Yesterday was our SKYPE chat. the morning chat was pretty small!! but I think quite useful. We talked about making sure you know what your analysis process is going to be. this is important for both Module two-ers and three-ers particularly. There is no point collecting data if you don't know what you are going to do with it. If you don't know what you are going to do with it you start to feel you just need more and more data as if collecting it will somehow get you to some answers. But it is the analysis that takes you to the step of addressing the questions and desire for more knowledge that the inquiry is addressing.
There are a couple of ways to engage with analysis, here a few ideas:
-Mapping: using the data to start to better understand how something works, or what something is like or where things or people stand within a topic. For instance, this would be to have data that about 'what dance teachers think of teaching boys dance'. You would use the teachers responses to look at the landscape of teaching boys dance - where does it seem to be 'easier' (teachers feel that when teaching them street dance they are more engaged than when teaching ballet, it seems that the boys in doing dance classes in state schools are have better behaviour than boys in private dance schools), then you look at why you think things have mapped out like this - you use the literature to help to theorise about why things look like this. You also use your own experience. You can also question the data itself: did who answered the question or how the question was asked affect the data you collected.
- Critique: you use the data to inform a critique of the behaviour or phenomena of something. Maybe you asked 'why do dancers get injured?' you use your data to look at a problem (getting injured). You might then identify that certain circumstance lead to injury. You compare what you found with what the literature says and your own experience. You explain the practical situations when something happens and explain why you think that is. You can also question the data itself: did who answered the question or how the question was asked affect the data you collected.
- Action research - you identify something you want to 'try out'… you try it out.. you look at whether it had the affect you were expecting, you think about what happened and why. You use the literature to both plan the change you try out and then to understand what happened after you tried it out. You can also question the data itself: did who answered the question or how the question was asked affect the data you collected.
How are you finding the idea of analysis?
The evening session got moved to Thursday March 13th….. so you can still join in this month.
Looking forward to talking to you
Adesola
There are a couple of ways to engage with analysis, here a few ideas:
-Mapping: using the data to start to better understand how something works, or what something is like or where things or people stand within a topic. For instance, this would be to have data that about 'what dance teachers think of teaching boys dance'. You would use the teachers responses to look at the landscape of teaching boys dance - where does it seem to be 'easier' (teachers feel that when teaching them street dance they are more engaged than when teaching ballet, it seems that the boys in doing dance classes in state schools are have better behaviour than boys in private dance schools), then you look at why you think things have mapped out like this - you use the literature to help to theorise about why things look like this. You also use your own experience. You can also question the data itself: did who answered the question or how the question was asked affect the data you collected.
- Critique: you use the data to inform a critique of the behaviour or phenomena of something. Maybe you asked 'why do dancers get injured?' you use your data to look at a problem (getting injured). You might then identify that certain circumstance lead to injury. You compare what you found with what the literature says and your own experience. You explain the practical situations when something happens and explain why you think that is. You can also question the data itself: did who answered the question or how the question was asked affect the data you collected.
- Action research - you identify something you want to 'try out'… you try it out.. you look at whether it had the affect you were expecting, you think about what happened and why. You use the literature to both plan the change you try out and then to understand what happened after you tried it out. You can also question the data itself: did who answered the question or how the question was asked affect the data you collected.
How are you finding the idea of analysis?
The evening session got moved to Thursday March 13th….. so you can still join in this month.
Looking forward to talking to you
Adesola
Dear Adesola ,
ReplyDeleteI found really interesting and helpful this post about Analysis. It made me think how I should work not just about the tasks from this course, but about every task that is given to me.
Bringing the analysis to my experience in keeping a Reflective Diary, it made me get different ideas and conclusions from my experience. It has got my attention about what you wrote asking the data. How did the questions asked affected my answers; How my whole context affected my answers; How would other people deal with those questions; Was I being honest to myself ? Did I look to the whole truth? Or there were more thoughts that I ignored?
I also found really important what you wrote about criticize your own data. I began to question myself about my behavior, why something happened , what were the reasons.
Unfortunately I couldn't join the last Skype section. It must have been a great conversation about analysis. This post nevertheless was really helpful.
Julia xxx
Hi Adesola, thanks for posting this. Like Julia Gil said, it is really interesting and beneficial to have read the different ways to engage with analysis. The notes I took from what you wrote in this blog will come in handy when I will be writing my 'critical reflection'.
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