mills chapter 06

6-1MillsAction Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher, 5e © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Action Research

Geoffrey E. Mills

Fifth Edition

© 2014, 2011, 2007, 2003, 2000Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

A Guide for the Teacher Researcher

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Chapter 6

Data Analysis and Interpretation

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Ongoing Analysis & Reflection

Is your research question still answerable and worth answering?

Are your data collection techniques catching the kind of data you want and filtering out unwanted data?

Conduct interim analysis Avoid premature action

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Analysis & Interpretation

Data analysis summary of data technique determined by type of

data Data interpretation

finding meaning in the data

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Organizing Qualitative Data

Reading/Memoing record initial thoughts

Describing include context, actions,

interactions Classifying

develop themes

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Data Analysis Techniques Identify themes

work inductively Code surveys, interviews,

questionnaires try to find patterns, meaning

Analyze interviews annotate and identify themes

Ask key questions

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Data Analysis Techniques Organizational review

vision & mission, goals & objectives, structure of organization, operation, problems, issues, & concerns

Develop a concept map Analyze antecedents, consequences

identify causal relations

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Data Analysis Techniques Concept map

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Data Analysis Techniques Display findings

matrixes, charts, concept maps, graphs, figures, audiovisual media

State what’s missing avoid making unwarranted assertions

6-10MillsAction Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher, 5e © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Choosing Analysis Software

Are you analyzing large amounts of data?

Are you adequately trained? Do you have resources to purchase

a program? Do you plan to capture specific

quotes from a large database?

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Computer Software for Data Analysis

Handy, extremely fast labeling & retrieval tools NVivo 9.0

complex data

The Ethnograph v6text files

HyperRESEARCH 3.0text, graphics, audio, video

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Preparing Quantitative Data for Analysis

Scoring procedures Tabulation and Coding Procedures

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Analyzing & InterpretingQuantitative Data

Descriptive statistics shorthand way of giving lots of

information about a range of numbers

count what counts! be careful not to over interpret

6-14MillsAction Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher, 5e © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Analyzing & InterpretingQuantitative Data

Descriptive statistics central tendency

mean (average)median (middle) mode (most frequent)

variabilitystandard deviation (spread)

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Analysis in Mixed Methods Designs

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Qualitative Data Interpretation

Extend the analysis raise questions note implications that might be

drawn, without actually drawing them Connect findings with personal

experience Seek advice of “critical” friends

take time to build relationships

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Qualitative Data Interpretation

Contextualize findings in literature Turn to theory

link to broader issues search for abstraction provide rationale, sense of meaning

Know when to say “when” if you don’t feel comfortable offering

an interpretation, don’t!

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Sharing Interpretations Wisely

Connect interpretations closely to data and analysis

Avoid being evangelical