The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Hello and invitation to participate in research

KeilidhC's picture
KeilidhC

Hello and invitation to participate in research

Hello everyone!

I am a postgraduate student in the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology at Stellenbosch University, South Africa. I am currently conducting research in completion of my Honours thesis, titled ‘Sourdough and sociality’, which aims to explore the relationships that factor into the making of sourdough bread. I will be reading forum discussions and blog posts on The Fresh Loaf, and I may collect some of the information included in these posts for research purposes and include this information in my thesis. I may also contact individual members to invite them to participate in online interviews. All usernames will be anonymised, and I will not ask for any personally-identifiable information. I am also a new sourdough baker, and I have made a few moderately-successful loaves (and a few flops!), so I am keen to participate on the forum and learn more about making sourdough bread!

Please feel free to get in touch with me via email (keilidh.clapperton.1@gmail.com) or private message if you would like to know more about my research, how your data will be used, how the security and confidentiality of your information will be maintained and, most importantly, if you are unhappy for your posts to be used in my research. Participation is entirely voluntary, and I will not collect information from the blog or forum posts of anyone who indicates to me that they do not want their information to be included in my research. Even if you agree to participate in my research at this stage, you are free to withdraw at any time. 

Happy baking!

Keilidh 

barryvabeach's picture
barryvabeach

Sounds interesting.  Any time line for when you will be done, and will your paper be available online? 

KeilidhC's picture
KeilidhC

Thanks for your reply! My research should be done by early September, but I will post an announcement on the forum to let everyone know when it is done. I would be more than happy to share drafts of my thesis and would welcome feedback and comments - just pop me an email or private message and I will send it to you! My final thesis will be completed in mid-December, and I will make it available online for anyone who would like to read it. 

KeilidhC's picture
KeilidhC

Hello everyone! 

My research for my thesis is finished - woohoo! Thank you to everyone who has chatted with me and been so willing to engage in interviews and respond to my (many) questions with such enthusiasm and generosity. And thank you to everyone who has made TFL the wonderful place that it is - you're all awesome! Hubert, my starter, and I are also immensely grateful for the incredible information and baking guidance that I found here. My breads went from bricks to pretty decent in such a short space of time, and my sourdough journey is just beginning...so, although my research is over, I'll probably carry on hanging around on the forum because there is still so much that I want to learn! 

Happy baking!

Keilidh

Missmoneypenny's picture
Missmoneypenny

Hi Keilidh I’ve been making sourdough for some time with lots of ups and downs literally and figuratively. I’m happy to participate in your research.  incidentally I have a Masters in Anthropology, it was only a matter of time before anthropologists started investigating the sourdough scene. Lots of potential for research papers with titles  involving the words Culture 😀

KeilidhC's picture
KeilidhC

Hi! It's so good to meet another anthropologist here! And I have to agree that the culture puns are irresistible ;) Sadly, I finished my research for this project towards the end of 2020 but I would be more than happy to share my thesis with you if you would be interested in it! (Just pop me an email at keilidh.clapperton.1@gmail.com

Missmoneypenny's picture
Missmoneypenny

Hi Keilidh I’ve been making sourdough for some time with lots of ups and downs literally and figuratively. I’m happy to participate in your research.  incidentally I have a Masters in Anthropology, it was only a matter of time before anthropologists started investigating the sourdough scene. Lots of potential for research papers with titles  involving the words Culture 😀