Reading Log, Creswell, Chap. 10
Summary:
Creswell is concerned with answering two questions in this chapter: Is the account valid, and by whose standards. He states that researchers have three audiences with which to validate their material as well, the researcher her or himself, the participants of the study, and the reader.
Table 10.1 offers a series of perspectives with regard to validation. These perspectives generally seek to parallel for qualitative research the means used to validate quantitative methodology, though often changing terminology in order to accommodate a more "naturalistic" research agenda.
Creswell himself summarizes his approach to validation as assessing the accuracy of the findings according to the researcher and participant descriptions. He also views validation as a "strength of qualitative research" because of the unique qualities inherent in the methodology, such as length of study, closeness of researcher to participant and the validation strategies employed in such studies.
Validation strategies include: building trust with participants through length of study, triangulation, peer review, negative case analysis, member checking, rich and thick description, and external audits. Creswell recommends that qual. researchers employ at least two of these strategies in any study.
Field notes, transcription, and various coding methods are included in Creswell's description of reliability perspectives. The author then goes on to detail three approaches to qual. evaluation - procedural, postmodern, and interpretive - as well as specific evaluative criteria for each of the five approaches recommended in the book.
Reflection:
As always, Creswell supplies a roadmap for research in each of the five discussed approaches. New researchers may choose a methodology and then use the text as a series of guidelines or steps to follow in creating a study. I find this extremely helpful, both in recognizing the different requirements of each research design, and in understanding the process. The result should be a qualitative study that is organized in a way that defines the study parameters and assures that the accuracy or validity of findings is maintained.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Reading Log #4 - Part 2
Reading Log, Nathan, Chap. 7
Summary:
Nathan begins this chapter by sharing the questions engendered by, and reactions to, her initial decision to re-enter college as a freshman in order to study undergraduate life, and her subsequent exit from the field at the end of her study. She is surprised, for instance, that three individuals let her know they see parallels between her study and the John Howard Griffin book entitled "Black Like Me."
Nathan reflects that the worlds of student and professor are bounded unto themselves, and hopes that her experiences serve as a means to look at each world from a perspective that considers both cultures and viewpoints.
Looking at the classroom as a teacher who recognizes the viewpoint of the student, Nathan attempts to organize her material, prioritize her teaching strategies and expectations in a way that more clearly addresses the realities of student life. She gives reading assignments as an example of the disconnect between faculty expectations and student time management decisions, showing a depth of understanding of both viewpoints that assists the reader in visualizing a clearer path toward integration of the two in the classroom. It is in this type of analysis that her book is most useful to practitioners of higher education. It also serves as an illustration of the benefits that can be realized from such a study, even when questions of ethics occur.
The author discusses the ways in which factions of the university, faculty and administrators on the one side, students on the other, impact one another. She then gives examples of the repercussions of cultural misunderstanding - from teacher burnout to student frustration with scheduling limitations. Within this framework, the idea of "liminality," or the place where normal rules of society are lifted, that should be the focus with regard to possible change within the university because it is in this state that creativity is allowed to flourish. As she states it, "college is at once an affirmation and a preparation for the world and a creative response and innovative challenge to that same world."
Chapter 7 concludes with descriptions of two freshman Welcome Week events, one designed to outline the ways in which education can inform the career goals of students, the other intended to foster academic pursuit and character formation. Nathan suggests that these diametrically opposed activities illustrate the extreme need for competing messages to be made known to stake holders on both sides of the academic divide in order to shape the modern univerity.
Reflections:
As always, I find Nathan more than a little deluded in her self-perceptions. She is amazed that colleagues would liken her study to Griffin's "Black Like Me." She states that such reactions serve to underscore the huge gap between the worlds of academicians and undergraduates. What she fails to consider is that the reactions may have far less to do with a perceived gap and much more to do with the notion of a deception perpetrated upon an entire population. Her colleagues rightly connect her masquerade as a freshman with that of Griffin's physical alteration in order to be accepted as a black man. It would seem that Nathan's ethical disconnect has gone so deep that she is often unable to see her actions as deceptive in any way!
On the other hand, she skillfully illustrates the need for more transparency between stakeholder groups within academe. Until these groups begin to understand one another's goals and necessities, the desired outcomes of academicians will stand in opposition to the culture of the student body. Though it might be flawed in many ways, Nathan's study serves well to illustrate the real cultural divide that exists within the academy, and the multiplicity of experience that is represented there.
