11/18/13field-based research

cont.

all researchers must:• address the “double inference” fallacy

– example: (pre-test/post-test experimental design with treatment)• group A receives training X; group B

receives training Y. • A scores higher on measure of social skills

than B, with decent effect size• conclusion: training X kids develop better

social skills than training Y kids

all researchers must (cont.)• manage time. time is finite—start with time

and then fit tasks to time• pace themselves—life-long journey not a

sprint– stop early enough to prepare for

tomorrow• do the final 5%—finish the job

all researchers must (cont.)• negotiate theory

– it can open the world up, put order on the chaos

– it can narrow our vision (tunnel vision), put blinders on us

• build and/or test theory—explanation of how some small part of the world works

more on theory • theory needed to “see” data

– creative or invented spellings (Read, 1986)• RUDF• nooiglid, cwnchre, chrac, cidejches, adsavin,

cchin, feh, jopt, hrp, jrgn, bateg, ihover, goweg– theory: children use letter-name knowledge to

creatively & linguistically accurately spell– not seen for centuries

• educators lack linguistic knowledge• adults hear sounds not there

building validity in field-based research (Wolcott, 1990)

• talk little; listen a lot (field work)• record accurately (field work)• begin writing early (field work and writing)• let readers see for themselves (writing)• report fully (writing)• be candid (field work and writing)• seek feedback (analysis)• achieve balance (field work, writing, analysis)• write accurately (internal validity) (writing)

coding1. construct a data record from interviews,

observing, and artifacts2. from often huge data records construct a

manageable set of factors– top-down codes: from the literature (etic)– bottom-up codes: codes one constructs

from the data record (emic)

Erickson cont.• field-based research based in anthropology

and sociology– human action patterned—anthro, by

culture; sociology, by social laws.• challenge: people seek patterns, and will see

patterns where none exist• the biggest challenge to doing good research

is willingness and ability to fool oneself—remain skeptical about claims

data collection• critical of “romantic” notion; for a “process as

deliberative as possible” (p. 140)• central issue of method:

– bring research questions and data collection into a consistent, albeit an evolving, relationship.

– asking explicit questions and seeking relevant data deliberately enable and empower research intuition, rather than stifle it. (p. 140)

5 major types of evidentiary inadequacy• inadequate amounts of evidence• inadequate variety of kinds of evidence• faulty interpretive status of evidence• inadequate disconfirming evidence• inadequate discrepant case analysis (pp.

140-141)

ethics and entrance• risk greatest between members of different

interest groups in local setting • reports to general scientific audience usually

do not expose people to risk• consider reporting in local setting in

negotiating access to information about individuals in the setting. (p. 141)

• negotiation of entry a complex process (p. 142)

collaborative relationships with informants

• tendency of informants to assume researcher’s purpose is evaluative

• memorize statement about purposes, procedures, and steps taken to maximize confidentiality and minimize risk

• never comment to other team members about anything observed in the site while on the site (p. 142)

data collection as inquiry• identifying full range of variation in formal

and informal social organization and meaning-perspectives

• collecting recurrent instances of events across wide range of events—establish typicality or atypicality

• looking at events at any system level in context of events occurring at next higher or lower system levels (p. 143)

• determining the full range of variation– begin comprehensively – later move in successive stages to more

restricted observational focus• informants usually not fully aware of the full

range and depth of culturally learned and taken-for-granted assumptions of social relations etc. in everyday life (p.143)

boundedly rational problem solving• fundamental principle:

– reflection & write-up takes at least as long as observing; must be completed before returning to the field

• bias: decisions– about where and when to observe– about foci of attention while observing– premature typication: conduct deliberate

searches for disconfirming evidence (pp. 143-144)

reporting• empirical assertions• analytic narrative vignettes• quotations from fieldnotes• quotations from interviews• maps, tables, figures etc• interpretive commentary—particular • interpretive commentary—general • theoretical discussion• natural history of inquiry in study (p. 145)

validity• the best case for validity: assertions that

account for patterns found across both frequent and rare events

data record• materials collected in field not data

themselves, but resources for data. • from materials, data must be constructed

through some formal means of analysis (p. 149)

audiences1. general scientific community2. policy makers3. general community of practitioners4. members of local community studied (p.

