Thoughts on Creswell Chapter 9

As I was reading this chapter, I kept wondering if my research would take on a more qualitative approach rather than a quantitative or a mixed methods approach, which would combine both. I think about whom my audience would be, and in my mind, my audience is my school, my administrators, and my peers. Perhaps, the district would be my audience too. Crewsell states, “If there is some question about their knowledge, present the basic characteristics of qualitative research in the proposal and possibly discuss a recent qualitative research journal article (or study) to use as an example to illustrate the characteristics” (174). This type of statement would be good to help prove the credibility of the study and the results to my data-driven principal.

Some characteristics of qualitative research I can see incorporating into my inquiry include collecting data in a natural setting and gathering multiple forms of data (175). The natural setting of my classroom would provide the participants (the students) and the multiple forms of data would include interviews and observations. I would observe their working with the iPads and I would interview them before, during, and after the study.

I need to go back to Chapter 1 to choose the strategy of inquiry: narrative, phenomenology, ethnography, case study, or grounded theory. Alas, I am so new to actually thinking about research in this way that I am still getting my footing and finding my balance!

Since I’d conduct research at my school with my students, this qualifies as “backyard” research, and I would have to be careful not to be biased.

Then, I worry about gatekeepers. Am I the gatekeeper because I am their teacher? Do I have to acquire permission from my principal or the students’ parents?

The section in the chapter concerning observational protocol made me think of my use of Cornell notes with my students. On the left, students write the term or concept and on the right, they write the definition, examples, descriptions, etc.

While reading about the stages of data analysis and interpretation, I especially recall noticing certain elements of these stages in research reports I have read so far for my abstracts. For example, Stage 6 involves making an interpretation. Creswell cites Wolcott (1994): “One way ethnographers can end a study…is to ask further questions. The questioning approach is also used in advocacy and participatory approaches to qualitative research” (190). Many of the reports I read concluded with the researchers asking questions for further study and inquiry or the implications of the study. In fact, I have highlighted a few of these questions because I might want to adapt them for my own research question. That way, my research idea would add to the current research about the topic by theoretically filling a gap.

Another aspect of the chapter that I am curious about is mentioned in the qualitative write-up section. Creswell recommends to use metaphors and analogies. I hadn’t thought of this before, but it makes sense. A metaphor or an analogy might clarify terms or data that the reader might otherwise not understand by comparing it in ways familiar to the reader.

In conclusion, the research I want to do is appearing qualitative rather than quantitative. However, I still need to narrow down my ideas and gain a concrete understanding of exactly what my question is!