You spent the first part of class doing a short oral history about experiences with Halloween, or recollections about 9/11, your choice. The purpose of this exercise was to give you some practices recording/conducting an interview. After everyone collected his/her oral history, we re-convened as a class and talked over what you noticed about doing interviews. Here is a list of your observations:
1. Interviews have a life of their own. The conversation grows out of the interactions between individual participants, and even if you use the same protocol, every interview will be different.
2. Protocols are good things. They keep you focused, provide relevant questions when things get quiet, and generally set up the shape of the interview.
3. Whether or not an interview will "flow" depends not just on your questions, but also on the participants. If the conversation seems to just end, maybe it is just that your participant needs time to process. As an interviewer in a "quiet" interview, try: waiting, encouraging, saying back what was just said, re-phrasing, nodding and saying mm-hm.
4. Many of your best questions will arise in context - as follow-ups to what your participant has said. Interviews are conversations.
5. Familiarity with your focus/material facilitates the interview. Doing your homework on your topic will help the right questions (and the right replies to your participants talk) come out of your mouth.
6. You need to do your interview in a quiet place. Other people, sounds and activity will not only distract you = they will make transcribing your recording almost impossible.
There weren't many comments about using your phones to record, so evidently that is easy and seamless. Seems like you are ready to roll!
Summary of the methods we have worked on this semester:
discourse analysis
interviews
ethnography
case study
surveys
oral history
From your training as English majors, you are also experienced in library research and textual analysis. Not bad.
For next week:
Blog 16: Write your reflections on what you learned from conducting your oral history interview, and how you are going to apply that knowledge in your research.
Read/bring to class: the essay you will use for the literature review in your project
Happy Halloween! And see you next week.
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
10.29 Re-cap on short analysis questions & interview protocols, and intro to oral history
Note on blogs and short analysis drafts: Yes, it is the middle of the semester and I am a little overwhelmed just like everyone else. I had some other work that came due the same time as advisement, and I just wasn't able to get finished. It may be a couple of days before I get my head above water, but know that I have good intentions and I am working on getting back to you. I hope to have everything back in order by the weekend. Thanks for your patience - and if you need some immediate help (or to get the hold off your account so you can register) stop by my office.
I started by giving a general response to what I was seeing on your blogs.
Short analysis project
Setting up the short analysis project: In general, you are doing a great job of attending to the language features (and that is the hard part!), and you are getting the idea about using the language moves as evidence to answer a larger question. Also, you are doing a good job of asking questions that the data can answer. Very good! All interview data can ever really indicate is how the speakers act/feel/think. The reason that is important to writing studies is because those indications suggest larger patterns about cultural discourses, Conversations, forms and so on. Writing studies are interested in these larger formations because they shape our writing, talk and behavior (whether we are aware of them or not) => and to REALLY understand communication, it is important to think about the role played by the cultural Discourses, Conversations and identities that are out there = ready-made, for us to step into.
So what you needed to work on was identifying how the features you were noticing were shaped by larger cultural identities, Conversations, and ways of thinking and being associated with particular Discourse communities. We talked about what kinds of formations were associated with each of the two transcripts you might choose for your short analysis project (listed below, sort of approximating what we said).
Chat transcript
Adult learner
Interview protocols
I also talked briefly about what I saw on the posts for the interview protocols. You are doing a great job of starting with warm-up questions and moving to open-ended questions. For the most part, you are also asking lots of "tell me about. . ." "Can you talk a little more about. . . " and "Tell me a story where. . . " This is the best.
A few suggestions.
Set up a brief statement of your purpose at the beginning of your protocol (as on the sample). In most cases you will send your protocol to your participants BEFORE you do the interview, so they can think over what they have to say. The statement of purpose will help them frame their answers.
Use the categories of analysis from your research essay and your research question to decide what kinds of questions to ask in your interview. Categories of analysis are the general groups of ideas/information that you will analyze. In the commenting essay, the categories for analyzing the comments were length, type, Positive/negative, etc. Your categories of analysis need to connect to the research article because you are using your research article to help you frame your study. For example, if your research article states that children learn x, y, and z about literacy from their "play" - you will look at your participants' learning to see whether x,y, and z are there (or not) - and whether they learn other things as well (or not).