Reading Log, Nathan, Afterword
Summary:
Nathan uses the afterword of her book to pose ethical questions for herself regarding her study, and then reveals her conclusions regarding relationships, privacy in conversation, disclosure of her identity, etc. She dismisses most concerns by admiting to revealing her identity in order to preserve relationships or avoid being openly dishonest. Rules for conduct, established by Nathan herself, appear to shift as she spends more time with students and is forced into situations where she must either disregard information or allow students to know she is a researcher.
Reflection:
Students in our class are clearly divided as to what constitutes harmful behavior with regard to student subjects. Nathan was not the person she portrayed to fellow students. She hid her credentials and her agenda. She listened to private conversations, that while she says she did not record or report, still inform her opinions regarding student life, priorities and behaviors. Nathan may reason that no one was harmed by this behavior. And, unlike many of my fellows, I would tend to agree for the most part. Random conversations regarding cutting classes or dorm room etiquette will not likely result in scar tissue.
It is Nathan's continual misinterpretation of her place within the student body, her willingness to accept as fact statements that cannot be verified or member-checked, and her increasing cloud of witnesses in the form of subjects to whom she has had to disclose her motives and identity that pose the most serious problems for me with regard to her study. How can the results not have been skewed when so many students actually knew they were being studied? Does she really believe that, having told one or two people in each situation, they would not share this information with others? If so, she learned very little about the truth of dorm life. If not, she has chosen to remain safely hidden behind false beliefs in order to maintain her ethical facade. Either way, the study is less valid than interesting, the results less credible than entertaining. I still regard the book as important and the study informative enough to be required reading.
Summary:
Nathan begins this chapter by sharing the questions engendered by, and reactions to, her initial decision to re-enter college as a freshman in order to study undergraduate life, and her subsequent exit from the field at the end of her study. She is surprised, for instance, that three individuals let her know they see parallels between her study and the John Howard Griffin book entitled "Black Like Me."
Nathan reflects that the worlds of student and professor are bounded unto themselves, and hopes that her experiences serve as a means to look at each world from a perspective that considers both cultures and viewpoints.
Looking at the classroom as a teacher who recognizes the viewpoint of the student, Nathan attempts to organize her material, prioritize her teaching strategies and expectations in a way that more clearly addresses the realities of student life. She gives reading assignments as an example of the disconnect between faculty expectations and student time management decisions, showing a depth of understanding of both viewpoints that assists the reader in visualizing a clearer path toward integration of the two in the classroom. It is in this type of analysis that her book is most useful to practitioners of higher education. It also serves as an illustration of the benefits that can be realized from such a study, even when questions of ethics occur.
The author discusses the ways in which factions of the university, faculty and administrators on the one side, students on the other, impact one another. She then gives examples of the repercussions of cultural misunderstanding - from teacher burnout to student frustration with scheduling limitations. Within this framework, the idea of "liminality," or the place where normal rules of society are lifted, that should be the focus with regard to possible change within the university because it is in this state that creativity is allowed to flourish. As she states it, "college is at once an affirmation and a preparation for the world and a creative response and innovative challenge to that same world."
Chapter 7 concludes with descriptions of two freshman Welcome Week events, one designed to outline the ways in which education can inform the career goals of students, the other intended to foster academic pursuit and character formation. Nathan suggests that these diametrically opposed activities illustrate the extreme need for competing messages to be made known to stake holders on both sides of the academic divide in order to shape the modern univerity.
Reflections:
As always, I find Nathan more than a little deluded in her self-perceptions. She is amazed that colleagues would liken her study to Griffin's "Black Like Me." She states that such reactions serve to underscore the huge gap between the worlds of academicians and undergraduates. What she fails to consider is that the reactions may have far less to do with a perceived gap and much more to do with the notion of a deception perpetrated upon an entire population. Her colleagues rightly connect her masquerade as a freshman with that of Griffin's physical alteration in order to be accepted as a black man. It would seem that Nathan's ethical disconnect has gone so deep that she is often unable to see her actions as deceptive in any way!
On the other hand, she skillfully illustrates the need for more transparency between stakeholder groups within academe. Until these groups begin to understand one another's goals and necessities, the desired outcomes of academicians will stand in opposition to the culture of the student body. Though it might be flawed in many ways, Nathan's study serves well to illustrate the real cultural divide that exists within the academy, and the multiplicity of experience that is represented there.
