Reflection: Initial Data Collection/Interim Data Analysis (Completed 26th February 2018)

Name: Ellen O’Regan

Research Question:
How can contemporary depictions of play framed in children’s picturebooks influence teachers’ practice?

1. Data sources:
i. Caldecott Medal winning books (2000-2017)
ii. Caldecott Medal acceptance speeches (2000-2017)
iii. Expert interviews (Professors in the fields of literacy education and children’s literature at West Chester
Unversity)
iv. Professional literature

2. Data collected to date:

i. Caldecott Medal winning books (2000-2017)
ii. Caldecott Medal acceptance speeches (2000-2017)
iii. 3 expert interviews (2 x experts in literacy education; 1 x expert in children’s literature)
iv. Professional literature (Literature input tables)

3. Data to be collected and how plans align with the research question:
i. 2-3 Expert Interviews (2-3 professors in the field of literacy education).
ii. Professional Literature

4. Data reviewed to date:

i. Caldecott Medal Winning Books 2000-2017
ii. Caldecott Medal Winning Speeches 2000-2017

5. What I think I know from interim data analysis:

i. Initial analysis indicates that the presence of primary characters’ engagement in play as depicted in
illustrations in Caldecott Medal winning books is decreasing from 2000-2017
ii. Initial analysis indicates that the presence of primary characters’ engagement in play as depicted in text
(per 100 words) in Caldecott Medal winning books is decreasing from 2000-2017
iii. Common themes emerging from Caldecott Medal acceptance speeches (play in childhood,
illustrating/writing process, potential influences of their book on readers). No pattern to indicate why the
frequency of the primary character’s engagement in play is decreasing from 2000-2017.
 6. Plans for insuring validity in analysis of data [Hendricks, Ch. 137]:

Triangulation Multiple sources of data

i. Caldecott Medal winning books
ii. Caldecott Medal acceptance speeches
iii. Interviews with experts in the fields of literacy education and children’s literature
(multiple participants).

Peer debriefing 22.02.18

Spoke with my professor and two peers in my EDE611 class group. Reflections on
discussions include:
i. After pilot interview was conducted, I decided to maintain the same structure of
the interview (i.e. short questions at the beginning of the interview before engaging
in a more open discussion about three Caldecott Medal Winning books with a
primary character that frequently engaged in play). I revised the introductory
phrasing leading into this conversation.
ii. Review of values coding used to analyze Caldecott Medal Acceptance speeches.
Advised to revisit research question and ensure my analysis has the correct focus.

Accuracy of data How ensure analysis of Caldecott Medal Books will yield accurate findings?
recorded  I used an electronic reflective journal to record all questions that arose and challenges
encountered when analyzing each code against Stuart Brown’s (2009) properties of
play. Challenging codes were highlighted and noted in order to seek input and
guidance from my critical friend at our next meeting.
 During the meetings with my critical friend, I discussed challenging codes to review
and clarify my analysis. My critical friend challenged my reasoning behind the codes.
Required adaptions were recorded and then changed to reflect guidance received after
the meeting.

How ensure analysis of Caldecott Medal Acceptance Speeches will yield accurate
findings?
 Examining words and phrases used by authors/illustrators’ Caldecott Medal
 acceptance speeches to gain insight into the illustrators’ values, thoughts, feelings,
beliefs, experiences and motives behind their work.
 Values coding outlined by Saldaña (2009) was utilized to analyze each speech.
Definitions of values, attitudes, and beliefs provided by Saldaña (2009) guided this
coding process.

How ensure analysis of interview data will yield accurate findings?

 Piloted interview and revised questions. Changed questions after the pilot interview.
 With consent from each interviewee, interviews will be audio-recorded and
transcribed to ensure the conversation is captured accurately.

Bracketing biases Reflective Journal

(Acknowledge An electronic reflective journal is being used to record my thoughts, plans, decisions, and
and check during questions that arise throughout my engagement with the research process. It is hoped this
data collection will help to monitor subjectivity and personal biases. All entries have been dated since 25th
and analysis). September 2017.

Analysis will not be stretched – assumptions will not be made about the data. Only data
analyzed will be used in the study (i.e. Caldecott Medal acceptance speeches only,
author’s notes or book reviews will not be used). Data will not be used to make
generalizations about all Caldecott Medal winning books or across children’s picturebooks
outside of the sample of books used in this study.

Audit trail  All data collected were organized systematically.

i. Caldecott Medal winning books analyzed using Stuart Brown’s (2009) properties
of play – each completed Microsoft Word document stored in separate folders.
ii. Caldecott Medal acceptance speeches - Each completed Microsoft Word document
stored in a separate folder.
iii. Literature input tables – All completed literature input tables dated and stored in
folders according to broad, overarching themes (play, children’s literature,
historical development of picturebooks).
iv. Interviews: Signed consent form, questions for each participant, and transcriptions
stored in a separate folder for each participant.
v. Reflective journal – All entries dated from 25th September 2017 to present.
Sharing Several discussions with critical friend to look for holes in my findings and raise questions
results/seeking to strengthen research.
feedback

Ongoing i. Use of reflective journal to record thoughts, experiences and decisions made
reflective during the inquiry process.
planning ii. Interim data analysis to reflect on data collected to date, record changes to data
collection and analysis plans.