Be sure to ask participants to DESCRIBE their experiences before you ask them to ANALYZE/EVALUATE them. Ask a "tell me about" question before asking a "what was it like" or
"which is better" or "how do you use. . ." question. Both kinds of answers are useful, but the "tell me about" questions may give you information about how your participant feels/thinks that s/he is not able to fully articulate.
So good work on this. Before you do your interview: get the signed copy of your consent form and send me a copy of your interview protocol as an attachment to an email with the subject line: YOUR LAST NAME, Interview Protocol.
Developing a Research Plan. Somewhere in there, we also talked about planning your research project, and you did some writing to nail down (one more time) the purpose, research question, and process for your research project. The more writing you do here, the more clear you will be on what you are doing.
Oral history.
We spent the rest of class talking about Oral History, and doing some thinking about best practices for oral history interviews.
We talked about the kinds of background we would need to think about and the kinds of questions we would ask to collect an oral history on 9/11.
For next class:
Blog 15. Write to the points on the Developing a Research Plan Handout (posted to the right) as discussed in class
Come to class prepared to do an oral history on 911
I started by giving a general response to what I was seeing on your blogs.
Short analysis project
Setting up the short analysis project: In general, you are doing a great job of attending to the language features (and that is the hard part!), and you are getting the idea about using the language moves as evidence to answer a larger question. Also, you are doing a good job of asking questions that the data can answer. Very good! All interview data can ever really indicate is how the speakers act/feel/think. The reason that is important to writing studies is because those indications suggest larger patterns about cultural discourses, Conversations, forms and so on. Writing studies are interested in these larger formations because they shape our writing, talk and behavior (whether we are aware of them or not) => and to REALLY understand communication, it is important to think about the role played by the cultural Discourses, Conversations and identities that are out there = ready-made, for us to step into.
So what you needed to work on was identifying how the features you were noticing were shaped by larger cultural identities, Conversations, and ways of thinking and being associated with particular Discourse communities. We talked about what kinds of formations were associated with each of the two transcripts you might choose for your short analysis project (listed below, sort of approximating what we said).
Chat transcript
- Conversations about "danger" "sex" "good parents" and the Internet
- Identities for "children" as vulnerable, impressionable, and in need of protection (this is a very American conception of childhood - other cultures think of children as resilient, capable of processing experience more or less on their own, and able to take the good and the bad)
- Discourses for "rebellious adolescent" and "good sister/daughter" and "vulnerable child" (for A) and as research interviewer and friend for S
- Reflective patterns for talk typical of female talk (sharing stories and reflecting on what they mean)
Adult learner
- Discourses associated with digital technologies and computers (newcomers v experts)
- age/generational Discourses
- Female reflective storytelling-talk
- nontraditional student identity for M, research interviewer identity for S, middle aged women Discourse for both (collaborative, reflective, not coming to closure too quickly, lots of connections to other people and groups)
Interview protocols
I also talked briefly about what I saw on the posts for the interview protocols. You are doing a great job of starting with warm-up questions and moving to open-ended questions. For the most part, you are also asking lots of "tell me about. . ." "Can you talk a little more about. . . " and "Tell me a story where. . . " This is the best.
A few suggestions.
Set up a brief statement of your purpose at the beginning of your protocol (as on the sample). In most cases you will send your protocol to your participants BEFORE you do the interview, so they can think over what they have to say. The statement of purpose will help them frame their answers.
Use the categories of analysis from your research essay and your research question to decide what kinds of questions to ask in your interview. Categories of analysis are the general groups of ideas/information that you will analyze. In the commenting essay, the categories for analyzing the comments were length, type, Positive/negative, etc. Your categories of analysis need to connect to the research article because you are using your research article to help you frame your study. For example, if your research article states that children learn x, y, and z about literacy from their "play" - you will look at your participants' learning to see whether x,y, and z are there (or not) - and whether they learn other things as well (or not).
Be sure to ask participants to DESCRIBE their experiences before you ask them to ANALYZE/EVALUATE them. Ask a "tell me about" question before asking a "what was it like" or
"which is better" or "how do you use. . ." question. Both kinds of answers are useful, but the "tell me about" questions may give you information about how your participant feels/thinks that s/he is not able to fully articulate.