Reading Log, Nathan, Afterword
Summary:
Nathan uses the afterword of her book to pose ethical questions for herself regarding her study, and then reveals her conclusions regarding relationships, privacy in conversation, disclosure of her identity, etc. She dismisses most concerns by admiting to revealing her identity in order to preserve relationships or avoid being openly dishonest. Rules for conduct, established by Nathan herself, appear to shift as she spends more time with students and is forced into situations where she must either disregard information or allow students to know she is a researcher.
Reflection:
Students in our class are clearly divided as to what constitutes harmful behavior with regard to student subjects. Nathan was not the person she portrayed to fellow students. She hid her credentials and her agenda. She listened to private conversations, that while she says she did not record or report, still inform her opinions regarding student life, priorities and behaviors. Nathan may reason that no one was harmed by this behavior. And, unlike many of my fellows, I would tend to agree for the most part. Random conversations regarding cutting classes or dorm room etiquette will not likely result in scar tissue.
It is Nathan's continual misinterpretation of her place within the student body, her willingness to accept as fact statements that cannot be verified or member-checked, and her increasing cloud of witnesses in the form of subjects to whom she has had to disclose her motives and identity that pose the most serious problems for me with regard to her study. How can the results not have been skewed when so many students actually knew they were being studied? Does she really believe that, having told one or two people in each situation, they would not share this information with others? If so, she learned very little about the truth of dorm life. If not, she has chosen to remain safely hidden behind false beliefs in order to maintain her ethical facade. Either way, the study is less valid than interesting, the results less credible than entertaining. I still regard the book as important and the study informative enough to be required reading.
Research Journal - Methodological Memo
Just completed another student interview and it makes me wonder how one ever finds a stopping point? Each time I speak with a student, and each new student with whom I speak, I find myself bumping up against new intellectual territory that I want to explore. If I ask about overcoming difficulties, I hear about challenge. Then I think about Self-determination, and find myself wondering about the student's strengths constellation. Thinking about strengths makes me wonder what mindset certain students might be inclined to possess! It is a never-ending cycle of exploring new ideas that feed into one another like tributaries of a vast and winding river.
I imagine that experienced researchers are able to build a framework that serves as a boundary. It can only be in this way that they recognize when a study is nearing completion, or has fulfilled its usefullness with regard to a specific topic. Alas! I am clearly nowhere near the point of articulating this type of framework for myself!
I imagine that experienced researchers are able to build a framework that serves as a boundary. It can only be in this way that they recognize when a study is nearing completion, or has fulfilled its usefullness with regard to a specific topic. Alas! I am clearly nowhere near the point of articulating this type of framework for myself!
Reading Log #4 - Part 1
Reading Log, Nathan, Chap. 6
Summary:
Nathan begins the chapter with a discussion of student roles, and campus cultures, as defined in a classic text by Horowitz. Nathan reasons that, while the culture in college has retained its historical archetypes, such as the "rebel" and the "outsider," there is a "new outsider" that, contrary to past students who felt free to criticise and oppose the professoriate, operate out of a desire for grades and must therefore manage their relationships with faculty in a different way.
The title of this chapter provides a roadmap to the remainder of it's content: The Art of College Management. Territory covered includes a comparison of the time management approach used by college administrators with the actual approach of managing the college experience used by students. This approach relies on several aspects, each of which Nathan describes in detail.
First is the students' need to manage their time by creating the perfect schedule - balancing blocks of time, course load, and classes known to be easy in order to allow time for harder courses to be accommodated. This need results in the popularity of online courses and the rush to be first to register for classes in any given semester.
The next component necessary for managing college (as mentioned above) is use of the student/professor relationship. Nathan characterizes this as "playing" ones professor, often seen by students as parallel to a "boss-worker relationship." Nathan sees grades as the top driving factor in students' academic life and the currency with which professors and students operate. Students use their relationship with the professor to negotiate academic exceptions, garner favor, and influence recommendations to grad schools.
The third part of a well managed college life is concerned with limiting workload. This strategy is broken down by Nathan into sections labeled Attendance, Preparation, and Cheating. These are presented in order of their frequency and acceptability within the student population Nathan studied - from least frequent to most utilized. In each category, the reader is presented with the stark picture of a student body utterly uninterested in academic pursuit of knowledge and wholly invested in aqcuiring grades as a means toward the ultimate goal of obtaining a degree, rather than an education. Particularly disturbing is the portrayal of students as embracing cheating as a major means of controlling their workload. Though Nathan attempts to soften the picture somewhat in terms of her experience and the dominant college culture, she supports her overall conclusions with data from national studies, making the picture that much more bleak.
