On-line 'campus' session with a focus on Module Three

Today we had the second on-line ‘campus’ session for Module Three.  The title for the session was ‘Organising and analysing data’ 

We began by challenging ourselves to think about – “What is data?”.

The problem we can have with data is recognising it. Data is NOT someone giving you the answer to your inquiry question. I think often that is what we expect. That the field data collection period is to go out and look for someone who can answer the inquiry question like an Easter egg hunt – going out in the feild and coming back with exactly what you wanted. Then coming home with the answers(eggs) and write them down - the end research done!!

Firstly, the data collected in the field does not give us the answer. (See the Module two overview post also – we are not looking for answers but looking to better understand our question. We are looking to be able to ask better more informed questions).

The data collected in the field is only part of the ‘answer’, your feelings and thoughts and impressions are also part of it, the literature you read is part of it. You mix these all together and see what you think of them all – that is the analysis. Then you write-up what you think having done the analysis, along with explaining what you did so we can see the journey you took to get to what you think. Analysis can be thought of as triangulation. A triangle linking and mixing together: your experiences and reflections, with what other people think (the literature) and what the people you saw in the field were doing (field data). 

So if at some level you have been thinking of the data as – the ‘answer’, and you have not found the answer you might think you have not collected any data yet. In other words you might have quite a lot of data and not realised it is data because you are only looking for something that will be the direct answer to your inquiry. So we asked ourselves “What is data?”.

I am suggesting it is everything that happens between two points in time – when the module started in February to late March when you stop collecting data and start analysing. Everything that happens – not just the parts you planned or expected people to say.

For example you might be looking at Motivation in the students you teach and have plans to interview six of them… but you haven’t yet. This doesn’t mean you haven’t started the research yet because it is March (!) and the module started in February (!). It just means its not going the way you expected. But the very things that have delayed you or are making you hesitate are data. We talked about this – maybe it’s because you are so busy. So ‘being so busy’ is like a theme. You have got to this theme through your experiences and reflections more than through the field data activity but you can see if this theme happens in the field data too. For instance you could observe if the students who you want to learn more about motivating also see themselves as very busy (busy with relationships, busy thinking about after school events etc… not having time for your class).

So if data is everything that happens between February when the module started and end of March-ish then how do we organise it?

I suggested you use themes (as the example above showed). Notice what is jumping out at you as a theme. Are there some things that keep coming up (even if they are negative things)? Start to notice them and group them together. In the end you can take all the experiences and reflection you have, all the field data (interviews and observations etc…) and all the literature and almost colour code every time one your of themes appears in them. You would be organising the data into themes.

Now to analyse you look at all the bits under one theme and think about what they have in common how you see them relating to each other. Ask yourself what story do they tell to you.

So to summarise the steps

1. Come to turns with it:  the research has started and it might not be doing or saying what you expected (great you what to learn something new and to do that you have to encounter something new – something unfamiliar)

2. Reflect on what is reoccurring – are you seeing themes yet. You can do this now as you collect data or look for themes once you stop collecting data.

3. If you have a theme start to see what its relationship is with all the data – field work, literature and your feelings/reflections.

4. Know you will STOP collecting data at a point in time and start looking at it and the relationships there are between all the ideas.

Comments and questions we talked about:

As we talked people said that a few things jumped out at them, they were:

You might be afraid you will not know what to do with data that is unexpected. But this is like saying you want to control what you will find and if so then why bother to do research – you could just tell us what you want to find.

The process of research that you worked out in Module Two will stop you from getting too lost. The research project itself is like a path if you follow it even when you are not sure what you are doing you’ll get somewhere.

The Professional Artefact, what is that???

We said replace the word artefact with the word ‘thing’. It is a professional ‘thing’ explaining or sharing your research. You can’t know what the ‘thing’ is yet because you haven’t done all the research so how can you know what ‘thing’ will explain it.

The research doesn’t have to be what you expected in Module Two as you planned it. The process is the more important thing.

Last thoughts – the data is not to tell you the ‘answer’. I hope after reading this post that makes sense.

Della and Pip are both writing blog posts on the on-line ‘campus’ session too. Please have a look at what they say.

 http://dellaestlin.blogspot.co.uk/

http://pipspalton.blogspot.co.uk

 What do you think? Does this make sense? Please comment below

Adesola

On-line campus sessions!!!

Hi
We have 'on-line campus session' coming up next week:

Module One - Wednesday 18th March 7pm to 8pm

Module Two - Tuesday 17th March 6pm to 7pm

Module Three - Tuesday17th March 5pm to 6pm


Looking forward to some great chats. Please let me know if you want to join a session by leaving a comment below.