So good work on this. Before you do your interview: get the signed copy of your consent form and send me a copy of your interview protocol as an attachment to an email with the subject line: YOUR LAST NAME, Interview Protocol.
Developing a Research Plan. Somewhere in there, we also talked about planning your research project, and you did some writing to nail down (one more time) the purpose, research question, and process for your research project. The more writing you do here, the more clear you will be on what you are doing.
Oral history.
We spent the rest of class talking about Oral History, and doing some thinking about best practices for oral history interviews.
We talked about the kinds of background we would need to think about and the kinds of questions we would ask to collect an oral history on 9/11.
For next class:
Blog 15. Write to the points on the Developing a Research Plan Handout (posted to the right) as discussed in class
Come to class prepared to do an oral history on 911
Sunday, October 27, 2013
10.27 For Tuesday
We had an in-class workshop on Tuesday, and I talked with most of you about your projects. It looks like most of you are ready to go on your research projects, and well set up to work on your short analysis.
We went over the assignment sheet for the research project (posted to the right).
For next class:
We went over the assignment sheet for the research project (posted to the right).
For next class:
No Blog assignment. If you choose to turn in a draft Short analysis project for feedback, send it to the course email as an attachment on or before class Thursday, 10.31. (You are not losing your mind - I put the wrong date up so I changed it. Drafts for comments are due Thursday. Sorry for any confusion.)
Hope you had a great weekend and see you soon.
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
10:22 Research questions and doing interviews
We spent the first part of class reviewing questions you might ask of the transcripts for the short analysis project. Two important features of a good research question for this project are:
1. it needs to be a question that is important to writing studies
2. it needs to be "answerable" in terms of information in the transcript
With respect to the first feature, we worked on a list of the kinds of questions that writing studies researchers might be interested in. This list included (but is not limited to) questions about:
how interviews work
features of different Discourse communities and how they influence the way we talk about particular topics
how identities (Discourses) shape the communication dynamics in conversations (and interviews)
how Discourse affects literacy learning
attitudes about literacy, writing, school and just about anything else that will influence literacy learning
how Discourses/identities/past literacy experiences affect student attitudes toward writing/literacy
connections between literacy learning and other attitudes, activities, and identities
The rest of class was spent talking about how to design interviews. We looked at the handout on doing interviews, and we looked at a sample interview protocol.
We noted the following.
Next class will be a workshop. You can either work on your interview protocol, or your short analysis. For those of you who are doing interviews for your project, I will need to read through your interview protocol before you use it with your participants. This class will be a good chance to do some work, get some feedback, so you will be sure of your protocol before you turn it in.
Blog 14: Draft an interview protocol for your research project. If you are not doing interviews, draft an interview protocol that you could use if you decided to do your project a different way.
1. it needs to be a question that is important to writing studies
2. it needs to be "answerable" in terms of information in the transcript
With respect to the first feature, we worked on a list of the kinds of questions that writing studies researchers might be interested in. This list included (but is not limited to) questions about:
how interviews work
features of different Discourse communities and how they influence the way we talk about particular topics
how identities (Discourses) shape the communication dynamics in conversations (and interviews)
how Discourse affects literacy learning
attitudes about literacy, writing, school and just about anything else that will influence literacy learning
how Discourses/identities/past literacy experiences affect student attitudes toward writing/literacy
connections between literacy learning and other attitudes, activities, and identities
As you can see, this is a pretty broad list.
Some other observations we made about how to phrase a "good" research question for this project were that the questions would need to be asked in terms of what the transcript can show. For example, the gaming transcript cannot support an answer to questions about whether or not gaming experience helps students learn software for school=> it can only show what the participants in this interview say about their perspective on that question.
The rest of class was spent talking about how to design interviews. We looked at the handout on doing interviews, and we looked at a sample interview protocol.
We noted the following.
- The beginning of the interview is a place for participants to warm up. Ask questions that are easy to answer.
- An open-ended, general question about your focus at the end of the introductory material can give your participant a chance to talk about your topic in his/her own language, before you begin directing the conversation to specific features of your question.
