Classroom Research for Language Teachers, Second Edition by Tim Stewart Thomas S.C. Farrell

Author:Tim Stewart, Thomas S.C. Farrell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: TESOL Press
Published: 2023-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

Seeking Meaning Out of the Mess

Analysing qualitative data resembles building sand castles at the beach: Just when you think you have created something reasonably solid, it begins to crumble before your eyes. The four key types of data analysis can be called labelling, categorizing, finding patterns or themes, and displaying. Data first appears as one big confusing mass of information. For it to be useful, you must organize that mass. For example, participants and entries could be labelled or coded. To assist them, teacher-researchers can borrow labels from previous studies, or they might choose to create their own labels. Often, in qualitative research, labels emerge from the data during analysis. Once the parts are named, the teacher-researcher needs to reassemble the data in chunks that make sense by grouping similar information. It is not uncommon during data analysis for researchers to think there is nothing significant. You need to go over your data many times before you can see the significant patterns.

Next, categories must be linked somehow by finding relationships between them. In fact, finding significant patterns and connections is the main task of analysis. Last, the researcher needs to draw or map out the interpretation of the data somehow. This is an important step that helps the teacher-researcher visualize the larger meaning of the whole. These meaning maps are normally redrawn as your understanding of the data develops. Sharing your meaning map and explaining it to colleagues will help you to clarify it.

Finally, classroom research needs to be based on current theoretical knowledge and practice recorded in the research literature. Read current studies and situate your research project within contemporary knowledge about teaching and learning. Novices might find comfort in replicating previous studies when beginning classroom research. This is perfectly acceptable, but take care to customize the research design to reflect your situation.

The next chapter concerns what you do with your research results. One very important step is to connect your findings to key ideas in the research literature. Your classroom research inquiry must relate thoughtfully to previous studies and theories. This is how you connect your practice to the larger issues of general discussion in the profession. Studies that fail to do this are normally rejected by editors.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.