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Block 2 (UNIT 8 Observation (negatives (ethical issues (consent), research…

- - - - evidence
    - - evidence
      - special considerations
        
        children or adults?
        
        special needs
        
        cultural or social considerations
    - - evidence
    - - evidence
      - what do we need to find out?
        
        how do we go about finding it out
        
        Should we do a literature review
        
        to find existing evidence to answer the question
        
        do we need to collect our own data?
        
        is the question too broad
        
        can a single study answer the question
        
        can we narrow it down?
      - research questions tend to be developed, and need to be worded carefully
        
        how important is it that this research question is addressed
        
        is it for the researcher, or for important matters of policy or practice?
        
        who benefits from the research
        
        has it been sufficiently addressed before
        
        in whose opinion has it been sufficiently addressed
        
        might peoples perspectives be different on this issue?
        
        first part of research design
      - can the question actually be answered with the resources and time available?
      - the research question may change over the course of the research, either as new information becomes available, realising the original question cannot be answered with the resources available, or for other reasons
      - different types of research questions
        
        explanatory
        
        why do things happen
        
        eg. what factors are involved in CYP deciding whether to go to university or not
        
        considerations when using explanatory research questions
        
        it is similar to descriptive research as explanations are based on descriptions, so the considerations are the same, plus taking into account the descriptions of the factors that explain it.
        
        what sort of evidence is needed to demonstrate or refute causal relationships, and draw conclusions
        
        possible investigation of processes occurring within the research or comparison between two or more
        
        example of explanatory research from module
        
        https://www.younglives-ethiopia.org/sites/www.younglives-ethiopia.org/files/YL-WP77_Orkin_Are-Work-or-Schooling-Complementary-or-Competitive-for-Children-in-Rural-Ethiopia_Mar2012.pdf
        
        looked at the original source but it is cited in the module material. Decide how to reference. It could be that it is OU 2018 available at https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=1268959&section=1.2
        
        descriptive
        
        what happens if......
        
        eg. what proportion of school leavers go onto university, and in what subjects
        
        considerations when using descriptive research questions
        
        is it relevant to what we want to find out?
        
        how are we determining the parameters, eg. school leavers - are we including all types of school (mainstream, special, private, grammar, comp), what about those taking a gap year then uni? boys and girls?
        
        in the conclusion we need to address if these were reasonable assumptions to make and how they affected the results
    - - why does this happen?
        
        participant withdrawal
        
        things not going as expected
        
        practical limitations preventing it
    - - WHAT ARE THE CONSIDERATIONS IN SELECTING A CASE TYPE
        
        can combine case types in one study
        
        practical issues may divert the original plan to ended up using a different type than planned
        
        or various studies using different type
        
        three main types
        
        experiments
        
        weaknesses
        
        experiments, false environment
        
        is it representative of the way things work in the real world
        
        is it cause and effect or just correlation
        
        are the results valid
        
        strengths
        
        powerful evidence
        
        limit variables
        
        controlled experiment
        
        good for cause and effect questions
        
        good for testing explanatory hypotheses/questions
        
        surveys
        
        did the whole sample approached take part in the research?
        
        unlikely
        
        are we unwittingly putting off a certain type of participant
        
        is there a reason they might not
        
        sometimes less than 50%
        
        1 more item...
        
        why might you choose a survey
        
        obtain probable causal relationships
        
        better at showing general trends than experiments or case studies
        
        what are the issues
        
        can only obtain a limited amount of information
        
        is it really representative
        
        1 more item...
        
        is the standardised format leaving questions unanswered, or creating more questions
        
        to obtain statistical information
        
        not open to interpretation
        
        to get a representative large amount of data relatively easily
        
        questionaires or interviews or structured observation
        
        standard format means answers can be counted or measured.
        
        not open to interpretations
        
        weaknesses
        
        surveys tend to have a standard format
        
        what are the benefits to having a standard format?
        
        1 more item...
        
        does this mean that researchers miss out on useful information
        
        strengths
        
        can research large numbers, relatively quickly
        
        cases often selected to be representative of a larger population
        
        1 more item...
        
        individual case study
        
        why might you choose an individual case study?
        
        good for descriptive data, but also used for explanatory
        
        case studies can be prone to complexities arising
        
        what happens over time
        
        perspectives of the participants
        
        not so good at identifying cause and effect, but depth and reliability of information very valuable
        
        example of an individual case study
        
        Woodyer 2010 cited in Hammersley 2014
        
        1 more item...
        
        selecting cases relevant to a specific theory
        
        to demonstrate something in more detail using small sample representative of a wider sample
        
        would it have been better to use a different case
        
        2 more items...
        
        how do we know if it is truly representative
        
        is this going to be accurate, how do we know?
        
        weaknesses
        
        gaining access
        
        open ended
        
        only a small number of cases
        
        strengths
        
        exploratory
        
        deep understanding
        
        in more detail
        
        can look at many factors
        
        what is a case - definition
    - - Observation Data
        
        Definition - where the researcher will watch participants and listen to what they say and do and record data
        
        detatched observation
        
        unaware
        
        two way mirror or cctv
        
        lurking online
        
        what are the ethical considerations
        
        what are the practical implications of this
        
        Aware
        
        know that they are being observed and that they are there, but the researcher plays no active role. They just spectate
        
        Considerations when using detached observation
        
        minimises the effect of researchers influencing the research
        
        observing whilst aware might cause uneasiness and to behave differently
        
        what are the participants, expectations, context and the researchers and participants roles?
        
