Classroom-Based Research EVO 2016

Asli Lidice Gokturk Saglam &

Kenan Dikilitas

DATA COLLECTION TOOLS FOR RESEARCH

 

Data entails the kinds of information researchers obtain on the subjects of their research

WHAT COUNTS AS DATA?

Can the following be used as «data»?

Please type your response in the chat box

Learners’ scores from a test?Essays written by students?Anecdodal records?Teacher diaries?Jokes and laughter?

WHAT COUNTS AS DATA?

CAN PHOTOGRAPHS BE USED AS DATA?

HOW ABOUT PARTICIPANTS’ POSTS (TWITTER, FACEBOOK, GOOGLE+, BLOGS...ETC)?

What are data?Key questions to consider for data collection

Examples of data collection toolsFurther considerations for the researcher

Research Ethics

FLOW OF THE SESSION

1. Where will the data be collected? In a classroom? Online?2. When will it be collected?3. How often are the data to be collected?4. Who will collect the data?

KEY QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER FOR DATA COLLECTION

Selection or design of research

tools

The conditions

under which they will be adminstered

instrumentation

How much data should be collected?

EXAMPLES OF DATA COLECTION INSTRUMENTS

Photo credit: http://www.wikihow.com/Do-Qualitative-Research

 Likert scale questionnaires choosing a response on a continuum easy to use with large numbers of participants offer clear‚ numerical data which is easy to analyze

checklist questionnaires checking their actions they do

open-ended questionnaires writing answers to specific open-ended questions

QUESTIONNAIRES

Questionnaires should be complemented with data from other sources through different tools through triangulation to increase the integrity of the conclusions drawn

Numbers may not help you understand the whole picture of your research focus, so there is need for collecting data that will help you look into the issue from a qualitative perspective as well.

uses multiple sources of data to increase research credibility (Davis‚ 1995; Denzin & Lincoln‚ 1994)

  chooses data collection instruments from a variety of these four

categories

provides different aspects of the research focus

gives a more comprehensive picture of the issue under investigation

single or similar sets of data can lead research to misrepresentative conclusions

WHY TRIANGULATE DATA?

Check if they are really testing what you want‚ and then revise items in the questionnaire through trialing

Provide consistency in the questionnaire statements in terms of the coherence

All questions should be eliciting information in the same directions such positive, or negative. However, some questions can be asked negatively and reverse coded when analyzed

SELECTION OR CONSTRUCTION OF A QUESTIONNAIRE

a Likert-scaleI believe reading outside the classroom

1 2 3 4 5

improves my vocabulary knowledge

Develops my reading paceFosters my comprehension

Helps me learn about English texts

Checklist

DIFFERENT TYPES OF ITEMS ON A QUESTIONNAIRE

Open-endedBoth closed-ended and open-

ended

OPEN-ENDED& MIX-MATCH

How do you feel about reading outside the classroom?

Do you think it can develop your reading skills? In what ways?

Learning vocabulary in context is easy/challenging 1.2.3.4.5because _____________________________________

DEMOGRAPHIC DATA

Direct Observation every aspect of a specific

practice/activity students’ reactions in a particular

lesson teachers’ classroom management

etc.

Observing can be supported by informal talk with colleagues on

______________________________ informal talk with students on

______________________________ structured follow up interview on

______________________________

Indirect observation tape classes and then analyze

the transcripts having the lesson observed by

a co-researcher who has not been their teacher

______________________________

OBSERVATION

Activity:If you use observation as a data collection tool, please choose and complete the following:

LIMITATIONS OF OBSERVATION

• Very time consuming

• feeling obliged to teach in the way expected by the observer rather than teach the way they would normally do

• There are unobservable things such as how students or teachers feel about an issue

DOCUMENTATION

Documents and artifacts from teaching

lesson plansteaching materialsstudent work

REPORTS AND INTROSPECTION

Students’ report on what they dowhy they do itwhat they believewhat they are or were thinking

DOCUMENTATION, REPORTS AND INTROSPECTION

“insider” perspective on what is being done and why.  access to information generated over a long period  possibility to undertand personal perspectives

KEY CHARACTERISTICS OF REPORTS AND INTROSPECTION

Bear in mind:  the participants’ verbal reports highlight estimation of their thoughts, not what they exactly think

Investigating students’ insider perspectives on what they do and especially why they do the things they do

Individuals or focus groups

Focus on specific questions

DISADVANTAGES:takes a lot of time to

conduct‚ transcribe and analyze

limits the number of participants who can be interviewed

INTERVIEWS

Questions should be clear and unambiguous, concise and to the point & should not lead the interviewee to convey a particular thought

Please check the potential interview questions as to whether they are leading the interviewee or not?

1. How did the lesson improve your reding skills?

2. Did you like the activity?

3. How do you feel about the task you did?

4. What made the task difficult?

INTERVIEWS

Journals or diaries kept by students may yield a deep and quality data set on their personal perspectives toward the issue being researched

They provide researchers a detailed set of data, buthard to find such students to systematically write

Need for follow-up interviews to clarify unclear points

JOURNALS

an effective way of accessing students’ beliefs and learning practicesthese can be helpful for your instructional decisions; knowing about why

they learn in a particular way

 stories of experiences Can you share with me how you feel when you speak in the classroom?

general stories Can you tell us how you learnt grammar in secondary school?

specific aspects of teaching Can you share with me what you do to learn your vocabulary knowledge?

NARRATIVE AND BIOGRAPHIC METHODS

This type of data collection allows us to have a set of data about the actual process of doing something, what students or teachers do it in particular way and why.

Teachers or students need to talk about what they are doing at the t ime of the engagement. For example,

Videotape while you perform a task teach a lesson mark a paper consult with a student do homework write an essay do listening

Then watch the video with your students and ask what they think, why they behave in a particular way

STIMULATED RECALL

The risk of abusing students for taking their time and energy for something they do not want to contribute

They may not be gaining any benefits while contributing to your researchThe data they will provide may be lacking reliability on account of thisYour students should be part of the data collection as co-researchersTherefore, we need to develop an alternative way

AN ALTERNATIVE WAY FOR COLLECTING QUALITATIVE DATA

EP encourages classroom researchers to colelct data in such a way that they are co-working with the people from whom the data is collected.

Therefore, it encourages to generate Potentially Exploitable Pedagogic Activities (PEPAs) integrated into the normal pedagogic activities that a teacher normally do. aims to benefit students rather than only absuing them as a source of information students develop their language skills while they are providing you with data students become integral part of your research, which creates a classroom where

teachers and students work together to understand an issue

(See Alwright and Hanks, 2009)

EXPLORATORY PRACTICE (EP)

P O T E N T I A L LY E X P LO I TA B L E P E DA G O G I C AC T I V I T I E S ( P E PA S )

Verbal data Written data Data from Task Data from Activity & Exercise

Pair-work Diaries Games Tests

Group-work Self-evaluation Projects True & False exercises

Role-play Suggestion box Field trips Jigsaw reading

Consultancy Problem box Vlogs Sentence completion

Discussion Dialogue journal writing Blogging Gap-filling sentences

Interviews Learner-to-learner correspondence

Self-recording Reading texts about the puzzle

Storytelling Story completion Video-taping  

Brainstorming Writing critical incidents Drawing  

Self-evaluation   Peer feedback  

• Do data collection tools allow inference of valid conclusions?Validity

• Do they give consistent results?Reliability• How easy to use data collection tools? How

long?• Instructions clear? How easy to score? How to

interpret?Usability

Objectivity

FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS FOR A RESEARCHER

RESEARCH ETHICS