Action Research, Ethnography, Work, Organisation, Life

Methodology

APPROACH STYLE TECHNIQUE PRINCIPLES

QU

ALI

TA

TIV

E

QU

AN

TIT

AT

IVE

Experimental Style

Survey

Case Study

Ethnographic Style

Action Research

Measurement

Questionnaire

Observation

Interview

Secondary Sources

Validity

Reliability

Generalisability

Triangulation

Ethical Issues

 The  basic  steps  of  an  ac/on  research  process  cons/tute  an  ac/on  plan:      •  review  our  current  prac/ce,  •  iden/fy  an  aspect  that  we  want  to  inves/gate,  •  imagine  a  way  forward,  •  try  it  out,    •  take  stock  of  what  happens.  •  modify  what  we  are  doing  in  the  light  of  what  we  have  found,  and  

con/nue  working  in  this  new  way  (try  another  op/on  if  the  new  way  of  working  is  not  right),  

•  monitor  what  we  do,  •  review  and  evaluate  the  modified  ac/on,  

     and  so  on  …        Two  processes  are  at  work:  your  systema/c  ac/ons  as  you  work  your  way  through  these  steps,  and  your  learning.  Your  ac/ons  embody  your  learning,  and  your  learning  is  informed  by  your  reflec/ons  on  your  ac/ons.  Therefore,  when  you  come  to  write  your  report  or  make  your  research  public  in  other  ways,  you  should  aim  to  show  not  only  the  ac/ons  of  your  research,  but  also  the  learning  involved.    (McNiff,  Lomax  and  Whitehead,  1996)  

people  reflect  and  improve  (or  develop)  their  own  work  and  their  own  situa/ons  by  /ghtly  integra/ng  their  reflec/on  and  ac/on;      people  make  their  experience  public  not  only  to  other  par/cipants  but  also  to  other  persons  interested  in  and  concerned  about  the  work  and  the  situa/on  (i.e.  their  (public)  theories  and  prac/ces  of  the  work  and  the  situa/on);    data  gathering  by  par/cipants  themselves  (or  with  the  help  of  others)  in  rela/on  to  their  own  ques/ons;      par/cipa/on  (in  problem  posing  and  in  answering  ques/ons)  in  decision  making;  power  sharing  and  the  rela/ve  suspension  of  hierarchical  ways  of  working  towards  industrial  democracy;      collabora/on  among  members  of  the  group  as  a  “cri/cal  community”;  self-­‐reflec/on,  self-­‐evalua/on  and  self-­‐management  by  autonomous  and  responsible  persons  and  groups;      progressive  (and  public)  learning  by  doing  and  making  mistakes  in  a  “self-­‐reflec/ve  spiral”  of  planning,  ac/ng,  observing,  reflec/ng,  replanning,  etc;    reflec/on  which  supports  the  idea  of  the  “(self-­‐)reflec/ve  prac//oner”;        Gerald  Vinten,  (1994),"Par/cipant  Observa/on:  A  Model  for  Organiza/onal  Inves/ga/on?",  Journal  of  Managerial  Psychology,  Vol.  9  Iss:  2  pp.  30  -­‐  38  

Reflexivity  is  a  social  scien0fic  variety  of  self-­‐consciousness.  It  means   that   the   researcher   recognizes   and  glories   in   the  endless   cycle   of   interac0ons   and   percep0ons   which  characterize   rela0onships   with   other   human   beings.  Research   is   a   series   of   interac0ons,   and   good   research   is  highly   aAuned   to   the   interrela0onship   of   the   inves0gator  with  the  respondents…  

 

…As  long  as  qualita0ve  researchers  are  reflexive,  making  all  their   processes   explicit,   then   issues   of   reliability   and  validity  are  served.  

 (Delamont,  2002)  

 

Bracke0ng  

Epoché,   or   'bracke0ng'   (Ashworth,   1999;   Yegdich,   2000;  Moran,  2000)  

Predisposi0ons,   predilec0ons,   biases,   prejudices   and  prejudgements   are   set   aside,   and   a   review   is   undertaken  with  new  and  recep-ve  eyes  (Moustakas,  1994).      

Not   to  doubt  or   eliminate   everything,  only   the  natural   a4tude,  the  biases  of  everyday  knowledge  as  a  basis  for  truth  and  reality  (Husserl,  1931).    

Adop0ng  the  stance  of  a  'stranger'  (Pring,  2000)  

Objec0ve    

 Non-­‐par/cipant          ‘Robust’  and  valid          Wri`en  words,  units  and  

measurements.        Empirical  observa/on          Truth    

Reflexive  

 Visual,  mul/modal,  mixed  media    Ethnography    

       Situated          Par/cipatory          Storytelling              Metaphor  

Ethnography    

In this way you will want to explore the COMPLEXITY of your work / organisation with ‘thick description’. ETHNOGRAPHY = PRINCIPLED EFFORTS TO EXPLORE: •  local meanings from ‘the inside’ – perspectives of the network / setting •  reflexive questioning of assumptions (including of the producer /

researcher) •  blurring / testing boundaries of personal, public, professional spaces •  patterns in practices and categories of thought / discourse •  power structures and complicity in them.

Ethnography  of  organisa/ons  

Media  /  Visual  /  Digital  Ethnography    

•  Participant observation in the network / setting •  Open-ended, fluid interventions •  Artifacts / texts over words as data •  THICK DESCRIPTION

Potter (2012:49): …knowing how the reflexive project of the self with its anchored and transient identities gets made & unmade over time in the various spaces online and how we live with this and function in the new media.

Michael  Wesch  

Themes  4  Project     Key themes from reading / presentation: Epistemology and ontology, conceptual ‘mapping’ and paradigms The notion of methodology Data: coding, classification, grounded theory, typology, the Springer Spaniel analogy Participation – observing, bracketing, reflecting / reflexivity Action Research and power / hierarchy + CHANGE Ethnography and thick description of / in / for the organisation Participant fieldwork, forms of data, visual / digital / media fieldwork options