Appendix Two
2. Critical commentary
As I reflect upon Module 3835, Project Planning and Development (Research Methods), I can see a clear progression in many areas of my learning.
Before undertaking this module I was aware of many research terms and data collection techniques due to my work as a telemarketer, throughout this project I have developed this stage further and now feel confident that I can instantly recognize different research methods and the advantages and disadvantages of them. A new term for me which has particularly benefited my work on this module is worker-researcher. I feel activity two (appendix!!!), where we had to consider our role as worker – researcher has been vital in order for me to decide the best research approach to use. I had never really explored the advantages and disadvantages of this before and the impact it can have on a research project.
I have seen a vast improvement in my use of quotation from module 3002 to the current module 3835. This was something my advisor commented on when I received my module feedback as an area which could have improved my grades. I have reflected on this and really worked hard to improve it for this module, and I can see now, after reflecting on my proposal that quotation has really enriched my work and supported my academic text. This is a skill that I now hope to carry through my professional career.
Due to being based in the Midlands and my work commitments, I have only managed to attend one campus session, and when I look back at my learning diaries I can see that the one relating to the campus session is much clearer and concise. For the most part of the module I have had to rely on the blog posts from fellow students and advisors to assist me in my understanding of the tasks set. This has become a fundamental networking tool for me, the benefits of this have been invaluable to my project. This is something I will try to engage more in throughout my career as I can now see it is always good practice to network with people within your sector and learn and share ideas with each other.
After coming from a Musical Theatre diploma background, there is a very particular way of undertaking tasks set and tasks are mainly practical, therefore I have found the university ways of learning and teaching a huge challenge, but one which I have enjoyed getting my teeth into. The very fact that our project title could be about anything we wanted was daunting for me particularly as I am such an indecisive person, however I have learnt to adapt over time. The guidelines to the module being so brief has by far been the most difficult part of the process for me and that coupled with the fact that I haven’t been able to attend campus sessions has left me feeling rather lost a lot of the time, and gaining the confidence to just dive in and give it a go was hard! The book “Doing your research project” by Judith Bell has been like the bible for me throughout this module and I will continue to use it to aid me with carrying out my project.
When I evaluate the learning diaries I have completed I can see that time management has been my main cause of stress and problem and this is something I intend to improve on in order to enable me to achieve my desired objective for the next module. I will need to have a time management action plan and stick to it.
Obviously due to the nature of my work with children, I have always been aware of ethics, however this project has opened my eyes to the depth of the subject and issues surrounding it. I now feel I have the knowledge and understanding needed to continue on to my research project.
I have now completed my project proposal and although I feel this module has been a blurry rollercoaster at times, when reflecting on it properly I can see how far I have come and just how much I have learnt and I believe it is amazing the amount you can learn just from reading blogs and text books. I have identified skills which I would still like to improve upon for the next module but overall I believe this module has prepared me well for the research project and I am approaching the next phase of my degree with confidence, and even a little excitement!
Friday 30 April 2010
1.3 Extract Three
(5/03/2010)
This week I had a telephone appointment with my tutor, Peter Bryant and it really helped me to feel like I was on the right tracks. We spoke about my project title and Peter thought it was a good idea and a solid base for my project. He informed me that as I had already decided on a topic idea and seemed quite solid and secure with that I was ahead of many other people, this made me feel slightly less nervous than I had been feeling! After speaking to Peter I decided not to get too hung up on my topic idea as it will probably focus and change over time. I realised that I need to concentrate more on the module itself and the different research methods.
Another thing that had been bugging me which I discussed with Peter was searching for journals. He explained to me about if I use the library catalogue, I can type keywords but Google scholar will allow me to find different articles and gain the titles and abstract to search for them in the university library of journals. I felt such less pressure on me after speaking to my tutor, as I sometimes feel slightly alone in this project as I can never make the campus sessions!
After my phone appointment I began reflecting on work I had done in the past and how this might help me with my topic. I used to work in a call centre doing market research on a part time basis and many of the terms we used in the office are terms used in the book by Judith Bell and terms that I will need to use in my project. This means I already understand many of the terms, for instance, qualitative and quantitative research and coding etc.
