‘Ihe purpose of this study is to find the factors that affect the proxemics behaviors between Vietnamese dyads, mainly: age, gender, marital status, power distance, living area, and char
Data-collection instruments, 21 1 SurYEY qu©SfioRIẠFES co „„31 1.1 PartieipaHfE cá ccnnenininoerrreore 22 1.2 Procedure
Informal interviews
Face-to-face semi-structured interviews are the preferred method for this study due to their flexible and informal nature However, online interviews via Skype will be conducted to accommodate geographical distances between the interviewer and participants This online approach offers advantages such as the ability to take notes discreetly and record responses without causing discomfort to interviewees Each interview typically lasts between 20 to 30 minutes, and with participants' consent, sessions are recorded to enhance accuracy and facilitate a thorough analysis of qualitative data To ensure confidentiality, the identities of the interviewees will remain anonymous The following sections will outline the materials and methods used for data collection from these interviews.
I planned to conduct several informal interviews with the help of five Vietnamese informants Specifically, I will utilize convenient sampling methods involving colleagues, friends, and students to ensure that information and feedback are effectively exchanged and managed.
The purpose of the pre-interview knowledge provision is to enhance the validity and reliability of the semi-structured interviews, as noted by Saunders (2007) This approach allows interviewees to better understand the aims and goals of the interview During the interview process, a turn-taking dynamic is established, where the interviewer poses questions and the interviewees provide responses.
Particularly, information interviews will be conducted im order lo gel information about the conversational distances
All the informants involved will be asked to answer the question: “At which distance would you feel most comfortable when communicating with the others?”
Also, the questions about the factors affecting conversational distances will also be asked during the interview process
To ensure interviewees feel relaxed and open to discussing their experiences, a relatively informal technique was employed A convenience sampling method was selected due to the accessibility of the researcher’s colleagues and acquaintances Interviews served as a follow-up to questionnaires, enabling the researcher to gather in-depth insights into participants' perceptions and challenges that might have been overlooked in the questionnaires The interview questions were constructed based on Hall’s framework, utilizing “open and fairly loosely structured interviews” (Watson, 1976, p 60) that allowed for guiding questions while remaining flexible to explore new topics that emerged during the discussions (Hatch, 2002, p 94).
Besides, in order to facilitate the process of interviews and to make the respondents not misunderstand questions, interviews were conducted in
The interviews were primarily conducted via Skype due to the long distance between the researcher and some participants The responses gathered from these participants will contribute to addressing research question 2.
The interviews aimed to explore the rules governing proxemic behavior in Vietnam and their application in daily life Participants were recorded, allowing them to respond freely to the questions provided in Appendix 4.
Question 1 and 2 (Appendix 4) were allempts to get the participants 10 supply their own definitions of conversational distance and their views on the factors which have influence on interpersonal distance Question 3 tried to collect information about the participants’ first-hand experience on their favourite conversational distance which ocows when they interact with people coming from different countries Question 4 exploited interviewees on the underlying reasons of culture conflicts, meanwhile the next question tests whether communicators can aware of conversational rules in Vietnam The 4 olher questions gathered spoakers’ opinions about some specific case in wlitch they have to decide how and why they choose their own suitable conversational distance such as their reaction when being approached Loo closcly, the distance between they and [heir closet people or their experience personal distance in a foreign country
The researcher, then, analyzed the qualitative data gathered from interviews
Afler the interviews were banscribed, rechecked, and the responses were categorized from the aspects of project work explored in the questionnaires
The questionnaires and video recordings data were managed, coded and then analyzed through the IBM statistical analysis program, SPSS software, version (64
SPSS is a versatile software that enables the comparison of data across various groups, ensuring accurate statistical procedures In this study, data from dyads were input into SPSS, with factors such as Age, Gender, Marital Status, Social Status, Living Area, and Personality of the communicators treated as independent variables, while Conversational Distances were considered as dependent variables.
After entering all the data, I applied various formulas to extract the necessary information Initially, I calculated the means for each communication case to assess the conversational distance for each group This analysis aimed to identify which hypothesis most accurately predicts the preferred interpersonal distance and the factors that significantly influence this distance in different communication scenarios Consequently, I planned to utilize an Independent-Samples t-Test to evaluate the impact of variables such as Gender, Living Area, and Social Status on interpersonal distance.
