| Item Text | Actively tested |
|---|---|
a) I feel a strong sense of belonging to my culture of origin.Item Text:Recommendations:
Since the respondents do not perceive any difference between item a) and item c) in terms of content and item c) differentiates even better, we recommend deleting statement a) without replacement.
Implementation of Recommendations:
No
Findings:As mentioned above, most test persons (rather) agree with this item. Only four test persons chose the middle category "partly". The test persons were asked to explain why they agree or disagree with the item.
Two subjects (TP 01, 07) who "fully agree" with the statement and two subjects who "rather agree" (TP 10, 15) choose their answers "because I have no other culture of origin" (TP 01). For these test persons there is no possibility of comparison, because "I was born here" (TP 10). Test person 10 further explains, "I already like my culture". Similarly, test subject 05 argues, who also fully agrees. She says, "I live here in harmony" (TP 05). Test person 06 also "fully agrees" with statement a), but refers the answer to her French culture of origin. She explains that "the most important times [childhood, youth] I spent there. […]. The inner core belongs to the culture of origin". However, from the explanations of test persons 07 and 14, who "fully agree", and 15, who “rather agree” to the statement a), it can be seen that they feel the need to justify their agreement. Test person 15 emphasizes: "But I don't belong to Pegida! " Test person 14 reports that she was born in the post-war years and that "one has to leave out some periods where things did not go so [peacefully]”. Test person 07 finds "being German [...] very exhausting at the moment". Test person 12 justifies her answer "rather agree" with the fact that "Germany does not have a strongly formative culture". She feels that the German culture is "loose" and therefore not so strongly associ-ated. Similar to test person 12, test person 02 also justifies her answer. Her mother comes from Germany, her father from Italy. She rather agrees with the statement, "but not perfect, because you still have a different way of doing things when you have two parents [who have different origins]. And that's why I only agreed more because I grew up here in Germany and also grew up here with my mother. So I only partly noticed the other side”. On the other hand, test person 13 agrees more, but describes her family and social imprint as so strong that her culture remains "into old age" . The response category "rather agree" thus has two different functions here: Two test persons want to express that they do not fully agree with the German culture because of its perceived low imprinting power, for the other test person the answer category stands for the fact that one cannot completely get away from his family background. Of the four test persons (TP 03, 04, 08, 09) who agree with the statement "partly agree", three are migrants (TP 04, 08, 09). Test person 03 speaks of her previously reported lack of connection to her culture of origin: "Partly I feel connected to my culture of origin, because my parents are also from Germany. And partly I also feel strongly connected as a German and with my home country, partly not at all. Sometimes I call myself a world person because I am very curious. I could also live well in another country." The answers of the test persons with migration background are similar. On the one hand, they feel part of their culture of origin, on the other hand, they feel at home and connected (TP 08, 09). Test person 04 reports that she is aware of her Chinese roots, but that she has "not grown” into the traditions and the typical social interactions, because she has lived in China only for a short time in the context of an exchange program, "therefore I am not familiar with it in this depth" (TP 04). Test person 11, who also has a migration background, rather agrees with the statement: "I do not fully agree with the statement, because I grew up in a dual-cultural environment. With the western culture and my culture of origin, into which I was born. I definitely feel a part of it, but I feel just as much a part of Western culture in Germany". Question Topic:
Religion & culture/ Cultural identity
Construct:Culture of origin
|
Yes |
b) It is quite clear to me what belonging to my culture of origin means to me.Item Text:Recommendations:
The intention of the item is very unclear, which can be attributed to the vague formulation of the entire statement. If the item is to be used to inquire about the significance of the culture of origin, we recommend to reformulate statement b) as follows:
Belonging to the [German/ Polish/ Turkish/ Kurdish etc.] culture means a lot to me. [Die Zugehörigkeit zur [deutschen/ polnischen/ türkischen/ kurdischen etc.] Kultur bedeutet mir viel.] If, however, the item is intended to record whether the test persons are aware of the criteria that determine whether they belong to their parents' culture of origin, then we recommend the following formulation: I know what makes me a part of the [German/ Polish/ Turkish/ Kurdish etc.] culture. [Ich weiß, was mich zu einem Teil der [deutschen/ polnischen/ türkischen/ kurdischen etc.] Kultur macht.] Implementation of Recommendations:
Item revised
Findings:Also for item b) the majority of the test persons "rather" (n=6) or "fully" (n=5) agree. Only test person 03 "rather does not agree" and test person 10 chooses the answer "partly agree".