Adesola
:)

PM Skype - discussion

Our PM skype went well also. We talked about a number of things including:

How to cite – there are a number of guides for how to write-up unusual citations such as from pod casts or films on web-sites. Some people recommended ‘cite me’ I also found:

https://www.citethisforme.com

There is also a clear guide on our Middlesex Library web-pages and the librarians are also there to help.

We talked about the idea that these chats are for exchanging ideas and thinking beyond your own process. For instance Julia talked about her thoughts about translating her interviews when they are carried out in Portuguese and she is writing in English. That got us thinking about the interview process in general and the ways we can try to make sure we get the meaning behind what people are saying. Importantly it made us realise that to some extent we cannot find the ‘truth’ of what someone is saying. It does not exist in qualitative research (such as we are doing) because everything is interpreted at one level or another.

Bernie and Pip are going to write about this

http://berniebellp.blogspot.co.uk

http://pipspalton.blogspot.co.uk

We also talked about time management. Everyone who was in the conversation is going to put a time management tip on their post. I am asking that you – the person reading this – yes YOU…. Write a time management tip in the comments here Please. 

Mine is: to write a list of things I must do and then give myself a deadline or day I have to do them by. So each thing on the list has a day when I have to have done it by!!

We asked each other questions about the course and those in Module one asked how that was for those who had completed module one. Lisa asked did you know what your inquiry would be in Module Three when you were in Module One? Everyone in Module Three said no that the inquiry emerged as they did the work of Module One and Two. That was helpful because then the Module Three people realised that they were worrying about things toward the end of Module Three (like what the professional artefact should be) rather than trusting like the whole course that would emerge as they did their research. It is impossible to say what the artefact will be before you’ve done the research just as you can’t write about the research before you’ve done it – unless you have a time machine!!

It made us see how discussion is important – that is not always address a question by asking for someone to give you an answer but to address a question by talking about it with other people. Julia is going to blog further on this.

http://julia-v-gil.blogspot.de

Lisa is going to post about hearing how other people have dealt with the course.

http://lisameiklejohn.blogspot.com

Looking forward to reading your time management tips.  

Adesola

Watch this film

For the post on the film of Sir ken Robinson's speech see below. Looking forward to reading what you think of it.

http://adesolaa.blogspot.com/2012/01/arts-and-education_7442.html

Adesola

AM Skype chat

Today’s am skype session was great. It’s always so amazing to be talking to people who are all over the world. We talked about:

Blogging – we started off about how if you are  starting in Module One you may not be sure what a blog post should look like. Should it be informal, funny, personal, more formal? The conversation took us to the point that the blogs are for connecting. As such people felt that being more personal and informal and not tooooo long encourages people to read and respond. However some post might be more for yourself to reference back later in the Module or the course. We thought about writing for purpose. If you are writing more informally on your blog also remember (and practice) writing more academic style, which the university will require for the work you submit. I think you should start getting used to citing things as you write even if you are writing in an informal manor. If you practice citing then you get used to thinking about how what you are saying can connect with other people’s ideas. Danielle is going to post further about this.

danniausten.blogspot.com.

 We talked about some Module Two inquiry ideas, some ideas are: about how dancers look after themselves, injury and self-medication, the exchange of work place knowledge across a cast or group of performers, Why dance training does not rated as highly in some people’s eyes as desk based study. I am re-posting a great film of a speech by Sir Ken Robinson on this last topic. Saran D. and Sarah S. will post further on our conversation about inquiry questions.

http://sarahdunn88.blogspot.co.uk

http://sarahsmales.blogspot.co.uk

We asked what advice would people who have done Module One have for people in Module One now.  This seemed to be: blog , connect with people, Don’t’ Panic, keep notes to yourself. Anthony is going to post on this and also specifically about working from a cruise ship.

http://antgifford.blogspot.co.uk

James will write about attending a group skype session for the first time and what it was like.

http://jamesbapp.blogspot.co.uk/

We also talked about how all the choices we make and other people make (down to looking at your phone when it should be off for instance during a performance) are ethical choices. Ethics is about reflecting how we are experienced by others.

The next Group skypes are March 31^st

What do you think of our conversations??

Adesola

Skype group call March 3rd

Hi BAPP-ers
We have our first group Skype calls on Tuesday March 3rd. That day we have two chats one am (for people who work in the evenings) and one pm (for people who work during the day)!

These calls are really helpful and a great way to meet and exchange ideas with the other people doing the course.

 It is our collective experiences that makes us strong. It is our collective experience that changes information into knowledge.

So please let me know which call you will be joining by making a comment on this post indicating which one you will be at.

