.
ANNIE PEZALLA: So thus far in the course, you've been
socialized more into this new
language of qualitative research, and learning more about the
rules of this new playing
field. You've also been asked to make sense of phenomena in
terms of the meanings
people bring to them. And that's really the heart of qualitative
research. And we've
asked you to begin to really develop your ideas, your own
personal research interests,
in terms of a qualitative research inquiry.
ANNIE PEZALLA: So now, at this point in time in the course,
we're going to ask you to
turn to qualitative data collection, analysis, and interpretation.
You'll do that by using the
scholars of change videos, the transcripts, and the interview
data that you've collected
from one of your colleagues. So using all that qualitative data,
we'll ask you now to start
37. · Chapter 1, “An Introduction to Codes and Coding” (pp. 1–42)
(previously read in Week 5)
· Chapter 2, “Writing Analytic Memos About Narrative and
Visual Data” (pp. 43–65) (previously read in Week 5)
Rubin, H. J., & Rubin, I. S. (2012). Qualitative interviewing:
The art of hearing data (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Publications.
· Chapter 12, “Data Analysis in the Responsive Interviewing
Model” (pp. 189–211) (previously read in Week 5)
Ravitch, S. M., & Carl, N. M. (2016). Qualitative research:
Bridging the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
· Chapter 7, “An Integrative Approach to Data Analysis” (pp.
215–236) (previously read in Week 5)
· Chapter 8, “Methods and Processes of Data Analysis” (pp.
237–270) (previously read in Week 5)
Onwuegbuzie, A. J., Dickinson, W. B., Leech, N. L., & Zoran,
A. G. (2009). A qualitative framework for collecting and
analyzing data in focus group research. International Journal of
Qualitative Methods, 8(3), 1–21.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
Document: Excel Video Coding Document Template (Excel
spreadsheet) (previously used in Week 5)
Review this Excel template as you view this week’s media
38. programs related to coding. Also, you will use this template for
organizing your transcripts and preparing them for coding.
Required Media
Laureate Education (Producer). (2016). How to plan and
conduct a focus group [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 15 minutes.
In this media program, observe the focus group taking place.
Think about how you might plan and conduct a focus group for
your research topic.
Accessible player
Laureate Education (Producer). (2016). Introduction to coding
[Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 10 minutes.
(Previously viewed in Week 5)
In this media program, Dr. Susan Marcus, Core Research
Faculty with the School of Psychology at Walden University,
introduces you to the world of coding using Word or Excel
documents. In this first video, you will learn how to organize
your data.
Accessible player
Laureate Education (Producer). (2016). From content to coding
39. [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 12 minutes.
(Previously viewed in Week 5)
In this media program, Dr. Susan Marcus, Core Research
Faculty with the School of Psychology at Walden University,
introduces coding and how to move from content to codes. This
video focuses on what Saldaña (2016) calls “first cycle” coding.
Three different approaches are presented. Analytic memos will
also be discussed.
Accessible player
Laureate Education (Producer). (2016). Halfway point [Video
file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 2 minutes.
In this media program, Dr. Annie Pezalla, Associate Director of
the Center for Research Quality at Walden University, reviews
what you have accomplished so far. She also discusses what is
coming next in the course.
Accessible player
_1586332651.unknown
_1586332652.unknown
_1586332653.unknown
_1586332650.unknown
DirectionsVideo Code #Student GenderStudent Program of
40. StudySubject matter/topicWhat happened in the Video? (2) 1st
Cycle Descriptive1st Cycle Concept2nd cycle PatternsQuick
MemosDirection12356678My NotesTranscriptThe
TranscriptDirections: For each video you chose, type in the
following information, extracted from your video field notes
guide. Put the data of one video per tab. The numbers above
correspond to the directions below. 1. Create a video code
number, so the identifying information will not be visible in
this record.2. Indicate speaker's gender3. Indicate speakers
program of study4. Briefly describe the subject matter or topic
of the video.5. (a) Under the sub-heading "My Notes", copy
each sentence describing a "fact" of the video (#2 from your
Notes guide) into one cell of the spread sheet. Use the "wrap
text" function for readability.5 (b) Under the sub-heading
"Transcript", select sections of text from the video transcript,
again placing each one in a cell of the spread sheet. 6-7. Using
the techniques from your Saldana text and the coding videos,
code each line with two 1st cycle and one 2nd cycle codes.8.
Create a short statement or phrase summarizing your reflexive
notes (#4 from your guide).
