FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND LANGUAGE

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HPEF7053
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS
MAY SEMESTER 2015
ASSIGNMENT 1
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INSTRUCTIONS TO STUDENTS
1. This assignment contains question that is set in English.
2. Your assignment should be typed using 12 point Times New Roman font and
1.5 line spacing.
3. You must submit your hardcopy assignment to your Facilitator and ONLINE via the myVLE. For the online student, you are to submit a softcopy of
your assignment via myVLE and another softcopy to the facilitator via e-mail.
Refer to the portal for instructions on the procedures to submit your
assignment on-line. You are advised to keep a copy of your submitted
assignment and proof of the submission for personal reference. Your
assignment must be submitted on
26-28 June 2015 (3rd Seminar).
4. Your assignment should be prepared individually. You should not copy another
persons assignment. You should also not plagiarise another persons work as
your own.
EVALUATION
This assignment accounts for 40% of the total marks for the course and
accounts for Online Discussion.

10%

ASSIGNMENT 1 (40%)
OBJECTIVE:
Assignment 1 is designed to evaluate your knowledge and skills required for research
activities and evaluating research critically.
The assignment consists of two (2) related tasks. The details of the tasks are explained
below:
TASK 1: Collecting Qualitative Data - Conducting an Observation and an Interview
(25 marks)
Select any topic of current interest in education. Prepare an observation protocol. Go to a
venue related to education where you can observe an educational process (teaching
learning; training etc.). Describe what you observe for about half an hour or more as
necessary.
Select any one (1) person from the venue that you are at. Ask permission to record a short
interview of about 10 minutes. Prepare some open-ended questions as a guide for your
interview (Interview protocol). After the interview transcribe it verbatim.
Write a brief self-evaluative report about how you think you have done in
conducting the observation and interview. Note: Anonymity of the participant(s)
must be preserved at all times.
TASK 2: Article Critique (15 marks)
An article will be provided by the lecturer for critique. Use the following headings to guide
your critique:

Discuss the qualitative research design of the study is it suitable to answer the
research questions.

Briefly outline how the data were collected and discuss how validity and reliability
were/were not addressed in this study and why this is important.

Outline how the data were analysed. Was it rigourous /not rigourous? Explain your
answer

Briefly outline the findings and identify any limitations of the study. Were the research
questions answered?

Identify ethical issues related to the study and how they were/were not addressed.

If you had been the researcher would you have done things differently? How? Why?

INSTRUCTIONS: Assignment 1 Format:

a.
b.
c.
d.

Use Times New Roman 12 point font and 1.5 spacing.

Task 1 should contain about 3-4 pages of verbatim transcript.
Task 2 should be about 3- 4 pages of critique.
Provide references. References should use the American Psychological Association
(APA) format.

For Assignment 1, Task 1 the documents that need to be submitted are:

(i)
The filled up observation protocol
(ii)
The observation report
(iii)
The open-ended questions used as a guide for the interview;
(iv)
The verbatim transcript; and
(v)
Brief self evaluative report
For Assignment 1, Task 2, the documents that need to be handed up are:
(i)

Your critique

Notes:

Assignments should be submitted according to the fixed date.

You are to submit a softcopy of your assignment online through myVLE and a hardcopy
to your facilitator. For the online student, you are to submit a softcopy of your
assignment via myVLE and another softcopy to the facilitator via e-mail.
Plagiarism is not acceptable. If you are not sure what is meant by plagiarism, refer to the
various websites which discuss this matter, e.g. owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts.

On-line Discussion Component (10%)

I shall be placing FOUR (4) main topics for discussion on-line. Your participation will be
monitored. The input you respond with will be evaluated for its quality and depth that reflects
your understanding through the readings that will be provided.
Besides the above, you can send any queries to my email:

estherdaniel57@gmail.com
[10%= 10 marks]