TOPIC 10ACTION RESEARCH: DATA ANALYSIS
QUALITATIVE DATA
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WHAT IS DATA ANALYSIS?
A complex process that involves moving back and forth between concrete bits of data and abstract
concepts between inductive and deductive reasoning between description and interpretation
Simply put: Data analysis is the process of making meaning from the data
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ANALYSING DATA IN TRADITIONAL RESEARCH
Analysis of data occurs primarily at two points during the process of a research study.
In traditional quantitative research studies, data analysis typically occurs following the completion of all data collection.
In traditional qualitative research studies, data analysis typically begins during data collection, continues throughout the remainder of the process of collecting data, and is completed following data collection.
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ANALYSING DATA IN ACTION RESEARCH
Action research combines these two approaches.
Johnson (2008) suggests that “as you collect your data, analyze them by looking for themes, categories, or patterns that emerge. This analysis will influence further data collection [and analysis] by helping you to know what to look for” (p. 63).
He continues by stating that there should also be a final stage of data analysis once everything has been collected. 4
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
Is used to describe behaviours, actions, feelings, perceptions, and interaction among people
It assumes that respondents or people observed have unique views of their personal experiences or the surrounding environment.
Is used to help us understand lifestyles and cultural values, actions, and symbols.
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6 STEPS IN THE PROCESS OF ANALYSING & INTERPRETING QUALITATIVE DATA (CRESSWELL, 2012, P236-263)
Prepare and Organise the data for analysis Explore and Code the data Coding to build Description and Themes Represent and Report Qualitative Findings Interpret the findings Validate the Accuracy of the Findings
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CATEGORIES OF DATA COLLECTION Observation Interviews and questionnaires Documents Audiovisual materials
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
What the participant did. His or her appearance. Body language and affect ( how they appeared
to be feeling). The surrounding environment Interaction among two or more research
subjects. Your own reactions to the interview or
observation
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DATA TO BE ANALYZED WILL CONSIST OF:
Words recorded on tape or transcribed. Your notes. Documents or other pre-existing items.
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RICHARDSON (2000 AS CITED IN MONTCALM & ROYSE, 2002) IDENTIFIES FOUR TYPES OF NOTES YOU SHOULD KEEP ON YOUR RESEARCH.
Observational notes – description of what you saw, heard, and felt.
Methodological notes – what decisions did you make about doing the interview or observation and analysing your data.
Theoretical notes – your initial impressions or hypotheses.
Personal notes – statements reflecting what you are thinking or feeling about your work.
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1. HOW TO PREPARE AND ORGANISE THE DATA FOR ANALYSIS?
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Organise data Transcribe data Analyse by hand or computer - Use of Qualitative Computer Programmes
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ORGANISING DATA (CRESSWELL, 2012, P238)
In QR, data collected is extensive; for eg. 30-min interview will result in 20 pages of single-spaced transcription
Develop a matrix or a table of resources that can be used to help organise the data
Organise the material by type: all interviews/ observations/ documents/photographs/ other visual materials; you might also consider organising the materials by participant, site, location, or some combinations of these approaches
Keeping duplicate copies of all forms of data 14
TRANSCRIBING DATA
In QR, you collect data through interviewing or writing fieldnotes during observations
You have to listen to the tapes & read the notes to begin the process of data analysis.
As a general rule of thumb, it takes 4 hours to transcribe 1 hour of tape.
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TRANSCRIBING DATA
TranscriptionTranscription is the process of converting audiotape recordings or fieldnotes into text data.
All words, expressions and sounds (for e.g: pauses (“[pause]”) or “[laughter]”, other noise “[telephone rings]” or “[inaudible]”) during the interview need to be transcribed in order to capture and provide all the details of an interview.
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HINTS FOR TAPED INTERVIEWS
Use and external microphone Use a telephone pick up device Avoid possible loud noise interference As interviewers – induce slower, distinct
speech Use new high quality tapes or good well
maintained recording equipment Think clearly about the format you want for
your printed transcription
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ANALYZE BY HAND OR COMPUTER
Hand analysis Researchers read the data, mark it by hand and
divide it into parts Use color coding to mark the parts of the text Cutting and pasting text sentences onto cards
Computer analysis Researchers use qualitative computer program
to facilitate the process of storing, analysing, sorting and representing or visualizing the data
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2. HOW TO EXPLORE AND CODE THE DATA?
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Explore the general sense - Agar (1980) suggested that…”you read
the transcripts in their entirety several times. Immerse yourself in the details, trying to get a sense of the interview as a whole before breaking it into parts”
Code the data
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DEVELOPING DESCRIPTIONS & THEMES FROM THE DATA (CASE STUDY APPROACH)
Coding data Developing a description from the data Defining themes from the data Connecting and interrelating themes
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Educational R
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A VISUAL MODEL OF THE CODING PROCESS IN QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
Reduce Codes to5-7 Themes
Initially readthrough data
Divide text into segmentsof information
Label segments of informationwith codes
Reduce Overlap andredundancyof codes
Collapsecodes intothemes
ManyPages of Text
ManySegments of Text
30-40codes
Codesreducedto 20
WHERE TO START – BASIC OR “FIRST LEVEL” CODING (ESTABLISHMENT OF CATEGORIES)
Creation of data transcript. Organizing this transcript into units of analysis – easiest way is to do this question by question in your interview guide (assumes that you have asked all of most of the questions to each of the respondents).
