Trial interview on milk

These notes are derived from a trial interview on milk (MonMilk) with NarangaravKhangaisaikhan. Our discussion took the following form:

1. Presentation of the interview format and research objectives (informed consent);
2. Sorting through a sample list of 15 products to select those that Naran or people in her household used (or had used in the past);
3. Identifying relevant production/obtaining and use activities related to each of the products actively used;
4. Discussing the details of resource use activities (actors, times, quantities, values, processes);
5. Noting activities that we might video-record.

Given that we began with "milk", which is a fairly low-level product that is used in a variety of contexts, we were able to discuss a fair amount within the hour that we had set aside for the interview. This process was interesting to both of us as it allowed us to reflect on the differences between market and non-market (kin-mediated) types of exchange, including how milk as a commodity creates ties between city and countryside; and the ways that Naran has assimilated the high Mongolian symbolic value attached to milk, and "performs" this cultural value through various activities such as sprinkling milk in the direction of distant relatives for whom she wishes good fortune, while at the same time recognizing that her own taste for milk is mediated by her age and identity.

I took notes throughout the interview on a set of process diagram charts that I had printed out in advance. I found that these diagrams were helpful in providing a visual guide for the questions and notes. We did not record the interview since I felt that it would be easiest to write out notes on substantive elements of the discussion the next day, and to ask for clarifications or elaborations on specific points as necessary, rather than to transcribe and annotate the verbatim discussion. It seems to me that this allowed the interview to be informal and involve a certain amount of redundancy as I asked for repetitions or clarifications in order to aid the notes; a direct transcription, by contrast, might be more helpful in the case of a single, relatively formal interview with someone I do not know as well or that I have less time to spend with.

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