How do I work out a research plan of action

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How do I work out a research plan of action?

• Presented by
• Dr Robert E Gerber

Centre for Teaching, Learning and Media
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Purpose and learning outcomes

• PURPOSE
• To organise the research process in clearly
  defined steps
• LEARNING OUTCOMES
• Plan the research venture and present the plan in
  an organised way

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A reminder The research process
THEORISING and THEORY DEVELOPEMENT
RESEARCH PROCEDURAL STEPS
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PLAN OF ACTION COMPONENTS

• Steps the research programme will follow
• Objectives related to each step
• Principle actors (for each step and objective)
• Target groups
• Structure for coordination and implementation
  (for each step and objective)
• Programme of implementation with target dates
  (for each step and objective)
• Methods of research data gathering
• Tools for data collection and interpretation
• Structuring of research report
• Organize it in a logical unit
  diagram/table/mindmap/ flowchart/etc

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RESEARCH PROCEDURAL STEPS
Find a problem area
Find relevant literature related to the
identified problem area
Use the literature to identify and flesh-out
problems related to the problem area
Select the specific research problem
Formulate a research problem question OR focusing
the research problem
Determine the sub-foci related to solving the
research problem question
Select relevant research methodologies
Develop the data collection tools
Collect the data
Organise the data
Analyse and interpret the data
Justify data as evidence
Validate evidence as knowledge
Use knowledge to solve the problem OR to
formulate and substantiate a theory
Write up the research report / dissertation /
thesis
Communicate the outcome via papers / poster
sessions / articles
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Research procedural steps (detailed)

• Find a problem area
• Find relevant literature related to the
  identified problem area
• Use the literature to identify and flesh-out
  problems related to the problem area
• Select the specific research problem and keep the
  following in mind
• Outline the general context of the problem area.
• Highlight key theories, concepts and ideas
  current in this area.
• What appear to be some of the underlying
  assumptions of this area?
• Why are these issues identified important?
• What needs to be solved?
• Formulate a research problem question OR focusing
  the research problem
• CATEGORIES OF RESEARCH QUESTIONS
• descriptive (Do companies still practice gender
  inequality?)
• exploratory (To what extent, if any, do companies
  provide for the needs of female employees?)
• explanatory (Why do companies persist in ignoring
  the multiple roles women employees have to play
  despite current equity law?)
• problem-solving (How can South African companies
  put strategies in place to assist (professional)
  women to cope with fulfilling multiple roles?)

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Research procedural steps cont

• Determine the sub-foci related to solving the
  research problem question
• Demarcating the research field into
• manageable parts by
• dividing the main problem into
• sub-problems is of the utmost importance.
• Sub-problems/foci are,
• problems related to the main problem identified.
• Sub-problems flow from the main problem and make
  up the main problem.
• Ask the questions
• What are the problems related to the research
  problem stated?
• Which of these related problems when solved will
  contribute to a solution for the research problem
  stated?
• What evidence do I need to solve the research
  problem?
• What must be done about these related problems in
  order to solve the research problem stated?

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Research procedural steps cont

• Select relevant research methodologies by
  considering
• the central question the research wishes to
  address.
• the purpose of my research.
• what the nature of the research process be.
• what kinds of data will need to be collected.
  (Will it be about people, theories, models,
  frameworks, in the form of words or numbers?)
• how the data will be collected. (What are the
  methods of data collection?)
• how the data will be analised and interpreted.
  (What are the methods of data analysis?)
• how the findings will be communicated.

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Moving from DATA to KNOWLEDGE
Evidence
DESCRIPTIONS OF OWN PRACTICE INTERVIEW
INFORMATION QUESTIONNAIRE RESPONSES VIDEO/AUDIO
TAPES DISCUSSIONS as a result of
PHOTOGRAPHS INFORMATION LADDERS
HOW TO JUSTIFY THIS AS EVIDENCE AND VALIDATE THE
EVIDENCE AS KNOWLEDGE??
Propositions DATA
Truths
Beliefs
Knowledge
Validation
Evidence
Justification
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Research procedural steps cont

• Develop the data collection tools to be able to
  produce
• DESCRIPTIONS OF OWN PRACTICE
• DESCRIPTIONS OF OBSERVATIONS AND PARTICIPANT
  OBSERVATIONS
• INTERVIEW INFORMATION
• QUESTIONNAIRE RESPONSES
• VIDEO/AUDIO TAPES
• DISCUSSIONS as a result of PHOTOGRAPHS
• INFORMATION LADDERS
• ETC
• Collect the data via the tools
• Video-taping
• Tape recording
• Surveys
• Questionnaires
• Focus group discussions
• Reflexive journals
• Self-reports
• Member-checking
• Photographs

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For example!

• This could be in the form of
• field notes, transcripts, audio/video-tape
  recordings selections from my raw data.
• Evidence of my reflection?
• (In my journal, in written notes to your critical
  friend, in your assignments).
• Confirmation from people in whose lives I was
  intervening that they felt I had done some good
  on their behalf.
• Evidence can also be produced via the provision
  of validation from validators, eg, my colleagues,
  my tutors, research participants, my critical
  friends.
• Evidence correlating with literate sources can
  also be used.