        what kind of data to we need to collect in order to best answer the research question?
        
        what threats to validity are there
        
        consider both aware and unaware detached observation
        
        considerations of how data is recorded for both types of observation
        
        manual recording
        
        writing notes, counting etc
        
        3 more items...
        
        getting participants to record data
        
        access to different perspectives
        
        1 more item...
        
        access to places they might not get access to
        
        what are the ethical issues
        
        confidentiality
        
        data protection
        
        Participant observation
        
        Where the researcher is active within the setting. e.g. ADOS
        
        considerations of using participant observation
        
        will participation affect to research and findings, if so how? Does the benefit of participating outweigh the negatives, or not?
        
        this might be preferable though to a detached observation where the researcher is observing. This might make the participants feel less uneasy about being watched, than in the other scenario
        
        what are the participants, expectations, context and the researchers and participants roles?
        
        what kind of data to we need to collect in order to best answer the research question
        
        what threats to validity are there
        
        could a combination of both work well to give and overall picture
        
        evidence: Corsaro (1981) cited in Hammersley (2014) did this to obtain different sorts of data which helped him to answer his research question
        
        was it the best way? Could anything have been done differently, better? or was it really good?
        
        Observations can record data in different ways
        
        pre-specified things to be looked out for and marked when observed
        
        fixed focus
        
        when would you use this? Is it the right approach? What are the advantages and disadvantages
        
        making notes on what they observe that is relevant to the topic
        
        more open, qualitative data
        
        When would you use this? What are the advantages and disadvantages?
        
        making notes, but with the idea that what they observe might be significant even if initially not seen as relevant to the topic
        
        what are the advantages and disadvantages of this? When would you use it
    - - Cross Case
        
        Looking at how different cases compare in order to determine possible causes
        
        comparing cases to for example find out why two similar participants had different results, or different participants had similar results. what is the common explanation?
      - Within Case
        
        Looking at the process within a particular case to discover what might have caused those results
        
        looking at participants behaviour, self opinion circumstances etc to determine what might be contributing to the results
        
        many studies combine both types of analysis and there are advantages and disadvantages of both
- - - - researcher plays an already established role in the setting e.g. in the school situation they make take on the role of a supply teacher or teaching assistant without participants being aware of the real reason they are there
        
        positives
        
        may act more naturally
        
        negatives
        
        deceptive (ethical)
      - researcher observes without playing any established role. Discreet observation e.g. 2 way mirror or cctv
        
        positives
        
        may act more naturally
        
        negatives
        
        deception (ethics)
    - - researcher plays an already established role in the setting. eg research of schools, the researcher may take on the role of a teacher
        
        negatives
        
        positives
      - researcher observes without playing any established role e.g. research in schools but does not take on a role, they simply observe
        
        positives
        
        negatives
    - - Leader
        
        She makes the point not to assume that friend would automatically be the best way obtain true and realistic accounts from children and gives an example where insightful data was gathered without altering their role from research scientist
        
        different children will respond differently to the different roles so how can we truly know that we are using the right one
      - Supervisor
      - Observer
      - Friend
        
        Can an adult ever truly be a friend?
        
        what are the ethical issues of taking on this role?
        
        might find it weird that an adult is trying to hang out with the kids
        
        how does it effect the researcher and their research
        
        emotional attachment
  - - - consent
    - - cost, practicalities, funding
- - - - participant observation
        
        immersing oneselve in the participant's lives to become part of the scenery, more accepted etc
        
        positives
        
        first hand experience
        
        build trust
        
        deep knowledge and understanding
        
        see all elements of life
        
        negatives
        
        impractical
        
        time and resources
        
        in the past children were not seen as reliable sources of information (incomplete adults with less understanding and experience, however this started to change in the 0's and 80's
        Does the sources use the children's own accounts? did it use ethnographic research, when was the research carried out and what were the opinions of children at this time?
        
        what are the language barriers
        
        language ability of children
        
        ethics
        
        does the child understand
        
        overcome by adapting techniques e.g. using painting, playing, drawing, makes the children feel more comfortable and can help to involve younger children. puppets, photographs, videos, children conducting interviews
        
        2 more items...
        
        age of the children, can they communicate, we we get effective data
        
        concentration span
        
        power imbalance/saying the right thing
        
        gaps between adults and children - socially, feeling uncomfortable, untrusting etc
        
        what are the legalities of taking part in the child's life. e.g. if the children are carrying out illegal activities
        
        street children, how could you live amongst street children without being noticed or even reported
        
        1 more item...
        
        language spoken by the participants and the researcher, if different
        
        younger children can be excluded from research due to their language ability, understanding etc
        
        Alderson et al 2005. 2006 cited in Montgomery 2014 argues that children and babies whatever ages can communicate through their body language and expressions
        
        the issues with this are that adults can interpret childs actions through their own 'lens'. child behaviour is open to interpretation and can not be proven to be one thing or the other
  - - - how is the data recorded, notes, tallies, audio, video
        
        audio recordings became increasingly common from the 1960's, and video from the 1980's with evolving technology and availability of it
        
        what are the diasdvantages
        
        audio, can only hear, but not see. Video, what is going on that isn't captured outside of the shot, or before or after the recording.
        
        where might this be best used? in a closed environment?
        
        what are the advantages
        
        closer analysation, can play over and over, viewed by more than one person