Readings:
I think I will put this quote up in my office…
“The capacity to endure complete exhaustion, to reach deeper into some unsuspected reservoir of strength, and to persist to the finish contributes to the integrity, rigor, and intellectual vitality of the study” (p.187).
After reading these chapters, I am better prepared and more appropriately anxious about what awaits. I feel like I juggle so many roles right now – partner, parent, student, graduate associate, and school system employee – I am most definitely going to need to reprioritize my life and inform those I am closest to about what is coming. I think I have always known this would be a challenging experience, but I have a better understanding after reading this book.
On page 188, when the authors were describing the ‘manual’ tasks, I was thinking about how important those things are for me as I am mulling over an idea. I like to read early in the morning (3am-6am are best for me) then spend time walking the dog, doing dishes, or vacuuming while I think over what I have read. This time is important to me as I process information in reading or prepare for writing. I was validated in seeing the authors talk about the role of these tasks as “essential aspects” of writing a qualitative dissertation.
I feel like I am making a similar transition to the one described on p. 189 – “… a movement from the particular to the general, from the concrete to the abstract, from the idiosyncratic to the universal, from the situational to the conceptual…” Though the authors were speaking specifically about the dissertation, it fits for me now as I am shedding aspects of my ‘practitioner’ role and embracing more of a scholarly role. This hasn’t been an easy transition, as the comfort and “accomplishment” of the practitioner role is safe. I know who I am there, I am successful there, and I am drawn there. I am less certain of the ‘rules’ and procedures of this new world, though reading this book while living the transition is helping.
The section about Owning the Study on page 190 seemed to echo what we discussed in class last week. The interpretive researcher is putting forth her ideas about the meaning and message of her investigation. She is not claiming to make generalizations to other contexts…rather, if done well, the study could be of use for others “who are struggling with the phenomenon in similar contexts”. I thought what you said in class the other day was really important (to paraphrase)…if a qualitative research study is poorly done then the criticisms connect to the idea that qualitative research isn’t real research etc. but if a quantitative study is poorly done, then it is connected to the short comings of the researcher and not the research paradigm. This idea is discussed more fully on 210 as well. It feels even more of a responsibility of the qualitative researcher to produce a quality study…impressions go beyond the individual researcher but to the research paradigm as well.
I hope we have the opportunity in class tomorrow to further discuss the criteria for interpretive dissertations. It also sounds like we will have the opportunity to hear you speak on particular aspects in some of our future classes. I am especially interested in the idea of ‘utility’.
I have read and reread page 207. I think I was the student in Intro to Qual who didn’t quite see the relationship between the dissertation and professional life. I think I have evolved a bit, and am now in the place of practitioner who is struggling with how the dissertation can make a contribution to my field of practice. I think about how many problems there are in the classrooms I visit. Over and over the idea that teachers need more opportunity to reflect and continue to grow professionally is affirmed. I want to study something related to professional learning so that I might make a contribution that means something to teachers.
Project Update
I visited the research site again this Tuesday with my professor. These visits have been all day visits and usually last 30-45 minutes in each classroom. Similarly to last week, we observed in numerous classrooms and worked with both students and teachers. I have taken many field notes as I am engaged in the classrooms, and as I am talking with my professor about her thinking around the observations. I am in the process of typing up more descriptive notes from my raw field notes. After each day’s visit with the teachers, my professor communicates via email with the teachers. She includes me on these emails, and I am collecting them as part of this project. For right now, I am simply collecting the data in folders and have not uploaded them into Atlas. That will be my next step!
We learned yesterday that interviewing the teachers would not be a possibility. The administrators in the building do not want to “put anything more on the teachers”. I am wondering if an analysis of the emails and the observations would be enough data to work with and analyze. What do you think? It might also be possible for me to interview the administrators – principal, assistant principal, and curriculum coach about their perceptions of the professional development opportunities for the teachers. I have finished reading Stake’s The Art of Case Study Research and am beginning Yin’s Case Study Research Design and Methods.
What is "enough data" depends on your questions and your genre and will, of course, alter what claims you can make about the site. So I'm always hesitant to say "absolutely!" since it's really only a decision that your research team can answer, and then make a good case to justify the decision. I will say, though, that many times logistics drives data choices more than we would like - that's a fact of being in the field.
ReplyDeleteAre you able to record during the observations? To me that would be the gold mine of data that is much better than interview data.
I commend you for knowing yourself well enough to know when you need to be doing your reading and your writing and your reflection. Knowing what works for you will be so key as you move forward. I also admire your ability to recognizing that you are transitioning from a practitioner identity to a scholarly identity - and all the struggles that will entail. I really liked how the book talked about the "scholarly obligation inherent in the degree." It's not enough to do research once and then never again. You are learning a new way of being that can only be beneficial to your practice - so embrace it!
If this were my research study and I were looking at the experience of the participants, I wouldn't think it was "enough data". I think the professor I am working with is interested in describing the experience as it evolves, so not being able to access the teachers via interviews is part of the experience she will describe. My question was really about getting enough practice to demonstrate competence with data analysis. I am almost certain that we do not have permission to record the observations. But, I will double check with the professor.
ReplyDeleteGood advice! Thanks.