SectionC

This section will be devoted to your engagement in thinking about method, design, and engagement as a researcher. As you progress through the class, all of the elements of a qualitative research design may be part of your journey. Qualitative research development is “recursive”… thus, you will find yourself spiraling back through your initial thoughts, judgments, and potential revisions of thinking. 3:00 PM I am not sure where to begin with my method design. I know I want to research the teacher evaluation process but am still not set on how to begin and approach the subject. Research on this topic is hard to find and surprisingly limited. 1:00 PM Today I had a meeting with Dr. Deleuca and Dr. Varnado regarding my timeline for my dissertation and ideas. Dr. Varnado will be joining my committee replacing Dr. Ernst as my Co-Chair. I am looking for a graduation deadline of December 2012. They suggested that I begin my lit review of Teacher Evaluation using video to find existing research and look for “holes to fill”. The method is still uncertain but the study needs to focus on Technology Education (a hands-on project, creativity lesson, problem-solving). It is suggested that I do my written exams in February and my Orals/dissertation proposal in March. 2:00 PM I am flying to Austin Texas for TK20 software training and am reading through the chosen dissertation for my critique. As I think about the type of study I want to undertake I am still confused as to whether a quantitative or qualitative study will best suit my needs and my research questions. In dealing with the methodology needed to study technology teachers and the use of video as an evaluation tool is difficult for me to pinpoint. This class and the readings are definitely helping me bring my ideas into focus but it also reveals that I have a long way to go. 7:00 PM I understand that Qualitative research seeks out the ‘why’, not the ‘how’ of a topic. This is accomplished through the analysis of sometimes seemingly unstructured information, like interview transcripts, open ended survey responses, emails, notes, feedback forms, photos and videos. It does not simply rely on statistics or numbers like quantitative research. Qualitative research is used to gain insight into people's attitudes, behaviors, value systems, concerns, motivations, aspirations, culture or lifestyles. It can be used to inform business decisions, policy formation, communication and research. Focus groups, in-depth interviews, content analysis, ethnography, and evaluation are among the many formal approaches that are used, but qualitative research also involves the analysis of any unstructured material, including customer feedback forms, reports or media clips. Collecting and analyzing this unstructured information can tedious and time consuming. Finding themes and extracting meaning can be a daunting task. 10:00AM Qualitative research, by design, allows for the interpreted construction of social reality and the exploration and description of individual lived experience. I feel that our course is designed to give students a foundation in qualitative theory and the philosophical assumptions that are the basis for the method. As I am familiar with quantitative research designs, it is important to juxtapose quantitative and qualitative methodologies in my mind without confusing the two approaches. My quest is to understand both research orientations many similarities in common with one another. I still need to be aware of when I shift gears to //think// qualitatively. 8:00PM This week we explored how the field of phenomenology has changed education with its philosophical focus on individual experience and in-depth description. We also discussed grounded theory and the pedagogy demands that the idea of bottom-up theory development as a valuable conjectural approach. This viewpoint is in stark contrast to most methodologies that initiate quantitative inquiry from the top-down. There are definite advantages to using smaller scale observations and interviews to create significant and valid theories of learning and development. 3:00 PM I believe that the basis of my doctoral research training was quantitative in nature. I am well versed in t- and f-statistics, confidence intervals, variable loadings, and effect sizes. When I began think of how to develop my own research studies, I was conflicted in the adoption of my methodological approach. On the one hand, I was taught the importance of generalization and replication which, to this day, I believe are valuable research goals. However, the population that I study, along with the issues they face, better matched a qualitative paradigm. I wanted to incorporate a method to study teachers in a way that highlights the complexity and unique experiences they encounter in the profession. Although at my doctoral institution the push was strong to adopt a primarily quantitative methodological approach to research, the pull to qualitative research, with its emphasis on individual meaning and participant voice, may be too strong for me to ignore. 3:00 PM Currently, I teach courses in technology education and instructional technology at Campbell University to undergraduate students. The course is designed into two major sections. The first part of the course centers on theoretical underpinnings of education looking at educational theory and I introduce what it is and “why” we do it from a technical standpoint. The second part of the course allows students to explore technology first hand by creating Prezis, PowerPoints, Wikis, educational videos and using video as an evaluation tool - observation and interviewing. Because this is my first qualitative research courses, the information is confusing to me at first, not from a level of understanding but from application as it pertains to my future research. My goal is to leave this course being a consumer understander of Qualitative research and possibly a producer of qualitative research. 