- It is a good idea to organize your interview - either chronologically, by topic, or both.
- You will probably want to ask the same questions - related to different aspects of your topic - over and over again to give your participant multiple opportunities to call up information assosciated with your focus.
- Ask lots of descriptive, tell me about, do you have a story questions, rather than questions that demand direct information.
- As you come to the end of your interview make sure to give your participant an opportunity to raise anything they want to say that you might not have covered.
Next class will be a workshop. You can either work on your interview protocol, or your short analysis. For those of you who are doing interviews for your project, I will need to read through your interview protocol before you use it with your participants. This class will be a good chance to do some work, get some feedback, so you will be sure of your protocol before you turn it in.
Blog 14: Draft an interview protocol for your research project. If you are not doing interviews, draft an interview protocol that you could use if you decided to do your project a different way.
Saturday, October 19, 2013
10.17 Language analysis of transcripts
We spent class using the language features handout (see previous post) to characterize language use in the Gaming transcript. This was to give you some practice naming and classifying what is going on in a transcript (one form of data) as a way to develop - and answer - research questions.
This work was to give you some practices doing the kind of thinking about, naming, and organizating you will need to do for your Short Analysis Project.
For next class:
Blog 13: Choose the transcript you will analyze for your short analysis project. Name some of the language moves you see as important to what seems to be going on in your transcript. Identify the cultural discourses (Dominant Discourses - or other personal Discourses the participants might identify with) that seem to be shaping conversations in your transcript . Pose a research question. Begin listing/describing what you will use as evidence to support your discussion of your answer.
Read: handout on interviews.
In class, we will talk about how to create interview protocols (sets of interview questions), and how to conduct interviews. You will also spend some time workshopping your short analysis essays.
This work was to give you some practices doing the kind of thinking about, naming, and organizating you will need to do for your Short Analysis Project.
For next class:
Blog 13: Choose the transcript you will analyze for your short analysis project. Name some of the language moves you see as important to what seems to be going on in your transcript. Identify the cultural discourses (Dominant Discourses - or other personal Discourses the participants might identify with) that seem to be shaping conversations in your transcript . Pose a research question. Begin listing/describing what you will use as evidence to support your discussion of your answer.
Read: handout on interviews.
In class, we will talk about how to create interview protocols (sets of interview questions), and how to conduct interviews. You will also spend some time workshopping your short analysis essays.
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
10.15 Discourse, discourse, Primary Discourse, Secondary Discourses, transcripts = and discourse analysis
We spent class talking over James Gee's introduction to Discourse. These were your observations at the conclusion of our discussion.
So, with all that in mind, this is what to do for next class.
Literacy is connected to Discourse
Little d discourse is language in use
Big D Discourse includes beliefs, ways of thinking = a pattern for performing an identity
Dominant Discourse is the identity/ways of being/language that is "enforced" by culture
Primary Discourse = values beliefs ways of relating to the world we learn as children
Discourse is not just what you say but how you say it
We learn secondary Discourses from school, media, work peer groups etc
You need to understand Discourse before you can research it
Our interpretations derive from our Primary Discourse
Your own discourse will influence the way you “hear” and “say” things = consciously and unconsciously
There is translation (difference) between languages – and between Discourses
School teaches Dominant Discourse
Transcripts – we hear what we expect
A style and structure are part of Discourse
You nailed that discussion!
We also went over the assignment sheet for the short analysis project. We will be working on discourse analysis (analyzing the way speakers/writers use language as a way to understand how their Discourse (assumptions, values, beliefs, ways of doing, being, saying) shapes and /or is shaped by Dominant Discourse.
We ended class by listing some communities/groups which have Discourses. Here is the list.
School
Most sports/games have Discourse communities (football, baseball, soccer, scrabble. . .)
Churches
Nationalities
Ethnicities
Professions (Doctors, lawyers, accountants, teachers, steel workers, farmers. . .)
Politicians – by party & positions within parties
Students
Gamers (online/game systems) by game genre or gaming group
Music communities
Fan communities, including different fan fiction groups
Interviewers (for the news, for celebrities, for research, for jobs = all different discourses)
So, with all that in mind, this is what to do for next class.
