1. ATP Online Module July 2006 Conducting Qualitative Research
Johanna Dvorak, Ph.D
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Welcome to this module. As a college tutoring and learning center director, I decided to study the effects of college tutoring on student success. My work experience had already shown me many student success stories, but I found that there is very little research in this field to prove it.
With a background in English and journalism, I was interested in discovering in depth the stories of how tutoring worked to help students succeed. I asked, “What is the worth of a college tutoring program?”
I will intersperse examples from my research in this module to help convey ideas on how you can also conduct qualitative research on tutoring.

2. Agenda What is Qualitative Research?
What are some types of qualitative research?
How can you become a qualitative researcher?
What are the steps in conducting specific types of qualitative research?
This module is intended to be an overview of qualitative research for tutoring professionals.
I hope you will gain insights from my experience researching my college tutoring program.
The intent of this module is to start planning to research some aspect of your program.
Research can demonstrate the worth of our profession and build respect (and hopefully budgets!) for our programs. Most importantly, our students will benefit from our efforts.

3. What is Qualitative Research?
Human responses and perspectives about a program and its services
Based on a theoretical framework:
Interpretivist paradigm: the world is complex and changing
Knowledge is socially constructed
Inductive approach: questions may evolve and change over the course of inquiry
The “Interpretivist” paradigm of takes an intuitive approach where you are closely examining a setting and trying to make meaning of how people have constructed their world.
The “Knowledge is socially constructed” model reflects the complexity of a tutoring session situation in which social interaction is used to make meaning of a particular subject.
A tutoring setting is an excellent place for qualitative research because it may be hard to prove through statistics that tutoring is the factor which is making the difference for students. The “Inductive approach” entails asking questions which may evolve as you study the situation closely instead of starting with a hypothesis.

4. Similarities to Quantitative Research
Based on a theoretical framework
States a purpose
Poses a problem or raises a question
Defines a research population
Develops a time frame
Collects and analyzes data
Presents outcomes
Source: Glesne, C. & A. Peshkin. (1992). Becoming Qualitative researchers: An Introduction. Longman, White Plains, N.Y. p. 5-7.
In a tutoring setting, I asked, “Does tutoring make a difference in students’ success?” The research population consisted of the students and tutors who participated in our program in I studied them for one year, conducting interviews and focus groups, collecting and analyzing data, and writing my results in a qualitative study.
In a quantitative study, the same population could be studied during the same time period by collecting grades and data on persistence to the next semester, analyzing and presenting the outcomes.

5. Features of Qualitative Research
Assumptions (Theoretical Framework)
Variables are complex, interwoven and difficult to measure
Purpose
Interpretation within context/setting
Looking for perspectives
Approach
Naturalistic
Inductive
Search for patterns
Description
Qualitative research is an umbrella term for various modes of inquiry, for example:
Case study:
the study of a particular setting, for example: a learning center
Ethnography:
a long term immersion in the field with the researcher as a participant (used in anthropology where a researcher will go live in a site for a long period of time)

6. What are characteristics of a qualitative researcher?
Personal characteristics:
observant and a good listener
open, exploratory attitude
thoughtful, seeking to interpret meaning
organized: looks for big picture and details
dedicated and willing to work hard
persistent and patient
Your can become a qualitative researcher if you are observant and be willing to reflect, read, and learn qualitative research methodology. You need to be able to develop good questions and conduct interviews in order to gain better information.
You should be approachable so people will be willing to tell you their thoughts. A friendly approach will help you learn more.
You must be ready to write: keep notes, a journal, and pull together information into themes and write descriptions and narratives. Qualitative research mainly consists of writing notes, descriptions, narratives and conclusions.

7. What are the steps of conducting qualitative research? Step 1: Question
Start with a question: What do you want to research?
Assignment: 1. State a question/topic in your setting which you would like to study. Spend time narrowing your topic.
2. Why do you want to study this question? What is your purpose? Why do a qualitative study? What methods will you choose?
Begin thinking about this assignment as you work through this module. Perhaps qualitative research will provide you with the insight you need to study your research question. Or perhaps a quantitative approach will better suit your intent as discussed in other modules. If you have an research idea, then this module can be used to help you develop a qualitative inquiry.

