Had an enjoyable time selecting something different and have settled on a social science module, ‘Identity in Question’.  Looks ‘chewy’, lots of old favourites – Weber, Marx, Althusser, Foucault – from my sociology degree and, I think, there will be  connections to be made with the virtual and online worlds many of us spend time inhabiting.

Going to try and make a prompt start on this big box of paper (!) I have received!

Starting out with good intentions to blog as I go..

Rosemary’s D853 Weblog

Me: Slumped in chair, muttering on about the ECA – what I need to remember to do -

“Mustn’t forget to discuss ethics…”

Him: “Whereabouts in Essex…?”

I’m getting too old for all this…

Primary research question from which this paper was drawn : “What is the role of the internet in the lives of people who have a traumatic brain injury? This paper looks at using on-line method – the email facilitated qualitative interview.

Method

Ethnographical qualitative interviews. Three researchers with skills an exp. related to TBI survivors and/or email interviwing. All with knowledge and exp of ethical research proposals.

Support person

Pilot I/Vto test achievability

Semi structured I/V

Setting

Involved a pilot of a new I/V method – email-facilitated qualitative interview techniques with people with traumatic brain injuries.

Small number of qualitative studies ansd f2f I/V primary method previously used. Often use prolonged engagement and ‘inductive’ rather than ‘experimental design’ ie ‘patterns emerge from the analysis of data’.

Other qual interviewing studies – late 1990s – to address potential barriers -esp for marginalised groups – in f2f I/V eg participants reluctance to self-disclose, geog barriers, ltd resources and time.

The omission of TBI survivors own perspectives also a cause for concern – when carers, professionals etc speak on their behalf.Problem with using F2F I/V – language dependent (most TBI survivors have cognitive-linguistic impairments CLIs) and relies on real time responses – both problematic for TBI survivors.

Various strategies in use to overcome barriers in qualitative interviewing but impact upon researchers esp time, cost ethics etc.

Theoretical approach and concepts

Ethnographical – qualitative interviewing – via email to overcome barriers encountered by people with TBIs and enable them to have a voice rather than their carers, professionals etc

Ethics and unintended consequences

Emotional protection of prticipants a priority.

Rich quality of the data unexpected

Limitations

reduced cues; asynchronicity; anonymity; digital divide issues

Required considerable resources

Participants not able to compare email IV with f2f IVs as had not undertaken f2f interviews.

Advantages

The features of email I/V could address some of the challenges of F2F i/vs for people with TBIs. asynchronous – gave more time for responses and reflection; anonymity – particpants more in control;

Findings

Indicate that new technologies can help in collecting interview data from people with cognitive-linguistic impairments who can face participation barriers in face to face interviews.

As a quantitative study I think ‘duration online’ would provide stronger data than ‘hits’. The text seems ambiguous on this point referring to ‘more time’ in some parts and ‘hits’ in others. As here:

 

“The proportion of the total ‘blackboard’ hits, which relates to communication/groupaccess, was calculated for each student for each module. This proportion was compared with the year-1 module grade. If online participation in discussion forums is an effective learning aid, then it is expected that those students who proportionately spend more time in communication/group areas should achieve better module grades.”

Interesting though.. 

Whether online interaction has any benefits in terms of improving students learning as measured by final grades on courses.

Methods 

Statistical analysis of frequency of on-line interaction of 122 undergraduates compared with their grades at the end of the year over six modules.

70 male , 52 female

approx 25% part-time

Particpants used blackboard vle during year one of study. Use of communication and group areas of the vle were the focus for data analysis as representing the degree of participation in online discussion.

Study measured ‘hits’ on these areas as a proportion of all ‘hits and compared with module and overall grades.

Theoretical approach and concepts

Not made explicit by researchers but quotes earlier research concerned with student – centred learning, and in depth discussions, online collaboration and learners feelings of isolation etc

Setting 

Undergraduate business course

Ethics and unintended consequences

Ethics – None obvious – not experimental or interventionist

Other factors

Limitations

Study focus on number of ‘hits’ focus on quantity rather than quality of interactions.

Findings

Students achieving high or medium passing grades engaged more actively via the vle than students achieving low grades. And students getting low grades were more active than students who failed. “Greater online interaction did not lead to significantly higher performance for students achieving passing grades; however students who failed in their courses tended to interact less frequently.” 