10am (in London)
9pm (in London)

Looking forward to hearing how everyone is doing and exchanging ideas and thoughts on professional practice and the module you are on.

Best wishes
Adesola

Welcome back to the new term February 2015

Welcome back to the new term. Feedback and marks will take a little time before they are posted. But as the first week begins start to look at the next module handbook, work out deadlines for handing in work – hand-in dates are same for each module. Maybe up-date your blog and visit some other blogs. It is always useful to visit the blog of someone who has done the module you are about to start.

Looking forward to reading some posts and hearing how you are preparing for the new term, what you learnt last term and how its going in general.

Just a reminder my skype office hours this term are

Monday & Wednesday 10am to 11am

Tuesday & Thursday 12noon to 1pm

It is best to make an appointment if you would like a one-to-one tutorial but if you need a quick check-in feel free to just skype me during these times. Once feedback for the module you have just done is sent out It is a good idea to schedule a one-to-one to discuss your feedback and how it applies to the module you are starting.

Adesola

Feedback…

Thinking about feedback….

I am getting lots of drafts and so busy working my way through things. I don’t read fast so it takes time because I don’t skim read; I need to read each word in order to really understand and analyze what is being said, because I want my comments to be meaningful and helpful.

But feedback is not sending a draft for my approval. The approval has to come from you – you making something (writing something) you feel ‘proud’ of or at lease feel you’ve tried your best at. Its about being honest with yourself on one hand and not leaving bits untouched because you don’t want to shake your own story by fixing them at this point. It is also about being diligent finding out the procedure for writing in this way, noticing the books you have read how things lay out and how they are presenting such as how people have used citations and then thinking about why it is done in that way and what it says about what you are trying to make.

Feedback you ask for from me is to get another eye looking at the work you are doing. If you send something and feel you cannot move forward before I get back to you

1)   Then feedback in that form does not seem the best form for the purpose you have. I would say you need to book a quick Skype call in order to discuss the specific points you feel you need input into before you can go on.

2)   Or your use of my feedback is not really ‘feedback’ it is ‘passing the buck’ asking me to edit your work for you!!! So you can use me to decide what should be in or out of your final piece _ I can’t do this for you!! You know what you want to create.

So please feel free to contact me in different forms according to what you need from your feedback. If it’s a quick block you need to talk out – email or skype (set up a time via email or call if you see me on-line). Then also have specific questions – ask what you want to know. Be direct about what you want me to look at that is because I am another eye so you can direct where I look.

I think it is really important in the performing arts to be clear and to have thought about the role of feedback. A few years ago I realised that when I choreographed something I would ask for feedback from a dance agency for instance. Then I realised I would get quite down when it wasn’t ‘can we book this piece’!!! what they would say was things to ‘improve’ the choreography or general comments. But that response is not feedback. I realised what I wanted was to bring my work to their attention NOT feedback and that by asking fro feedback I was putting my work in the light of something that was unfinished or something I was unsure about. That made me think that you have to  be really careful, direct and really want to hear the response when engaging with feedback. It is not there to reassure you, you are o.k.!!

What do you think?

Adesola

December 1st - and First Tuesday Coffee shop Skype sessions

Last day of November. I really encourage you to finish the first draft of what you will be handing-in, and look for feedback on this first draft. Even if its not yet perfect you need to commit to getting it finished. Often doing this allows the ideas to settle a bit and then you can give yourself a few days away from it so that when you come back to it you see it with fresh eyes; but you need to finish something to do this. It is like how when you know the whole of a dance sequence it suddenly feels much shorted and easier to remember than when it was being choreographed or taught to you.  

Beginning of the month also means our group SKYPE meetings. I have been asked to move the evening one from Wednesday one to Thursday this month so the sessions will be as follows

Tuesday December 2^nd at 11am (time in London)

Thursday December 4^th at 6:30pm (time in London)

Please comment below to let me know which one you want to join. If you don’t get a call from me at the time because you didn’t comment don’t worry just skype me saying “hey are you meeting I want to join in.”

Looking forward to the conversations

Speak to you Tuesday or Thursday

Module 3 campus session

The last three posts are a result of talking during campus session. Have a look at what people attending the session have to say:

http://cvainella.blogspot.co.uk

http://natalieamartin.blogspot.co.uk

cci.blogspot.co.uk

Adesola

Structures for people on Module One & Module Three to think about…

Common structures are:

A timeline – starting at the beginning (September) and working to the end. This gives your work a story like feel. It can become very narrative. There maybe danger of getting lost in the story and ignore the meet and bones of the learning also remember you do not have a lot of words.

