Transcript Research Essentials - Pacific University

Educational Action
Research
Todd Twyman
Summer 2011
Week 2
Qualitative Research
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Goal: to understand deeply
 Intense
and/or prolonged contact with
life situation
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Approach: Interpret as you go; keep
questions open so you don’t miss new
insights that lead to discovery, be open
to emerging themes as you go.
Qualitative Data
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In-depth view of the phenomena.
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Must be situated in context.
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Multiple data sources are important.
How will you gather your
data?
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Observation
Interview / focus groups
Extant data sources / document analysis
Survey with open-ended questions
Field Observation
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Take clear notes.
Include both observations of what you see
AND reactions / reflections as you go.
Conduct “member checks” to be sure your
interpretation makes sense.
Try to remain outside the situation; write
down what you observe NOT what you
interpret!
Observation vs Interpretation
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Observation: Captures what you see,
avoiding interpreting.
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I see a woman with grey hair walking slowly
across the quad.
Interpretation: Imbues what you see with
additional meaning/judgments.
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I see an old, tired woman limping across the
quad.
Field Observation
Time
Observations
Reflections
What I saw
What I think
about this…
3 Sources of Data Dependent
on Appropriate Questions
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Interviews
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Focus Groups
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Open-Ended Survey Questions
Writing Good Questions
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Avoid questions that begin with the word
“why”.
Avoid questions that can be answered with
a “yes” or “no” response.
Avoid ‘tipping your hand’ through the
wording of your questions -- try to remain
neutral in how you ask them. (both
semantically and through tone).
Interviews
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Be prepared (recording device / paper with
pencils; list of questions; on time).
Concentrate on helping the person you are
interviewing feel at ease.
Ask open-ended questions that allow the
person to provide you with rich insight.
Ask follow-up questions to probe more deeply
into topics as they arise.
Interviews
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Include information to establish context
(setting, atmosphere, emotions -- if any).
Check to be sure you captured their
meaning (member checking).
Consider what is not said as well as what
is said, and how it is said.
Have your interview protocol ready in
advance.
Example Interview (Todd)
1. Describe the ESL population at your school.
 How many?
 At what grade levels?
 New Comer/Developing/Transitional?
 Language backgrounds?
 Cultural/SES backgrounds?
3. Can you tell me about the goals for the ESL Program?
 Timeframe for transitioning?
 NC/D/T?
 L1 use?
 Family interaction?
Focus Groups
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Make sure you have introduced
participants.
Have a facilitator AND a note-taker.
Solicit opinions from all participants.
Ensure all participants are treated
respectfully.
Consider your groupings carefully.
Focus Groups
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Like interviews, have your focus group
protocols ready to go ahead of time.
Provide participants with an abbreviated
list of questions; retain the full protocol to
guide you in case you get nervous or
distracted.
Send ‘Thank You’ cards (more personal
than email) to all participants.
Extant Data Sources /
Document Analysis
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Read with an open mind.
Look for recurring themes as well as those
that occur rarely.
Be creative in searching out appropriate
documentation.
Student work.
 School newsletters.
 Minutes from School Board meetings.
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Survey (open-ended
questions)
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Ask questions that will prompt sufficiently
detailed responses.
Focus on what is said, how it is said, and
what is not said.
Consider following up especially intriguing
responses with an interview.
How will you make sure your
data are reliable?
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What sort of training will observers/
scorers/ raters receive?
How will you determine if your observers/
scorers/ raters are performing reliably?
How will you check for how your own
biases / life experiences might affect your
results?
If you’re going to be
interviewing
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Have you:
 Practiced
with your recording
devices?
 Thought
out the types of follow-up
questions you might want to ask?
 Had
someone check to be sure you
are not ‘leading’ the people you are
interviewing?
Validity in Qualitative Studies
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Use multiple sources of data
(triangulation)
Have analyses / interpretations checked
by participants (member checking)
Have more than one person conduct
analyses; check for common
interpretations between those engaged in
analysis
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Use ‘double blind’ techniques for all analyses
Practicing Field Observations
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Observation: Go someplace with people
where you can do a 10 minute
observation. Try to be an ‘impartial
observer’.
Take field notes (you’ll be sharing these).
Pay particular attention to the flow of
human traffic. Who is there? How are they
interacting? Try to capture the experience
with rich description.
Practice Interviewing
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Focus on drawing out your partner’s thoughts /
feelings on what he/she observed outside.
Remember to:
 Use open-ended questions.
 Use your best active listening techniques to
encourage your partner to explore his/her
thoughts deeply.
 Go beyond the surface, using follow-up
questions to get at your partner’s underlying
beliefs of which he/she may not even be
aware. Can you identify certain perspectives?
Practice Interviewing
Step 1
 Write
your Interview Protocol
Step 2
 Interview
Step 3
 Debrief
Debrief Interviewing
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Describe how it felt to be interviewed.
Were there things the person interviewing
you did / could have done to make the
interaction more positive?
Short discussion of interviewing
experience.
Writing Open-Ended Survey
Questions
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Working with a partner, brainstorm some
possible open-ended survey questions you
could use to gather information about your
topic.
Meet in groups of 4, discuss and critique
each others’ questions.
What ‘rules of the road’ should folks keep
in mind as they write such questions?