Design and Data Production Applied on TMA01 and TMA02 - Essay Example

? TMA03: Research Design and Data Production Applied on TMA01 and TMA02 By (Module and number) TMA03: Research Design and Data Production Applied on TMA01 and TMA02 Research design is very important in studies as it allows the researchers to carefully and accurately examine their chosen topics of investigation. It also influences in a good way the quality of the investigation taken for the benefit of adding valuable data to the pool of knowledge that various academic fields have been holding (Kumar 2008, p. 30). The research being done makes use of data gathered from previous sources or directly from experiments conducted, which must be used to identify, analyze and answer the specific problem of the research. The data then must be subjected to statistical analysis for verification of the percentage error in it and various tests and measuring scales can also be used to check out the results reflected by the data (Peers 1996, p. 1). With the analysis of the data, the researchers then can elaborate on the details of their study and successively make a conclusion and recommendation. With the recommendation in mind, follow-up studies can be made based on the suggestions given by the past researchers shown in their reports and papers. For the paper on TMA03, the discussion will focus on the details regarding the research design and data production and on how to apply the concept upon the past articles on TMA01 and the topic on TMA02. The paper then will be divided into two tasks as the first task will cover the articles from TMA01, while the second task will focus on the topic of TMA02 and elaborate on it. On TMA01, a pair of articles was chosen and those would be subjected to some questions which comprised the first task of the paper. The first task then will cover the transparency of the research conducted by the authors of the chosen articles. Next, the rationale will be checked as to whether it is connected to the methodological approach used by the authors of the articles. Then, an alternative design will be suggested that may better fit the studies conducted by the authors of the chosen articles. Lastly, the data collection practice of the authors of the chosen articles will be analyzed and some suggested alternative methods will be provided and discussed. The paper talks about research design and data production which will be applied on two articles used in TMA01. Research design is about putting a scientific question into an experiment to test its validity (Matthews and Kostelis 2011). The framework of the experiment then is dependent upon the questions that serve as guidelines. Each design then has its own strengths and weaknesses. It does matter when researchers are going to choose the right design for their particular study. Once they have chosen the framework, then they have already created the blueprint for their study to undertake (Craig 2009, p. 89). They usually have questions as guidelines like what are the questions needed for the accomplishment of the study, what information are related and needed for the research, what data must be obtained and how to process and study the collected data. It can then be divided into various types of designs from fixed to flexible frameworks. Those are known as qualitative and quantitative research designs. Fixed and flexible designs can then be both quantitative and qualitative research designs (Madeyski, 2010, p. 5). Flexible research designs provide the space for adjustments which give the researchers the chance to make some changes in the process or methodology. On the other hand, fixed designs are rigid which makes it difficult for researchers to make some on-the-spot changes. It also requires the design to be finalized before doing the data collection. Its advantage is the freedom to adjust especially for the qualitative variables. The downside of having fixed design is the opportunity to change once controlled and experimental variables are identified because fixed designs are heavily patterned after theories which may differ from actual practice (Creswell 2003). The first article focused on the compositional process of student writers from Year 9 to 11 through classroom setting and reflections on the activities. Thirty eight students participated in the study as they react to the given classroom activity on writing and they were interviewed afterwards. In the interview, the student participants were asked to reflect on their experience regarding the writing activity. The next step in the study was to analyze the written output of the participants. The researchers found out that the students differ from one another when it comes to writing style, proficiency and profile. The findings were even verified by the gathered data through the interview of the participants which proved how much the students were aware of their writing process. Afterwards, the researchers connected their findings with the established theories on pedagogy and stressed on the need of further studies to confirm their conclusion (Mayhill 2010). The second article also tackled the writing process but it focused on drama together with writing. Its aim was to provide awareness regarding the theories and findings on how drama affects the writing process of children. The study was then conducted by three primary school instructors and two lecturers as they used a varying set of research processes like video initiated recall, involvement of children observation, written analysis and group interviews. The used methods were primarily qualitative. The process drama then was conducted in the form of fictional images done in two approaches in the first trial as the team tried to link drama and writing. The first step was considered as a specialized trial as the group worked on a selected text at a specific moment within the process drama while the second activity involved spontaneous writing. The main focus was then on the spontaneous writing approach. The parts of the drama were then studied and dissected to check on the influence upon the writing process of children. The study had found out that emotions, tension, and strong focus are experienced through adoption of character roles. When those factors were the part of writing, the produced literature then captivated the interest of the readers and the reading took the authorial stage. Usually it was filled with creative details and the participants make use of their own choice of words to share strong feelings. With the assigned roles to each of the participants, the children were able to write with increased perspective and sharp attention together with a great boost in motivation. In addition, the participants chose to always start with the process drama to enhance their writing abilities. The study then had seen how drama can greatly enhance the writing abilities of primary school students and the study also revealed the relation of their findings to its implication on teaching methodology (Cremin et. al. 2006). Now that the overview of both studies were discussed, that would be of help in dissecting those studies using the four factors to consider when it comes to research design and data production. The two articles will be compared and contrast for each factor. The first consideration upon the research design is the transparency of the studies when it comes to research methodology. The first article is clear regarding its number of participants was stated and even the steps were shown in the study. The thirty eight students participated in the written activity and a follow-up interview was done to promote reflection regarding the activity. The analysis was also done to connect the results of the interview with the profiles of the participants gathered based on their