Comparing Secondary Elements of Two Articles - Essay Example

COMPARING TWO ARTICLES AND RELATING THEM TO THE STUDY GUIDE

Task B: Compare and discuss the approaches to quality, validity, analysis, conclusions and implications in the articles

Introduction

Research process involves many steps and the initial steps of identifying research problems, clarifying research paradigms, formulating research designs, and selecting most appropriate methods and techniques for the study have already been discussed in Task A part of this assignment. It is also worthwhile to understand how researchers analyse the data, draw conclusions from the data, and ensure the quality and validity of the research results. Data analysis is a significant step in the research process where researchers employ theme analysis, discourse analysis, frequency analysis or causal analysis depending on the nature of data. Once data analysis is completed researchers draw the conclusions of their studies gaining insights from the common themes identified during data analysis. Researchers then make objective claims (comprising of descriptions and explanations) and value claims (evaluations or prescriptions) based on which they draw the conclusions of the study through empirical generalizations or theoretical inference. It is also the responsibility of the researcher to ensure the quality of the study in terms of reliability, validity (both internal and external), objectivity, and transferability. The validity of a research rests on the many aspects- the type of variables, sample and methodology, research aims and role of the researcher, and issues related to relevance, reflexivity, interpretation or misinterpretation, and subjectivity or objectivity. This paper seeks to compare and discuss the articles of Hong (2012) and Lasky (2005) in terms of their approaches to quality, validity, analysis, conclusions and implications.

Approaches to analysis

Researchers resort to different approaches to data analysis based on the research rationale, research questions and the type and nature of the data collected. Data analysis is a significant step in the research process as faulty data analysis fails to yield the accurate results of the study. The most common approaches employed by researchers to analyse data are theme analysis, discourse analysis, frequency analysis and causal analysis. Theme analysis is used to identify ‘themes that reflect the focus of enquiry’; frequency analysis approach ‘focuses on the frequency of a single variable’; discourse analysis deals with a single text or a set of related texts; and, casual analysis approach explores the relationship between variables (4.2: The relationship between research rationale and data analysis). Analysing the two articles one can find that Hong (2012) mainly makes use of theme analysis for her qualitative research whereas Lasky’s mixed approach research employs both theme analysis and frequency analysis.

Hong (2012) tries to collect qualitative data to analyse the role of internal psychological factors such as self-efficacy, beliefs, values and emotions on teacher resilience and career decision-making. Hong resorts to theme analysis to categorise the various themes derived out of her semi-structured face to face interview with the participants. The analytic technique chosen by Hong is integration of inductive analysis and the constant comparison method. The researcher inductively analyses the qualitative data to condense them to core themes. Similar themes identified in the interview are categorized into broader themes and codes are constructed for similar patterns and regularities across all participants. Similarly, the opposing patterns are also identified by the researcher before arriving at the conclusions for the study. The researcher presents the summary of the data in narrative form emphasising the major themes derived from theme analysis.

Lasky (2005), on the other hand, makes use of both theme analysis and factor analysis in her sociocultural approach to understand teacher identity and professional vulnerability in the context of secondary school reform. The researcher collects data through surveys and interviews. Lasky employs exploratory factor analyses to examine the survey data making use of such analytical tools as correlation, Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity and the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Statistic (KMO), principal components factor analyses, Varimax rotation, Kaiser Criterion, and alpha coefficients. While analysing the interview data Lasky also follows theme analysis to identify common themes and sub-themes from among individual narratives and data sets. Thus, one can notice that both the researchers employ the most appropriate analytical approaches for their research topics to ensure validity and quality of the researches.

Drawing conclusions

Data analysis is followed by results and conclusions of the study. One needs to have a thorough understanding of the types of claims made by the researchers as these offer a solid foundation for one “to consider the conclusions made by the authors to support their claims” (4.4 Evaluating research and drawing conclusions). These claims are made by researchers based on the supporting evidences and data collected by them. Thus, one can come across objective claims (comprising of descriptions and explanations) and value claims (evaluations or prescriptions) in a research paper. Similarly, researchers draw the conclusions of their papers either through empirical generalizations or theoretical inference. Empirical generalizations refer to such conclusions that “relate to all the cases within a larger population, based on investigation of a sample of cases drawn from that population” (4.4 Evaluating research and drawing conclusions). The validity and quality of empirical generalizations depend on how effectively the statistical sampling techniques have been used by the researcher. On the other hand, experimental researches usually arrive at conclusions through theoretical inference and it is imperative that the evidences drawn from the study are strong enough to support the theory proposed.