Nathan concludes chapter 6 with a look at senior classmen and women, used as examples of students who are successful at managing their college experiences. This section offers some encouragement to those invested in higher education. Students who are successful have become less prone to use management strategies such as skipping class and cheating, have been able to prepare for careers they will enjoy, and have begun to be more invested in their academic, rather than social, pursuits.
Reflection:
At this point in the book, Nathan's conclusions and assumptions seem quite negative and cynical. While she acknowledges that some students must certainly be truly invested in learning and gaining more than simple grades, she also characterizes such students as outsiders who are a fringe element at best in the larger composition of the student body. Given her stance, and the student commentary she provides, the reader is asked to conclude that the purpose of higher education is completely at odds with the outcomes desired by the student body.
Nathan does allow for some hope in the conclusion of the chapter, by offering the notion that seniors have begun to embrace more than parties and social activities as important in college life. However, she does not discuss or consider retention rates in this equation. Her assertion that students will have begun to embrace acadmics by their last year in college does not factor in the reality that many of their peers will have dropped out before making it to senior year.
Nathan admits that, as a student, she used many of the same strategies - from cutting class to omitting required readings - to manage her college life. Given her acknowledgment of the perceived need to utilize these strategies, it would seem that she should also feel the need as a professor and professional in higher education to redirect her efforts with regard to teaching and class organization. It would be most interesting to take a class from her and assess whether she is able to create an environment where actual learning occurs rather than simple management of information.
Summary:
Nathan begins the chapter with a discussion of student roles, and campus cultures, as defined in a classic text by Horowitz. Nathan reasons that, while the culture in college has retained its historical archetypes, such as the "rebel" and the "outsider," there is a "new outsider" that, contrary to past students who felt free to criticise and oppose the professoriate, operate out of a desire for grades and must therefore manage their relationships with faculty in a different way.
The title of this chapter provides a roadmap to the remainder of it's content: The Art of College Management. Territory covered includes a comparison of the time management approach used by college administrators with the actual approach of managing the college experience used by students. This approach relies on several aspects, each of which Nathan describes in detail.
First is the students' need to manage their time by creating the perfect schedule - balancing blocks of time, course load, and classes known to be easy in order to allow time for harder courses to be accommodated. This need results in the popularity of online courses and the rush to be first to register for classes in any given semester.
The next component necessary for managing college (as mentioned above) is use of the student/professor relationship. Nathan characterizes this as "playing" ones professor, often seen by students as parallel to a "boss-worker relationship." Nathan sees grades as the top driving factor in students' academic life and the currency with which professors and students operate. Students use their relationship with the professor to negotiate academic exceptions, garner favor, and influence recommendations to grad schools.
The third part of a well managed college life is concerned with limiting workload. This strategy is broken down by Nathan into sections labeled Attendance, Preparation, and Cheating. These are presented in order of their frequency and acceptability within the student population Nathan studied - from least frequent to most utilized. In each category, the reader is presented with the stark picture of a student body utterly uninterested in academic pursuit of knowledge and wholly invested in aqcuiring grades as a means toward the ultimate goal of obtaining a degree, rather than an education. Particularly disturbing is the portrayal of students as embracing cheating as a major means of controlling their workload. Though Nathan attempts to soften the picture somewhat in terms of her experience and the dominant college culture, she supports her overall conclusions with data from national studies, making the picture that much more bleak.
Nathan concludes chapter 6 with a look at senior classmen and women, used as examples of students who are successful at managing their college experiences. This section offers some encouragement to those invested in higher education. Students who are successful have become less prone to use management strategies such as skipping class and cheating, have been able to prepare for careers they will enjoy, and have begun to be more invested in their academic, rather than social, pursuits.
Reflection:
At this point in the book, Nathan's conclusions and assumptions seem quite negative and cynical. While she acknowledges that some students must certainly be truly invested in learning and gaining more than simple grades, she also characterizes such students as outsiders who are a fringe element at best in the larger composition of the student body. Given her stance, and the student commentary she provides, the reader is asked to conclude that the purpose of higher education is completely at odds with the outcomes desired by the student body.
Nathan does allow for some hope in the conclusion of the chapter, by offering the notion that seniors have begun to embrace more than parties and social activities as important in college life. However, she does not discuss or consider retention rates in this equation. Her assertion that students will have begun to embrace acadmics by their last year in college does not factor in the reality that many of their peers will have dropped out before making it to senior year.
