The Contribution of Research

to Social Change

Diane Ross, Associate ProfessorOtterbein University

Westerville, Ohio USA

Essential Questions for the week How does your interest in peace and social

justice move your areas of inquiry? How is this question situated in the field of

“Peace Research” as defined by Galtung and others?

How can we work in community to support each other’s areas of inquiry?

How does this question move your actions in creating a world that is more peaceful and just?

Assessments Before (pre-assessment)

Research survey and personal goals During (formative assessment)

Development of your personal question Butcher block paper- Gallery Walk

Action Research Plan (formative assessment) Appreciative Inquiry Protocol (formative assessment)

Post- assessment Research proposal Presentation Turn in a digital copy by email- before a grade is turned in Will support your research for up to 30 years

How we will get there.... Survey Previous Research Foundation- Monday Begin to formulate your own personal research agenda Introduce Research Paradigms Gallery Walk of Critical Feedback Introduce Peace Research/ Galtung theory of Peace Research

Introduce Action Research Paradigm- Tuesday Participate in a Action Research Activity

Introduce Appreciative Inquiry Paradigm- Wednesday Participate in Appreciative Inquiry Activity

Introduce structure of paper and research tools (including online databases)- Thursday

Participate in Critical Colleague Activity- Friday Share personal research protocol with the class/ Graded assignment

How do I situate myself as a peace researcher?MomTeacherResearcherScholarPeace ActivistYour Servant Leader this week

Area of Inquiry Dissertation: How do I understand my role in preparing teachers who teach for peace and social justice

Research Methodology- Heuristics; an autobiographical phenomenological method, to explore this issue.

Conclusions: Middle childhood teacher educators must spend their own lives acquiring dispositions to practice social justice and equity if the pre-service educators they instruct are to have any possibility of acquiring these dispositions themselves.

Acquiring Cultural Consciousness through Field Experiences in “Developing Countries”: A Case Study in Kampala, Uganda

Research Methodology- Qualitative Case Study- personal journals, student journals, interviews, observations

Ross, D. A. (2008), "Culturally competent and socio-politically conscious teaching: A teacher educator works to model the journey to critical cultural competence". International Journal of Multicultural Education, Vol 10, No 1.

Ross, D. A.  & Wicks, M.  (2007 winter) "Making authentic service learning alive in middle level classrooms".  Ohio Middle School Association.

Ross, D.A. (2005, spring). "Project SAIL (Summer academy for integrated learning): A college/school partnership for middle school reform".  Ohio Middle School Journal: Columbus, Ohio.

Ross, D. A., & Lehr, L. (2000, May). "Educators and the paradigmatic struggle in teaching and learning in a digital technology reality: An interpretive study"  Research Center for Educational Technology (RCET).  Kent, Ohio 

HUMAN KNOTHow do you situate yourself as a researcher

INNER OUTER CIRCLE OF SHARING

WHAT IS RESEARCH?

What is research Inquiry collaborative Activity Stating a hypothesis Testing hypothesis Looking for patterns Developing relationships that illustrate behaviors Getting in contact with subject Lab Extension of your original thoughts Disprove the null

Research is an organized study with methodical investigation into a subject in order to discover facts, to establish or revise a theory, or to develop a plan of action based on the facts discovered

WHAT ARE YOUR EXPERIENCES WITH RESEARCH?

Research is a frame of mind….a perspective that people take toward objects and activities

(Bogdan and Biklen 1992: 223)

HAVE YOU FELT GOOD ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCES?

FORMING PERSONAL RESEARCH QUESTIONS…

One of the most important things a change agent does it to articulate the questions…

WHAT ARE THE MOST PRESSING QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE AROUND THE ISSUES OF PEACE AND SOCIAL JUSTICE?

Because all change processes begin with framing an issue and collecting data, we become aware that in the very act of doing these preliminary activities, we are socially constructing our future through choices we make and dialogue we use.

WHAT ARE YOUR THREE TOP QUESTIONS OF INQUIRY?

1 2 3

It is through language that we create the world, because it is nothing until we describe it. And when we describe it, we create distinctions that govern our actions. To put it another way, we do not describe the world we see, but we see the world we describe…. Joseph Jaworski, Synchronicity

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST QUESTION OF INQUIRY CURRENTLY?