Choose a unit of analysis in a written document or transcript. This might be a whole interview, page, paragraph, sentence, phrase, or word.
Across all respondents, count the number of times a particular word, similar phrase or sentence occurs.*
Establish categories for similar phrases or thoughts. Put together a frequency table to indicate how many
times this common element occurs or simply describe how many times it occurred in your narrative
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CODING DATA
Open Coding Assign a code word or phrase that accurately
describes the meaning of the text segment Line-by-line coding is done first in theoretical
research More general coding involving larger segments of
text is adequate for practical research (action research)
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AXIAL CODING The process of looking for categories that cut across all
data sets After this type of coding, you have identified your
themes You can’t classify something as a theme unless it cuts
across the preponderance of the data
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CATEGORISINGTHE NEXT STEP IS MAKING COMPARISON ACROSS CATEGORIES AND AMONG QUESTIONS (AXIAL OR SECOND LEVEL CODING)
Are there similarities among the categories
Does one category precede another Do two categories occur at the same
time in the same statement Are there overlaps among the
categories Are there obvious patterns or themes Can a hypothesis be generated about
cause and effect relationships (based on these patterns). 27
CLUSTERING
After open coding an entire text, make a list of all code words
Cluster together similar codes and look for redundant codes
Objective: reduce the long list of codes to a smaller, more manageable number (25 or 30)
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PRELIMINARY ORGANIZING SCHEME
Take this new list of codes and go back to the data Reduce this list to codes to get 5 to 7 themes or
descriptions Themes are similar codes aggregated together to
form a major idea in the database Identify the 5-7 themes by constantly comparing the
data (Constant Comparative Analysis)
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3. HOW DO YOU USE CODES TO BUILD DESCRIPTION AND THEMES?
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DESCRIPTION
A detailed rendering of people, places, or events in a setting in qualitative research
Codes such as “seating arrangements,” “teaching approach,” or “physical layout of the room,” might all be used to describe a classroom where instruction takes place
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NARRATIVE DESCRIPTION
From the coding and the themes, construct a narrative description and possibly a visual display of the findings for your research report
Use the assigned format
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CONSTRUCTING THE NARRATIVE
Identify dialogue that provides support for themes
Look for dialogue in the participants’ own dialect
Use metaphors and analogies Collect quotes from interview data or
observations Locate multiple perspectives & contrary
evidence Look for vivid detail Identify tensions and contradictions in
individual experiences33
Educational R
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The Incident and ResponseThe incident occurred on the campus of a large public university in a
Midwestern city. A decade ago, this city had been designated an “all-American city,” but more recently, its normally tranquil environment has been disturbed by an increasing number of assaults and homicides. Some of these violent incidents have involved students at the university.
The incident that provoked this study occurred on a Monday in October. A forty-three-year-old graduate student, enrolled in a senior-level actuarial science class, arrived a few minutes before class, armed with a vintage Korean War military semiautomatic rifle loaded with a thirty-round clip of thirty caliber ammunition. He carried another thirty-round clip in his pocket. Twenty of the thirty-four students in the class had already gathered for class, and most of them were quietly reading the student newspaper. The instructor was en route to class.
The gunman pointed the rifle at the students, swept it across the room, and pulled the trigger. The gun jammed. Trying to unlock the rifle, he hit the butt of it on the instructor’s desk and quickly tried firing it again. Again it did not fire. By this time, most students realized what was happening and dropped to the floor, overturned their desks, and tried to hide behind them. After about twenty seconds, one of the students shoved a desk into the gunman, and students ran past him out into the hall and out of the building. The gunman hastily departed the room and went out of the building to his parked car, which he had left
Description builds from broad to narrow
Coding Used in a Descriptive Passage
Situate the readerin the place
Provide details
Detail to create a sense of “being there”
Use of action verbsand vivid modifiersand adjectives
WHY THEMES?
