TSL 3133 Action Research I

TOPIC 8

ACTION RESEARCH
Data Collection Methods

SYNOPSIS
Topic 8 continues to explore the data collection methods that can be
used during an action research project. In this section, the following
methods will be explained:

Questionnaires

Video

Logs

Field notes

Photographs

Portfolios

Anecdotal records

Slides

Journals

Diaries

Participants will be expected to evaluate and consider how to

employ these data collection methods effectively during their action
research investigation.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this topic, you will be able to:

Identify the types of data collection instruments that can be used in action research

Understand strengths and limitations of data collection instruments in action research

Become informed about how to design and create effective data collection
instruments

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Questionnaire Design
When it comes to getting a lot of information in a short period, a questionnaire may be the
answer. Questionnaires contain lists of questions in open-ended or closed-ended formats.
While it takes time to design questions and determine a sample group, if done correctly, the
questionnaire method can be a low-cost, effective way to collect data.
Purpose
A questionnaire is designed to get information from a large audience in a short period. It may
be particularly useful when participants wish to remain anonymous or when you want to
provide a more comfortable way for participants to divulge information that would make them
uncomfortable in a face-to-face setting. Most questionnaires are geared toward analyzing
the attitudes and beliefs of the participants, and many ask them to rate how they feel about a
selection of scenarios using a scale of alternatives.
Cost
When you need to collect data from a large group of people, a questionnaire may be the
most cost-effective method. The main costs include printing the questionnaire or setting it up
online; if you opt to mail the questionnaire, you may need to purchase envelopes and
postage. These costs may be significantly less than other data collection methods such as
clinical trials or experiments, focus groups and paying participants or hiring experts to
provide you with information. Financial incentives for completing the questionnaire may
encourage a higher rate of return, but they are not necessary.
Effectiveness
Because questionnaires may be taken anonymously or in private, this method may be more
effective for gathering sensitive information or when you want statistical data about what the
majority of a certain group of people think. The shorter and more concise the questionnaire
and the more specific the group of respondents, the more effective the results will be.
Providing respondents with some incentive for completing the questionnaire may also
encourage them to provide honest responses and actually complete the questionnaire.
Disadvantages
The questionnaire method must designed properly to be effective and meet its intended
purpose. Poorly written questions, a confusing structure and ambiguous questions can
quickly make this method ineffective. Unless completed on site, most questionnaires also
have a low rate of return and there is no guarantee respondents will be honest in their
responses, especially if forced to take a questionnaire.
Figure 1 and Figure 2 illustrate example questionnaires:

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Figure 1:

Figure 2:

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Video and Cassette recordings

Video recording was chosen for the reasons given by Smith (1981), namely that the use of
mechanical recording devices usually gives greater flexibility than observations
done by hand. Capturing much of the data on video tape also allowed what Edwards and
Westgate (1987) refer to as retrospective analysis - at leisure, and in much greater
depth than would have been possible even using techniques involving live coding.

Categorisation of the data could similarly be developed more fully after viewing the tapes
and adopting an open-minded stance, allowing the data itself to influence the design of a
category system derived from analysing it rather than being imposed on it (Again,
Edwards and Westgate). While audio tape might have been used to capture
pupils talk, this, on its own, would not have been enough to answer a research question
focused on childrens talk, since it is important, again as discussed by Edward and
Westgate, to recognise the potential ambiguities introduced by an analysis based upon
words alone. The video served to provide context, together with the opportunity
to search for meaning in the dialogue and the actions before and after any specific
utterance.

It is difficult for a teacher to obtain a true picture of inter-group and group-computer

interaction, as both of these are influenced by the presence or absence of the
teacher. The video record, however, allows both researcher and teacher to gain some
insight into this interaction. That is the power of video as a research tool.

Research Log
A research project may take many hours of searching through library catalogues and journal
indexes to find the best and most relevant information on your topic. Keeping track of the
resources you've used and how you searched them can help you to do a thorough and
systematic search, and it can help you avoid duplicating your research efforts!
The Research Log is essentially a diary of your research process. Every time you find
something that might be useful, fill in a form detailing how and where you found the item.
The Research Log also provides space to format your citation and record the specific
information you want to use in your research project.