The test persons 08 and 15 do not select an answer here. For both it is not clear what this statement refers to: "I do not know what should be clear to me" (TP 08). When asked what belonging to their culture of origin means to them personally, subject 08 states that the Polish language is important to her and that she can speak it with her children. She further explains that although she comes from Poland, "I would certainly not say I am Polish. Because I'm not really Polish any more. I'm so in between, such a mixture." When asked whether she would describe herself as German, test person 08 also answers with "no, I would definitely not. I have an accent, I can't tell anyone that I am German. I don't want that either, I don't need that either" . Test person 15 also has a problem. For him it is not clear how the meaning should be expressed: "What does ‘means to me’ mean? Whether I am emotionally... I have problems. I have to think about what that means. Whether I'll put my hand on my heart and sing the anthem when Germany is in the final? Or whether I'll just sit still? It's a bit unclear to me which direction this is going in. Is it about patriotism or, conversely, about demarcation? I have the feeling, ‘What do they want from me?’” (TP 15). For subject 08, item b) poses a problem because of her migration background, subject 15, who is German, does not have a clear frame of reference and therefore refuses to answer. Test person 03 rather disagrees with the statement, but justifies her answer similarly to the test persons who did not give an answer. She says she cannot assess "what it means emotionally for me. That would be something I would have to think about for quite a long time" (TP 03). Test subject 10 responded to item b) with "partly", but argues similarly. He says, "Partly I know, but partly I don't know either. I would have to google how German culture is expressed. I have not yet thought about the word" (TP 10). The explanations of the test persons with a migration background are striking here, but in particular those of test person 04, who also stood out in item a). She agrees "completely with the statement", but reports very neutrally, "I know which criteria have to be fulfilled so that I belong 100% to this country" . She interprets the statement to mean that she is aware of certain points, such as traditions and language of her parents' Chinese culture of origin, which she would have to meet in order to belong to the country completely. Accordingly, she answers the statement not in relation to the personal significance of belonging, but in relation to existing factual knowledge about the parents' culture of origin. In stark contrast to the statement of test person 04, the statement of test person 06 is in complete agreement with the statement of test person 04. She justifies her answer with the statement "that I will never be like the Germans" (TP 06). She is very aware of her cultural roots and their significance for her. Test person 09 is also very aware of her cultural roots, agrees more with statement b), and explains that "it is quite clear to me what would have been different in my life if it had been different. I can imagine it pretty well. If I did not have the cultural background or if I had stayed there" . Test person 11 also agrees more with the statement, and attributes it to "the traditions and customs. That I stick to traditions [...] that you live a little bit according to them." The three remaining test persons, who fully agree with the statement, also give different reasons for their answers. Either with the fact that they feel comfortable and at home here (TP 05) or that they identify strongly with their culture of origin (TP 14). Test person 07 says that she fully agrees because she has spent her whole life in Germany and "therefore I can't think of anything else but agreeing with that" . Test person 01 "only" rather agrees because she is not 100% sure "what the culture of origin says, what is behind it - apart from religion and values" . Test person 02 rather agrees with the statement, because "this sounds a bit like the first statement to me" , as well as test person 13, who with increasing age returns to her cultural and family roots. Test person 12 answered "out of feeling" and did "not think that long". Regarding item b), it can be noted that the test persons cover a broad spectrum with their associations and that similar arguments are reflected in different response options. This is not surprising, since the item is formulated very vaguely and the intention is not clear. Question Topic:
Religion & culture/ Cultural identity
Construct:Culture of origin
|
Yes |
c) I feel closely connected to my culture of origin.Item Text:Recommendations:
I feel closely connected to the [German/ Polish/ Turkish/ Kurdish etc.] culture.
