Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Mixed Method and Action Research Designs Chapter 12 This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law: Any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network; Preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or in part, of any images; Any rental, lease, or lending of the program.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Mixed Methods Designs Designs combining quantitative and qualitative approaches to collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and reporting data Advantages – Incorporates the strengths of both qualitative and quantitative approaches – Provides a more comprehensive view of the phenomena being studied – Does not limit the data being collected

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Mixed Methods Designs Disadvantages and limitations – Requires expertise in both methods – Requires extensive data collection and resources – It is popular to claim the use of mixed method design even though one method is used superficially

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Mixed Methods Designs Three types of designs – Explanatory – Exploratory – Triangulation

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Mixed Methods Designs Explanatory designs – Quantitative data are collected first with qualitative data collection following – Use of a questionnaire to provide an overview of students’ attitudes toward drug testing programs followed by several in-depth interviews of specific students with positive and negative attitudes (i.e., maximum variation sampling) to understand how those attitudes were shaped.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Mixed Methods Designs Exploratory designs – Qualitative data are collected first with quantitative data collection following – A few interviews with students and a content analysis of several surveys allowed a researcher to determine the important factors around which an attitudinal scale on drug testing programs was developed. Administration of this survey gave an overall view of students’ attitudes to a specific program being used at a local school.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Mixed Methods Designs Triangulation designs – Quantitative and qualitative data are collected at the same time to provide a more comprehensive and complete set of data – The use of a scale addressing attitudes toward drug testing programs could be administered to the students in a school. Information from focus groups and interviews could be used to confirm the conclusions drawn from the survey.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Mixed Methods Designs Seven steps to conduct mixed method research – Determine the feasibility of a mixed method design – Determine the rationale for a mixed method design – Determine the data collection strategies and designs – Determine the specific research questions – Collect data – Analyze data – Write the report

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Mixed Methods Designs Evaluating a mixed method design – Each approach has been done well – Examine the rationale and then apply appropriate quantitative or qualitative criteria

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Action Research A systematic investigation conducted by practitioners Action research is done to provide information immediately to improve teaching and learning Emphasis is on teachers, counselors and administrators, who carry out the research

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Action Research Benefits of Action Research – Creates mindset for school improvement – Enhances decision-making – Promotes reflection and self-assessment – Instills a commitment to improvement – Creates a more positive school climate – Impacts practice directly – Empowers those to participate

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Action Research Conducting Action Research – Select a focus or topic for study – Determine your design and data collection strategies – Summarize and interpret the data

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Action Research Consumer Tips for Evaluating Action Research – Determine motivation and involvement of the researcher – Look for consistency between research question and methodology – Look for whether multiple methods of data collection have been utilized

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2008 Action Research Consumer Tips for Evaluating Action Research – Confirm that there has been an emergent, cyclical process of research-action-reflection – Determine the presence of external monitoring or feedback