Marital Status and Personality are independent of each other or not.
The one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed to assess statistically significant differences among the means of groups with more than three variables, such as age This analysis aims to determine if the preferred interpersonal distance varies significantly across the three age groups.
Qualitative analysis was performed through one-on-one interviews with the researcher's colleagues, serving as the primary data collection method This process involved asking questions, actively listening, and recording individual responses The subsequent steps included data interpretation, transcription, verification, and synthesis Specifically, I analyzed participants' responses to determine if their experiences aligned with their choices regarding interpersonal distance in the survey questionnaires, aiming to identify common patterns between their selected answers and real-life situations.
The data collection process involved audio recording, which was accurately transcribed before data analysis began The participants' perspectives were interpreted and reported for others to learn from The data was managed, analyzed, and presented in an appropriate order The interpretation of the data relied on the theoretical frameworks chosen by the researcher, as these theories guided the focus on the participants' viewpoints.
This paper assumes that interviews were audio-recorded, making transcription essential for converting spoken words into written text for analysis To ensure accuracy, the transcripts were reviewed by the interviewees to prevent misunderstandings, allowing for corrections in spelling and other details.
36 other errors, or some details must be anonymized so that the participant cannot be identified in any cases
Video recordings serve as a valuable resource for analyzing the relationships between behaviors that occur in close temporal proximity To ensure the reliability of the behavioral data collected through video recording, I employed specific techniques and strategies This approach allowed me to effectively capture naturally occurring proximate behaviors of the participants.
CHAPTER III: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS
This chapter analyzes data from questionnaires, video recordings, and interviews to address the research questions and test the hypotheses It is crucial for reporting the findings related to the conversational distance among Vietnamese communicators and the influencing factors The results will be compared with existing literature to draw conclusions, ultimately providing a solid foundation for the final chapter's discussions.
3.1 Research question 1: What are the factors that affect the conversational distance between Vietnamese dyads?
Age - - - cose BB 3.1.2 Gender: - - - eos BT 3.1.3, Marital staitus, ceeieiireeeroe 239 3.1.4 Secial 8(ats cecoeeeieniieesoo 2 Al 3.1.5 LÍVẽng Área ccecieeeieniirerroe _- 3.1.6 Persanalily 44 3.2 Research question 2: What is the proxemic distance preferred by 48 'Vietmamese spcakers đurìng conumunication pToeess?
The study categorized participants into three age groups: under 20, 20 to 40, and over 40 This division aimed to assess potential statistical differences among the groups A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed to evaluate whether significant differences exist between the means of these independent age groups Prior to performing the one-way ANOVA, it was essential to test the assumptions regarding the data.
The analysis of 32 distinct age groups reveals significant differences among them, as assessed through SPSS The table below presents descriptive statistics regarding the interpersonal distances selected by three groups during communication with various types of informants.
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Devialon Error fe Fen a lexenge lander 30 nas 19101 3o | se l#emzctoảdo ¡ se HE d8H| 34OS 28ESy| z60| 403
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Table 1 ANOVA descriptions of data on conversational distance measured for three age-groups
The table presents essential descriptive statistics, including the mean, standard deviation, and 95% confidence intervals for the dependent variable across three groups of communicators The sample size indicates that all expected participants were included, with 11 speakers under the age of 20, 23 participants aged 20 to 40, and 16 individuals over 40 years old The minimum number of subjects was 11, representing those under 20 Notably, the data reflects an equal distribution of participants across each age group (Ellis and Yuan, 2004).
Test of Homogeneity of Variances
Table 2, Test af Homogeneity of Variances of Age-Factor
The table above shows the result of the test of Homogeneily of variances
The null hypotheses proposed that there is equality in the preferred interpersonal distance among three age groups when communicating with strangers, acquaintances, and close relationships The Levene Statistic for interpersonal distances indicated significance values of 0.041 and 0.005 for communication with strangers and acquaintances, respectively, both of which are below the 0.05 threshold In contrast, the significance value for close-relationship communication was 0.685, exceeding 0.05, which justifies a comparison among the three age groups in this category Two assumptions will be further examined.
