DAY SURVEY INSTRUCTIONS
The aim of the day's survey is to discover what happened to each Observer on that particular day. What is required is primarily a factual statement; then an account of any feelings he/she had which seem sufficiently important or noteworthy for record.
1) State your geographic location, age, sex, married or single, politics or religion, if any, very briefly.
2) State your job or occupation during the day. (State whether it was a normal day for you, or if abnormal, in what way.)
3) State your health on the day in question.
4) Describe the weather; also striking dreams, if any.
5) Describe any local events-- sport, crime, political, or other meetings, etc.-- what films were showing; and send relevant cuttings from local press, stating what paper they come from, what page they appeared on, and whether they were prominently displayed.
6) Describe briefly and factually the events of your day, giving times; report any conversations, if any, with different types of people. Especially focus on any visual observations of text, or of people alone, together or in crowds, and note machines, devices, or spaces interior or exterior. However ordinary the events may seem to you, they are of interest in this inquiry.
7) Keep your feelings out of 3-6. Then describe your feelings during the day, if possible, in a final selection.
The following suggestions may of assistance:
*If any speeches are given as direct speech (i.e. in inverted commas), it should be stated if shorthand was used. If not, how long after the conversation took place it was reported. (N.B. direct speech is very often incorrectly remembered in detail, although the gist may be accurate.)
*In conversations, give status of speaker.
*If you mention the status of a speaker, e.g. 'business man,' or 'two young matrons, upper middle class,' say how you judged it: e.g. by clothes, by accent, by knowledge of the individual or how.
*Try to write down notes as frequently as possible. Do not interrupt anything to do so.
*When stories are given, state authority of story, e.g. gossip, newspaper, from interested parties, etc.
*In all cases it should be stated when the observations were written down, and when finally written up.
*Day Surveys will be (anonymously) compiled into a .pdf document for all participants in the survey. Your identity and email address will be kept confidential. Please email your day surveys to jenbervin@xxxxxxx by May 15.