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Date ___________________________
Research Log

Search topic (write in the form of a question and circle major concepts):

Keywords to search (synonyms for the concepts circled above; think of both broader &
narrower terms):

Information Source used (e.g. Library Catalogue, Journal Index or Database, Internet):

Access point(s) (how did you find the source? e.g. keyword= , subject heading= , author=
etc.):

Library Location: ___________ Call # ________________________ Status

_______________

Complete Citation for item found (see the Citing Sources guide for help):

Evaluation of material (how/what will it contribute to your paper or support your argument?
How does it relate to the other information that youve found?):

Paraphrased ideas or direct quotes to use in paper (record the page numbers where
the quote is found): (see the Plagiarism guide for help with paraphrasing and summarizing.)

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Ancedotal Field Notes

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2793234/

Field notes
Field notes are contemporaneous notes of observations or conversation taken during the
conduct of qualitative research. Depending on the circumstances, the notes taken can be full
(e.g. verbatim transcripts of conversations taken by hand or recorded by a tape recorder) or
brief notations that can be elaborated on later. Bryman and Bell (2003) identify three
classifications of field notes based on suggestions by Lofland and Lofland (1995) and Sanjek
(1990). These are: mental notes when it may be inappropriate to take notes; jotted or scratch
notes, taken at the time of observation [non-participant observation; participant observation]
or discussion and consisting of highlights that can be remembered for later development;
and full field notes written up as promptly and as fully as possible. Keeping good systematic
field notes is an essential part of undertaking qualitative research as observations and
interviews are only useful to the extent that they can be remembered ...
Background
Field notes are brief documents that remind both learners and observer that observations
have been made and feedback has been provided. They are designed to be generic for
convenience and versatility. Observations can range from interactions with students,
interactions with team members, discussions of professional thinking, written communication
or learner presentations.
The chosen name field note is a very clear reference to the intention that these notes be
used and guided by reference to qualitative methodology. Qualitative methods, specifically
participatory action research methods, seem to provide a useful analogy for the processes
involved when a teacher and a learner work together to build a meaningful and trustworthy
understanding of the learners developing competencies.3 The focus of interest changes
from trying to determine a binary state, competent or not, to attempting to understand the
learners habits of competence.4 In essence, we are less interested in the specific skills a
learner demonstrates at a given point in time and more interested in his or her ability to
demonstrate ongoing and continuous improvement through effective use of feedback and
guided self-assessment.

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Photographs
The purpose of any type of documentary is to record and demonstrate what is important
about any sort of event, people or place. The finished project should contain selected
excerpts from the entire observational experience--the excerpts are (in the mind of the
author) the most crucial aspects of his/her research or observations that best represent the
whole. Example: You sit in class and take notes; you do not write down every word the
lecturer says: you are writing your own documentary of the lecture. Think of any work (fiction
or not) you have ever read; the contents of the work are used to demonstrate a concise
purpose--a means to an end--without leading the reader astray with other "means" that may
lead to an alternative "end".

The inherent problem with any type of documentary that you read is that it is transmitted to
you via the author. Thus, how can one judge the "realness" of what you are observing, as
compared to what the researcher observed. At some point, you must sacrifice your desire to
know all the facts, and make a judgement on the truthfulness in the facts which you are
given. Enter photography (still photography that is) as a research method, and it seems that
your problems are solved; people believe that the camera does not lie. Have you not ever
said the words: "I'll believe it when I see it," or "seeing is believing." However, as Susan
Sontag explains:
The photographer was thought to be an acute but non interfering
observer--a scribe, not a poet. But as people quickly discovered
that nobody takes the same picture of the same thing, the
supposition that cameras furnish an impersonal, objective image
yielded to the fact that photographs are evidence not only of
what's there but of what an individual sees, not just a record but
an evaluation of the world.
You may not agree with the photographers (subjective) evaluation, but thanks to the
objective nature of photographs you cannot deny its truthfulness; "photographic images do
not seem to be statements about the world so much as pieces of it" (Sontag). In this sense,
these pieces serve as pieces of evidence. Evidence, of course, is what everyone is looking
for.
Portfolios
Portfolios contain a body of students work over the course of a week, month, semester or
entire year. As a result, the portfolio can be an incredibly rich resource of evidence to show
student progress during an action research study as it may illustrate that the change and