Read: look through the three transcripts (posted to the right). Pay special attention to the Gaming transcript, as it is the one we will analyze as an example, in class.
Blog 12: Write about some of the interesting "moves" or language features you notice in the Gaming transcript. What Discourses do Ch and B seem to belong to? What evidence do you have that they belong to those Discourses? What research questions might you ask about what is going on in this transcript? (One important criterion for a good question for a set of data is that there is evidence in the data to support an answer.)
Thursday, October 10, 2013
10.10 Informed consent!
You spent class today planning and practicing how to get informed consent from your project participants.
I passed out:
a signed (by me) informed consent form
a signed (by me) A-V consent form
a debriefing form.
You wrote a paragraph to cover the specifics of your project so you could talk your participants about your study, your processes for subject selection, the purpose of your study, and you data collection methods.
After watching several of your classmates talk through the process for getting informed consent, you practiced with a partner.
In addition to covering all the points pertaining to your study, make sure to:
point out the contact information
inform participants that they can withdraw with no penalty/consequence at any time
make clear the steps you will take to preserve confidentiality
ask if your participant has any questions
get a copy of the signed forms for you, and give one to the participant
You also practiced presenting, talking through, and signing the A-V forms. Make clear that participants can request that the recording equipment be turned off, and that the A-V form only pertains to data recording. Again, draw paricipants' attention to the contact numbers, and create wo sets of forms.
At the end of your data collection you will provide participants with a debriefing form. Thank your participant, explain how their participation was important, point out the contact numbers, and thank them again.
For next class:
Blog 11: Post the material you will use to describe your project when you present your informed consent materials.
Read: Gee, Introduction to Discourse Analysis
In this reading, pay attention to the way he talks about Discourse communities, identity, and his discussion of how to analyze talk (transcripts).
Have a great weekend and see you next week!
I passed out:
a signed (by me) informed consent form
a signed (by me) A-V consent form
a debriefing form.
You wrote a paragraph to cover the specifics of your project so you could talk your participants about your study, your processes for subject selection, the purpose of your study, and you data collection methods.
After watching several of your classmates talk through the process for getting informed consent, you practiced with a partner.
In addition to covering all the points pertaining to your study, make sure to:
point out the contact information
inform participants that they can withdraw with no penalty/consequence at any time
make clear the steps you will take to preserve confidentiality
ask if your participant has any questions
get a copy of the signed forms for you, and give one to the participant
You also practiced presenting, talking through, and signing the A-V forms. Make clear that participants can request that the recording equipment be turned off, and that the A-V form only pertains to data recording. Again, draw paricipants' attention to the contact numbers, and create wo sets of forms.
At the end of your data collection you will provide participants with a debriefing form. Thank your participant, explain how their participation was important, point out the contact numbers, and thank them again.
For next class:
Blog 11: Post the material you will use to describe your project when you present your informed consent materials.
Read: Gee, Introduction to Discourse Analysis
In this reading, pay attention to the way he talks about Discourse communities, identity, and his discussion of how to analyze talk (transcripts).
Have a great weekend and see you next week!
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
10.8 Research essays: Form and content
NOTE: Class on 10/10 will meet in CAS 304.
We spent class discussing Martin's essay on the rhetoric of teachers comments on student writing. I didn't write down my notes for this class, so this is an approximation of what we talked about.
Overall organization of this essay
Introduction
Literature review
Current study
Discussion
Conclusions
In our discussion of the overall analysis, we noted that some authors merge some of these sections (for instance, the lit review + the introduction, or the results and discussion, or the discussion & the conclusions), but that this list represents the general order for the "moves" research writers make when presenting their work.
Type of comment
Use of hedges
Text specificity
As we discussed these categories for Martin's analysis, we noted that the paper might have been stronger if these categories were defined more directly, and earlier in the essay. We figured out what she meant by these categories by looking at the appendix, and the discussion of teacher tendencies in the literature review.