153)

known unknown

positively (or neutrally) 1 3regarded

negatively 2 4regarded

– reporting to local audiences a process of teaching the findings

changing one’s mind (Walsh et al.)• do you believe this report? why?• what about generalizability?• what do you learn about teaching from

reading this?

video (micro-ethnography)• strengths

– capacity for completeness of analysis– reduces dependence of primitive analytic

typication– reduces dependence on frequently occurring

events as best data sources• limitations

– replaying a tape one interacts with it vicariously

– interpretation requires context not on tape

the constraints of video• my account of this lesson is rich because I

spent a lot of time looking at the tape and because I knew a lot about the kids. But you know what? The first time I looked at it, I thought, “This was it? What did they get so excited about?” I mean, the tape seemed not too much. The fullness of the moment lies in the sensuality of the experience of the here-and-now. That feeling is missing when looking at a tape or transcript because your ongoing experience is not of the here-and-now of the interactional

record but of your own context. Making the record come alive is a creative act. It requires engaging the document as though it were the here and now, building up a stream of thought within the record itself. Yes? So: if your students have been disappointed by the thinness of their experience of their records, they shouldn’t expect anything different with this tape. The problem doesn’t lie in the record. (John D’Amato, personal communication, 1993)

intro to fieldwork-based research (with children)

Graue, M. Elizabeth, & Walsh, Daniel J. (1998). Studying children in context: Theories, methods, and ethics. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

intro to using video in fieldwork-based research

Walsh, D. J., Bakir, N., Lee, T. B., Chung, Y., & Chung, K. (2006). Using Digital Video in Field-Based Research with Children: A Primer. In A. Hatch, Ed., Early childhood qualitative research (pp. 43-62). New York: Routledge.

resources for research skills• Sage Press (www.sagepub.com)• website has many links• dissertators (offer to be peer reader)

Pisani, Elizabeth. (2008). The wisdom of whores: Bureaucrats, brothels and the business of AIDS. London, England: Granta.• As an epidemiologist researching AIDS, Elizabeth Pisani has been

involved with international efforts to halt the disease for fourteen years. With swashbuckling wit, fierce honesty, and more than a little political incorrectness, she dishes on herself and her colleagues as they try to prod reluctant governments to fund HIV prevention for the people who need it most: drug injectors, gay men, sex workers, and johns. With verve and clarity, Pisani shows the general reader how her profession really works; how easy it is to draw wrong conclusions from “objective” data; and, shockingly, how much money is spent so very badly.

writing• before you turn the final draft in, look

carefully at the example manuscripts in the APA Manual (do the last 2%)

• writers workshop—become a regular• find a good editor; ask editor to make list of

common problems• read good writing• write simply; keep sentences short

grad life• dealing with university bureaucracy

– know the rules (Grad Programs Handbook)– know the gatekeepers (departmental grad

programs secretary)– be wary of “Sherman Hall” advising– consult grad student organizations (see

website for links)

getting car ready for winter• check anti-freeze• good scraper and brush• lock de-icer• in trunk (for trips): gloves, hats, sleeping

bag, candles, collapsable shovel, flashlight• check weather before you travel• if you haven’t driven on ice before, go to

large empty parking lot—practice

places, ways etc. to relieve stress• DCR: organized trips• weekly rituals, e.g., an evening at Urbana Free

Library• escapes: e.g., ARC, CRCE, Krannert Art

Museum, Café Kopi, Armory, Homer Lake, Carle Park, Caffe Paradiso, Krannert

• form a gang, a group, a posse, a rotating potluck

• ice arena• friend with a fire place•

good ways to find the best courses• DI incomplete list• other graduate studentsgood ways for international students to

meet other grad students• ARC, CRCE • clubs• sports• church• go places international students don’t go• get out of Sherman Hall and Orchard Downs

good places cont.• Thai food: Siam Terrace, U; Thara Thai, C• Indian food: Sitara, U• coffee shops: Café Kopi, C; Café Paradiso, U• breakfast: Courier Café, U; Le Peep, C• wine selection: Corkscrew, U• vegetarian food: Red Herring, U• Jazz: Iron Post, U• Movies: That’s Rentertainment, Campus Town