The study reveals that the preferred interpersonal distance between strangers and acquaintances varies significantly across different age groups, as indicated by SPSS results showing a significance value of less than 0.05 This allows for the rejection of the null hypothesis, confirming that the variances are not equal Consequently, it can be concluded that individuals of various ages exhibit differing preferences for interpersonal distance in conversations with both strangers and acquaintances.
The second assumption is the interpersonal distance when three different age groups of communicators have conversations wilh their close people such as their
The analysis indicates that a significance value greater than 0.05 allows us to assume that the groups have equal variances, thereby meeting the assumption of homogeneity Consequently, the author utilizes the ANOVA results for further evaluation.
ANOVA Sum of Squares Stranger Between Groups 2.326
Table 3 ANOVA results of slativiical analyyes of different retatonsiips
The ANOVA analysis results indicate that there is no significant difference in the means between the groups The null hypothesis regarding conversational distance across different age groups in both acquaintances and close relationships is accepted, as the significance values for both cases exceed 0.05 This suggests that interpersonal distance remains consistent among communicators of varying ages when interacting with acquaintances and close individuals.
The p-value for stranger 1 is 0.015, which is below the significance threshold of 0.05, indicating a statistically significant difference in the mean conversational distance among communicators as strangers across different age groups The higher mean scores for the stranger case suggest that these communicators prefer a greater distance during conversations compared to the other scenarios This highlights that the main effect of each age group is statistically distinct, emphasizing the differences in preferred interpersonal distance when communicating with strangers A post-hoc analysis using the Test of
Homogeneity of Variances was performed A look at the test as scen in the table below in order to know where exactly the difference must be.
Dependent | () Age (Age | Mean Sid Sig 95% Confidenes
Variable Difference Error Interval ay Lower
Bound Stranger under 20 from20 |-47036" 18410 036-9159 to 40 above 40 |-56818* 19670 016 from20to undr20 |.47036* 18410 036
Aoquainanee undr20 ủom20 |.00000 I1264 1000 -2726 to 40 above 40 | 18750 12035 274 -1038 from20to under20 |.00000 11264 1000 -2726
Close person umder20 ủom20 |-28459 19400 3lố -7541 to 40 above 40 |-04545 20727 ,974 -5471 from20to under 20 | 28458 19400 3l6 -1849
40 above 40 | 23913 17227 355 - 1778 above 40 under 20 04545, 20727 974-4562 ủom20 |-23913 17227 355-6561 ta Ad
* The mean difference is significant ai the 0.05 level
Tuble 4 The Post hoc tests result of tite three different age groups
The Post hoe tests show the results betweon the age groups and the group of strangers of communication There exist highly significant results, which are 0.036
There is a statistically significant difference in the preferred distance during conversations with strangers among different age groups, specifically between those under 20 and those aged 20 to 40, as well as between the under-20 group and individuals over 40.
The significance value of 0.822 indicates that both the 20 to 40 age group and individuals over 40 years old exhibit similar preferences for interpersonal distance.
There is no significant difference among the three age groups when communicating with acquaintances and close relationships, as indicated by the ANOVA test results In other words, the communication patterns of these age groups do not statistically vary.
Robust Tests of Equality of Means”
[CT Statistic Tat Tore Sig, |
Close Person _Welch 1.448 2|_ 25703 254 a Asymptotically F distributed b Robust tests of equality of means cannot be performed for Acquaintance because at least one group has 0 variance
Table $ The Robust Tests of Equality of Meany of Different Retationships
The Robust Tests indicated that individuals of varying ages have different preferred personal distances when conversing with strangers However, no significant differences in preferred distance were observed among the three age groups when interacting with acquaintances and close friends.
I plan to utilize the Independent-Samples t-Test to analyze gender differences in preferred conversational distance This statistical method will help determine if there are significant variations in conversational distance based on the gender of the communicators.
Tuble 6 Group Statistics of data on conversational distance measured for Genter
The table presents descriptive statistics on preferred interpersonal distances, highlighting gender as a significant factor Communicators were categorized into three relationship groups: strangers, acquaintances, and close individuals In total, 27 males engaged in conversations with 23 females across these relationship categories.
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13619 quel varances x 7 - ra Lan nokassuned Aoimmlanee Pa: vararveer 7 7 THRE — SEN 5m7
Equa varances 1551 = Fae Em que varences + xi -.- 2m53 not assimed
Tuble 7 Independent Sumples Test of data on conversational distance measured by mate and female communicators