8. Next Steps for Conducting Qualitative Research: Steps 2 & 3
2. Choose a type of qualitative inquiry
3. List your field site, population, and time frame.
Example: A case study of a college tutoring program. Location: an urban Midwestern four-year public university. Population: outstanding tutors and their tutees.Time frame: 4 semesters.
This module is using one type, “case study” as an appropriate example where you study one tutoring center.
For a detailed example of a college tutoring case study, see my dissertation:
Dvorak. J. (May, 2000).The College Tutoring Experience. In Dissertation Abstracts International.
Or for a condensed article:
Dvorak, J. “The College Tutoring Experience: A Qualitative Study” in The Learning Assistance Review, 6 (2), Fall 2001, pp
(A publication of NCLCA)

9. Step 4: Collect Data Types of Data Collection
Individual interviews
Focus groups
Surveys
Observation
Documentation
Most qualitative research studies will often include all of these types of data collection.
-Individual interviews can give you in depth information from one person’s perspective.
-Focus groups are small groups of individuals who are interviewed together. For example, a group of tutors can be asked the same questions together, and take turns answering from their perspective.
-Surveys are written questions distributed by , snail mail or even in person within the setting
-The researcher can be an observer the setting in various locations and times
-The researcher can gain access to documents in the setting such as reports, evaluations, etc.

10. Interviewing Techniques
Write an interview guide
Have participants complete an informed consent form
Ask open-ended questions
If you must ask yes/no questions, follow up with a explanation question
Probe with follow-up questions
Tape your interviews and take notes
-An interview guide is a list of questions you wish to ask participants. When writing a guide, brainstorm questions. Then put them in an order which makes sense. For example, don’t ask sensitive questions until late in the interview. You first want to build rapport with the interviewee. You don’t have to adhere to the guide; rather, use it as a frame of reference.
-Probing is used to help flush out what the interviewee is explaining. It is critical to gain as much information as you can, so ask the participant to explain further. Don’t just go to the next question.
-Tape the interview to make sure you have all the information correct. You can conduct a smoother interview and maintain better eye contact.

11. Forms Used to Conduct a Study
If you are drawing from student population to participate in the study, you are required to have permission from participants in an educational setting.
Check with the Institutional Review Board (IRB) on your campus for specifics. You may need permission from them to conduct your study.
See an example of a consent form in the notes section.
Consent Form
Name____________________________ ID # ________________
I agree to participate in the following study about our tutoring program for research and tutoring program evaluation reports. Filling out this consent form indicates that I am at least eighteen years of age, and I am giving my informed consent to be a subject in this study. I understand that my name will be kept confidential.
Signed______________________________ Date________________________________

12. Focus Groups Contact participants
Incentives are helpful (food, gift certificates…)
Have participants complete a consent form
Number the forms, so they can say their number when they answer a question for identification on the audio tape
You can use the same interview guide as you use for an individual interview
Invitation to Interview:
STUDENTS, We need your help! We are interested in talking to you about your tutoring experience. We need to arrange a time for you to meet with a staff person or a student program assistant for about 30 minutes. Fill out this sheet and return to the envelopes provided in the tutoring office. Thanks for helping us to build better services!
Your Name:______________________ Phone:_____________ ________________
Days/Times when you are available:
Week of December 15:__________________________________
Week of December 22:__________________________________
Other:________________________________________________
I prefer to meet: In a group Individually No preference
_____________________________________________________

13. Surveys
Develop questions based on interviews which can be given to a larger group of participants or to those who could not attend in-person interviews.
Ask for demographics and/or a student ID number
Using a Likert scale helps to give a degree of comparison on responses
Examples of a question for a tutor interview:
“What changes have you seen since you started tutoring? With your tutoring? With students?”
For a tutor survey:
“On a scale of 1-5 with 5 as the highest score, how much do you believe tutoring has helped your students?” Please explain.
Tying the information to a specific participant can help you describe your participant population. It can help you look for patterns within a subgroup of participants during your analysis. You could also add your qualitative findings to a quantitative analysis of grades and persistence of these individuals.

