Today Wrap up data collection Open-ended questionnaires Practice interviewing Data analysis methods How to write a chapter 3 Group time to work on project development

Recap: Types of interview structures? Focus groups v. individuals? Specifics about interviewing?

What if…. Your sample is too large to interview OR Your sample isn’t conveniently located to interview OR You want to collect data anonymously OR….

Open-ended Questionnaire Use open-ended questions to gather information Need to be specific as to need, but not specific as to response Like interview questions, but can’t follow up on the questions instantly Ask for demographic information you might need

Problem: Interested in provisions made for gifted pupils in elementary schools 1)a. Do you have a systematic program for identifying gifted children in your school? b. If yes, what means do you use to identify them? 2) What percentage of your school population is gifted? 3) What provisions were made for gifted pupils in your school during the past year?

Possibilities Besides answers to questions themselves, If there is an increase in percentage of students, will there be more ways to ID Are the number of provisions related to percentage identified

Hints Clarity – be sure wording is unambiguous Keep items short One main idea per question Don’t use jargon Be non-threatening (e.g. don’t send questionnaire about school morale to principal to distribute)

How will surveys be returned? Color of questionnaire Reward Pilot

Concerns Too many questions – no response Too few questions – insufficient data Anonymous – can’t follow up Not anonymous – less responses or dishonest responses

More hints Ask for name and contact info if they are willing to be followed up if needed If pre/post and anonymous, have respondents list the last 4 digits of their telephone number to ID

Qual/Quant Sometimes qualitative measures are used to help in quantitative survey development Use responses to open-ended questions in developing closed choices.

Example from previous survey Please check off all ways that are used in your school to identify gifted children: _____intelligence testing _____achievement battery _____aptitude battery _____teacher ratings _____other (please specify)

Please check off all provisions that are made to accommodate gifted pupils in your school during the past year: _____acceleration _____ungraded program _____ability grouping _____enrichment _____special classes _____other (please specify)

Practice Interviewing Do we need demographic information? Pair up and interview each other. Switch with another pair and reverse roles so everyone gets to interview and everyone gets to be interviewed. WRITE down the responses. We will be using these data.

Data Analysis Methods Two main types of data analysis: – Coding categories – Constant comparative

Coding Categories Like we did with the questionnaire data about the value of college math and school experiences Try to find patterns in the data and organize data into categories or themes Use these themes to make sense of the data sets

Constant Comparative Method of data collection and analysis that is on-going simultaneously Develop hypotheses based on observations As you continue to observe, you look for data to support or reformulate hypotheses Continue until you are satisfied with your hypotheses

Writing a Chapter 3 Start with reminding reader of the problem statement. Description of the project setting/context Sample – who are they, how they were selected and why (sample of convenience, purposive sample)

What is your role in the study – – what are your responsibilities – relation to the sample – how you got access – do you have preconceptions or a particular reason for conducting the study that might influence your analysis

How will you collect the data (describe in detail so anyone could replicate what you are doing) How will your data be analyzed -coding category technique OR constant/comparative method as described in Morrell and Carroll (2010)

Closure This week we talked about/practiced: Validity/Reliability/Generalizability/Triangulation Ways to Collect Data – Observations – Field Notes – Documents – Sociogram – Interviews – Open-ended questionnaires Writing a chapter 3