Inquiry and change are not separate, but are simultaneous. Inquiry is intervention. The seeds of change – the things people think and talk about, discover and learn, and that inform dialogue and inspire images of the future- are implicit in the very first questions that we ask.

WHY ARE YOU INTERESTED IN THIS QUESTION

We come to know ourselves by bringing to consciousness the process by which our view points are formed…

WHAT DO YOU ALREADY KNOW ABOUT THIS QUESTION

You will learn what you already know. You need to learn how to generalize significantly what you know.

WRITE ONE QUESTION OF INQUIRY THAT YOU CURRENTLY HAVE ON BUTCHER BLOCK PAPER AND HANG THIS ON THE WALL

We can undress our souls with the pen…..

Critical Colleagues

Pose one question under each research question

Research Paradigms

Social Research disciplines….

anthropology archaeology comparative musicology communication studies cultural studies Demography Economics History human geography international development

international relations linguistics, media

studies, philology political science psychology (at least in

part) social work social policy sociology

Epistemologies and OntologiesHow we see the world and how we come to know….

Participant Observer

PositivismQuantitative

Rationalism ScienceStableConsistentCoherent

Outsider/ Observer

No single realityKnowledge is conjectural

The knower and the known cannot be separated

Post-PositivismConstructiveQualitative

Gap between rich and poor

Interpretation

Perspective

Rising Nuclear Age Global threat

to the environment

Ex. Adapting visual methods: Action Research with Kampala Street Children

Ex, Quantitative Research Provides Compelling Evidence for Success of Participatory Development Programme in Uganda

Research Processes

Scientific ResearchPositivist“Hard Sciences”

Social ResearchPositivist and/or Post-positivist“Soft Sciences”

MathematicsBiologyChemistry Anthropology Psychology Cultural Studies

Ex: Alcohol Consumption in Uganda

Ex: Psychosocial Vulnerability and Resilience Measures For National-Level Monitoring of Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children

Research Process:Systematic Interaction Between Theories and Data

Quantitative MethodsWhat/ Where/ When

Qualitative MethodsWhy/ How

Attempts to quantify social phenomena

Collects and analyzes numerical data

Smaller number of attributes across many cases

Personal Experiences

Interpretation over quantification

Concerned with understanding the meaning of social phenomena

Survey

Questionnaire Structured Observation

Content Analysis

StructuredInterview

SecondaryAnalysis

Larger number of attributes across relatively few cases

Focus Groups

Participantobservation

JournalsDiaries

Semi/Un structuredInterviews

Text -Based Data

Research

Positivist

Feminist

Phenomenology

Social Sciences

Post-Positivist

Critical

Value orientation

Qualitative

Ethnography

Constructivist

Action Research Appreciative Inquiry

Constructivist with a Value Orientation for

Peace Peace

Research

To move towards social justice, one must be in a constant state of social research.

GALLERY WALK….

What questions can you ask to help move this person forward and to help clarify their question….?

Peace Research

Peace research how would you define it Networking using technology Spreading data information in order to inform and empower Finding a balance between theory and reality Applying different methods in research Doing, interdisciplinary, inter ideological, international thinking, civilization, dialogic Dynamic and active Insighting change contextual Questions assumptions Dangerous to repeat prior views Promoting universal access to information Understanding the world to facilitate change Analyzing the topic and the self Having an end goal which is an avoidance of violence Build upon the old to build the new

Social Justice and Research….Basic premise for the class… Social justice is not static or timeless. The

theory of justice is understood as an attempt to understand what a society’s actions, practices, and norms mean and to elucidate what a community’s shared understandings are so that they are agreed upon principles of social justice.

Elements of Peace Research Dialogic Explicit value Inter-disciplinary…..Intra….Trans-disciplinary Inter-national….Intra…..Trans-national….

HolisticGlobal

Peace studies are……..Johan Galtung (2005, Peace: A Ten Point Primer) Empirical Critical Constructive

(I would say… focused on change…)

Paradigm of Praxis Transformative Emancipatory

Empirical dependent on evidence or consequences

that are observable by the senses. scientific statements are subject to and

derived from our experiences or observations Construct hypotheses Compare data and hypotheses

Critical Ethical Politically empowering Compare data with values related to peace Data must be explicit Comparison carried out with rigor Human behavior critics

Constructive studies Do not shy away from making

recommendations Adequate reasoning Value premises Adequate data Explicit values Well tested theories

…rejects the notion of researcher neutrality, understanding that the most active researcher is often one who has most at stake in resolving a problematic situation.