Theme based  - finding two or three key ideas and gathering the learning and experience that happened around them. {I recommend you do this}

Concrete evidence based – giving concrete examples of things and elaborating on the ideas and learning that manifested them.

A representational object  – making something that sums up the learning both in its content and in its own form. This might be useful if you need to make something to understand what you think. That is for people who do not think in words. Like myself. I make or do things to understand what I think and then explain it back in words once I know what I think! This is something that I have found takes quite sometime to master because at first you can make something you and other people who think that way can understand but that everyone else finds “too abstract”. So it is important you support your work by using the written summary to explain your process and what it means to you.

Either way ~I think it will be really important to get started and then you will have time to get feedback.

Campus session Module 3 more notes: Referencing help-useful pdf

http://www.staffs.ac.uk/support_depts/infoservices/learning_support/refzone/harvard/learning_support/refzone/harvard/

Thoughts from Campus session

Firstly, analysis is not just summing up your data. Analysis is a critical look at the whole experience comparing three things – the literature (the ideas other people have said), your own experience including your experience of collecting the data, your reflective diary, and the experiences before the inquiry that led you to be interested in doing it in the first place, and lastly the data you collect. Looking at themes and resonance and contradictions across all three of these is called triangulation. Doing this is how you can critically look at the questions you posed at the beginning of the inquiry. Doing this unpicks everything and is always (whatever level of work you are doing), always disorientating, some what frightening and confusing because it is the point where you are opening yourself up to look for something new, to stretch yourself beyond what you know you know. But that is the heart of the inquiry; be brave. Because it is after data collection you might feel you need to tidying everything up not make a mess in your head but the data collection is not the climax of the inquiry it is just getting something to do the inquiry with. After collecting data it is not time to tidy up, its time to get cooking all the ingredients. See some of my past blogs.

Secondly, the artefact is NOT the result of the inquiry: like the answer to the whole thing. The artefact is as much about the process as the critical review paper you are writing.

So please think as if you are in fact handing in TWO artefacts. Two things that explain the inquiry.  The first is in the form of a formalise academic artefact – a critical review. The second is in the form of something that is found in your professional practice (culture) it is a professional artefact. We can not say what this will be because it is different for each person according to their work / profession. We can help in telling you what the first artefact (the critical review looks like – in fact we give you guide-lines on what it looks like how many words etc… and we also give you guide-lines on how to start making it – when the start drafting etc…). But just because we help out with what the academic artefact (the critical review) looks like doesn’t mean the critical review IS the inquiry. It is a result of the inquiry just as the professional artefact is too. The Inquiry – what you are documenting with the two artefacts is the activity and reflective thought you do. Many people think by writing (I don’t): so maybe making the critical review will be how you analyse the inquiry, but the professional artefact could just as well be how you work out what it’s all about. So think of the Professional Artefact as another way of explaining your inquiry. So you can see you need to do the whole inquiry before you can be really clear about the content of the critical review or the professional artefact. But now is the time to start to open a space for what the professional artefact will be even if all you do is plan out time in your diary in early December when you will start working on it.

So in fact you will explain your inquiry in three ways through writing (critical review), through talking (oral presentation) and through x? (professional artefact. Each of these ways of sharing offer unique advantages for communication and have things that can not be communicated very well through them. Think about how you will use the three forms.

Extra 8pm SKYPE for Module 2!!

We are having a Skype session at 8pm (in London) on Thursday November 13th:
Module two's (and anyone else who would like to join). We will be looking at ethics, the literature review and the structure of the final plan you are handing-in (this covers and reviews Part 5 if you are following the progression of the module).

Please comment below if you are attending.
Look forward to talk with you
Adesola

Campus Session

We have campus sessions this week!!! Where are you?
Let us know if you are coming.

Adesola

AM Skype conversation - what do you think?

Today’s morning skype session went really well we had a great conversation. Because the conversation flowed so well we talked about lots of things. A point I thought that was really interesting was about how as your professional career develops you also get more confidence in your academic work (BAPP work). We are hoping also that as you learn and get more confidence in your University work you get more confidence in how you approach your professional practice.

We talked about how the two are developing around and next to each other. But before you have the confidence to do things you sort of have to do them!! So you have to try things even if you have a little voice saying “I didn’t do the work yet” or “I am probably the only one who hasn’t done xx”. You are not the only one. The campus sessions and skype sessions are so you can meet others, peers and share your experiences and ideas.

Have a look at what Mel http://melaniebrown10.blogspot.co.uk  and Lara http://larafbapp.blogspot.co.uk think.

Looking forward to talking on skype Wednesday at 8pm (in London).