Nathan admits that, as a student, she used many of the same strategies - from cutting class to omitting required readings - to manage her college life. Given her acknowledgment of the perceived need to utilize these strategies, it would seem that she should also feel the need as a professor and professional in higher education to redirect her efforts with regard to teaching and class organization. It would be most interesting to take a class from her and assess whether she is able to create an environment where actual learning occurs rather than simple management of information.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Research Journal - Theorectical Memo
When I began the big project for this class, I intended to do a grounded theory regarding the reasons that high achieving students choose to do an Honors Scholars project at PLNU. It quickly became clear, however, that my interest in the subject required a phenomenological approach - I want to see what this experience means to our students both while they do the project and after. So I changed my methodology.
When I began I had some ideas of what I might hear from the students themselves. Most of all, I expected to hear that they elected to do the project in order to gain acceptance into grad school or to fatten their resumes for a good job. That has not been the case at all! What I hear most often is that the students are doing this because of the challenge aspect of the project. They want to see how far they can stretch and what they can accomplish.
The interviews are also showing me that I need to include materials on Self-Determination Theory and Hope Theory in my literature review. I see this because I am familiar with the underlying ideas of both theories. But it makes me wonder just what I might be missing because I have less than perfect knowledge of all the existing theories regarding motivation and achievement. This is complicated stuff!
When I began I had some ideas of what I might hear from the students themselves. Most of all, I expected to hear that they elected to do the project in order to gain acceptance into grad school or to fatten their resumes for a good job. That has not been the case at all! What I hear most often is that the students are doing this because of the challenge aspect of the project. They want to see how far they can stretch and what they can accomplish.
The interviews are also showing me that I need to include materials on Self-Determination Theory and Hope Theory in my literature review. I see this because I am familiar with the underlying ideas of both theories. But it makes me wonder just what I might be missing because I have less than perfect knowledge of all the existing theories regarding motivation and achievement. This is complicated stuff!
Research Journal - Methodological Memo
The writing of qualitative research is a true match for my natural literary inclinations. When I have learned to do it well, to really bring out the themes that reside within the words of those I interview, it will be a joy to write in this way!
But, the dark side of Qual. research is becoming really appparent to me as I attempt to bring all the necessary elements together for my projects, both in this class and in Teaching and Learning. So much depends upon the willingness of others to share their lives and their time with me. Often, I feel like I am begging for the stuff with which I can do the work - PLEASE! Come talk with me, I'll make you cookies! How about a Jamba Juice card?
I find it so rewarding to actually spend time with the subjects of my study (I actually hate using that phrase in conjunction with this work, but also get tired of continually saying "the people I interviewed"). Their stories are interesting, their passion for their work inspiring to me. But getting to the point where we sit down and talk is just excruciating for me! I am busy, they are busy. Going back for additional interviews seems like asking for the moon.
The Activator in me hates that I am dependent upon others to get going with my research. The Empathy in me totally understands the demands on everyone's time at this point in the semester, making me loath to ask for more interviews. The reward that makes this all worthwhile though, is that the Communication theme in me is happy beyond measure to interact with new people and to have the chance to grapple with their unique stories. My hope is that, in the end, we will all have learned something valuable about who we are and how we move through the world.
But, the dark side of Qual. research is becoming really appparent to me as I attempt to bring all the necessary elements together for my projects, both in this class and in Teaching and Learning. So much depends upon the willingness of others to share their lives and their time with me. Often, I feel like I am begging for the stuff with which I can do the work - PLEASE! Come talk with me, I'll make you cookies! How about a Jamba Juice card?
I find it so rewarding to actually spend time with the subjects of my study (I actually hate using that phrase in conjunction with this work, but also get tired of continually saying "the people I interviewed"). Their stories are interesting, their passion for their work inspiring to me. But getting to the point where we sit down and talk is just excruciating for me! I am busy, they are busy. Going back for additional interviews seems like asking for the moon.
The Activator in me hates that I am dependent upon others to get going with my research. The Empathy in me totally understands the demands on everyone's time at this point in the semester, making me loath to ask for more interviews. The reward that makes this all worthwhile though, is that the Communication theme in me is happy beyond measure to interact with new people and to have the chance to grapple with their unique stories. My hope is that, in the end, we will all have learned something valuable about who we are and how we move through the world.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