What should a literature review do
1. tell what has been found relevant to your question
2. establish your authority/credibility
3. evidence of the importance for your research
Describe the context for the study
Describe how you collected your data
Present your research instrument (survey, interview protocol, etc)
Students did not revise in response to positive comments
Did correct grammar comments
Type was the strongest predictor (more so than features) for student revision
Suggestions for strengthening this essay
Organization= present definitions/focus before discussing
Create a focused summary of the literature review=> only summarize/discuss points relevant to your focus
Work on the data presentation: don’t present ALL the results, only results relevant to the research question; use visuals; organize data by points about what the data mean
Throughout this discussion, you did some talking/thinking about how to organize/present your research essay.
I really can't remember what I said to do for Blog 10 when we were in class. I remember that we started to look at Data Set 4 during the last 15 minutes and that we talked about creating research questions that we might ask of this data set.
For next class:
Blog 10: Name and classify some of the important features of the comments in Data Sets 4.1, 4.2, 4.3 & 4.4 (look through all for essays with comments). What patterns do you see? What research questions might you ask of this data set?
During net class we will talk some more about analyzing Data Set 4, and I will set you up for collecting data for your research project.
We spent class discussing Martin's essay on the rhetoric of teachers comments on student writing. I didn't write down my notes for this class, so this is an approximation of what we talked about.
Overall organization of this essay
Introduction
Literature review
Current study
Methods
ResultsDiscussion
Conclusions
In our discussion of the overall analysis, we noted that some authors merge some of these sections (for instance, the lit review + the introduction, or the results and discussion, or the discussion & the conclusions), but that this list represents the general order for the "moves" research writers make when presenting their work.
Type of comment
Use of hedges
Text specificity
As we discussed these categories for Martin's analysis, we noted that the paper might have been stronger if these categories were defined more directly, and earlier in the essay. We figured out what she meant by these categories by looking at the appendix, and the discussion of teacher tendencies in the literature review.
1. tell what has been found relevant to your question
2. establish your authority/credibility
3. evidence of the importance for your research
What to include in the methods section
Identify your research subjectsDescribe the context for the study
Describe how you collected your data
Present your research instrument (survey, interview protocol, etc)
Students did not revise in response to positive comments
Did correct grammar comments
Type was the strongest predictor (more so than features) for student revision
(4 most likely to respond to = list on last page)
This essay also noted a long list of similarities and differences between the present study's findings and Ferris' work. We observed that the presentation of findings was hard to follow, and made the following observations about different ways to present them.
- don't try to present everything, just points relevant to the focus
- use visuals
- make better use of categories/other organizing ideas to present data (more, larger groupings)
Create a focused summary of the literature review=> only summarize/discuss points relevant to your focus
Work on the data presentation: don’t present ALL the results, only results relevant to the research question; use visuals; organize data by points about what the data mean
Throughout this discussion, you did some talking/thinking about how to organize/present your research essay.
I really can't remember what I said to do for Blog 10 when we were in class. I remember that we started to look at Data Set 4 during the last 15 minutes and that we talked about creating research questions that we might ask of this data set.
For next class:
Blog 10: Name and classify some of the important features of the comments in Data Sets 4.1, 4.2, 4.3 & 4.4 (look through all for essays with comments). What patterns do you see? What research questions might you ask of this data set?
During net class we will talk some more about analyzing Data Set 4, and I will set you up for collecting data for your research project.
Thursday, October 3, 2013
10.03 Research Plan and Evaluating Surveys
We started class with some writing to develop your research projects. You wrote some drafty writing to answer the 5 prompts in the previous post. (See: Developing a Research Plan).
You shared your ideas for your projects and got started on your blog post for next Tuesday (listed at the end of this post).
Evaluating model research studiesDuring the second part of class we evaluated the study on texting. We noticed that the beginning of the essay defines the problem. The author's next move was to present the "pro" and "con" research on the effects of texting on writing. The following section set up her methods: her overall approach to collecting and analyzing data. The final section presented findings.
Our evaluation of her essay's form: In our discussion we pointed out that the paper would have been stronger with a more detailed presentation of her data (results) followed by a conclusion which discusses her answer to her research question in light of her data.
The study used three approaches for data collection: interviews with teachers, interviews with students, and analysis of written texts by students.
Content of surveys for students and teachers
You shared your ideas for your projects and got started on your blog post for next Tuesday (listed at the end of this post).