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Research procedural steps cont

• Organise the data by
• categorising
• comparing
• laddering
• Analyse and interpret the data through
• coding
• memoing
• integrative diagrams and sessions
• visual and participatory element interpretation
• thematic analysis
• content analysis
• discourse analysis
• Justify data as evidence
• Validate evidence as knowledge
• Use knowledge to solve/clarify the problem OR to
  formulate and substantiate a theory
• Write up the research report / dissertation /
  thesis
• Communicate the outcome via papers / poster
  sessions / articles

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Plan to validate my evidence

• How do I explain the significance of my work?
• How will I validate my evidence as knowledge?
• What will be the criteria and standards of
  judgement used to test, validate and authenticate
  the evidence?

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What influences my validation?
How does my personal cosmology and ontology
influence my interpretation of data and my
validation of evidence?
DATA

STANDARDS OF JUDGEMENT
CRITERIA for justification
JUSTIFICATION
EVIDENCE
Validation
By a validation authentication group /
methods OR statistics
KNOWLEDGE
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FORMULATED THEORY or LIVING THEORY OF OWN PRACTICE
RESEARCH EXPLANATORY TAXONOMY
KNOWLEDGE
knowledge created can be used to formulate ones
living (educational) theory of own practice
VALIDATION
VALIDATION AUTHENTICATION GROUP
EVIDENCE
EXPLAIING THE WHAT/WHY/HOW/WHEN/WHERE
JUSTIFICATION
DESCRIPTIONS OF OWN PRACTICE INTERVIEW
INFORMATION QUESTIONNAIRE RESPONSES VIDEO/AUDIO
TAPES DISCUSSIONS as a result of PHOTOGRAPHS
DATA
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Ways to do it

• How will you explain that impact?
• Audio/videotape recorded conversation with
  validation group in which specific criteria,
  indicators and categories were discussed
• Journal to show reflection on categories and
  indicators
• Field notes from participants referring to group
  discussion
• How can you be sure that judgements are
  reasonably fair and accurate?
• Audio/videotape recorded conversation with
  validation group on viewing of critical incidents
• Written feedback from validation group
• Written feedback from participants

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Qualitative validity

• Descriptive Validity
• The factual accuracy of the account as reported
  by the qualitative researcher.
• Interpretive Validity
• The degree to which the participants' viewpoints,
  thoughts, intentions, and experiences are
  accurately understood and reported by the
  qualitative researcher.
• Theoretical Validity
• The degree to which a theory or theoretical
  explanation developed from a research study fits
  the data and is, therefore, credible and
  defensible.
• Internal Validity
• The degree to which a researcher is justified in
  concluding that an observed relationship is
  causal. More often, qualitative researchers are
  concerned with studying and understanding a
  process rather than identifying possible cause
  and effect relationships.
• External Validity
• External validity is important when the
  researcher wants to generalize from a set of
  research findings to other people, settings, and
  times. Typically, generalizability is not the
  major purpose of qualitative research.
• Source R. Burke Johnson. (1998). Examining the
  Validity Structure of Qualitative Research.

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Triangulation

• What - Triangulation is the application and
  combination of several research methodologies in
  the study of the same phenomenon.
• It can be employed in both quantitative
  (validation) and qualitative (inquiry) studies.
• It is a method-appropriate strategy of founding
  the credibility of qualitative analyses.
• It becomes an alternative to " traditional
  criteria like reliability and validity"
• It is the preferred line in the social sciences
• Why - By combining multiple observers, theories,
  methods, and empirical materials, researchers can
  hope to overcome the weakness or intrinsic biases
  and the problems that come from single method,
  single-observer, single-theory studies.
• There are five basic types of triangulation
• data triangulation, involving time, space, and
  persons
• investigator triangulation, which consist of the
  use of multiple, rather than single observers
• theory triangulation, which consists of using
  more than one theoretical scheme in the
  interpretation of the phenomenon
• methodological triangulation, which involves
  using more than one method and may consist of
  within-method or between-method strategies.
• multiple triangulation, when the researcher
  combines in one investigation multiple observers,
  theoretical perspectives, sources of data, and
  methodologies.
• http//www.tele.sunyit.edu/traingulation.htm

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Objectives / Research Action Plan
OBJECTIVES What do I need to do to get there?
(TASK NEEDS) This should correlate with your
sub-foci AND your research procedure! To realize
my objectives Add a time schedule
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Assessment
Focus Research Plan of Action Grouping
Individual Purpose To reflect on your research
process and plan the procedural steps your
research project will follow What to do In a
table in a logical sequence, indicate the steps
you will follow in tackling the research project
with regard to ? what task each step will
entail, ? what the deliverables for the task will
be, ? who will be responsible to deliver, ?
context and ability of the person who delivers
(What limits are there? What am I able to
do?), ? what resources are available and what can
be used, ? what strategy/plan can be followed to
deliver, and ? how much time will be needed to
produce the deliverables.