[Ich fühle mich der [deutschen/ polnischen/ türkischen/ kurdischen etc.] Kultur eng verbunden.] Implementation of Recommendations:
No
Findings:Five test persons (TP 05, 06, 07, 09, 14) state that they do not see a big difference between this statement and the previous statements. Test subject 07 hesitates when answering and asks: "What was the first question", whereupon the interviewer reads item a) again. The test person answers, "Isn't that the same? Then the same answer. I immediately had the feeling that it is about the same thing [statement a], but has a different choice of words". She adds that the intentions of both statements are conditional: "If I do not feel connected to something, I do not belong to it and vice versa".
The five other respondents put forward a similar line of argument when asked why they had chosen their respective answer category:
The reaction of test person 01 illustrates very well the intention of the different statements, which are perceived as similar: "Why do I feel I belong?". She therefore spontaneously takes up the formulation of statement a). Furthermore, she subsequently reports that she found it very difficult to distinguish between the statements, whereby she "rather" agrees with statement c), but "fully" agrees with statement a). Three test persons (TP 02, 11, 13) "rather" agree with statement c) and also answer it exactly like statement a). To justify her choice of answer, test person 02 states that part of her "is on the Italian side and that is why I answered ‘rather’” . The "only" agreeing rather expresses that she cannot fully agree with the attachment to the German culture of origin because of her father's Italian roots. Test person 11 argues that "through the parents and the family alone, one feels connected [with the Kurdish culture of origin]”. A total of five test persons (TP 03, 04, 08, 10, 12) provide different information for items a) and c). Test person 04 agrees "rather", "because my parents are Chinese, I have a tendency to be attracted to China". Test person 12 answers with "partly" and in the explanation it becomes clear that again the perceived lack of coining power of the German culture is the reason for the low agreement to the statements: "If you pray together - I have an uncle who lives in Dubai. And they pray together 5-6 times a day - the culture is more connected when you have something that everyone does together, like in Germany, where you are completely free, there are many different cultures and religions.” Test persons 03, 08 and 10 answer here with "rather disagree" and belong, like test persons 04 and 12 mentioned before, to those who gave a different answer to item c) than to item a). When asked why they answered in this way, different reasons follow. Test person 03 finds that "I cannot even say exactly what it means to me. So, accordingly, I do not feel closely connected." For subject 08, the aspects of her culture of origin are "no longer so important" and she "can now see this from a distance". Test person 10 cannot agree with statement c), because "if someone agrees completely, then I immediately think of the boys who are running with Pegida in Leipzig. This is the first thing that comes to my mind. They are very much connected to their culture of origin. They want to do everything to preserve their culture. I simply don't like this word ‘culture of origin’”. A similar association is also awakened by question 3 in test person 15 (answer: "partly"). He justifies the choice of his answer with the fact that "I did not know exactly, what do they want from me here? That is why I formulated a little cautiously, neither clearly "yes" nor clearly "no", in order to be simple in the middle". He was afraid that by agreeing to the statements he would be placed in the political right corner. The test persons whose answers to statements a) and c) were different were asked to describe what they thought was the difference between the two. Four test persons (TP 03, 04, 08, 10) define "belonging" in such a way that it is sufficient to be "born here, grown up here" (TP 10) to feel that they belong. "Connectedness" on the other hand is characterized by an emotional component: "Closely connected sounds very emotional to me. [...] And to belong strongly means that you belong. One can also belong to a group, i.e. I am German because I was born in Germany, and the culture of origin would be closely connected emotionally. And although I can be German and belong to it, I cannot feel connected to it at all" (TP 03). Test person 12, after a closer look at both statements, would revise his answer to statement a) and change it from "rather agree" to "partly": "I would now also rather state 'partly, partly' when I think about the strongly associated, if I think about it now. That was so out of feeling. There is not much difference between the statements". Test person 15 answers differently, "but the questions don't make any difference to me. Whether closely related or strongly related, it's all the same to me." To justify the different answer categories, he cites that "the second question came I slowed down even more." He felt - as described above - pushed into the political right corner. For half of the test persons the only difference between statements a) and c) is the wording of the items, their intentions are the same. For four test persons, the formulation of statement c) has an emotional coloration. This could also be the reason why some test persons disagree with this item, whereas none of the test persons disagrees with statement a) Question Topic:
Religion & culture/ Cultural identity
Construct:Culture of origin
|
Yes |
