Dear Shaun,

As you say, a three and a half hour interview would be tiring to say
the least!

You are using 7 elements and, normally, that would be a minimum. You
don't say if each participant has defined their own set of elements
but, if not, seven may not be enough as some participants may not be
sufficiently familiar with all of the elements.

You say you are afraid that you will not be using an exhaustive
combination of elements. I wonder if that really matters as your
objective is to articulate how one goes about creating art or music.
Perhaps it is the articulation that matters rather than being
exhaustive in the use of elements.

One of the most important steps in the application of grid is to do
pilot sessions to check that the process is fulfilling its purpose.
Then the process can be modified to both make project completion
possible while still achieving the purpose.

You ask for some links that may help. There are a number of hints on
the application of grid listed at
<http://www.enquirewithin.co.nz/hintsfor.htm> and the one on piloting
at <http://www.enquirewithin.co.nz/HINTS/pilot.htm> may be of
particular relevance. That will almost inevitably lead you back to
reconsideration of your purpose. The web page entitled A Purpose for
the Repertory Grid Interview at
<http://www.enquirewithin.co.nz/interview_purpose.htm> may help here.

I hope that helps

John

--- In RepGrid@yahoogroups.com, "shauunhimseelf" <shauunhimseelf@...>
wrote:
>
> Hello All,
>
> I'm a post-graduate researcher, looking at using the Rep Grids as a
> tool for mapping how people perceive their creative process.
> Articulating something as personal as how one goes about creating
art
> or music or design is often uncomfortable, and the Rep Grid
framework
> has proven to be useful in getting people to open up, and delve a
> little deeper into how they consider their work.
>
> I'm having some issues with my method. I'm using triadic construct
> elicitation, for a list of 7 participant defined elements. This
leads
> to 35 separate triads. This is problematic, as, thus far, people
have
> spent around 5 minutes with each construct, trying to find the exact
> poles which define what they are trying to say. This pushes the time
> spent on each test up to around 3 and half hours of intensive mental
> work, with the result that the participant begins to tire towards
the
> end.
>
> I was wondering if there was any way I could cut down the amount of
> time taken with the participants. I'm wary about only using certain
> triads for fear that I will not be using an exhaustive combination
of
> elements, but I'm also loathe to cut down the number of elements,
for
> fear of not getting the 'full picture'.
>
> Ideally, I'd like the participants to keep their explanations of
their
> constructs in, as it is providing rich information for transcribing
at
> a later date.
>
> Does anyone have, or can link to a solution to this? This is my
first
> time using repertory grids, so any help is extremely welcome.
>
> Regards,
>
> Shaun McWhinnie
>