Stephanie White Christchurch College of Education New Zealand Traps for First Time Players… the use of open-ended questions to gather data for qualitative research

 An open-ended question can catch the authenticity, richness, depth of response, honesty and candor. ( Cohen, Manion & Morrison, 2000 )  Truly open-ended questions should minimise predetermined responses, so that people can respond in their own words ( Patton, 2002) The Literature

 15 adult learners - 11 female / 4 male  Enrolled in a week long Certificate in Adult Teaching Course at CCE, 2004  Backgrounds in education, health, business, community and unemployed ( White, S ) The Context

The Questionnaire n Describe what learning is for you n What things have you been involved in learning in the last 12 months? n Explain your reasons for enrolling in this Course n How do you perceive lifelong learning will help you personally / society as a whole in the future? n What areas of your life might be enhanced in the future by your current learning?

n New ideas, excitement, stepping out of my comfort zone, acquisition of new ideas, skills, knowledge, information, to understand something that was previously a mystery, is a core need, to be regularly exposed to/ and acquire new ideas, methods and information, as well as the stimulation of meeting new people and discovering new places/spaces, a continual process throughout life which enables you to grow as well as empowers you to expand yourself, gaining new knowledge, new ideas, soaking up knowledge like a sponge, changing my ideas, refreshing, solving problems, filling gaps, discovering and growing…….. n Over 40 responses/phrases to this one question Describe what learning is for you

n It is a big river indeed that cannot be crossed ( make light of the difficulties and they will disappear) He manga wai koia kia kore e whitika

n It is like “taking a walk in someone else’s shoes” n You get a variety of rich, honest and diverse responses n It catches the “gems” of information such as shown on the questionnaires themselves The people’s true voices

The analysis n Reviewed the responses initially to get a “feel’ for the data n Collated all responses to each question by hand on paper n Gave responses a code and then grouped similar responses together n Included examples of “true’ responses in the paper and the number of times they were given

Capturing the “prize” n Include raw data of interviews and questionnaires to capture the actual things said by actual people n Look for patterns and integrate what is said in one place with what is said in another place n Carry out a content analysis according to a classification scheme n Allow for the unexpected, seek out the answers and impose order on them n Celebrate the dimensions, themes, images, or words people use to describe their feelings, thoughts and experiences

References n Cohen, L.,Manion, L. & Morrison, K. ( 2000) Research Methods in Education n Patton M. ( 2002 ) Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods n White S. ( 2004 ) What Motivates Them? Adult Learners’ Perceptions of and Reasons for Engaging in Lifelong Learning. New Zealand Journal Of Adult Learning. 32(2)