Video 1Video Code #Student GenderStudent Program of
StudySubject matter/topicWhat happened in the Video? (1)1st
Cycle Descriptive1st Cycle Concept2nd Cycle PatternsQuick
MemosMy NotesTranscript
Video 2Video Code #Student GenderStudent Program of
StudySubject matter/topicWhat happened in the Video? (2) 1st
Cycle Descriptive1st Cycle Concept2nd Cycle PatternsQuick
MemosMy Notestranscript
Website SourceWebsite SourceType of Page/SourceSubject
matter/topicWeb page/report content1st Cycle
CMC: CMC:
Cell alignment differs from the Video 2 tab. Suggest uniform
alignment.
1st cycle2nd cycleMemosDELETE THE RED CONTENT AND
PUT IN YOUR OWNURL: [insert here]E.g., home page,
41. .pdftranscriptEXAMPLEhttps://www.waldenu.edu/about/social-
change/global-day-of-serviceGlobal Days of ServiceDescribes
2015 Global Days of ServiceGlobal Days of Service, celebrated
October 12–18, inspired more than 20,500 faculty, staff,
students, and alumni, as well as their friends and family, to
participate in community service projects around the
world.Members of the Walden and Laureate communities in
more than 15 countries contributed more than 125,000 volunteer
hours in more than 240 service projects. Projects
included:Cleaning and organizing the Minneapolis American
Indian Center in the U.S.Building houses for hedgehogs and
performing general cleaning and maintenance at a nature reserve
in Gdansk, Poland.Painting, assembling furniture, beautifying a
courtyard, and organizing a food pantry at a middle school in
Baltimore, Maryland, in the U.S.Launching a program to engage
with and provide physical and artistic outlets to refugee
children and their families in Germany.Serving orphans in Saudi
Arabia.Thank you to all of our volunteers for helping make a
positive impact in communities around the globe.
Sheet 2
42. Scholar of Change – Benjamin Isaac
Scholar of Change – Benjamin Isaac
Program Transcript
BENJAMIN ISAAC: My name is Benjamin Isaac and I'm
currently a Walden
University student pursuing a doctorate degree in the field of
special education.
Research shows that students with special learning needs who
feel good about
themselves perform better academically than those with low
self--concept. A
Google search for the definition of the word special reveals an
adjective that
means better, greater, or otherwise different from what is
usual. But far too often,
students deemed special are made to feel like they are
inadequate, subpar, and
unintelligent. That's why I am attempting to effect social
change with the help of a
few very special friends of mine. I'd like to introduce you to
Skeeter Buzz, and
Gigi.
SKEETER: Hi.
43. BUZZ: Hi.
GIGI: Hello.
BENJAMIN ISAAC: These three characters were initially
created for an
educational children's cartoon that features live child actors
mixed with 3D
animation. As the characters began to develop, however, I had
an epiphany. I
wondered what would happen if I gave all three characters
special needs. And
what if these special needs were depicted as merely mental
and physical
conditions and not definitive characteristics of who these
characters were. As a
result, Skeeter was developed as a character with autism.
Buzz, the rapping fly,
was further developed as a character with attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder,
or ADHD. And Gigi was modeled after my own daughter, who
has cerebral palsy.
To add authenticity to each character, I decided to have each
character voiced
by a child that had that same condition. As a result, Skeeter,
the DJ, was voiced
by Ian and Connor, two children with autism. Buzz was
voiced by my son Truth,
and Gigi was voiced by my daughter, Kennedy.
The purpose of the show was not to elicit sympathy from the
masses, but to
show children with special needs in a very normal light. As a
result, the special
needs will more than likely only be mentioned in the opening
46. Scholar of Change – Jackie Kundert
Program Transcript
JACKIE KUNDERT: My name is Jackie Kundert. I'm a
mother and a nurse from
Monroe, Wisconsin, which is part of Green county. Monroe's
population is
roughly 10,000 people. And it's the largest city in Green
county.
During the past five to seven years the issues of drug overdose
have become
popular throughout the nation. What once was a big city
problem is now felt in
small cities across the nation. This issue touches me greatly
as I have a son who
got caught up in the cycle. My son ended up on prescription
pain medication,
which he became very addicted to. And from there it was a
short leap for him to
start heroin.
What really spurred me on to try and make a difference was
looking at a
Wisconsin State Council of Alcohol and Drug Abuse map that
showed the heroin
rates in Wisconsin, but particularly, for me, in Green county.
When I saw those
rates it spurred something in me that made me know that I had
to somehow try
and make a positive impact on this community.
FEMALE SPEAKER: My son came to us when he was one
year old. He started
out with dope, but then he went to cocaine. So then the next
step for most people