Overall from this week I have decided I need to move away from my topic idea and start working through the module handbook more thoroughly.
1.4 Extract Four
(11/03/2010)
This week has been difficult for me. I am starting to feel very behind on my project proposal and struggling due to lack of time and not being able to attend campus sessions.
I have been relying heavily on the blogs of fellow students to see me through and have been reading up on the feedback from campus sessions.
One way of managing my time I have trailed this week has been to stick post- it notes all over the module handbook where I need to complete a task and then write lists of task and when I want to complete them. As mad as it seems I get lots of satisfaction from ticking off jobs as they are completed and have found it really helpful this week as I can see more clearly how well I am doing!
I have been searching the internet for literature using notes taken from campus sessions
Notes on searching Journals
• Annotations – notes to yourself
• Include research books in bibliography
• Google scholar – cuts out commercial stuff
• G247-RESOURCES – library of journals- learning resources
-electronic database searching
-full text and citation
-Citation databases
-call / email librarians
1.5 Extract Five
(16/04/2010)
I have run out of time for the draft copy to be submitted to my tutor for feedback which is disappointing.
Time is running out for my proposal and I am at a loss. I have been trying to utilise Kolb’s learning cycle
• Concrete (doing, feeling),
• Observation (watching, assimilating)
• Abstract conceptualization (thinking, considering)
• Active experimentation (transforming, adapting).
However it’s not helping. I have been trying to work through the activities in the handbook to feel more prepared and equipped however it is making me feel panicky about time constraints. I have read through some of the work I did in the previous handbook to try and help me with my learning.
I believe the best thing for me to move forward now would be to put the reading aside and begin to work on the proposal itself, hopefully this will make me more confident about completing the work on time. Tasks to complete
• Proposal
• Critical Commentary
• Rationale for Award Title and form
• Ethics Issues and form.
(5/03/2010)
This week I had a telephone appointment with my tutor, Peter Bryant and it really helped me to feel like I was on the right tracks. We spoke about my project title and Peter thought it was a good idea and a solid base for my project. He informed me that as I had already decided on a topic idea and seemed quite solid and secure with that I was ahead of many other people, this made me feel slightly less nervous than I had been feeling! After speaking to Peter I decided not to get too hung up on my topic idea as it will probably focus and change over time. I realised that I need to concentrate more on the module itself and the different research methods.
Another thing that had been bugging me which I discussed with Peter was searching for journals. He explained to me about if I use the library catalogue, I can type keywords but Google scholar will allow me to find different articles and gain the titles and abstract to search for them in the university library of journals. I felt such less pressure on me after speaking to my tutor, as I sometimes feel slightly alone in this project as I can never make the campus sessions!
After my phone appointment I began reflecting on work I had done in the past and how this might help me with my topic. I used to work in a call centre doing market research on a part time basis and many of the terms we used in the office are terms used in the book by Judith Bell and terms that I will need to use in my project. This means I already understand many of the terms, for instance, qualitative and quantitative research and coding etc.
Overall from this week I have decided I need to move away from my topic idea and start working through the module handbook more thoroughly.
1.4 Extract Four
(11/03/2010)
This week has been difficult for me. I am starting to feel very behind on my project proposal and struggling due to lack of time and not being able to attend campus sessions.
I have been relying heavily on the blogs of fellow students to see me through and have been reading up on the feedback from campus sessions.
One way of managing my time I have trailed this week has been to stick post- it notes all over the module handbook where I need to complete a task and then write lists of task and when I want to complete them. As mad as it seems I get lots of satisfaction from ticking off jobs as they are completed and have found it really helpful this week as I can see more clearly how well I am doing!
I have been searching the internet for literature using notes taken from campus sessions
Notes on searching Journals
• Annotations – notes to yourself
• Include research books in bibliography
• Google scholar – cuts out commercial stuff
• G247-RESOURCES – library of journals- learning resources
-electronic database searching
-full text and citation
-Citation databases
-call / email librarians
1.5 Extract Five
(16/04/2010)
I have run out of time for the draft copy to be submitted to my tutor for feedback which is disappointing.
