1. Research Study Observations and interviews

2. Aims of the session To pilot and review questionnaire first drafts
To explore good practice in relation to conducting observations and interviews
To reflect on how these two methods could be used in your own research study

3. Pilot questionnaires How do we know if they will work
Pilot questionnaires How do we know if they will work? What assessment criteria could we use?

4. Pilot questionnaires Show and tell

5. Observations and Interviews

6. Observations – key questions
Why observations? What information do you need? …over what timescale? Participant or not? Would you enlist the help of others? How will you analyse the results? What will you do with the information?

7. A narrative observation
Name:
Date:
Lesson:
Time:
Teacher/TA:
Observed by:
Observation
Issues arising from observation
Future Strategies/ Actions
Further Comments

8. An ABC observation Antecedent Behaviour Consequences Name: Date:
Lesson:
Time:
Teacher/TA:
Observed by:
Context of incident
Antecedent
Behaviour
Consequences
Additional comments
Issues arising from observation
Future Strategies / comments

9. An event-sampling observation
Name:
Date:
Lesson:
Teacher/TA:
Time
Behaviour
Duration
Outcome
Issues arising from observation
Future Strategies / comments

10. Does the interviewer influence the outcomes of the research?
Yes - All researchers have their own ideas about race, gender, religion etc. before they even enter into any type of research. Their own life experience influences the research.
Even the presence of the researcher can influence the behaviour of the people he/she is studying. This is known as the Heisenberg effect.

11. The Heisenberg effect
The interviewees tend to give answers they think interviewer wants to hear.
Named after German physicist Werner Karl Heisenberg ( ) whose uncertainty principle states that (in particle physics experiments) the very act of observing alters the position of the particle being observed, and makes it impossible (even in theory) to accurately predict its behaviour

12. The Hawthorne effect
The term was coined in 1955 by Henry A. Landsberger when analyzing older experiments from at the Hawthorne Works (a Western Electric factory outside Chicago).
Study to see if its workers would become more productive in higher or lower levels of light.

13. The Hawthorne effect conclusion
The workers' productivity influenced by:
Workplace lighting
Other changes such as maintaining clean work stations, clearing floors of obstacles, and even relocating workstations resulted in increased productivity for short periods.
Motivational effect of the interest being shown in them.

14. But not in response to any particular experimental manipulation.
The Hawthorne effect
This is a form of reactivity whereby subjects improve an aspect of their behaviour being experimentally measured simply in response to the fact that they are being studied
But not in response to any particular experimental manipulation.
The term was coined in 1955 by Henry A. Landsberger[3] when analyzing older experiments from at the Hawthorne Works (a Western Electric factory outside Chicago). Hawthorne Works had commissioned a study to see if its workers would become more productive in higher or lower levels of light. The workers' productivity seemed to improve when changes were made and slumped when the study was concluded. It was suggested that the productivity gain was due to the motivational effect of the interest being shown in them. Although illumination research of workplace lighting formed the basis of the Hawthorne effect, other changes such as maintaining clean work stations, clearing floors of obstacles, and even relocating workstations resulted in increased productivity for short periods. Thus the term is used to identify any type of short-lived increase in produc

15. Observations
What are the other challenges and benefits of using observations? How could you overcome the challenges?

16. Successful or not? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJGOKpGWboM
Interviews
Successful or not?

17. Interviews – ground rules
Establish beforehand:
Explain who you are, why you want to talk to them, and what you wish to find out
Timing and length of the meeting?
Interview medium - Face-to-face, phone, Social media/Twitter?
Location? ….preferably undisturbed!
Individual or group?
Any information that any participants need to bring to the meeting

18. Conducting interviews
Structured or unstructured?
Set an appropriate tone + bias free
Provide a brief introduction which includes the purpose/objectives of the interview and how it fits into your research study + any ground rules
Be feasible about how much information you can collect / questions you can expect your interviewee’s to cover in the time
Consider the ordering of the questions
Ask only one question at once
Don’t let the conversation drift too far away from the question focus.
Allow some time at the end for any comments / other suggestions

19. Interview practice - Learning to drive
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3:55 Interview 1
8:06 Interview 2

20. Interviews – making records
Notes of the meeting
To record or not record?
Transcripts
min 1hr for every 10mins recorded
Getting agreement about what was said
How do you include the outcome(s) in your research report?

21. Session Review
Consider how you might use observations and/or interviews in your own research:
- to collect initial data
- as a follow on from other data collection methods

22. Further reading
Bell J (2009) Doing your research study pages an-interview.php df m (Interviews in Education Research)

23. Using secondary data

24. Aims of the session
To explore the types of secondary data and challenges with it’s use
To examine how a researcher might assess the usefulness of secondary data
To assess the relevance of examples of secondary/government data sources to your own research study.

25. Types of secondary data
Written materials School records, reports, meeting minutes, s, books/journals, newspapers, diaries Non-written materials TV/radio programmes, video/films, artefacts Survey data Census data, government data reports, school/college surveys, adhoc feedback

26. Challenges of using secondary data
Locating and accessing the data
Authenticating the sources
Assessing credibility and suitability
Gauging how representative they are
Selecting methods to interpret them
Devise a checklist of questions to ask yourself for 2-4

27. Possible checklist: Authenticating the sources
What is the reputation of the organisation supplying the data?
Is this officially published data?
Assessing credibility and suitability
What methods were used to collect the data?
Sample size and sampling methods?
Questionnaire design?...bias?...leading questions?
Who funded the research / data collection?
Does the organisation have a vested interest in the results?
Date of the data?
Which elements are relevant /suitable for my research?

28. Possible checklist: Gauging how representative they are
What was the response rate?
Who responded – representative sample?
Any likely sources of error?
In what context was the data collected?
Have data collection methods remained constant over time?
Is the data valid to compare to education in the UK?

29. Sources of national secondary data for education
Gov.uk
Statistics gateway, Dept for Education, BIS
Dept for Education
Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Others?
Explore these websites to find relevant data for your research study

30. What secondary data might you use? Why?
Session Review
What secondary data might you use?
Why?