Before writing my Inquiry plan I needed time to think about what
tool/methods I would use. After reading reader 6 I needed to think about which
tools would best suit my Inquiry
First of all I needed to consider the strengths of each 4 tools as well as potential problems and there relevance in my inquiry.
Observations are a great insight into how classes are run, how teachers
conduct their classes differently and what effect this has on students.
Observing classes during my inquiry would allow me to analyse student’s
motivation throughout a class and what influences their motivation. I would be
able to gather kinesics data and it may give me insight into student behaviour
that I might not get using other tools/methods. But there are ethical problems
to consider. I would obviously need to gain informed consent from my
'Gatekeeper' and also the teacher whose lesson I was observing. However, I
would also need to gain the consent of the students participating in the class
and here lies the dilemma, for me to inform the students of my observation and
its reasons I would need to divulge the topic if my inquiry. This could
possibly affect the behaviour of the students during the class and the data I receive
would not be authentic. Pip Spalton is dealing with this issue, she
is concerned that once her students are aware of the topic of her inquiry they
will act in such a way as to affect the results. While I don't feel the
students would intentionally affect my results they may be more motivated to
perform while I was watching and recording their behaviour whether they knew my
topic of inquiry was motivation or not, for this reason I don't think that
observation in my inquiry would be a valuable tool.
The qualitative
research interview seeks to describe and the meanings of central themes in the
life world of the subjects. The main task in interviewing is to understand the
meaning of what the interviewees say.
(Kvale,1996)
Interviews are a more personal form of research, the interviewer works
directly with the respondent to get information, stories and feelings behind
experiences.
Interviews would be valuable in my inquiry but I would need to insure
that I choose a type that would be suitable to my inquiry. I would need quite a
considerable amount of time to conduct one to one interviews, although I feel
students may be more honest with their answers. A group interview would be less
demanding on my time and allow me contact with more students, however I feel
that a focus group would be most beneficial for my inquiry as it will encourage
interaction between students and help them to feel more comfortable which will
lead to more open and honest answers. I will be able to study my students over
a period of time and monitor and record and changes in their attitude. I will
need to be well prepared and be able to bring the conversation back to topic
should it divert. I will need to be aware of people’s personality dynamics and
ensure that all participants interact and have opportunity to voice their ideas
or opinions. The possible problems need to be considered, transcribing and
gathering data from focus groups can be difficult I will need to remind
participants to talk slowly and clearly and state their name before talking.
Students talking at once will also present a problem for clarity on a
recording, I will also make written notes during the focus group to back up my
recording. I will need time to correctly prepare the room before my focus
group. I have found some literature on focus groups that will help me to plan,
prepare, conduct and analyse the results.
How to organise and run a focus groups talks
about developing you focus group the work you will need to do in preparation,
during and (although not in great detail ) after. Topics include developing
your questions and selecting our participants. There is also a useful appendix
on using questions to control the flow of focus group discussions. I think
this might come in handy to help combat the problem of keeping students on
topic it discusses open questions, closed questions, probes and summary
questions amount others. Although it is not greatly detailed I find this might
be a good source for reference when planning my focus group.
Focus Groups as Qualitative Research planning and research
design for focus groups addresses the planning that must be
done prior to doing focus groups. The framework is based on Kirk and Miller's
(1986) general description of the four phases of qualitative research:
planning, observation, analysis, and reporting. It is a more detailed piece and
will be of benefit in the early stages of planning.
http://www.rowan.edu/colleges/chss/facultystaff/focusgrouptoolkit.pdf will
be of most use while planning and conducting my focus groups. the first section
of this document is entitled Research Basics it discusses ethical
considerations such as confidentiality, Voluntary Participation and respect for
rights before moving on to discuss building a rapport with participants a topic
that will be important if wish to receive open and honest answers to my
questions. Other topics covers include Listening skills, questions to ask and
time management. The next chapter Planning and Conducting Focus
Groups covers guiding principles, Steps in Planning Focus Groups, tips for
conducting a focus group, difficult situations (which includes examples of
common situations that can occur and what you can do in each of these
situations.) and Qualities of an Effective Focus Group Facilitator.
This final section entitled Instruments gives you check lists for what you will
need while conducting a focus group and an example of a note taking form and
participation consent form.
Surveys provide a high level of general capability in representing a
large population. Due to the number of people who answer surveys being larger
than other methods of research, the data gathered possess a more informed view
of the general consensus for that area of study It is therefore easier to find
statistically significant results than other data gathering methods. Surveys can be administered to the participants through a variety of
ways, via e-mail or fax, or can be
administered through the Internet. Nowadays, the online survey method has been
the most popular way of gathering data from target participants, however I feel
that this method will not be of use to me as most of the students are living
away from home some may not have access to a computer at their residence. Researcher
biases is eliminated from the information obtained as participants are given
standardized stimuli. However, questions can sometimes be misinterpreted if
they are not clear in content and it can sometimes produce a poor result from
lack of participation. I feel a survey will be useful to my inquiry as an initial
source for gathering information and general agreement within the area of
motivation, once analysed I will be able to use the data I have acquired to
shape my focus group questions and further focus the aims of my inquiry.
While planning my survey there are some things that require attention
· The language used should be clear and simple. Two short questions, each covering one point, are better than one longer question which covers two points at once.
· The order of questions should take into account the sensitivities of the person to whom they are addressed
· Whether to use closed or open ended questions.
And remember….
KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid. Break complex questions into digestible parts. Keep the survey to a sensible length - probably 20 minutes to complete it is a sensible limit of most people's tolerance.
businessballs.com.
I found taking a little time to think through each of the tools gave me insight into how they would fit into my inquiry and has allowed me to figure out which would be most beneficial.
Resources
businessballs.com. 2012. Employee Motivation: Principles of improving
employee motivation and empowerment. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.businessballs.com/employeemotivation.htm.
[Accessed 10 December 14].
Explorable Psychology Experiments. 2012. The Survey Guide. [ONLINE]
Available at: https://explorable.com/course/the-survey-guide. [Accessed 08
December 14].
Kvale, Steinar. Interviews An Introduction to Qualitative
Research Interviewing, Sage Publications, 1996
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