It is best to write a qualitative report providing detailed information about a few themes rather than general information about many themes
ThemesThemes can also be referred to as CategoriesCategories
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NAMING THE THEMES OR CATEGORIES
The names can come from at least three sources: The researcher The participants The literature
Most common: when the researcher comes up with terms, concepts, and categories that reflect what he or she sees in the data
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THEMES SHOULD… Reflect the purpose of the research Be exhaustive--you must place all data in a
category Be sensitizing--should be sensitive to what is in
the data i.e., “leadership” vs. “charismatic leadership”
Be conceptually congruent--the same level of abstraction should characterize all categories at the same level For instance, you wouldn’t have produce, canned
goods, and fruit
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TYPES OF THEMES
Ordinary: themes a researcher expects Unexpected: themes that are surprises and
not expected to surface Hard-to-classify: themes that contain ideas
that do not easily fit into one theme or that overlap with several themes
Major & minor themes: themes that represent the major ideas, or minor, secondary ideas in a databaseMinor themes fit under major themes in the write
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Educational R
esearch 2e: C
reswell
SafetyThe violence in the city that involved university students and the subsequent gun incident that occurred in a campus classroom shocked the typically tranquil campus. A counselor aptly summed up the feelings of many: “When the students walked out of that classroom, their world had become very chaotic; it had become very random, something had happened that robbed them of their sense of safety.” Concern for safety became a central reaction for many informants.When the chief student affairs officer described the administration’s reaction to the incident, he listed the safety of students in the classroom as his primary goal, followed by the needs of the news media for details about the case, helping all students with psychological stress, and providing public information on safety. As he talked about the safety issue and the presence of guns on campus, he mentioned that a policy was under consideration for the storage of guns used by students for hunting. Within 4 hours after the incident, a press conference was called during which the press was briefed not only on the details of the incident, but also on the need to ensure the safety of the campus. Soon thereafter the university administration initiated an informational campaign on campus safety. A letter, describing the incident, was sent to the university board members. (One board member asked, “How could such an incident happen at this university?”)
Coding Used in Theme Passage
Title for themebased on words ofparticipant
Evidence for themesbased on multipleperspectives ofparticipants
Within themesare sub-themes
4. HOW DO YOU REPRESENT AND REPORT FINDINGS?
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REPRESENTING FINDINGS
Create comparison table Develop a hierarchical tree diagram Present figures Draw a map Develop a demographic table
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REPORTING FINDINGS
Primary form – a narrative discussion Author summarizes in detail the findings
from their data analysis No set form
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USEFUL HINTS Include dialogues that provide support for
themes State the dialogue in the participants native
language / regional or ethnic dialect Use metaphors and analogies Report quotes from interview data or from
observation of individuals Report multiple perspectives and contrary
evidence Write in vivid detail Specify tensions and contradictions in
individual experiences 43
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5. HOW DO YOU INTERPRET FINDINGS?
INTERPRETATION
Means the researcher steps back and and forms some larger meaning about the phenomenon based on personal views, comparisons with past studies, or both.
In other words, QR is an interpretive research where you have to make sense of your findings.
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Summarize findings Convey Personal Reflections Make comparisons to the Literature Offer Limitations & Suggestions for Future
Research
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FUTURE RESEARCH SUGGESTED
Researchers make recommendations for future research“In addition, further research is needed to determine
outcomes for a diversified culture of students, including, but not limited to African-American students and students diagnosed with AD/HD. Research is also needed to examine and validate existing frameworks before professing any general claims concerning the outcomes for students engaged in service learning activities” (Terry, 2003).
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6. HOW DO YOU VALIDATE THE ACCURACY OF YOUR FINDINGS?
RELIABILITY OR DEPENDABILITY
From a quantitative perspective, reliability refers to the extent to which research findings can be replicated
From a qualitative perspective, dependability, (reliability) in qualitative research is not based on outsiders getting the same results, but that outsiders concur that, given the data collected, the results make sense. In other words, the results are dependable and consistent (Lincoln & Guba, 1985).
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VALIDATING THE ACCURACY OF FINDINGS
At the end, the qualitative researcher validates the finding by determining the accuracy or credibility of the findings. Methods include: Prolonged engagement & persistent observation in the
field Triangulation Peer Review Clarifying researcher bias Member Checking Rich, thick description External Audit
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WE ENHANCE RELIABILITY OF OUR DATA ANALYSIS BY:
Comparing our categories to pre-existing frameworks.
Having an additional person redo the analysis. Comparing notes from more than one source. Using more than one type of qualitative data in our
analysis (observation, interviews, document analysis).
Supplementing the qualitative analysis with information from another quantitative source (for example, a survey).
Keeping a record (audit) of how you established data categories and identified themes.
Establishing a feedback loop so that participants can verify whether or not the analysis is accurate enough to reflect their views. 51
FINALLY, SOME ADVICE… Try not to become overwhelmed at the
anticipation of analysing your data, especially if you have experienced stress, frustration,and confusion.
The analysis of action research data is typically much less complex and detailed than in other, more formal research studies (Fraenkel & Wallen, 2003).
In addition,do not feel that it is a requirement for you to analyse the data; you are certainly free to enlist the help of other teachers, administrators, or data analysts (Creswell, 2005).
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THANK YOU….53
TUTORIAL QUESTION54
REFER TO YOUR TUTORIAL 8
Problem / Issue:Poor class control during group work
Task 1: What are your sources of information?Task 2: What are your data collection tools?Task 3: In small groups, design a questionnaire
that you plan to administer to teachers regarding the issue.
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TUTORIAL 10
Based on the data collection method that you have chosen, discuss the codes and themes that you wish to use.
Here are some samples of AR. Discuss the data analysis used by the respective researchers.
http://e-flt.nus.edu.sg/v4n12007/shen.pdf http://iteslj.org/Articles/Snell-Interaction.html http://dppd.ubbcluj.ro/adn/article_6_2_3.pdf
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