14. Observation and Documentation
Participant Observation
Example 1: Quietly sit at the back of a classroom and observe, taking notes of what transpires
Example 2: Spend time in a tutoring center just observing the activity and listening to sessions
Collect Documentation
Examples: annual reports, papers, evaluations, s, memos, websites, etc.
You should strategically pick different times for observations at different locations. This will help you to better understand, illuminate and interpret events in your settings.
Sometimes you can use an “informant,” an individual who comes forward to shed more light on a setting and help give you the “inside story.” They have access to information you may not be told. These are also gatekeepers who can help you to gain better access to a setting or other individuals.
Documents allow you to see a written record of what has transpired and to get an overall picture of the setting.

15. Step 5: Data Analysis
Transcribe tapes from your interviews into typed documents
Code data from transcripts and notes
First: break down, examine, compare, and categorize the data into subcategories
Second: relate subcategories together into larger categories (themes)
The purpose of coding is to see what themes emerge from the data. In my dissertation, I coded over 40 interviews of outstanding tutors and focus groups. The categories (themes) which emerged were
1. Qualities of a good tutor
2. The processes of tutoring
3. The benefits of tutoring to tutors
4. The benefits of tutoring to tutees
5. The worth of the tutoring experience
Dvorak. J. (2000). The College Tutoring Experience, p. 168.
Strauss, A. & Corbin, J. (1990)
Basics of Qualitative Research: Grounded Theory Procedures and Techniques.
Newberry Park, CA: Sage Publications, p. 61 & p. 115.

16. Step 6: Writing your Research
Coding should reveal a status of categories:
concepts repeatedly presented are significant
look at actions or incidents Arrange themes into a logical progression
Organize an introduction, body, and conclusion
Select the most significant quotes and metaphors for your write-up
When coding, reread your transcripts and notes. There are several ways to mark your notes. Some use brackets around significant phrases or sentences, then code them with an abbreviation for a topic. Some use color coding with markers for each topic. Some code transcripts on their computers highlighting text in different colors.
To put together categories, some will use note cards or cut up transcripts and stack them into piles with like codes. Or they can cut and paste same-coded passages into a new computer file. Purchased computer software coding systems can help, but can be complicated and expensive.
Once organized, read and analyze the information in each category to set up a logical flow in your writing. Include description, narrative, and quotations in each section.

17. Writing the Conclusion
The conclusion should summarize findings of the study
Include recommendations for future research
Use metaphors which have emerged from your study
Examples of a summary of findings from Dvorak. J The College Tutoring Experience, p. 169:
The best tutors displayed the following characteristics which engaged their students:
1. Caring about the students
2. Showing sensitivity
3. Building rapport
4. Demonstrating flexibility
5. Serving as role models
Examples of future recommended research (p. 179) :
-Impact of different tutor training formats
-Application of tutoring to teacher training
-Effect of tutoring on the tutors
-Cultural impact of tutoring

18. Include Metaphors in your Study
“From the program assistant directing student traffic like an air traffic controller to the tutor with his toolbox of techniques, to the student with ‘light bulbs going off in his head,’ metaphors abound for the tutoring experience. As Todd said, ‘It’s like a journey. You walk them down the path and show them what they need to look for during this process: where it starts, where it ends, and what the have to do along the way.’ ”
Dvorak, J. (2000). The College Tutoring Experience. P. 181.
Metaphors give vivid pictures of an experience, and help the reader relate to the setting.

19. Summary of Qualitative Research: Steps 1-6
1. Pose a problem or raise a question
2. Choose a type of qualitative inquiry
3. Select a field site, define a research population, and develop a a time frame
4 & 5. Collect and analyze data
6. Write up your outcomes

20. Discussion Board
Please go to the Discussion board and respond to the prompt you will find for this module.
Thank you.
Now it’s your turn. Based on what you have learned in this module, here is your assignment:
1. State a question/topic in your setting which you would like to study. Spend time narrowing your topic.
2. Why do you want to study this question? What is your purpose?
3. What methods will you choose? If you choose to do a qualitative study, why?
4. Select your site, your population and time frame
Congratulations! You are now ready to begin your study.