Evaluating model research studiesDuring the second part of class we evaluated the study on texting. We noticed that the beginning of the essay defines the problem. The author's next move was to present the "pro" and "con" research on the effects of texting on writing. The following section set up her methods: her overall approach to collecting and analyzing data. The final section presented findings.
Our evaluation of her essay's form: In our discussion we pointed out that the paper would have been stronger with a more detailed presentation of her data (results) followed by a conclusion which discusses her answer to her research question in light of her data.
The study used three approaches for data collection: interviews with teachers, interviews with students, and analysis of written texts by students.
Content of surveys for students and teachers
Students
How long have you been texting?
How long have you been texting?
How often do you text?
Do you notice yourself using textspeak in your texting/formal writing?
(suggestion = forward some texts)
What types of abbreviations/how often
What do they think should be done to prevent textspeak in writing?
Teachers
Are you a texter?
Are you a texter?
Do you believe texting is impairing student writing?
Do teachers notice the effects of texting in student writing?
Is texting positive or negative?
What do you think should be done to keep students from using textspeak in writing?
Analysis of student writing
essays were analyzed for common acronyms used in texting
essays were analyzed for common acronyms used in texting
**essays were not analyzed for any of the positive effects of texting noted by researchers
Class assessment of this study:
We raised questions about the subject selection (is choosing friends the best idea?); the quality of the surveys (some questions were leading, needed more questions); the surveys should have been included in the study as appendices; the student writing might have been analyzed for more than just the presence of acronyms.
Good work on this!
For next week:
Read: Rhetoric of Teacher Comments on Student Writing Robin Martin
Blog 9: Develop your research plan. Write into each of the 5 prompts. At the end of your plan: list what you need to do to get started on your project; list of what you need from me, let me know if you want another conference.
Good class & see you next week.
10.3 Developing a research plan
1. Identify your focus. This is a general statement of what you are interested in
2. Identify your research question: What in particular do you want to find out? State your question in as specific terms as you can: the age/identity of your subjects, the location of your study, the particular activities/features you will focus on.
Your research question is really a group of related questions, stated in specific terms, where you narrow in on what in particular you want to learn about in your study.
3. Who has studied this question and what do they say. For this prompt - mention any article that you have read where researchers have explored answers to your question. If you can't find any articles - tell me something about what you searched for and what you found (even if it wasn't right).
4.What do I need to find out to answer this question? This prompt is to help you clarify and deepen your research question.
5. What do I need to do to gather information that will answer my question?
This prompt is to help you think about how to design your study. Who will you work with? Where? what will you do together?
2. Identify your research question: What in particular do you want to find out? State your question in as specific terms as you can: the age/identity of your subjects, the location of your study, the particular activities/features you will focus on.
Your research question is really a group of related questions, stated in specific terms, where you narrow in on what in particular you want to learn about in your study.
3. Who has studied this question and what do they say. For this prompt - mention any article that you have read where researchers have explored answers to your question. If you can't find any articles - tell me something about what you searched for and what you found (even if it wasn't right).
4.What do I need to find out to answer this question? This prompt is to help you clarify and deepen your research question.
5. What do I need to do to gather information that will answer my question?
This prompt is to help you think about how to design your study. Who will you work with? Where? what will you do together?
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
10.1 Surveys
Today's class wrapped up ethnography and moved on to surveys.
At the beginning of class we had a general discussion about what surveys can and can't do, some of the problems associated with surveys, and different kinds of surveys and survey questions.
what surveys can and can't do
can do:
collect a large body of data fairly cheaply
provide statistical answers to clearly framed questions
because surveys rely on self-reports, it is difficult to get accurate information about what the respondents don't know, don't understand, or have misinformation about = all you can find out is wht respondents think
can't do
unpack the reasoning/particular interpretations that underlie the ways respondent complete surveys
some of the problems associated with surveys
poor return rates
people do not always answer them honestly
often, even when respondents have good intentions, there can be miscommunications
different cultures, as well as individuals with different experiences rate/respond to survey questions differently
survey formats
fill in the blank/write a response
multiple choice
rank on a scale
We then spent some time looking through the data collected for the MA in English studies program.
