data transformation by dr jaane alam

8/4/2019 Data Transformation by Dr Jaane Alam

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Description

It involves staying close to data as

originally recorded. You draw heavily on

field notes and interview transcripts,allowing the data to somewhat speak for

themselves (Glesne, 1995, p. 10).


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Example of description

Balancing their lunch trays on their knees

(somehow that cafeteria smell of the hot dogs;

applesauce, and lukewarm milk never changes in

schools). Andy and Danielle describe the positivethings that have happened for Revin over the last

week. They tell us about the points hes earned for

suing good language, his recent triumph over a

classmate in a computer game, and how they and

Kevin resolved an issue on the playground.

(Glesne, 1995, p. 97)


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Analysis

Analysis is the identification of key factors in thestudy and the relationships among them. This

method typically extends description in a

systematic manner. (Wolcott, 1994) Often the

word analysis is used equivocally.

The word is often used for data analysis in a

narrow sense; or it is used for all three stages of

data transformation: description, finding patterns,interpretation, and report writing as data analysis.


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Analysis continued.

Data analysis is the process of organizing and

storing data in the light of your increasingly

sophisticated judgments, that is, of the meaning-finding (or meaning mining) interpretations that

you are learning to make about the shape of your

studyBy each effort of data analysis, you

enhance your capacity to further analyze.(Glesne, 1999, p. 132)


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Example of Analysis

The evolution of the Instructional Support Team(IST) in the three schools raises some interestingpoints. On the one hand, the three principals spokeduring the original and following interviews about

the positive aspects of naturally occurringcollaborative structures that appeared to lessen theneed for the more formal IST structure. On theother hand, they viewed the somewhat more

formalized versions of their ISTs that had evolvedover time as being necessary and generallypositive (Wolcott, 1994, p. 142)


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Writing stage as analysis: example

A lot of my insights and much of the

understanding I gained from my research

data came through the writing process. Forme, writing is the final organization of my

thoughts (Gordon, cited in Glesne, 1999, p.

153).


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Ways to approach analysis

Identify patterned regularities in the data Highlight your findings: keep breaking down the

elements until there are small enough units toinvite rudimentary analysis, then begin to build the

analysis up from there. Display your findings: Make use of graphics and

visualization, photographs are considered asvisual facts that can be presented with or

without interpretation; p Poster session is yet another format for

presentation;

computer presentation is yet another way;


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Analysis continued

Contextualizing data in a broader analytical

framework:

Ask What can be learned from thisexperience?

[Summary of Wolcott, H. F.(1994). Transforming

qualitative data: Description, analysis, and interpretation.Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Pp 9- 54]


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Analysis - risks

Data may be filtered through the researchers particulartheoretical position and biases.

Deciding what is important- what should or should not beattended to when collecting data and analyzing is a

dilemma. Data contradictory to the researchers view may be

excluded.

Biases that cannot be controlled should be discussed in thewritten report

Where the data only partly supports the predictions, thereport should contain enough data to let readers draw theirown conclusions.


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So Analysis:

addresses the identification of essential

features and the systematic description of

interrelationships among them- in shorthow things work. In terms of stated

objectives, analysis also may be employed

evalualtively to address questions of why,

for example, a system is not working or

how it might be made to work.


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Interpretation

Interpretation is often seen as part ofanalysis;

Interpretation means to make sense of thedata available; meaning-making; raising aquestion like: what does this mean?

In the process of interpretation, theresearcher transcends factual data and

continuous analysis and beings to probe intowhat is to be made of them (Wolcott,1994, p. 36).


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Example of interpretation

(Furney, 1997, 174, 175)

In brief then, the schools in this study of CT

230 have helped to confirm my belief that

caring for students should constitute the

central purpose of education and guide its

efforts to chance.in placing students atthe centre of the agenda for school reform, a

host of related changes become apparent.


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Continued.

.The challenge to care for studentsimplies an agenda to promote social justice

and deal with issues of diversity. placingcare at the centre of a school also seems atthe centre of a school also seems to requirethe establishment of a form of leadership

that is both visionary and participatory, andcreates a sense of shared responsibility andan openness to change.


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Caution

Interpretations need to remain within or

rooted in the data and they should be

tenable, should not be far fetched;

They should convincingly emerge or

strongly based on the data; remain within

the scope of data;

Cannot draw conclusions from specific to

general;


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Group Activity

Study your classroom and everything in it andwrite a couple of paras as a classroom as towhat extent this classroom is conducive for

effective teaching and learning. (15 minutes) Please analyse and interpret the data you

gathered for themes and then analyse andinterpret them. (15 m)

Share your report with the entire class fordiscussion (30)


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Validity, reliability

The concept of validity, reliability, and

generalizability have become what Kvale

(1995) calls the scientific holy trinity. Thewords validity reliability and generalizability

are so tightly associated with positivism that

it is almost impossible to disentangle themfrom their ontological an epistemological

roots." Finley, Mindscape, p.11)


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We need new ways to talk about concepts

associated with trustworthiness and

usefulness. Kvale (1995) suggests we need a way out of

the validity paradox altogether. For, as he

asserts, valid research would be researchthat makes questions of validity

superfluous. (p. 38).


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Reliability, as it pertains to the replicability, ofresearch findings, is essentially a non-issue inqualitative research. And generalizability, as it

pertains to the usefulness of research findings, weconsider as a part of our discussion of validity."Finley, Mindscapes, p, 11,12)

Virtually any careful, reflective, systematic studyof phenomenon undertaken to advance humanunderstanding can count as a form of research. Itall depends on how that work is pursued. (Eisner,

New Frontiersp.7)


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Epistemological Difficulties

WE SEE/UNDERSTAND

THINGS/PEOPLE/EVENTS/

THE WORLDS AROUND US

NOT AS THEY ARE,

BUT AS WE ARE!


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Human Experience of the Reality


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References

Bogdan, R. C. & Biklen, S.K. (1998). Qualitative

research in education: an introduction to theory

and methods. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Wolcott, H. F. (1994). Transforming qualitativedata: description, analysis, and interpretation.

Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Creswell, J. W. (1998). Qualitative inquiry and

research design: choosing among five traditions.Thousand Oaks: Sage.

data transformation by dr jaane alam

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