Time is running out for my proposal and I am at a loss. I have been trying to utilise Kolb’s learning cycle
• Concrete (doing, feeling),
• Observation (watching, assimilating)
• Abstract conceptualization (thinking, considering)
• Active experimentation (transforming, adapting).
However it’s not helping. I have been trying to work through the activities in the handbook to feel more prepared and equipped however it is making me feel panicky about time constraints. I have read through some of the work I did in the previous handbook to try and help me with my learning.
I believe the best thing for me to move forward now would be to put the reading aside and begin to work on the proposal itself, hopefully this will make me more confident about completing the work on time. Tasks to complete
• Proposal
• Critical Commentary
• Rationale for Award Title and form
• Ethics Issues and form.
Wednesday 10 March 2010
Activity two
Potential advantages for workers as researchers
Insider knowledge of
• Problem/question to be researched
• Sources of information
• The organisation
• Key people
Can improve understanding / working practice
Potential disadvantages for workers as researchers
• Too close to the problem
• Influenced by own expectations/values
• Influenced by others
• Duality of roles
After looking at the above advantages and disadvantages, I have been considering my worker-researcher position very carefully.
In my opinion, I see my role as an advantage, in particular with the topic choice I have in mind. Being a worker researcher means I am closer to the subject I am trying to research and would make the ethnographic style of research easier for me, if that was the research approach I were to pick. Judith Bell (1999) states ‘participant observation takes time…The research has to be accepted by the individuals or groups being studied’. The fact that I have been working with the group’s I would be studying, for some time, makes it easier for me as I am already accepted by them, and I believe this would speed up the ethnographic research process for me.
I will also have wider access to the relevant sources needed to undertake my research project. As I am thinking of researching strategies to help young boys integrate into dance, I believe knowing a lot of the children personally will help me. If I decide to use narrative inquiry, it will help me a great deal as I have already built up a rapport and trust with them, making it easier for the child to open up to me, if need be. I will already know about my subject area as it is something I work in daily and am passionate about so this will fill me with more confidence to fulfil my role as worker-researcher. Finally I will be able to speak with key people involved in my research area directly, without having to spend time finding them or corresponding through email or phone.
Although I am confident with the advantages, I do also have to recognise potential disadvantages of being a worker researcher and consider the points displayed at the top of the page. I have also found another disadvantage which is not mentioned in the list above which is that if I were to choose to carry out a survey or some qualities research, I would have to think very carefully about my sample. If I was to present the survey to my pupils, for example, this would not be a sound representative of a good cross-section of people and may leave my results inaccurate of the population as a whole. This is because they would all be pupils of mine and so may have formed similar views on certain issues because of something I have done or not done. This is something I am going to have to be careful of throughout my research project, and also ties into the way in which I carry my research out; whilst I have the benefit of being able to observe those I teach, it may also be worth looking at children in different parts of the country altogether.
After reflecting on what I have written, I believe I will be able to carry out my worker-researcher role effectively but am well aware that I may come across some disadvantages, which I will need to tackle and overcome in order to carry out an effective and worthwhile project.
Insider knowledge of
• Problem/question to be researched
• Sources of information
• The organisation
• Key people
Can improve understanding / working practice
Potential disadvantages for workers as researchers
• Too close to the problem
• Influenced by own expectations/values
• Influenced by others
• Duality of roles
After looking at the above advantages and disadvantages, I have been considering my worker-researcher position very carefully.
In my opinion, I see my role as an advantage, in particular with the topic choice I have in mind. Being a worker researcher means I am closer to the subject I am trying to research and would make the ethnographic style of research easier for me, if that was the research approach I were to pick. Judith Bell (1999) states ‘participant observation takes time…The research has to be accepted by the individuals or groups being studied’. The fact that I have been working with the group’s I would be studying, for some time, makes it easier for me as I am already accepted by them, and I believe this would speed up the ethnographic research process for me.
I will also have wider access to the relevant sources needed to undertake my research project. As I am thinking of researching strategies to help young boys integrate into dance, I believe knowing a lot of the children personally will help me. If I decide to use narrative inquiry, it will help me a great deal as I have already built up a rapport and trust with them, making it easier for the child to open up to me, if need be. I will already know about my subject area as it is something I work in daily and am passionate about so this will fill me with more confidence to fulfil my role as worker-researcher. Finally I will be able to speak with key people involved in my research area directly, without having to spend time finding them or corresponding through email or phone.
Although I am confident with the advantages, I do also have to recognise potential disadvantages of being a worker researcher and consider the points displayed at the top of the page. I have also found another disadvantage which is not mentioned in the list above which is that if I were to choose to carry out a survey or some qualities research, I would have to think very carefully about my sample. If I was to present the survey to my pupils, for example, this would not be a sound representative of a good cross-section of people and may leave my results inaccurate of the population as a whole. This is because they would all be pupils of mine and so may have formed similar views on certain issues because of something I have done or not done. This is something I am going to have to be careful of throughout my research project, and also ties into the way in which I carry my research out; whilst I have the benefit of being able to observe those I teach, it may also be worth looking at children in different parts of the country altogether.
After reflecting on what I have written, I believe I will be able to carry out my worker-researcher role effectively but am well aware that I may come across some disadvantages, which I will need to tackle and overcome in order to carry out an effective and worthwhile project.
Thursday 25 February 2010
An Extraxt from my learning diary (25/02/2010)
After last week’s campus session I have been doing a lot of thinking about a possible topic and how I would research it.
The first idea that came to mind was something to do with different types of discipline when teaching. I then started to think would this hold my interest for a long time?, would I be able to cover such a huge area?
I then decided I wanted to do something I was more passionate about. I was watching a Tv show and there was a discussion about homosexuality and footballers, it was asking the question why is there a stigma surrounding gay man in the football industry and from that came a debate about homosexuality within the theatre. This led me to thinking about the stigma surrounding men in the industry, particularly in dance. I knew that this was something I was passionate about and began thinking of different topic ideas surrounding this theme.
As I am currently teaching in different schools, in after school clubs and PE, I began thinking of the boys I teach and there attitudes towards dance and felt this is something I could explore more.
The topic idea I am thinking of at the moment is “A research into effective stratagies for intergrating biys of pre secondary age into dance”. As I work with different ethnic minorities I wanted to incorporate something to do with this into my study so may add to the end of my title “ with particular emphasis on hard to reach groups such as ethnic minorities and white working class boys.”
Different ways I could research this
• Media research- Billy Elliot movie
• Media research – meet the Amish (coming on Tv soon)
• Interviewing young boys from my schools on there attitudes to dance
Notes on searching Journals
• Annotations – notes to yourself
• Include research books in bibliography
• Google scholar – cuts out commercial stuff
• G247-RESOURCES – library of journals- learning resources
-electronic database searching
-full text and citation
-Citation databases
-call / email librarians
Reflecting on what Ive written in this diary entry, I believe I have got a good basisto begin researching a topic area, my thought process and learning this week has gone well as it has made my objective a lot clearer to me. I now need to begin researching and collecting as many things as possible to do with my topic. I may begin by checking out a link that I saw on Danielle Stacey’s blog www.vts.intute.ac.uk/detective/brief.html-guidenceonresearch
The first idea that came to mind was something to do with different types of discipline when teaching. I then started to think would this hold my interest for a long time?, would I be able to cover such a huge area?
I then decided I wanted to do something I was more passionate about. I was watching a Tv show and there was a discussion about homosexuality and footballers, it was asking the question why is there a stigma surrounding gay man in the football industry and from that came a debate about homosexuality within the theatre. This led me to thinking about the stigma surrounding men in the industry, particularly in dance. I knew that this was something I was passionate about and began thinking of different topic ideas surrounding this theme.
As I am currently teaching in different schools, in after school clubs and PE, I began thinking of the boys I teach and there attitudes towards dance and felt this is something I could explore more.
The topic idea I am thinking of at the moment is “A research into effective stratagies for intergrating biys of pre secondary age into dance”. As I work with different ethnic minorities I wanted to incorporate something to do with this into my study so may add to the end of my title “ with particular emphasis on hard to reach groups such as ethnic minorities and white working class boys.”
Different ways I could research this
• Media research- Billy Elliot movie
• Media research – meet the Amish (coming on Tv soon)
• Interviewing young boys from my schools on there attitudes to dance
Notes on searching Journals
• Annotations – notes to yourself
• Include research books in bibliography
• Google scholar – cuts out commercial stuff
• G247-RESOURCES – library of journals- learning resources
-electronic database searching
-full text and citation
-Citation databases
-call / email librarians
Reflecting on what Ive written in this diary entry, I believe I have got a good basisto begin researching a topic area, my thought process and learning this week has gone well as it has made my objective a lot clearer to me. I now need to begin researching and collecting as many things as possible to do with my topic. I may begin by checking out a link that I saw on Danielle Stacey’s blog www.vts.intute.ac.uk/detective/brief.html-guidenceonresearch
Thursday 18 February 2010
An Extract from my learning diary (18/02/10)
Campus session one
I attended my first campus session, it was an introduction to the new module on research methods. I have bullet pointed an overview of my notes below.
• This module is the plan for the final project not the actual project itself.
What is Research?• Finding something new
• Advancing knowledge of professional practice in a systematic way
• Adding to what’s already been learnt
• Developing a deeper understanding of something
Ways into research
Dance performance phenomena
-director/choreographer
-music
-audience
-lighting
-performance time
The above are all variables (they can change at any time)
• A way into research would be to change one or more variable.
Other ways in• Curiosity
• Concepts/issues/contexts
• Problem/issue based
• Mind mapping
• Peers
• Employer/manager/director
Data Resources
• What am I interested in?
Plan something close to home
• What my topic area is
• Where am I getting my info from?
Literature Review
• Literature – searching for work-related content
• Where things come from – theories & concepts
• Finding out what you don’t know
• Finding literature that is against what you think
• Critical thinking
Overall the campus session went very well for me. It helped me to have a clearer picture in my mind of the task in hand and helped me focus on each bit of the module as a small step rather than trying to tackle the module as a whole. The session broke down the module into sections and set clear points of what we had to do and I feel the way I made my notes throughout was a clear and concise way to help me keep focussed on the task. I think, in future, even though I cannot attend all campus sessions I will try and bullet point different problems and issues that I come across throughout the duration of the semester as I believe this will focus my mind on the task at hand.
I attended my first campus session, it was an introduction to the new module on research methods. I have bullet pointed an overview of my notes below.
• This module is the plan for the final project not the actual project itself.
What is Research?• Finding something new
• Advancing knowledge of professional practice in a systematic way
• Adding to what’s already been learnt
• Developing a deeper understanding of something
Ways into research
Dance performance phenomena
-director/choreographer
-music
-audience
-lighting
-performance time
The above are all variables (they can change at any time)
• A way into research would be to change one or more variable.
Other ways in• Curiosity
• Concepts/issues/contexts
• Problem/issue based
• Mind mapping
• Peers
• Employer/manager/director
Data Resources
• What am I interested in?
Plan something close to home
• What my topic area is
• Where am I getting my info from?
Literature Review
• Literature – searching for work-related content
• Where things come from – theories & concepts
• Finding out what you don’t know
• Finding literature that is against what you think
• Critical thinking
Overall the campus session went very well for me. It helped me to have a clearer picture in my mind of the task in hand and helped me focus on each bit of the module as a small step rather than trying to tackle the module as a whole. The session broke down the module into sections and set clear points of what we had to do and I feel the way I made my notes throughout was a clear and concise way to help me keep focussed on the task. I think, in future, even though I cannot attend all campus sessions I will try and bullet point different problems and issues that I come across throughout the duration of the semester as I believe this will focus my mind on the task at hand.
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