1:00 PM This afternoon while eating lunch with my faculty colleagues at Campbell University the conversation of Qualitative Research was broached. One of my colleagues mentioned that I was taking a qualitative research class and wanted to know how I was enjoying the class. I began to speak briefly about the class and that I enjoyed learning the qualitative process and why the need exists for the qualitative measures, stating that quantitative research may not be able to measure everything. One of the older faculty members quickly interrupted me and stated that Qualitative research is "fairly-tale-land" and has no reason for existing other that providing jobs for people who can't do quantitative research. The gentleman who spoke up teaches the graduate level research classes at Campbell and so I ask him if he teaches about Qualitative research. He said yes, of course because it is in the research book. Now my wife had taken this person's research class a few years ago and so I knew that he discusses qualitative research but he also requires every student to do a mock research project and insists that it must be quantitative. I remember this as my wife wanted to do a qualitative study and was not allowed to do so. After lunch I spoke with some of my other colleagues who by the way did not speak up during the conversation, and they mentioned to me that it is not work arguing with this particular staff member as he is very "old-school" in his research methods and refuses to see the benefits of other forms of research. I learned a good lesson - know when to keep quite about certain subjects at lunch. 3:00 PM I was looking through my notes from class and reviewing the PowerPoint slides and thought about how it probably easier to understand what qualitative research is by explaining what it is not. It is not a survey, no statistics are generated, and it involves impressions rather than numbers. Qualitative research, which encompasses in-depth interviewing and focus group discussions, deals with subjective assessment of attitudes, opinions, and behavior. I believe, despite what my colleague feels, the greatest strength of qualitative research is to add understanding and insight into peoples' behavior and attitudes. Words like "measure," "percent," or "how many?" have no place in a focus group report, nor in the statement of objectives that direct the study. I've been thinking especially about the focus group discussion because I have been part of many focus groups regarding technical procedures and implementation at IBM. A focus group discussion is a form of group interviewing in which a small group led by a moderator (interviewer) in a loosely structured discussion of various topics of interest. The course of the discussion is usually planned in advance and most moderators rely on an outline, or moderators guide, to ensure that all topics of interest are covered. It is not uncommon for two discussion groups, groups that are identical in demographic and life stage characteristics, to have different thoughts on the same subject. What is said in one group or qualitative interview might never be repeated in a second group. This reflects the exploratory nature of qualitative investigations and the diverse nature of populations. One observation is clearly not a reliable reflection of the real world. I believe the role of the moderator is to focus the discussion on pertinent issues and not let the conversation stray too far off the track. Moderators must be careful listeners and guide the discussion without participating directly in it while refraining from making comments or suggestions that will bias the conversations. Focus group sessions should be considered as a means to explore unknown territory. They are excellent as tools for explaining consumer attitudes and for clarifying and providing a better understanding of the subject matter. Focus group discussions are often used for: The benefits of focus group discussions. 1:30 PM Thoughts on Conducting Interviews Overall, the interview exercise we are completing in our study has indicated that there are may be many issues that need to be kept in mind when conducting interviews. These include - Pre-interview preparation - mid interview skills - and post-interview reflections. In order to prepare for the interview, our group discussed the overall research objective/aim of the study in order to situate the study in the relevant context. We decided that the study would be on the views of teachers on what makes up quality teaching. Next, we felt that we had to develop an interview protocol with open-ended interview questions. his provided some structure for the semi-structured interviews so that they were all to some extent similar and comparable as the same questions were asked to each interviewee. Developing suitable interview questions took some time as we decomposed our overall aim into parts to generate specific interview questions. I have noticed that when writing questions certain terms or words can be used that are more appropriate for qualitative studies. For example, some words commonly used in interview questions for qualitative research include: perceptions, experiences, describe, factors, influences, affect, attitudes, etc. It is important to bear in mind that the order of questions as well as the questions themselves may lead to possible response bias, and therefore, it is the responsibility of the researchers to minimise this bias. When constructing our interview questions we tried to keep them as neutral as possible so as to reduce potential interviewer bias. One issue that has come to mind is whether we should provide consenting interviewees a list of the interview questions before an interview. In this way, they have some way of preparing for the interview and can already come up with some data or responses to give. Because sometimes when you are asked a question on the spur of the moment you might not come up with all the answers on the spot. However, if you have some time to think over the interview questions, you my come up with richer answers during the interview. Moreover, you may also provide some company documents that help answer some questions. We will need to next look at how we will code and compare our data.
 * Section C: Method, design, and engagement ** –
 * Sunday, 28 August 2011 **
 * Monday, 12 September 2011 **
 * Wednesday, 14 September 2011 **
 * Friday, 23 September 2011 **
 * Sunday, 25 September 2011 **
 * Tuesday, 27 September 2011 **
 * Friday, 14 October 2011 **
 * Saturday, 22 October 2011 **
 * Wednesday, 26 October 2011 **
 * Saturday, 29 October 2011 **
 * Understanding the marketplace and obtaining an insight into how people think and behave
 * Generating ideas for new products
 * Developing marketing or advertising themes
 * Screening or evaluating new product concepts
 * A disaster check, using prototype products if appropriate, before the introduction of a new product, or before the change of an existing one.
 * Focus groups discussions should not be used as a substitute for quantitative research.
 * Relatively quick
 * Relatively inexpensive
 * Excellent for obtaining background information
 * Flexible investigative approach; client can participate in the discussions if appropriate
 * Easy to accommodate contingencies by changing scenarios in mid-stream if necessary
 * Ability for clients to hear "real" consumers talking.
 * Sunday, 30 October 2011 **