Analysing Hong’s one can clearly find the objective claims (regarding the self-efficacy, beliefs, values and emotions of the participants) and empirical generalizations made by the researcher. The data analysis showed that both leavers and stayers possessed the same intrinsic value and interest in working as a teacher. However, the stayers excelled than the leavers in terms of self-efficacy. While leavers were unable to manage the challenges and difficulties in the school environment and “professed their lack of efficacy beliefs in managing the classroom and handling misbehaving students in the classroom” the stayers admitted that they knew how to handle these situations effectively (Hong 2012, p. 427). Similarly, the stayers were more able to tackle emotional burnout and stress in the workplace. All these claims prompt the researcher to come to the conclusion that both stayers and leavers demonstrated different levels of resilience that shaped their career decision making. The conclusions of the study prompts the researcher to come to the empirical generalization that under the same challenging situations stayers tend to manage emotional burnout more effectively while maintaining strong self-efficacy beliefs. The conclusions of the study have a number of implications on teachers’ professional development, teacher training programs and management. In the same way, Lasky (2005) also draws her conclusions regarding how social or curriculum reforms would affect teacher identity and teacher vulnerability. The researcher identifies that the conflict between early professional training and the new reform mandates creates tensions in the minds of teachers regarding their professional identity. The results of the study clearly pinpoints that secondary school reforms such as the one in Ontario contribute to professional vulnerability among teachers as they believe that “their professionalism was being systematically eroded by the current reform context” (Lasky 2005, p. 913). The conclusions of the study have great bearing on governmental policies and meditational systems that affect school functioning and teacher identity.

Approaches to quality

One needs to take into account a number of factors while analysing the quality of any research. It is essential to evaluate the research findings in terms of such quality indicators as reliability, validity (both internal and external), objectivity, and transferability. The results of a study need to be reliable, valid, applicable, and reproducible. Polit and Beck (2008, p. 539), in this respect, observe that the trustworthiness of a qualitative enquiry takes into account the positivists’ criteria of internal validity (credibility), reliability (dependability), objectivity (conformity), and external validity (transferability). However, only experimental studies based on quantitative methodology can claim absolute objectivity. As suggested by Eisner (1992, p. 10) procedural objectivity can be achieved only “by using a method that eliminates, or aspires to eliminate, the scope for personal judgment.” However, one should always bear in mind that poor methodology, non-systematic data collection procedures, and inappropriate data analysis tools can hamper the quality of any research. Analysing the researches of Hong (2012) and Lasky (2005) one can find that their studies yield valid and reliable results. However, due to the small sample, these results cannot be transferred, applied or generalized to a larger population unless they are proved to be true in a more in-depth study among a larger population. As such, these researches can be regarded as representative studies that offer scope for further researches in this regard.

Approaches to validity

The validity of a research rests on many aspects. While analyzing the validity of a research, one needs to “examine the range of variables that may threaten validity, including the sample studied, how the study was completed, the research aims and the role of the researcher in the research process” (4.4 Evaluating research and drawing conclusions). One also needs to evaluate the relevance of the study in terms of the study results. The relevance of any research increases when it is capable of contributing towards the practice, policy or the existing body of knowledge. Questions of validity are related to research rationale, research paradigms, and seek to address issues of truth, reflexivity, interpretation or misinterpretation, and subjectivity or objectivity. While quantitative researches tend to be objective in nature qualitative researches are interpretive and subjective. Researchers need to be extremely cautious to avoid personal reflexivity, errors and misunderstandings while remaining neutral in the whole research process. Analyzing the two articles it can be seen that both Hong (2012) and Lasky (2005) have undertaken special care to ensure the validity of their research by choosing measurable variables, sample population, appropriate methodologies, data collection methods, tools for data analysis and personal involvement. Hong (2012) makes use of semi-structured face to face interview for obtaining the qualitative data. Special efforts are taken by the researcher to ask open-ended questions during the interview. The interviews are audio taped and the written responses are carefully documented by the researcher for data analysis. Similarly, Hong tries to ensure the reliability and validity of the results of the study by employing an integration of inductive analysis and constant comparison method for theme analysis. Lasky’s research problem necessitates a mixed approach for maintaining its validity. Lasky thus employs both qualitative and quantitative measures to obtain results from the data. The researcher employs survey and interviews as primary sources whereas she resorts to documentary analysis for secondary resources. The survey questions are carefully designed by the researcher to yield valid results. The survey is divided into 10 sections, each section addressing a specific aspect related to teacher identity. The researcher also makes use of quantitative statistical tools such as factor analysis, correlation, Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity and the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Statistic to guarantee the validity of the research.

