F.A.Q.
Searching
Registration
User Accounts
Using the Data
Methodology of the Study
Searching
How can I perform advanced searches on the interviews?

Click on the advanced search link in the Search page.

How do I save a search?

Once you have performed the search you want to save, at the top of the page you should see the word "Save" followed by a drop down box. Saving a search to your profile keeps the search saved in your profile, where you can load it again at any time. An RTF or PDF save will automatically generate a file (in RTF or PDF format) representing the results of the search that you can save to your computer.

How do I get detailed search results?

When this project first started, every interview was split into pieces and themes were assigned to each piece. Many pieces had more than one theme, and some pieces overlapped. When you see a bunch of search results, you are seeing these pieces. To see the full interview it came from and some information about the person who gave the interview, click on the "Full Interview" link that appears in the right hand column for table-format searches, or above the interview data on paragraph-format searches.

How can I find key words or phrases within my search results?

It may be easier to download your search results or full interviews into a Word or PDF file. This makes it much easier to search the content of your inquiry results for a particular key word or phrase you may be looking for using the "find" function.

Why do some of my results have highlighted words in the interview content?

These words are defined in the dictionary, a list of words and acronyms that appear frequently in our database that may be confusing to some readers. You can move your mouse over any of these words to see a definition of the word. To see a list of all the dictionary entries, visit the dictionary page, which is linked from the top menu.

Why do some of my advanced searches get so few results?

Unfortunately we do not have complete information for every interview participant. Limiting your search with some of the advanced features automatically excludes anybody who didn't answer that part of the interview, so you may end up with fewer results on some of the advanced searches than expected.

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Registration
Why register?

Upon registering, you agree to the release statements regarding use of the data. This is important because it addresses issues of using the data with integrity and notifying us of work that is done with it. Not only does this help protect the stories of our narrators, but helps us to thrive as an organization that empowers people experiencing homelessness. We want as many people as possible to use this data. By sharing the work you have done with us, it may give others ideas on how they can utilize this information in their own communities to foster change.

Why do we want your personal information?

Your contact information will be kept confidential. We will not give or sell your information to anyone. You have an option of being added to our mailing list. If you choose to include your full address, Sisters Of The Road will keep you updated on the work we are doing, including research-oriented news, in the form of e-newsletters and mailings. There are several ways that your information is helpful to us. We would like to know your zip code at least so we have an idea of the geographical scope our research is reaching. Plus, knowing your affiliation and organization information helps us in obtaining statistics about who is using our research. This helps us to know if the outreach we are doing is successful as well as people or places we should focus more on reaching. The statistics we obtain also helps us a great deal when reporting to existing grant boards as well as applying for new grants.

What are the benefits of registering?

As a registrant you are given complete access to the research database. There are many ways you are able to submit queries of the database. You can search by key words, terms, phrases, demographic information and our coded categories and themes. When you log into our site you are able to save your searches/queries. This is a great benefit as you are able to keep track of searches that you have completed, as well as retrieve those past searches, even from previous log-ins.
With registration you have the ability to export searches/queries into Word format, you can also print directly from the web browser.

If you choose not to register your access will be limited to viewing and submitting white/working papers (documents created by people who have utilized the database and have given us permission to e-publish them) and use of data dictionary; (a list of terms and acronyms that may be unknown to users).

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User Accounts
How do I create an account?

Complete the following steps to create an account:
1. Click the Register link at the top of the page.
2. Complete the sign up form.
3. Click on the activation link from the email we sent you.
4. Log in!

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Using the Data
How do I cite the database?

Database Title:
Voices of Homelessness: A Qualitative Database from Sisters Of The Road

Date of origination: 5/6/2002

APA Format:

Sisters Of The Road (2002) Voices of Homelessness: a qualitative database from sisters of the road. Retrieved September 27, 2008, from http://www.sistersoftheroad.org/voices/.

In text: (Sisters Of The Road, 2002)

MLA Format:

" Voices of Homelessness: a qualitative database from sisters of the road." 2002. Sisters Of The Road. 14 September 2008
http://www.sistersoftheroad.org/voices/.