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improvement that you are investigating does in fact exist in the collected portfolio of your
students work.
The vast majority of participants in the course are already familiar with portfolios as a
classroom assessment instrument and therefore this is an abbreviated explanation.
Anecdotal records
An anecdotal record is a description of student behavior or a report of observed behavioral
incidents. For example, the teacher of a disruptive student may write a description of the
disturbances caused by the student to keep track of performance concerns.
An anecdotal record is "a written record kept in a positive tone of a child's progress based on
milestones particular to that child's social, emotional, physical, aesthetic, and cognitive
development," notes the American Association of School Administrators (1992, p. 21). The
teacher observes and then records a child's actions and work throughout the day while the
activities are occurring. The recording is informal and typically is based on notes or a
checklist with space for writing comments. It is done only when appropriate and is not forced;
in fact, there may be days between entries. The anecdotal record is positive in tone. It
emphasizes "what a child can do and his or her achievements, as opposed to what he or
she cannot do," explains the American Association of School Administrators (1992, p. 2). It
is useful for reporting a child's progress and achievements during parent-teacher
conferences. Figure 3 illustrates an example of an anecdotal record:
Figure 3:

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Slides
As a research collection instrument slides assume that you have access to powerpoint and
that students regularly use PPT in the creation and sharing of information in class. Student
powerpoint slides could then potentially become a useful source of evidence during your
action research project to collect and analyze data from students powerpoint slides.
Journals
Much has been written about the role that reflective writing diaries and journals plays in
teachers professional growth. The collective message emerging from this work is that
reflective writing can provide much insight into the personal and often implicit processes
which teachers experience in their work and development, and that these written accounts
have benefits both for the writer, as well as where the writing is made public for the
reader. In broad terms, by documenting and reflecting on their experience, writers benefit
from an enhanced awareness of themselves as people and as professionals, an awareness
which makes for more informed professional decision making (Holly, 1989a).

For readers, the benefits stem from the access which reflective writing provides into the
writers perspective on some professional activity. For example, teacher educators read their
students diaries and use the insights gained to inform course evaluation. And teachers who
read accounts of other teachers professional lives may benefit from the added
understandings of their own work which reading about someone elses can bring. The point I
want to make here, then, is that reflective writing is acknowledged as a useful tool for both
promoting and understanding teachers professional activity and growth.
Diary
What is the difference between a Journal and a Diary?

Although often used

interchangeably, there is actually a significant difference between a journal and a diary. A

diary is more of a log of events- where did you go, what did you do and so on. A journal, on
the other hand, is a more personal reflection on who you are, what you feel and how you can
improve your life.
I call my journal a journal but I use elements of both when I write. This way I paint a picture
of not only who I am but also who I want to become.

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Reference
Borg, Simon. School of Education, University of Leeds Language Teaching Research 5,2
(2001); pp. 156177. The research journal: a tool for promoting and understanding
researcher development.
Bowman, M D (1993). Childrens Use of Computer-based Interactive Stories. Research
Report. Ayr: University of Paisley.
Edwards, A D and Westgate, D P G (1987). Investigating Classroom Talk. Lewes: Falmer
Press.
Rosenthal, R (1976). Experimenter Effects in Behavioural Research. New York: Irvington.
Smith, H W (1981, 2nd ed). Strategies of Social Research. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall.
http://www.uleth.ca/lib/guides/research/display.asp?PageID=30
Walker Evans Project at the University of Virginia: http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ug97/fsa/tool.html
downloaded from the world wide web December 2012.

Zeiger, Stacy. Rationale for Questionnaire Method, Demand Media

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/rationale-questionnaire-method-50309.html downloaded
from the world wide web December 2012.