Observation: A systematic method of collecting data through unobtrusive visual (e.g., watching people or places) in order to collect information. Strengths: Challenges: Unobtrusive does not require participant Requires planning (e.g., protocols, charts, – engagement journals) Requires seeing beyond nature perspective Non-responsive in nature Often effective with physical plant and watching Limited in the type of data it can collect for student trends Need trained observers Useful for gathering initial data to couple with Need system of collecting information survey or group Provides both numbers and descriptive information Resources needed: Do you have a protocol? Do you need to train observers? What is your timeline? Document Analysis: A form of qualitative research in which documents are used to give voice, interpretation and meaning. Any document can be used, common documents may be: application materials, student newspaper or publications, marketing materials, meeting minutes, strategic planning documents, etc. Strengths: Challenges: Documents are readily available Non-responsive in nature Documents are already collected or easily Documents are context and language specific collected Documents are often disconnected from their creator Low costs All documents are written through a lens, need to be Documents are a stable data source (they don’t aware of lens in order to assess objectivity change) Data analysis time Can be collected on a quick timeline Resources needed: How do you gain access to the documents? Do you know how to set up a coding system?
Observation: A systematic method of collecting data through unobtrusive visual (e.g., watching people or places) in order to collect information. Strengths: Unobtrusive – does not require participant engagement Requires seeing beyond nature perspective Often effective with physical plant and watching for student trends Useful for gathering initial data to couple with survey or group Provides both numbers and descriptive information Challenges: Requires planning (e.g., protocols, charts, journals) Non-responsive in nature Limited in the type of data it can collect Need trained observers Need system of collecting information Resources needed: Do you have a protocol? Do you need to train observers? What is your timeline? Document Analysis: A form of qualitative research in which documents are used to give voice, interpretation and meaning. Any document can be used, common documents may be: application materials, student newspaper or publications, marketing materials, meeting minutes, strategic planning documents, etc. Strengths: Documents are readily available Documents are already collected or easily collected Low costs Documents are a stable data source (they don’t change) Can be collected on a quick timeline Challenges: Non-responsive in nature Documents are context and language specific Documents are often disconnected from their creator All documents are written through a lens, need to be aware of lens in order to assess objectivity Data analysis time Resources needed: How do you gain access to the documents? Do you know how to set up a coding system?