written output (Mayhill 2010). It shows how the authors of the first article made use of mixed methods as they wanted to become accurate by stating the particular number of participants while having qualitative data gathering through the interview. Despite of those strong points, they failed to declare how they analyzed the data gathered. Probably they used any statistical procedure, but it should be reflected on their report to ensure the validity of the experiment. Also they should have elaborated the criteria they used for gathering the comparing the writing profiles of the thirty eight students. They also failed to discuss the specific writing activity that they had done. On the other hand, the second article offered a more detailed approach on its methodology as the researchers for the second article described the specific scenarios in the process of doing the experiment. They had admittedly used qualitative approach to the study as they compared the genre-specific and seize the moment approach to the learning and writing of the students (Cremin et. al. 2006). It was a good idea to describe the response of the students on both approaches. The downside of the second study is the lack of standards to meet. They should have at least looked for existing measuring scale to rate the response of the students on both approaches instead of just having a qualitative research. The second consideration focuses on the rationale behind the methodology used by the researchers of the two articles. The researchers of the first article had justified the rationale of their methodology as they tried to connect the analysis from the written output of the participants in the natural classroom setting with the personal reflections gathered through post interviews with the participants (Mayhill 2010). For the second article, the researchers were also able to justify their methodology as they had used a qualitative approach for it is hard to compare each student as they have different sets of learning needs (Cremin et. al. 2006). They also have different learning styles that the spontaneous writing caters in contrast with the genre specific approach. The third consideration then focuses on alternative research designs that could have rendered the studies in both articles more accurate. For the first article, it would have been better if mixed approach is done by having concrete statistical analysis for the comparisons of the writing profiles of the participants combined with the qualitative approach through the descriptions given by the students gathered through the interview. For the second article, it would have helped if mixed approach is used as the qualitative approach conducted in comparing the genre specific method and spontaneous writing method would be better measured when there is a standard and measuring scale to be used. The last consideration is the different method of the author on the data collection if ever he has the chance to change the methodology of the researches done in both articles. For the first article, the author would like to have more than one trial with more than thirty eight students to reduce the possible errors in the experiment. Also, the author would like to use a quantitative analysis or a statistical analysis to further verify the validity of the experimental design and data collected. For the second article, the author would like to add a quantitative approach to numerically verify the results while connecting those values with the descriptive outcomes of the qualitative research. The next part then tackles the application of research design by the author of the paper regarding his chosen research question and how he will gather the data for that particular research. The chosen research question is based on his proposed question submitted in the TMA02. The author stated that the concept of religion varies from every individual based on its impact to the psyche and experience of people especially the youths. There is a need to delve deep into the prevalence of religion to the youths. The author would use a mixed method in data collection for solving the question and dilemma upon the concept of religion especially to the youth. As both psychological and experiential effects are in question, the data will be gathered by using participation, life history and survey analysis. Participation will be done by conducting observations during the performance of religious rituals and services across several religions like Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism. For the life history, it would help if interviews will be conducted to get the individual participants to share his experiences in his life regarding religion. He may be asked about his views on his religion, how is he committed to it and how does he view the religions other than his own. Lastly, survey analysis will be done by using scales to compute the values and the reliability. Also it would be effective to get massive amounts of responses from many people regarding specific subjects on the topic of religion among the youths. Probably it would be good to survey 500 youths ranging from thirteen to twenty years old as that is the age bracket for people who are considered to be youths. In short, those three methods will be used in data gathering starting off with the participation as the basis for the natural setting. Interviews will be conducted after the actual performance of religious rituals and will allow the participants to reflect upon the activity. The next step is to dig deeper into the religious lives of the participants by asking about their families and religious backgrounds. Lastly, the survey then will confirm whether those gathered data are consistent with the responses of the masses by getting 500 youths to participate in a survey. Wit the use of mixed approach, “what” and “why’ will be answered. Also, the data will be viewed in various perspectives as numerals and descriptions will show the details of the results of the experiment (Teddlie and Tashakkori 2009). The quantitative or numerals also allow for more specific and easier analysis using equations and formulas to verify the validity and accuracy of the experiment (Punch 2005). At the same time, the results will be connected to certain theories. After all, the use of the mixed approach is flexible as various approaches can be used simultaneously in varying degree depending upon the needs of the study to be conducted as many factors affect the specific needs for a particular research. Bibliography Craig, D. (2009) Action Research Essentials. USA, John Wiley and Sons. Cremin, T., Goouch, K., Blakemore, L., Goff, E. and Macdonald, R. (2006) Connecting Drama and Writing: Seizing the Moment to Write. Research in Drama Education, 11 (3), pp. 273–91. Creswell, J. (2003) Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Method Approaches. USA, Sage Publications. Kumar, R. (2008) Research Methodology. India, S. B. Nangia. Matthews, T. and Kostelis, K. (2011) Designing and Conducting Research in Health and Human Performance. USA, John Wiley and Sons. Madeyski, L. (2010) Test-Driven Development: an Empirical Evaluation of Agile Practice. USA, Springer. Mayhill, D. (2010). Children’s Patterns of Composition and Their Reflections on Their Composing Processes. British Educational Research Journal, 35 (1), pp. 47-64. Peers, I. (1996) Statistical Analysis for Education and Psychology Researchers. Great Britain, Biddles Ltd. Punch, K. (2005) Introduction to Social Research: Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches. USA, Sage Publications. Teddlie, C. and Tashakkori, A. (2009) Foundations of Mixed Methods Research: Integrating Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches in the Social and Behavioral Sciences. USA, Sage Foundation. Read More