1st Artifact: Excerpts from my in-depth interview with Eda
This document consists of excerpts from the first preliminary in-depth interview that I made. The research participant is a Turkish woman living in Germany, who had her eggs frozen four years ago. The main topics...Read more
According to the academic literature on ART, there is not enough data on the use of ART worldwide, as there are no regulations in some countries to report data. This lack of data might cause ambiguity for potential patients, policymakers and other related parties.
The existing data, the CDC data for example, might be used to contest the "appeal" promoted by the fertility clinics. That is to say, the fertility clinics might "sell hope" and frame childbearing as "guaranteed", while it is not the case according to the CDC data on total fertility rates.
The interview data that I collect, on the other hand, focuses on what meanings are attributed to this technology and how this technology plays a role in one's imagined future. This kind of data would add another layer to the broader understanding of ART use by showing the expectations invested by the individual actors into the process.
Question: How does the scale of "datasets" interface with "micro", "meta", and "nano" scales?
"Micro"=> The dataset of CDC shows how the ART success rates decline with increasing age. This might lead individual patients to decide to undergo the treatment at a younger age. The total success rate might influence their trust in ART as well and they might decide not to undergo the treatment too.
"Meta"=> This dataset might influence the discourses around assisted reproductive technologies. For example, although the success rate for patients above 40 years old is low, the dataset shows that it is possible. This could shape the discourse about how infertile women above 40 are.
"Nano": As the dataset shows that ART makes live births possible and it is indeed commonly used, beliefs regarding the "unnaturalness" of ART might change. It might start to be regarded as another usual way of giving birth.
Based on the CDC data on assisted reproductive technologies in the U.S., the following data resources are significant:
#1 Definitions:
-What kind of institution does the CDC define as a fertility clinic?
#2 Classifications:
-On what basis is the classification for "the reasons to use ART" made?
#3 Datasets:
-Are the datasets on the website comprehensive? For example, for the dataset for "reasons to use ART", the category "Other" is quite high in percentage but it is not specified. If it was divided into subgroups, it could be more telling.