Approaches to implications

It is worthwhile to analyse the educational implications of both the articles. Hong’s research throws light on many of the internal psychological factors that affected the attrition rates of beginning teachers in the school environment. The research has great implications on teacher education, professional development of teachers, school management systems, aptitude tests in teaching, qualities required of prospective teachers, teachers’ training programs, and selection as well as retention of teachers. Knowledge and in-depth understanding regarding the differences shown by both leavers and stayers regarding certain psychological factors may help future policy formation on school management and teacher education. The study also highlights the significance of school and classroom environments-how students’ disruptive behaviours or difficulty of classroom management nurture or hinder ‘teachers’ values, self-efficacy, beliefs and emotions’ (Hong 2012, p. 432). The study also pinpoints that prospective teachers need to be specially trained to manage and cope up with challenging circumstances. There should be provisions to test one’s intrinsic values and inner drive to pursue teaching career during teacher education process. The research also emphasises the need to have radical measures, strategies and methods to boost teachers’ self-efficacy during their training period itself. Building supportive interpersonal relationships among colleagues has also been identified as a supporting factor for beginning teachers to face challenging situations in the school environment. Similarly, Lasky’s article also demonstrate many educational implications as it throws light on how political, social or cultural meditational systems such as school reform policy shape or affect teacher identity and teacher vulnerability. The article contributes immensely to the existing body of knowledge and the study has the strongest implications on governmental policies and reforms in the field of education. The study clearly convinces one that there are a number of factors that the authorities need to take care of while proposing or implementing any policy changes of reforms.

Conclusions

There are a number of important factors that researchers need to keep in mind after completing their data completion. The data collection is followed by data analysis, results, conclusions and recommendations. They also need to address such aspects as quality, validity and implications of the research. The approach to data analysis (theme analysis, discourse analysis, frequency analysis and causal analysis) should be chosen keeping in mind the research questions as well as the type or nature of data collected. Similarly, the researcher should be able to make convincing objective claims or value claims from which conclusions (empirical generalizations or theoretical inference) could be drawn. Similarly, every researcher needs to guarantee the overall quality of the research paper by paying attention to such quality indicators as reliability, validity (both internal and external), objectivity, and transferability. The insights gained from this assignment help one not only to critically analyse a research paper but also to undertake one’s own quality researches.

Task C: Identify and discuss three things that you have learnt from your study of E891

The study of E891 has offered me fresh insights into the various aspects of a research. It has not only refined and modified my understanding of critically analysing a research paper but also convinced me of how to undertake a research of my own. The study has taught me of the various issues one needs to address while designing a research or research proposal. While Task A provides the theoretical understanding on the purpose, scope and scale of the study, the paradigms (epistemology, ontology and methodology) of the research, and the design frames (methods and techniques) Task B convinces one of such aspects as data analysis, drawing conclusions or inferences, research quality and research validity. While reading a research article it is imperative to understand the research focus, the research rationale, the paradigm positions, the research design as well as the arguments, claims, and conclusions offered by the researcher (5.1 Reading a research article or report – what to do). All five parts of the E891 have been beneficial to me. However, part 2, 3 and 4 of the study guide were instrumental in taking me to new horizons of knowledge regarding the paradigms, methods and techniques as well as the data analysis, claims and inferences of the research.

Even though I was familiar with qualitative, quantitative and mixed research approaches the concept of researcher’s ontological and epistemological positions in research was quite unknown to me. The fact that it is the epistemological and ontological assumptions of the researchers that are later translated into well-structured methodologies was the first thing I learned from the study of E891. I came to realize that ontology and epistemology are the theoretical roots of research paradigms even when they are not apparently discussed in the research literature. Similarly, the study of E891 showed me how the researcher’s epistemological and ontological positions determine the way research problems and questions are conceptualized and research methodologies and research frames are chosen.

The study also provides one with key understanding regarding the various research designs employed in researches. I came to realise that research design is an ongoing process which gets modified and refined as the researcher goes more deep into the research problem. Part 3 study guide reinforced my prior knowledge that every research design tries to enact a specific methodological position. Similarly, the study guide provides a detailed understanding of the six research frames- experimental, longitudinal survey, case study, ethnography, action research, and activity theory. It also offers one an in-depth knowledge regarding the various data production instruments for research.

The third significant lesson I learned from the study of E891 was regarding evaluating research and drawing conclusions. It was a novel idea for me that researchers make use of various types of claims based on the supporting evidences and data collected by them. The fourth part of the study guide and Task B convinced me of the objective claims (comprising of descriptions and explanations) and value claims (evaluations or prescriptions) based on which researchers arrive at empirical generalizations or theoretical inference. I also came to know that validity and quality of empirical generalizations depend on the effectiveness of statistical sampling techniques. This also taught me that experimental researches usually arrive at conclusions through theoretical inference and evidences drawn from the study need to be strong enough to support the proposed theories.