1. Dr. Anne Adams
Research Methods

2. Choosing a Research Method
Purpose of Research
Appropriate Evidence
Appropriate Research Method
SUPPORT: YOUR NOT ALONE

3. Purpose of Research Improve your practice Improve others’ practice
Change systems and procedures
Change over-arching mind-sets / approaches and beliefs

4. OVERVIEW Research Reflection Action Research – Stages in Research
Approaches to research - and how stages relate to this.
Levels in research

5. NO RIGHT OR WRONG
BUT
GOOD QUALITY RESEARCH
MOST EFFECTIVE ROUTE FOR YOU

6. RESEARCH REFLECTION [REFLEXIVITY]

7. Reflexivity (1)
“Reflexivity requires an awareness of the researcher's contribution to the construction of meanings throughout the research process, and an acknowledgment of the impossibility of remaining 'outside of' one's subject matter while conducting research. Reflexivity then, urges us "to explore the ways in which a researcher's involvement with a particular study influences, acts upon and informs such research." (Nightingale and Cromby, 1999, p. 228).

8. Reflexivity (2) ‘Personal reflexivity’ ‘Epistemological reflexivity’
YOUR IMPACT ON RESEARCH: Own values, experiences, interests, beliefs, wider aims in life and social identities have shaped the research.
RESEARCH IMPACT ON YOU: How the research may have affected and possibly changed us, as people and as researchers.
‘Epistemological reflexivity’
Research question limiting what can be 'found?'
Study design & analysis impacted on findings?
How could this be done differently

9. Reflexive Account
BACKGROUND: Market Research / Psychology / Computer Science / Sociology
RESEARCH QUESTION: identify market, Increase knowledge base, design cycle, Understanding in context.

10. RESEARCH STAGES and APPROACHES

11. Action Research
PLAN
REFLECT
ACT
OBSERVE
What is my question?

12. Action Research What is my question?
Specific Issue / Problem (e.g How does tutor contact time affect TMA scores)
What is my question?
Specific PROBLEM with a technical solution (e.g. computer Visualisations increasing problem understanding)
Broad Issue (e.g. WHY do some people benefit from learning in collaboration more than than others?)

13. VARIATIONS IN RESEARCH
TRADITIONAL
TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENT
ETHNOGRAPHIC / EXPLORATORY

14. Initial PROBLEM / ISSUE
Students always / call me wanting immediate responses when its not possible (e.g Away at a conference, at a funeral, asleep). Then they are frustrated / upset by the delay in response.

15. Traditional T&L example….
MAYBE (hypothesis) – if they could see my diary they’d time their contacts so that I could respond right away and we’d both be happy?

16. Traditional T&L example
Will open diary access improve interactions
PLAN: Who, when, where diary access / measurement of improvement
ACT: Implement diary access
REFLECT: Did it make a difference
OBSERVE: Collect data & analyse findings

17. Reductionistic
Reduce – Break-down & define variables (concepts / things) to measure e.g. What is improvement?
Measure – How to measure, When, With what tools & analysis.
Sampling - (e.g. types of students, times of year), Biases (e.g. tutor teaching style).

18. Traditional Research Question Methods….
Objective measures: Logs (e.g. first class logs) with critical incidents, experiments.
Subjective measures: interviews, focus groups, Surveys.

19. WHAT OTHER APPROACH COULD THERE BE TO THIS PROBLEM?

20. Technical Development
Developing a agent based application as a first stop for students that evaluates questions by key words as a) initial FAQ type problems gives the appropriate reply b) less urgent NON-FAQ gives student a time-frame for response c) Urgent Questions: sends these to a separate urgent account & texts the lecturer of these s.

21. Technical Development example?
What is my question?
Plan (sys req, dev cycle) Who
REFLECT
Develop & evaluate
Collect data / analyse

22. Technical Development
Development – feed in from students & / or tutors
Objective Evaluation of system – for usability / accuracy / speed of responses and students perceptions of the system – user trials, experiments
Subjective Evaluation of the system - post-hoc interviews, focus groups, surveys.

23. WHAT OTHER APPROACH COULD THERE BE TO THIS PROBLEM?

24. The big picture: Gathering all the data from OTHERS PERSPECTIVE ?

25. Action Research & Exploratory Research
PLAN
REFLECT
ACT
OBSERVE
What is my question?

26. Action Research (2) Plan Reflect Act Observe Initial Question
Further Question

27. FOCUS / contextual (1)? student & tutor communication
Face to face at residential schools
Formative assessments & feedback
Letters via the post
Telephone conversations
communication between student & tutor
First Class tutor moderating
student & tutor communication

28. FOCUS / Point of Inquiry ?
Who (different student types)
At the end of a specific course
What courses
When – e.g. throughout, after TMAs
Type of first class, personal F
student & tutor communication

29. FOCUS / Point of Inquiry ?
How do communications with tutor change over time?
Who contacted & Why (tutor, students, others)?
Expected response times & why?
What are the barriers to student / tutor communications?
How do these interactions differ from other forms ?
What good about student / tutor communications?
student & tutor communication

30. Exploratory Research Uncover very new convincing findings
Provides context of where to go forward
Through sampling can highlight specific & generic issues.

31. OVERVIEW (A) Traditional (B) Technical Development (C) Exploratory /
Plan / act / observe (analyse data) / reflect
(B) Technical Development
Plan / develop application / Implement development / observe (analyse data) / reflect
(C) Exploratory /
Ethnographic
Plan / observe (analyse data) / reflect …… possible ACT (make a change) / observation
PLAN
REFLECT
ACT
OBSERVE
What is my question?

32. Good Quality Research ISSUES OF BIAS Not Divide but to compliment
Exploratory (discovery) – reductionistic (justification)
Henwood / Pidgeon – good quality research
7 golden rules of good quality research

33. Levels in research Initial QUESTION? ACT and /or OBSERVE
PLAN: Background research & planning
ACT and /or OBSERVE
REFLECT: Implications / Discussion
Initial QUESTION?

34. Action Research & Levels
PLANNING courses, teaching activities
REFLECT on Changes to current practices
CONDUCTING EVERYDAY ACTIONS (E.G. Teaching)
PLAN: Background research & planning
ACT and /or OBSERVE
REFLECT: Implications / Discussion
Initial QUESTION?

35. You’re NOT alone PhD Supervisor team CREET Research Support
Library, IET, User-labs
Ethics / SRPP / Data Protection Research / Consent

36. CONCLUSIONS

37. Overview of Research Issues
Reflexivity in Research & Listening to others reflexivity
Action Research & Level of abstraction
Selecting a method – the quant / qual divide
Good quality research & Bias