BUT “is the amount of interaction and discussion also a factor in higher achievement?”

Implications

Possible that quality of interaction more imp than quantity

Participation in online discussion forums improve learning and provide support – frequency more likely to be imp factor in support, while the quality and dynamics of interaction more imp. in influencing learning and performance.

Why and how people create and use blogs ie motivations of bloggers and how they relate to the known audience of their personal social networks and wider blogosphere (unknown) readers. Focus on blogs as a social activity.

Methods 

audio-taped ethnographic interviews and text analysis of blogs. Interviews between April and June 2003 -some f2f some by telephone. Interviews used a fixed set of questions about the blogs, blogging habits, thoughts on blogging and use of other comms media.

Sample of 23 people -16 men and 7 women – age range 19-60. From various ethnic backrounds  all living in NY or California.

10 Stanford Uni students

2 interviews and one follow up

Theoretical approach and concepts

Ethnographic study of blogging.

Activity theory – analysis of the objects motivating human activity – an object embodies a motive blgs as manifetsations of diverse socila motives

Objects motivating blogging in this sample inc

updating others on activities
expressing opinions to others
seeking others opinion etc

Setting 

Blogs written by individuals and small groups -connected with Stanford Uni mostly existing social networks – with limited audiences.

Ethics and unintended consequences

Researchers deliberately contacted ‘a small number of bloggers they knew personally’

Limitations

Sample from specific narrow geographic (to enable f2f interviews) and socio-economic source and further bloggers recruited  to the study who were known to this sample.

Findings

Blogs ‘a studied minuet between blogger and audience’ – ‘consciousness of audience is central to the blogging experience’. Relationship between blogger and audience assymmetrical – wanted readers, but not to hear a lot form them.
Blogs strikingly like radio. Diverse content from only 23 bloggers.
Limited interactivity characteristic of blogging

Implications

Power of sender and response rates to web-based surveys via personalized salutations

Setting: What is the sector and setting? (e.g. school, higher education, training, informal learning)

Emails to OU students

Concepts: What theories, concepts and key terms are being used?

Methods: What methods of data collection and analysis are used? (e.g. the number of participants; the type of technologies; the use of interviews, surveys, observation, etc.)

Study 1 stratified sample 10,000 OU students matched demographics of all OU undergraduates by age, gender and location

= 6.3%

Split into 4 groups Dear Student, Dear OU Student, Dear John, Dear John Doe

Study 2 2247 students on the panel

Study 3

Limitations: What are the limitations of the methods used?

Ethics: Are there any ethical issues associated with the research?

Care with high power/personal salutations on sensitive issues

Findings: What did this research find out?

More people joined a panel if addressed by a personalized salutation

This effect replicated in a study using an invitation to leave a second panel.

In final study, ‘power of the sender’ if high also had significant salutation effect 

Virtual peers as partners in storytelling and literacy learning

Setting: What is the sector and setting? (e.g. school, higher education, training, informal learning)

Primary School

Concepts: What theories, concepts and key terms are being used?

Based on theory of emergent literacy (Teal and Sulzby 1986)

Vygotsky zone of proximal development Children perform at a higher developmental level of abstraction and performance with knowledgeable partner than on their own.

Methods: What methods of data collection and analysis are used? (e.g. the number of participants; the type of technologies; the use of interviews, surveys, observation, etc.)

31 children – all 5yr old girls volunteered – 3 withdrew =28.
2by2 design
8 played alone with castle
6 played with a peer and castle
6 with a peer and Sam
All 10 minute play sessions transcribed
2 researchers coded occurrence of spatial and temporal expressions and quoted speech in the children’s stories.

Limitations: What are the limitations of the methods used?

Duration not sufficient to show children learned this from Sam
Did they have this ability already and Sam gave them chance to demonstrate?
Just girls in this study
Age limited to 5 yr olds
Only played once for 15 mins with Sam

Ethics: Are there any ethical issues associated with the research?

Findings: What did this research find out?

Children who played with the virtual peer told stories

that more closely resembled the virtual peers linguistically advanced stories- more quoted speech and temporal and spatial expressions.