Irena Andrews (Programme Leader)

Andy Davies

Keith Turvey (Course Leader)

Richard Wallis

MA Education (Teaching Leaders)

KV712 Research Contexts

Professional Enquiry 2013/14

Constructing knowledge

Masters level research aims to produce warrantable knowledge

• It can inform theory, policy and practice

• We aim not only to find out, but also to convince others

• Frameworks guide and shape our inquiry

• Research does not take place in a vacuum

• A community of scholars who share similar conceptions of proper questions, methods, techniques and forms of explanations

Paradigm

• the word that describes the community of scholars and the conception of problem and method they share (Schulman, 1986;

Sparkes, 1998:11)

• Paradigms provide particular sets of lenses for seeing the world and making sense of it in different ways (Sparkes, 1992:12)

• Paradigms are basic belief systems that represent the most fundamental positions we are willing to take (Guba and Lincoln, 1998:24)

• A set of assumptions which a group of scientists or other theorists share, and which form a basis for their investigations (Kuhn, 1962, 1970 in Swann and Pratt, 2003:207)

3 elements of a paradigm (Guba and Lincoln, 1998, p.201 - 220)

• Ontology: What is the form and

nature of reality/truth?

• Epistemology: What is the nature of

the relationship between the knower

(you) and what can be known

(knowledge)?

• Methodology: How can the enquirer

find out what s/he believes can be

known?

Quantitative Research

• Views social world as hard and objective and similar to the natural world

• Assumes that clear cause and effect relationships can be established while scrutinising human behaviour

• Knowledge of the social world is discovered in the same way as scientists discover knowledge about the physical world

• Knowledge is gained only through our senses

• Facts are substantiated scientifically or by a large number of people

Qualitative Research

• Based on the premise that the social

world is different from the natural world

and what we see is not necessarily the

truth

• Cause and effect statements cannot

always be made to explain events

• Social reality is created by human

experience rather than discovered

• Aims to describe views, perceptions

and events scientifically to explain

phenomena

Mixed Research approaches

• Recognises multiple influences • Takes a pragmatic approach

• Collects different types of data

simultaneously or sequentially

to best understand research

problems

Influences on the research process

Adapted from Newby 2010 p 32

Philosophy Paradigms

Educational

theory

Research

process

Methodology Methods

Research

question

In groups discuss

What type of researcher am I and how can I

articulate this in the light of philosophy, values

and paradigms?

What type of researcher am I and how might

that affect my choice of methodology and

hence the sort of research I might do?

Why?

Common research models

in teacher research

What is:

• Action research?

• Case study?

• Evaluation?

What type of outcomes might you

expect in each case?

Action Research

Research and action together

• change to practices occurs

within the research project;

• the research process has

discrete cycles;

• literature reading is cyclical;• knowledge claimed from a

singularity, generalisability is

fuzzy

Case Study and Evaluation

•change to practices emerge

after the research project;

• research process is linear;

• literature reading provides

context for analysis;

•knowledge claimed from a

singularity, generalisability is

fuzzy

Survey

• change to practices emerge after the

research project;

• practices drawn from the quantitative

paradigm;

• research process is linear;

• literature reading is context for

analysis;

• knowledge claimed is generalisable to

a defined population.

Experimental research

• Aims to show relationship between cause and

effect – eg effect of TA’s on reading ability

• Groups need to be matched for age, gender,

social class, ethnicity etc

• True experiment: a laboratory setting.

Variables isolated, controlled and manipulated

Quasi-experiment: a natural setting. Variables

isolated, controlled and manipulated. –

Difficult to match groups and achieve

corresponding features between groups in a

natural setting

Intended Research

Outcomes

Some associated

approaches

Some examples of

questions

Changes in practice –

How can…?

How has…?

Action research

Evaluative case

studies

How can we improve

teaching

How effective was ….

Data gathered and

analysed – Statements

of what is the case

Surveys:

Questionnaires and

Interviews (descriptive

analysis)

Ethnographic studies

(illustrative narrative)

What do teachers think

about the role of ICT in

the curriculum?

New explanations –

explanatory theories of

what is the case

Experimental/quasi-

experimental research

(Hypothesis testing)

Ethnographic studies

Surveys – open ended

and semi structured

interviews

Why are teachers

responding in this way

to this particular

initiative?

Data Collection tools

•Questionnaires

• Interviews

•Focus Groups

•Observation

•Documentary evidence

Documentary evidence

• Source – is it current? Reliable? Accurate?

• Where did it come from and who is it for?

• How might interpretations of different

recipients (parents/pupils /teachers/ policy

makers) vary?

• What implicit values, ideologies or

assumptions about the social/political/

educational context are present?

• What alternative discourses exist?

The place of the researcher

• Detached observer: ‘One way mirror’

looking in from the outside

• Observer who balances

participation with detachment;

closeness with distance; familiarity

with strangeness

• Complete participant: Complete

participation, lives with the

respondents

6 important focussing questions

1. What is the nature of the phenomenon or process or social reality that I wish to investigate?

2. What will count as evidence?

3. What broad area is the research concerned with?

4. What is the intellectual puzzle?

5. What do I want to get out of it?

6. What do I want to be able to say?

(after Mason, J. (1996) Qualitative Researching London: Sage Publications

An intellectual puzzle?

• Research is not a report, or a quick fix solution

• Research is grounded in and informed by

theory

• Theory is concerned with the systematic

construction of knowledge

• It can explain phenomena

• Enlighten about what is already known and how

that knowledge has been constructed

• Research based in a theoretical framework can

help us to formulate questions and tell us how

to proceed or indeed how not to proceed

Discuss

How can the two activities complement each other

Where are the potential tensions?

How might you plan to address this?

Think about your Impact Initiative in the light of a masters

level research study

Frames for research questions

Research

questions

What

Context

Community of practice

You and positions

Concerns for whom and

why

Meanings/

frameworks

Data?

Ethics?

Feasible – time &

resources

What/when/how?

Fit? Enquire

into

what?

Researchable?

Concepts: What are the main concepts in your research thinking? How will you describe them?

Issues: Draw a map indicating the key ideas of debate and contestation that are relevant to your particular concerns.

Contexts: Draw up a genealogy of the key thinkers in your research area to indicate the development of theories, perspectives or methods

From: Blaxter et al (2001) How to Research Buckingham: Open University Press

Getting started – individually start to

identify the following: