Analyzing is a challenging endeavor. As a novice researcher, I have found quite hard trying to capture the essence of data. Everything seems important since every little piece of information opens a window to start reflecting upon your teaching practice. As Auerbach (2003) points out your research concerns should be kept visible so that the researcher focus his/her attention on relevant text. Following this author's advice, I used a mapping strategy to organize relevant text and start grouping it according to emerging patterns. However, sometimes you get so immersed in the data that you start walking away from your research purposes. Burns (1999) talks about dialogic validity as a criterion that supports the study validity, and in addition, offers the researcher the possibility to test his/her hypothesis, find out new approaches to the data, and argument his/her points of view. She refers to "peer-review" as a powerful tool that encompasses a reflective dialogue with a "critical friend". In my case, my "critical friend" is my research director.
After showing him the first version of the map I did and establishing a reflective dialogue, I refined it and came up with a more depurated map that shows key concepts around which the analysis will continue.
Please click here to have access to the second version of the map that groups emerging patterns and ideas taken from the teachers' journal.
References Auerbach, C. F. (2003). Qualitative Data : An Introduction to Coding and Analysis. New York : NYU press.
Burns, A. (1999). Collaborative action research for English language teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Dear reader, I invite you to watch this short video that explains the methodology proposed by Auerbach in relation to categorizing qualitative data and developing a theoretical narrative.
The researcher needs to analyze if the type of information s/he has corresponds to qualitative or quantitative. After, s/he needs to go back to the data collection instruments and decide upon the analysis method that best suit the data. Burns (2010) mentions that the main tools for analyzing and synthesizing qualitative data are a) categorizing: sorting objects into logical groups and developing then a well-structured theoretical framework that explains the phenomena under study, and b) analyzing talk: examining the spoken interaction.
In addition, this author refers to numerical scales and descriptive statistics as the main tools for analyzing quantitative data. However; some researchers might also opt for inferential statistics to take into account correlations, differences between the means obtained, and the analysis of the variance.
The table below provides an overview of the data collection instruments used, they type of data collected, the nature of the data and the method that will be used to analyze the information.
Please click here to have access to the rubric used to assess the students' production resulting from completing the graphic organizers.
Reference Burns, A. (2010). Doing Action Research in English Language Teaching. New York: Routledge.
After finishing the data collection process, the analysis begins. As Burns (2001) points out this phase of action research implies moving towards the research component, where the researcher gets deep into the data by using data analysis procedures as well as analytical tools to explain what happened and why.
Corbin and Strauss (2008) define analysis as looking from different angles at a substance and discovering its dimensions and properties. These two terms allow the researcher to properly define an object, event or action. The researchers break apart the data and later on put all the gained knowledge back together to draw conclusions about the topic being analyzed. Indeed, the knowledge the researcher gains is marked by his/her own beliefs and assumptions. In the words of this authors, “analysis is an interpretative act” (p.47); however, it does not mean that the whole process lacks validity. What action research looks for is understanding the teaching practices and the learners themselves to increase professional knowledge. The researchers’ view will always be “grounded” in the data. The level of analysis will depend on the researcher’s expertise, background, willingness to go beyond as well as the instructional design of the implementation and the data collection process. Corbin and Strauss (2008) identify the following three levels: description, conceptual ordering, and theorizing. This last is the most difficult to achieve because it implies having a well-developed hierarchy of categories, systematically interrelated, forming a theoretical framework that explains the phenomena under study. References Burns, A. (2001). Collaborative Action Research for English Language Teachers. Cambridge: University Press.
Corbin, J. & Strauss, A. (2008). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. Sage Publications, Inc, 3rd edition.
I am a middle school teacher. I love learning new things, travelling to other countries, writing and of course teaching! I love designing activities, worksheets, games and online tools to boost my students’ learning.
