GRDG690 Action Research: Literacy Week 3: Methods, Data Collection & Ethics Gloria E. Jacobs, Ph.D.

Agenda Ethics Methods & Data Collection Writing the methods section Context of the study Participants Data collection methods Ensuring trustworthiness

Ethics Respect for Persons Beneficence Justice Informed consent/ parental permission/ child assent Trust Anonymity & confidentiality Beneficence Do no harm Never deceive your participants Justice The research will help the people with whom you are working Your action research ethics should reflect the principles of your teaching Data should reflect what really happened

Permissions – Keep it Simple Parental permissions from any students you’ll be working with. Consent from any adults you’ll be interviewing or observing Assent from children you’re working with. Verbal assent is ok with young children. A written assent form is good for older children Sample consent/permission/assent letters are online.

Online Ethics Course The main thing to keep in mind is the rights of the participants supercede your needs as a teacher researcher. The right to know/no Questions?

Methods: Issues Triangulation Validity Reliability Generalizability Quantitative/Experimental Qualitative/Action Research Triangulation Validity Reliability Generalizability Bias Guba’s approach p. 103-105 Triangulation & Dependability p. 104 Credibility p. 103 Transferability p. 104 Confirmability p. 105 Transparency (being candid)

Wolcott’s Approach (pp. 110-112) Talk little/listen a lot Record observations accurately Start writing early Show, don’t tell Report fully (do not be afraid of that which doesn’t fit) Be candid – what biases do you have? Seek feedback – use your critical colleagues

Methods: Data Collection p. 89 Experiencing Observation Participant Observation Active Privileged Passive Field Notes pp. 76-78 How to observe What to take notes on Anecdotal record forms p. 80 Enquiring Interviewing Informal Formal Email Focus Groups Questionnaires Take notes during interviews and focus group meetings even if recording Examination Journals (teacher & student) Maps Video recordings Audio recordings Photos Artifacts (district data, student work, test results, reading inventories)

Organizing your data Date / Time Location Participant names & demographic information Code names

Planning Your Research Identify Data Collection Techniques (p. 89, Box 4-4) How will you be experiencing, enquiring, and examining? Identify Data Sources: (p. 97, Figure 4-4) Strive for multiple forms of data for each subquestion Identify the actual documents you’ll be collecting

Planning Your Research II How will you ensure the validity of your research? (Mills, Box 5-1, p. 105).

Sample Action Research Cycle Based on your reading, select a method you would like to learn more about. Try it in your teaching Observe, keep field notes, collect student work, interview student(s) about their experience Analyze the data – How did the method impact student learning? Adjust the method based on what you learned from the analysis Go back to step 2 Do this cycle at least three times Analyze all the data and determine the outcomes

Sample Passive Observer Action Research Cycle Identify a teacher or teachers who use the method you are interested in (based on your reading) Observe them use the method and take field notes Collect samples of student work Interview the teacher(s) about what they did Interview the student(s) about their learning Analyze the data to see what emerges. Share what you learned with the teacher and get their feedback Repeat with the same method or different methods as appropriate for your question.

Contents of Methods Section Write in future tense – you will change it after you are done to reflect what you really did Context Describe the school or location Participants Describe each participant (age, race/ethnicity, gender, years of teaching, reading level, etc.) Your role (as teacher, observer, etc.) Method What you are going to do (did) Credibility, transferability, dependability, confirmability (see Mills) Be specific and concrete. Data Collection What tools did you use to collect data (active observation, field notes, interviews (how many), questionnaires (how many), artifacts, video recording etc. If you are using interviews and questionnaires, include copies of the questions in your appendices. DO NOT INCLUDE RAW DATA!

Next Steps Draft of methods section due on 2/23 (1-1 meeting week) Begin data collection as soon as you have the consents/permissions Next Class meeting 3/16 – Data Analysis Read Mills chapter 6 & 8 All data must be collected by this time. Bring whatever data you have to class for workshopping Revised intro, theoretical framework, literature review, methods combined into one document due on 3/16. You can send it in earlier if you wish.