Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PCE)
Undertaking
Your
Research Project
Derek Wise January 2008Contents page
Assignment 5 (Researching Education) 3
Dates for presentation of research assignment 4
Why Research? 5
Research-Action or Action-research? 7
Action - Research as a research approach 9
Research – Action as a research approach 15
Project Management – GANTT Chart 18
Understanding Qualitative and Quantitative Research 20
Establishing a Research title 24
Data Collection in Action-Research and Research-Action
Gathering Data – Questionnaires 26
- Interviews 31
- Observation 43
Other Approaches to Systematic Enquiry
The Case study 49
Accounts 52
Diaries, Journals and Field Notes 53
Analysing and Interpreting data 54
Reflections and Conclusions 63
Additional information
Research Paradigms 67
Writing your Research Report 71
Questioning techniques 72
Readings 77
Some terms in research 78
Group assignment 79
Case studies for Action Research 84
Class-based minor assignmentIn addition to your major assignment (set out over page) you will undertake a class-based group based minor assignment in class in 4 parts:
Ø Minor Assignment part 1 – stating research objectives and creating a survey questionnaire for data collection
Ø Minor Assignment part 2 – Undertaking an Interview
Ø Minor Assignment part 3 – Data analysis
Ø Minor Assignment part 4 – Paradigm; Validity; Reliability and Ethical Issues.
You should record your contribution to this minor assignment and the completion of this will be taken into account in the event of problems completing the research module major Assignment 5 as well as being a practical way of developing research skills
Assignment 5 – Researching Practice
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this assignment you will be able to:
· identify a suitable topic and define a research statement or hypothesis
· provide a rationale for the research which makes reference to key, relevant literature
· select and justify an appropriate research paradigm and methodology
· plan and conduct a systematic data collection, having regard to any ethical issues
· present and analyse the results of data collection
· evaluate the results of the research, having regard to validity and reliability, and the suitability of the methods used to collect and analyse data
· apply the results to the original research statement and identify any implications for future practice
· present the research findings in a well-structured report
· summarise the findings in a seminar context to a group of peers
Task
Candidates are required to write a report on a research project, and to present the results to a group of peers.
The topic chosen should be related directly to the candidate’s teaching experience of their specialist subject. It should relate to the theory and practice of teaching, learning, and assessment in their specialist subject. Candidates are encouraged to evaluate current or innovative practice and to make recommendations for improvements in systems or teaching and learning practice.
Suggested report format:
Research title & research statement
1. Introduction: reasons for the study, its rationale, definitions, research statement
2. Methods used and justification for choice, research paradigm
3. Data-collection process, summary and analysis of results
4. Interpretation and evaluation of results
5. An evaluation of methods used and the results obtained
6. Summary and conclusions
Word guidance: 4,000 to 5,000 words (excluding references and appendices)
Assessment Criteria
This assignment is marked on a pass/refer basis.
In completing this assignment, you should be able to demonstrate evidence of Standards AS1-7, AK1.1-7.3, BS2-4, BK1.1-2.6, 4.1, CS4, CK1.1-1.2, 3.1-3.2, DS1-3, DK1.1, DK2.2-3.2, EK1.3, 2.1-2.2, 5.1, FK2.1.
Presentation of assignment 5
Feb 1: brief informal discussions with tutor of proposed issues & research statement
Feb 14: max 30 minute presentation of your research statement (ie a summary to date of your research plans and progress as set out below).
In 3 or 4 groups of 4/5 course members
The purpose of this session is to consolidate your own emerging ideas ; gain feedback from the group and tutor and possibly gain new ideas. You presentation should include:
- Research title
- Research statement
- Context & rationale
- Background reading proposed or started
- Proposed/actual methodology (and possibly rejected methods with rationale)
- Possibly data collected to date
Presenters should provide a seminar paper (max 2 A4 sides) to support their presentation – this will probably be bullet points responses to the 6 seminar issues above. Make 3 copies - 1 copy per 2 members and 1copy for tutor. OHTs should NOT be used. NB presenters will be stopped after 30 minutes to ensure equal time for all members
June 5 : max 30 minute final presentations of research statement (ie your completed research project.
In 3 or 4 groups of 4/5 course members.
You presentation should include:
- Research statement with context & rationale
- Background reading and insights gained
- Methodology used (and possibly rejected methods with rationale)
- Data collection process
- Data analysis and findings
- Interpretation/conclusion or results of action research
- Ethical issues which emerged (if any)
- What was learnt about research from undertaking the research project
Presenters should provide a seminar paper (max 2 A4 sides) to support their presentation -this will probably be bullet points responses to the 8 seminar issues above (which could of course be an updated version of the earlier seminar paper). Make 3 copies - 1 copy per 2 members and 1copy for tutor. OHTs should NOT be used. NB presenters will be stopped after 30 minutes to ensure equal time for all members
(Research projects (approx 4000-5000words) in plastic project folders with name clearly indicated should be handed to Derek at the end of the session for marking). A copy of the seminar papers for February and June should be included in the folder
Research reports will be returned within 1 week and any required developments (hopefully there won’t be’) can be emailed to Derek. Thoughtful and carefully presented seminars, and full participation in the group assignment, will be positively taken into account in the light of any weaknesses in the final report!
Why Research?
The idea of teacher as researcher became popular in the 1970s, particularly following the influence of Lawrence Stenhouse exploring the teacher as professional . Stenhouse (1975) states.