The survey's purpose was to assess the program's effectiveness,
The survey's specific objectives were to assesss whether the program provided students with:
For next class:
Read: Texting and Writing
Blog 8: Post your group's analysis of the data from the MA program surveys. The focus of your analysis is to identify whether the program achieved its objectives. Use specific references to/analysis of the data to support your conclusions.
In class we will talk some more about designing effective surveys and planning studies that use what surveys can do in effective ways.
At the beginning of class we had a general discussion about what surveys can and can't do, some of the problems associated with surveys, and different kinds of surveys and survey questions.
what surveys can and can't do
can do:
collect a large body of data fairly cheaply
provide statistical answers to clearly framed questions
because surveys rely on self-reports, it is difficult to get accurate information about what the respondents don't know, don't understand, or have misinformation about = all you can find out is wht respondents think
can't do
unpack the reasoning/particular interpretations that underlie the ways respondent complete surveys
some of the problems associated with surveys
poor return rates
people do not always answer them honestly
often, even when respondents have good intentions, there can be miscommunications
different cultures, as well as individuals with different experiences rate/respond to survey questions differently
survey formats
fill in the blank/write a response
multiple choice
rank on a scale
We then spent some time looking through the data collected for the MA in English studies program.
The survey's purpose was to assess the program's effectiveness,
The survey's specific objectives were to assesss whether the program provided students with:
- courses and experiences that would support their career choices/personal aspirations
- a sense of increased confidence and proficiency with respect to writing practices they will need for their future
- strong background in theory and practice that defines writing studies.
For next class:
Read: Texting and Writing
Blog 8: Post your group's analysis of the data from the MA program surveys. The focus of your analysis is to identify whether the program achieved its objectives. Use specific references to/analysis of the data to support your conclusions.
In class we will talk some more about designing effective surveys and planning studies that use what surveys can do in effective ways.
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Surveys
Process for thinking about scope and format
1. Write a statement of purpose
2. Write specific objectives that relate to that purpose
3.Decide if you would conduct your survey by mail, phone, internet, or personal interviews
4.Justify your choice of collection methods
Process/guidelines for designing the survey instrument
Outline the various topics you want to include in the survey
Consider the purpose of each question you intend to ask
Decide on the structure (closed=multiple choice, checkbox v open ended formats=respondents use their own language)
Avoid psychologically sensitive questions (questions that may trigger defenses or promote conflict in respondent) For the survey of new students/graduates from the MA program, a sensitive question might be "Do you feel you are successful in your chosen profession?"
As you compose questions, review them for clarity
Short questions are preferable to long ones
Positive wording is preferable to negative wording
Ask only one idea with each question
Avoid leading question
Emphaize main concepts with italics or underlines.
Testing your survey
use a group similar to the group you will study
ask the pilot group for their help. Encourage them to note what is confusing, what is left out, and what doesn't need to be there
administer the survey in the same way you will use it in your study
collect your participants comments either through post survey conversations, or comments written on the survey itself
revise your survey in light of the testing
1. Write a statement of purpose
2. Write specific objectives that relate to that purpose
3.Decide if you would conduct your survey by mail, phone, internet, or personal interviews
4.Justify your choice of collection methods
Process/guidelines for designing the survey instrument
Outline the various topics you want to include in the survey
Consider the purpose of each question you intend to ask
Decide on the structure (closed=multiple choice, checkbox v open ended formats=respondents use their own language)
Avoid psychologically sensitive questions (questions that may trigger defenses or promote conflict in respondent) For the survey of new students/graduates from the MA program, a sensitive question might be "Do you feel you are successful in your chosen profession?"
As you compose questions, review them for clarity
Short questions are preferable to long ones
Positive wording is preferable to negative wording
Ask only one idea with each question
Avoid leading question
Emphaize main concepts with italics or underlines.
Testing your survey
use a group similar to the group you will study
ask the pilot group for their help. Encourage them to note what is confusing, what is left out, and what doesn't need to be there
administer the survey in the same way you will use it in your study
collect your participants comments either through post survey conversations, or comments written on the survey itself
revise your survey in light of the testing
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