In text: (Sisters Of The Road)

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Methodology of the Study
What were the exclusionary criteria for the data?

Data were excluded if there were technical issues that prevented accurate transcription, (e.g.) the audio recordings of interviews were inaudible.

How did you address ethical concerns of publishing raw data?

Confidentiality of the narrators (participants) was maintained by scrubbing all personal identifiers from the data before it was published. If the narrators made reference to other people's identifying information, that too was also filtered out prior to publishing.

How can I get a copy of the research manual?

Go to this link on the Sisters' page!
http://app.e2ma.net/app/view:Join/signupId:55377

When were the interviews conducted?

The interviews were started in October of 2001 and continued through 2004.

Where were the interviews conducted?

The interviews were initially conducted in restaurants or cafes, which proved to be problematic in a variety of ways. A Project office was then set up and interviews were conducted there.

How were the narrators (participants) recruited?

Contacts were made at social service agencies, word was spread through the community, and fliers were distributed in the area. Later in the Project, word of mouth brought in a sufficient number of interested members of the homeless community to make active recruitment less necessary.

Was there informed consent?

Yes, the Project staff that made the initial contact would provide a brief explanation of the history and purpose of the project, outlining the benefits to the community and to the person. If interested in participating, the individual would be informed that the interview would be recorded and would be about two and one half hours in length. The individual was paid $7.50 for participating. If the person agreed to be interviewed, the staff member would schedule an appointment, including specifics regarding time and place and the importance of notifying the Project if the appointment could not be kept. At the appointment, Narrators were read a confidentiality statement that explained how their interview data (including photo and recorded voice) may be utilized. They were informed that their names, pictures and voices would never be linked with their individual interview content. The Narrator was then asked to verbally agree to the conditions, which was recorded at the beginning of the interview audio recording. More detailed information on this is included in our research manual here (http://www.sistersoftheroad.org/elists/?p=subscribe&id=2) on page 77 .

Were the narrators (participants) paid?

Yes, the narrators (participants) were paid $7.50 in compensation for their time.

Who interviewed the narrators (participants)?

Trained “Field Researchers” with relevant experience were recruited to conduct the interviews. There were approximately 9 field researchers throughout the data collection period. There were changes in personnel due to budget constraints, but this did not compromise the quality of the data, as trainings were conducted for incoming field researchers. More detailed information on this is included in our research manual here (http://www.sistersoftheroad.org/elists/?p=subscribe&id=2)on page 18.

How long did the interviews last?

Each interview lasted between 2 and 2 ½ hours.

Who transcribed the data?

Paid staff, interns and volunteers were recruited to transcribe approximately half of the interviews, the other half were done by a contractor outside of Sisters. Each interview transcript was typically between 20 to 50 pages in length, which would take a non-professional at least 5 hours to complete. More detailed information on this is included in our research manual (http://www.sistersoftheroad.org/elists/?p=subscribe&id=2) on page 33.

Who coded the data?

The data was then hand-coded by highlighting sections of text and assigning codes to them, MySQL was used to do this. To code 600 interviews took approximately 2400 hours of work. Some of the themes and categories were set by six staff and interns who were a part of the research team. Additional categories and themes were set by the coders, who were paid members of our community with experience of homelessness. Coding was also done by students and workers from a program run by the American Associated of Retired Persons (AARP) program. More detailed information on this is included in our research manual (http://www.sistersoftheroad.org/elists/?p=subscribe&id=2)on page 35.

Was there an Institutional Review Board (IRB) process?

No, this was a community-driven grass roots project. Sisters’ Co-Founder Genny Nelson led the project and assured that the narrators (participants) were gave informed consent and maintained their autonomy throughout the research project.

Who was the Principle Investigator (PI) of the study?

There was no official PI for the study. As mentioned above it was a grassroots community-based project that did not need to use an IRB. Genny Nelson, Sisters Of The Road Co-Founder, and the Project Associate did a majority of the work around study design and implementation.

How was the study funded?

The project received $82,097 grant from the City of Portland’s Bureau of Housing and Community. Sisters Of The Road paid for the rest of it through general fundraising and by leveraging volunteer resources.

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