Research Methods in Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Research Methods in Education - Essay Example Qulittive reserch tends to be ssocited with prticipnt observtion nd unstructured, in-depth interviewing. The methods of dt collection with which qulittive reserch is ssocited hve been employed by socil scientists for mny yers. The best-known of these methods is prticipnt observtion, which entils the sustined immersion of the resercher mong those whom he or she seeks to study with view to generting rounded, in-depth ccount of the group, orgniztion, or whtever. Unstructured interviewing, in which the resercher provides miniml guidnce nd llows considerble ltitude for interviewees, is lso fvoured technique. Most prticipnt observers conduct t lest modicum of such interviewing, but some qulittive reserchers use it more or less exclusively. The ims of such interviewing re quite different from the fmilir survey pproch. While some qulittive reserchers mke use of n interview schedule, others operte with loose collection of themes which qulittive reserch strtegy ws used in this study becuse this method fits better the chosen topic. Prticipnt observtion nd unstructured interviewing re the centrl dt gthering plnks since in this wy it ws possible to get closer to the people tht were investigted nd be less inclined to impose inpproprite conceptul frmeworks on them. Quntittive reserch is ssocited with number of different pproches to dt co... qulittive reserch strtegy ws used in this study becuse this method fits better the chosen topic. Prticipnt observtion nd unstructured interviewing re the centrl dt gthering plnks since in this wy it ws possible to get closer to the people tht were investigted nd be less inclined to impose inpproprite conceptul frmeworks on them. Quntittive Reserch Quntittive reserch is ssocited with number of different pproches to dt collection. In sociology in prticulr, the socil survey is one of the min methods of dt collection which embodies the fetures of quntittive reserch to be explored below. The survey's cpcity for generting quntifible dt on lrge numbers of people who re known to be representtive of wider popultion in order to test theories or hypotheses hs been viewed by mny prctitioners s mens of cpturing mny of the ingredients of science. (Hirschi's 1969) In frmes of quntittive reserch tht dt re collected on cross-section of people t single point in time in order to discover the wys nd degrees to which vribles relte to ech other. 2.2. The popultion nd smpling Prticipnts were 3 techers completing their Msters degrees nd plnning to work s secondry school prctitioners. Interviews were conduscted during the week. Every meeting took bout 30 minutes. ll nswers were recorded nd then noted down on the pper. ll prticipnts where told it ws strictly confidentil nd the interviews where rrnged by myself, we communicted by telephone nd emil. 2.3. Piloting Leedy & Ormrod (2001) recommend the use of brief pilot study to test the vlidity nd relibility of mesurement instrument, developed for specific purpose nd never previously tested or used in prctice. The mesurement instrument used in this reserch ws subjected to pilot test. The min reson