Chapter 4 - Methods and Methodology The aims of this chapter are to: Although the previous chapters had given me direction in shaping my research methodology I was still faced with a number of challenges. Firstly, understanding my role in the research was a complicated process of labelling and mixing and matching. What was I trying to be? Was I attempting to be a theorist, a philosopher, an interviewer, an interpretive researcher, an insider researcher, a working professional, somebody trying to complete their Doctorate in Education? Truthfully speaking, I could not limit myself to being just one of these, rather I needed to dedicate myself to all of the above. Secondly, I felt responsible that my research should come up with conclusions related to my research questions. 4.1 Interviews in Educational Research (1996) remarks that an inter-view is exchange of views between two or more people on a “an topic of mutual interest, sees the centrality of human interaction for knowledge production, and emphasizes the social situatedness of research data”. (p. 11). According to Laing (1967) “Interviews enable participants be they interviewers or interviewees to discuss their interpretations of the – – world in which they live, and discuss how they regard situations from their own point of view”. (p. 66). The interview is a qualitative flexible research method used for data collection, is one of the “and commonest methods used in small-scale educational research”. (Drever, 2003, p. 1). It encourages the use of multi-sensory channels such as verbal, non-verbal, spoken and heard. It is not however ordinary everyday conversation” (Dyer, 1995, p. 56), it has a specific purpose, is primarily “an
Chapter 4 - Methods and Methodology The aims of this chapter are to: Although the previous chapters had given me direction in shaping my research methodology I was still faced with a number of challenges. Firstly, understanding my role in the research was a complicated process of labelling and mixing and matching. What was I trying to be? Was I attempting to be a theorist, a philosopher, an interviewer, an interpretive researcher, an insider researcher, a working professional, somebody trying to complete their Doctorate in Education? Truthfully speaking, I could not limit myself to being just one of these, rather I needed to dedicate myself to all of the above. Secondly, I felt responsible that my research should come up with conclusions related to my research questions. 4.1 Interviews in Educational Research (1996) remarks that an inter-view is “an exchange of views between two or more people on a topic of mutual interest, sees the centrality of human interaction for knowledge production, and emphasizes the social situatedness of research data”. (p. 11). According to Laing (1967) “Interviews enable participants – be they interviewers or interviewees – to discuss their interpretations of the world in which they live, and discuss how they regard situations from their own point of view”. (p. 66). The interview is a qualitative flexible research method used for data collection, “and is one of the commonest methods used in small-scale educational research”. (Drever, 2003, p. 1). It encourages the use of multi-sensory channels such as verbal, non-verbal, spoken and heard. It is not however “an ordinary everyday conversation” (Dyer, 1995, p. 56), it has a specific purpose, is primarily
Using_Pupil_Voice_to_Investigate_Students'_Thoughts_and_Opinions_on_Cross-Curriculum_Language_Teaching.docx