‘In short the outstanding characteristic of the extended professional (teacher) is a capacity for autonomous professional self development through systematic self study, through the study of work of teachers and through the testing of ideas by classroom research procedures’
Stenhouse L (1975) An Introduction to Curriculum Research and Development
Stenhouse sees the autonomous professional self-development of the extended professional teacher as being related to 3 processes:
1 System self study. In the PGCE you are required to read extensively on issues related to your professional practice and this module is no exception. If you come across words which you do not know then look them up in the glossary at the end of the workbook
2 The study of the work of teachers. Much of your reading should relate to research investigations carried out by teachers and other researchers. This reading should be critical and should help to inform and illuminate your own practice.
3 Through the testing of ideas by classroom research procedures. This systematic small scale research will be central to your work on the course and it is this third process - research - which will be considered in this workbook.
So – research is the natural occupation of the professional – however WHAT research is (and isn’t) confuses many people! Research has been defined as:
‘Research is systematic, critical and self-critical enquiry which aims to contribute to the advancement of knowledge.’
Lawrence Stenhouse (1979) in Bassey (1995 p2)
Elsewhere (1979) Stenhouse defines research as
‘Systemic Enquiry made Public’
This is the definition which we will be using throughout the module.
Systematic enquiry assumes a structured approach and this will be the basis for your research project
Made public assumes a public presentation of your research for critical analysis. This will be done through initial and final seminar presentations and then assessment by the class tutor
Lawrence Stenhouse
Research-Action or Action-research?
It is possible to examine research from two dynamic perspectives with very distinct purposes:
Research Action
(Research leading possibly to some future action following recommendations in the research. This is the classic approach and often seen as what research is or should be ). Research in this perspective can be categorised as:
1. Exploratory * to find out what is happening
* to seek new insights and to ask questions (eg medical research)
* to assess phenomenon a new light
2. Descriptive * to portray an accurate profile or persons/events (eg customer survey)
* to disseminate good practice
3. Explanatory * to seek explanations (eg climate change)
* to identify relationships possibly cause and effect
* to test predictions
4. Evaluative * to assess effectiveness and efficiency
* to monitor quality (as we will see in the curriculum evaluation module)
Action Research
Action research is a process by which change and understanding can be pursued at the one time. It is usually described as cyclic, with action and critical reflection taking place in turn. The reflection is used to review the previous action and plan the next one. It is commonly done by a group of people, though sometimes individuals use it to improve their practice. It has been used often in the field of education for this purpose. It is not unusual for there to be someone from outside the team who acts as a facilitator.
Action-research is closely linked to the discipline of reflective action and experiential learning (indeed both have their roots in the work of Kurt Lewin – see next section). What differentiates action-research from simple reflective practice is the rigour applied to the systematic enquiry used to gain the insight on which the reflection can be based
Research-Action and Action-research
The purposes of research-action and action-research are therefore clearly different and it is essential to decide, at the outset of your research project – which stance you are intending to take.
Action Research
'The linking of the terms action and research highlights the essential feature of the method: trying out ideas in practice as a means of improvement and as a means of increasing knowledge...'
Kemmis S & McTaggart, R (1982) The Action Research Planner Australia Deaking University Press
Action research shares the following characteristics with other research:
· it leads to knowledge
· it provides evidence to support this knowledge
· it makes explicit the process of enquiry through which knowledge emerges
· it links new knowledge with existing knowledge
Action research is different from other research because
· it requires action as an integral part of the research process itself
· it is focused by the researcher's professional values rather than methodological considerations
· it is necessarily insider research, in the sense of practitioners researching their own professional actions.
McNiff, J. Lomax, P. Whitehouse, J. (1996) You and your Action Research Project London & NY Routledge Falmer p14
Action research is based on:
1. a commitment to educational improvement
2. a special kind of research question
3. putting the 'I' at the centre of the research
4. a special kind of action that is informed, committed and intentional
5. systematic monitoring to generate valid data
6. authentic descriptions of the action
7. explanations of the action
8. new ways of representing research
9. validating claims made as a result of the research
10. making the action research public.
McNiff, et al (1996) p16
key questions to ask when undertaking Action Research
· What is your research focus?
· Why have you chosen this issue as a focus?
· What kind of evidence can you produce to show what is happening? ('Evidence 1')
· What can you do about what you find?
· What kind of evidence can you produce to show that what you are doing is having an impact? (`Evidence 2')
· How will you evaluate that impact?
· How will you ensure that any judgements you might make are reasonably fair and accurate?
· What will you do then?
McNiff, et al (1996) p 36
.. action research is a way of defining and implementing relevant professional development. It is able to harness forms of collaboration and participation that are part of our professional rhetoric but are rarely effective in practice ... [it] ... starts small with a single committed person focusing on his/her practice. It gains momentum through the involvement of others as collaborators. It spreads as individuals reflect on the nature of their participation, and the principle of shared ownership of practice is established. It can result in the formation of a self-critical community: extended professionals in the best sense of the term.'
Lomax, P. (1990) Managing Staff Development in Schools Clevedon Multi-lingual Matters p10
Activity
work in pairs to identify two research projects – one using research action (possibly use one of the 4 categories described above) and the other action research as basic stances. (You may wish to use your 2 different teaching situations as contexts) Using the boxes on the following page
Research – ActionDecide on a possible project, related to your teaching context, which would follow the research – action model. Examples might be exploratory – ‘An enquiry into the motivation behind learners undertaking …….. (your particular subject).’ or evaluative - ‘An enquiry into the experiences of ten learners’ in undertaking an open learning application of number key skills programme’. Describe the project which you have identified.
Action - Research
Decide on a possible project, related to your teaching context, which would follow the action - research model. Examples might be – ‘Changing learners’ perception of the value of error making in one term of a skills for life application of number programme. ‘ or ‘An examination of a team programme to embed key skills communication into a beauty therapy programme. Describe the project which you have identified
1 Action Research as a research approach