January 7/97
What is Qualitative Research?
- naturalistic in approach
- interpretive
- on-going critique of positivism
A Century of Evolution of Qualitative
Methods
- Early (pre WWII) - "lone ethnographer"
- Modernist phase (40s to 70s) - formalization of methods
- Post modernist (70s to today) - class, gender, race,
ethnicity shape process of inquiry
Common Questions and Concerns about Qualitative Research
- Can qualitative and quantitative methods be combined?
- Is qualitative research really "scientific?"
- Are results generalizable?
- What about researcher bias?
- What about observer effects?
Jan 14/97
Web Search Tools
Search Language (Syntax)
- to search for "cats" and
"dogs" choose "and" from menu or use: +cats +dogs
- to search for "apple" not
"computers" enter: apple -computers
- to search for phrase enclose in quotes
e.g. "qualitative research methods"
- use upper case only when searching
for proper noun
Some Search Strategies
- to find a specific site or general
topic use Yahoo e.g. where's home page of Harvard University
- to find an author or a set of keywords
use Altavista
- if results are not on first few pages,
try another tool
Beginning Your Study-Choosing a Topic
- Does it interest you?
- Is site accessible?
- Is it manageable?
- Is is amenable to qual. methods?
- Will it make a contribution?
Choosing a Research Strategy
- Case study recommended-one person, one site, one set
of documents, one life history, etc.
- Multicase or comparative case also feasible
- More advanced multisite -analytic induction or constant
comparative (not recommended)
Role of Literature Review
- Observations prior to review
or
- Review of general concepts, themes, and principles
in advance (done most often in grad. programme)
Jan 21
ERIC Searching
- ERIC database is most comprehensive for education
(850,000+ entries)
- ERIC search page links (Webinator is recommended)
- ERIC Digests contain full text
- To obtain article go to library (for
microfiche or journal) or order from EDRS
- Articles can also be ordered from
Carl Uncover
Proposal Elements
- Cover page
- Statement of Problem
- Review of Literature
- Method/Design
-participants/setting
-data gathering techniques
-data analysis
-timetable
- Reference list and Bibliography
- Append: Informed Consent and Human Participants Form
Jan 28
Library Searching
In the Field--Ethical Considerations
1. Traditional (utilitarian) standards:
- informed consent
- avoidance of harm
- confidentiality
2. Concepts extended by Flinders (1992)
- deontological (codes of behaviour)
- relational (respect for relationships)
- ecological (interdependence)
In the Field--Early Days
- making experience less painful (B&B, p. 87)
- participant...observer continuum
Feb 11
Mail Lists (Listservs)
- analogous to memo/letter distribution
lists
- to identify a list search Liszt
- send command info to find out
more
- subscribe to list by sending command
to administrative address of list e.g., subscribe wwwedu John Doe
- make sure to keep subscription information
that is returned!
- send postings to list
address
In the Field--Interviewing
- structured---unstructured continuum
- group vs. individual interview
- tape recording and transcribing
In the Field--Field Notes
- consist of two parts: descriptive and reflective
- see example p. 109 of text
Feb 18
Hints for Proposal/Report Writing
- use APA style--note in-text ref'ns and serial comma
- don't use evaluative subtitles e.g. Mainstreaming:The
best way of teaching...
- don't be afraid of using 1st person, but if you do,
be consistent
- in interviews always ask for examples and illustrations
Coding Categories
- def'n of situation
- perspectives held by ss
- ss way of thinking about people/objects
- process (change over time)
- activity (regular occurring)
- event
- strategy (tactics to accomplish things
- relationship/social structure
- methods (research procedures)
- preassigned
Feb 25
Data Analysis
- basic dilemma: how do you sort the data by code without
losing their context
- give consideration to indexing scheme and organization
of files in advance
- method 1: Folders and cutting
- use one folder for each code
- index all codes
- cut out code references and sort
- method 2: File card system
- use one card for each code
- enter on card the page (and line) references to code
- annotate each code
- method 3: Coding index
- analagous to a table of contents
- page reference and annotation for each code
- sort afterwards with your word processor
- in your write-up include your code definition table
and describe the method of analysis used
March 4
Writing up the Report
- Types of focus: thesis (argumentative), theme (abstraction),
topic (description)
- Report structure: introduction, core, conclusion
- Quotations: interspersed; generalized statement/example
APA Style and Usage
- non-sexist guidelines (see MEd memo Appendix A and
APA)
- active/passive voice
- headings, spacing, quotations
- references in text
- reference list
March 18
What is Quantitative Research?
- involves populations, samples, and statistics
- independent and dependent variables
- control and treatment groups typically used
A Common Research Design
- Subjects randomly assigned to groups
- pretest - treatment - post test
pretest - no treatment - post test
Statistics
- null hypothesis
- sampling
- confidence level
- t-test, analysis of variance