Response to class…..dross@otterbein.edu What caused you to “show up” today? What new learnings did you acquire today? What questions do you have after today? What hopes do you have for this class time

together? This time together will be successful if…

READINGS TONIGHTAction Research definition and examples:

NEW GAME ACTIVITY

GALLERY WALK

Good Research Questions Is my research question compelling?

Is it important to you? Is it important to a larger community? Is it authentically engaged?

Is my research broad enough to support multiple perspectives? Does my research avoid dichotomies?

Is my research question researchable? Are primary and secondary resources are available

Is my research manageable in the allotted time? Who are the people involved in my research? Where is the place I will focus for my research? What is the point in time I am researching? What is the point of view behind this issue?

Important Questions to consider What are the important research questions in my field What areas need further exploration? Could my study fill a gap? Has a great deal of study already been conducted on this topic? Has this study been done before? If so, is there area for

improvement? Is the timing right for this topic to be explored? Is this a hot topic?, or is it becoming obsolete? Would funding sources be available? Is the target community interested? Will my study have a significant impact on the field?

CRITICAL COLLEAGUE

Questions from yesterday How will we be graded?

Maria Lucia Why is it important to understand research methodology? What is happening the rest of the week

Wed. Appreciative Inquiry

Thurs. Research tools Literature Review Critical Colleague Review

Friday Small group presentations Party....

You and your group decide what you want to make and I will buy the food I shared with you...now you share with me....

Qualitative Research Methods

Credibility, Reliability, Validity, Ethics Reliability- consistent over time and accurate

Qualitative generating understanding Internal audit Dependability trustworthiness

Validity- does the research measure what it is intended to measure Qualitative

Quality Rigor Trustworthiness Confidence in the findings Truths transferrability

Tools Well established research methods Embedding yourself in the culture of the population Triangulation Rich description Random sampling Ensuring honesty in “participants”- right to refusal Iterative questioning Negative case analysis Frequent debriefing Peer review/ critical colleague Reflective commentary from researcher Member checks Catalytic Educative

Ethnographical Research

Immersing an individual researcher or research team in the everyday activities of an organization or society, usually for a prolonged period of time, very naturalistic, impossible to gather from laboratory or "clean room" observational studies.   An ethnographic study of rural community literacy

practices in Bweyale and their implications for adult literacy education in Uganda

Phenomenological research Observation of an experience From it the essential features of

experiences and the essence of what we experience. Hannah Arendt: Eichmann in Jerusalem (1963),

"the banality of evil“

Feminist research all research is essentially value-driven always results in some kind of new action or practice is `driven' by the interests of the women / the oppressed collaborative design and conduct of the research; questions, and otherwise disrupts the reproduction and perpetuation of

power relationships that subordinate “women” `subjects' as objects respects and values women's experiences and their accounts of them

Troubling the Angels, Patti Lather..

Critical theory Research is an ethical and political

act Paulo Friere

Auto-ethnography Writing about the Self Analytically

Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez: An Autobiography. By Richard Rodriguez. Boston, MA: D.R. Godine, 1982.

Social blindness: An autoethnographic study of the interplay of language, cognition, and genetics in a family with an autistic child.

Heuristics Internal search through which one discovers the

nature and meaning of experience and develops methods and procedures for further investigation and analysis.

Knowledge derived is attained through tacit, intuitive or observed phenomena, is deepened through indwelling, focusing, self-searching or dialogue with others, and always needs a medium or base - its frame of reference Loneliness, Moustakas, Clark

Action Research

What is it? Brainstorm with your Critical Colleague

Action research The roots of action research can be

found in anthropology, social-psychology, and education. Research that produces nothing but books will not suffice (Dewey, 1916, Goodenough, 1963, Lewin, 1946).

Kurt Lewin then a professor at MIT, first coined the term

“action research” in about 1944, research leading to social action” that uses “a

spiral of steps, each of which is composed of a circle of planning, action, and fact-finding about the result of the action

Stringer • It is democratic, enabling the participation of all

people. • It is equitable, acknowledging people’s equality of

worth. • It is liberating, providing freedom from oppressive,

debilitating conditions. • It is life enhancing, enabling the expression of

people’s full human potential. (Stringer 1999: 9-10)

Knowledge is derived from practice Practice is informed by knowledge, It is an ongoing process

Action Research is…. Cycle of reflective practice Collaborative Made Public

Action ResearchCycle of Reflective Practice Act Observe Reflect

Act to improve practice by Implementing a plan of action Evaluating the action Planning a report

Action ResearchCycle of Reflective Practice… Observe the consequences of one’s

action Collecting data Describing what is there

Action ResearchCycle of Reflective Practice Reflect on the situation, one’s self, and the

research process exploring: Exploring: What is happening here Interpreting and explaining: How/why are things

as they are Reconsidering: In what ways can I make the

research process better

Key Elements Degree of empowerment given to all voices Unrestrained dialogue between researcher

and participants Role of reflection (reflection in action)

Action Research in Peace Studies STAYING TRUE IN NEPAL:

Understanding Community Mediation through Action Research Silence(ing

), voice(s) and gross violations of human rights: constituting and performing subjectivities through PhotoPAR.

Everyday understandings of peace and non-peace: peacekeeping and peacebuilding at a US Midwestern high school.

Examples: Analysis of the method What is the research question

How did the researcher enter the field? Is the researcher an “insider” or an “outsider”

Description of the problem Who defined the problem?

Was it collaborative? Was it democratic?

Action What actions were taken?

How was the effect of the action recorded? Data collection tools?

What were the findings? What tools were used to ensure reliability and validity?

Action Research

Pros Multiple voices Collaborative Flexible Adaptable Vested interest inclusive

Cons Funding sources-

research question in advance Kickstart

Vested interest Truth-what does

collaborative

Appreciative Inquiry

What is it???

What is it???

Appreciate…verb…1. valuing; the act of recognizing the best in people or the world around us; affirming past and present strengths, successes, and potentials; to perceive those things that give life (health, vitality, excellence) to living systems. 2. to increase in value

Synonyms – VALUING, PRIZING, ESTEEMING, and HONORING

Inquire- verb 1. the act of exploration and discovery. 2. To ask questions; to be open to seeing new potentials and possibilities.

Synonyms: DISCOVERY, SEARCH, SYSTEMATIC EXPLORATION, and STUDY

Appreciative Inquiry is…. particular way of asking questions and envisioning

the future that fosters positive relationships and builds on the basic goodness in a person, a situation, or an organization. In so doing, it enhances a system's capacity for collaboration and change

Appreciative Inquiry Organizational development

process or philosophy Engages individuals within an

organizational system Utilizes a 4-stage process

Stages of Appreciative Inquiry DISCOVER:

The identification of organizational processes that work well.

DREAM: The envisioning of processes that would work well in the

future. DESIGN:

Planning and prioritizing processes that would work well. DESTINY (or DELIVER):

The implementation (execution) of the proposed design.

Appreciative Inquiry 4- D Cycle

DISCOVERYWhat gives

life?Appreciating

DREAMWhat is the world calling

for?Envisioning

Results

DESIGNWhat should be

—the ideal?Co-

constructing

DESTINYHow to

empower, learn, adjust, improvise?Sustaining

Affirmative Topic Choice

Generative process Organic process (all parts are defined by the

whole….cannot take an organization apart to study pieces

What do we do well?

Build organizations around what works, rather than trying to fix what doesn't... It can be enjoyable and natural to many managers, who are often sociable people

The approach acknowledges the contribution of individuals, in order to increase trust and organizational alignment

Aims to create meaning by drawing from stories of concrete successes

Lends itself to cross-industrial social activities

Used extensively to foster change in businesses (a variety of sectors), health care systems, social profit organizations, educational institutions, communities, local governments, and religious institutions.

What is the role of assumptions in change?

Assumptions

Statements and rules that explain what a group generally believes

Explain the context of the group’s choices and behaviors

Are usually not visible to or verbalized by the participants/members; rather than develop and exist

Must be made visible and discussed before anyone can be sure of the group beliefs

Assumptions of Appreciative Inquiry In every society, organization, or group,

something works What we focus on becomes our reality Reality is created in the moment, and there

are multiple realities The act of asking questions of an

organization or a group influences the group in some way

People have more confidence and comfort to journey to the future (the unknown) when they carry forward parts of the past (the known)

If we carry parts of the past forward, they should be what is best about the past

It is important to value difference The language we use creates our reality.

APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY PROTOCOL

Appreciative Inquiry and Peace Appreciative Inquiry and Public Dialogue:An Approach to Community Change Appreciative Inquiry for Peace Building: A Ca

se Study of Constitution Making Process in Nepal

Transforming Educational Practice for Peace in Northern Ireland: The Power of Narrative Dialogue.

Examples: Analysis of the method What is the research question

How did the researcher enter the field? Is the researcher an “insider” or an “outsider”

Description of the problem Who defined the problem?

Was it collaborative? Was it democratic?

Action What actions were taken?

How was the effect of the action recorded? Data collection tools?

What were the findings? What tools were used to ensure reliability and validity?

CHAPTER IILiterature Review

Tools for research Literature Review (secondary resources) Data Collection: Raw data (primary

resources) Data analysis

Good literature review… It is written by an authority on the topic. It contains accurate information. It is relevant to your assignment. It has a clear purpose (to persuade, inform,

sell something etc). The information it contains has been

reviewed prior to publication.

Using the InternetWhile researching on the Internet:

1. Always question why the information is being distributed on the Internet.2. Always notice the domain name (example: .gov or .org are generally more trustworthy than .com sites).3. Unless otherwise directed, there are better sites to use than Wikipedia.

Internet sites according to suffix

.edu- An educational establishment runs the website. This does not mean that the information you find is academic, many schools provide students with their own web pages, which contain personal opinions and information that might not be correct.

.gov- Governmental Agencies .net- Network provider .com- Commercial establishments, companies such as

Converse and Amazon have the .com suffix attached to their sites.

.org- Organizational web site. They are often nonprofit, i.e. .American Sociological Association or PETA. The intent is to influence public opinion about a particular cause or issue.

Electronic Sources and the Internet

Types of Periodicals

Journal Bias

Databases indispensable tools for performing research.

A database is an electronic or computerized list of books, articles, and other publications.

Database Search

Transcend Media http://www.transcend.org/tms/index.phpTranscend Peace links http://www.transcend.org/tms/links.phpPeace media clearinghouse http://peacemedia.usip.org/teachingguides

Swiss Peace http://www.swisspeace.ch/typo3/en/publicatio

ns/index.html$ 

UNESCO http://www.unesco.orgConflict analysis and http://library.gmu.edu/resources/socsci/conflic

t.html

Journal of Religion Conflict, and Peace http://www.plowsharesproject.org/journal/s-to

olsUnited States Institute for Peace http://www.usip.org/resources-tools http://www.usip.org/resources/online-journalsConciliation Resources http://www.c-r.org/index.php

Journal of Humanitarian Assistance http://jha.ac/Journal for the Study of Peace and Conflict http://jspc.library.wisc.edu/index2.htmlPeace and Conflict Studies http://www.gmu.edu/programs/icar/pcs/Peace Conflict Development  http://www.peacestudiesjournal.org.uk/

Formatting and style guide http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/everyday_writer3e/d

ocsource/2d.html http://www.noodletools.com/noodlebib/express.php http://library.duke.edu/research/citing/workscited/ http://citationmachine.net/index.php

III. Methodology& Data Collection Tools

Data collection tools….ObservingExperiencing through our senses

InterviewingInquiring into the experience and thoughts of others

Studying the Materials Prepared by OthersExamining documents and Artifacts

Shadow studyAnecdotal RecordLesson ProfileLog, Diary, JournalChecklistRating ScalesRunning Records

QuestionnaireAttitude ScaleChecklist, Rating ScaleCritical Incident InterviewSociogramInformal InterviewFocus Group Interview

Personal Experience MethodAudio-recordingPhotographsVideo- recording

Data analysis

Data Interpretation…Step 2 Analyze

Categorize Sort (use colors, numbers, cut/paste) Label Define

Find Patterns Synthesize

Create concept map, chart, table… NVIVO Socio-gram Digital Voice Recording Inspiration

Data Interpretation….Step #1 Describe

Use rich, accurate detail

Data interpretation… Step #3 Interpret/ Explain

What do I make of all of this? How does this fit into a larger framework?

Critical Colleagues Find one critical colleague Sit down with that person Face that person Listen to that person without giving any

advice Ask questions to help the researcher clarify

their research questions (use research protocol)

Student Presentations of Research

Protocol

Return to group…..