June 25, 2015
The first leg of this learning journey into research has
stirred up feelings of apprehension and excitement all at the same time. I have
had very little exposure to true research, with the bulk of it being from a quantitative
approach, and although I knew I was a novice in the arena of research, I only
now realize how little I really know.
The learning curve is steep.
There have been experiences that I’ve documented with
students, that I believe would fall into the ethnography tradition; had I known
better at the time, I could have possibly approached the activities as research projects. My employer encourages
faculty to participate in research but I’ve never known where to even start.
Bentz & Shapiro (1998) in their book, Mindful Inquiry in Social Research, provide
a compelling read for the beginner researcher. I was intrigued and pleasantly
surprised by the personal nature of their writing and was startled (again,
pleasantly) at the inclusion of a spiritual tradition (Buddhism) in their
philosophy of research. Maybe this is common, but I wasn’t aware of it and it
adds such a unique but important dimension. The authors advocate for the
researcher to put themselves at the center of their research and ask detailed
personal questions in order to find the appropriate research approach. I am
interested to see what my own answers are to some of these questions and will
dig into this as the weeks progress.
Hi Yvonne – I enjoyed reading your first post as I think I share some of the trepidations you expressed regarding entering the arena of research.
ReplyDeleteWhat kinds of specific experiences have you had within the ethnographic tradition with your students? What kinds of problems would you consider to be applicable in the classroom that would lend well to an ethnographic inquiry?
I also identify with ethnography, as this approach captures behaviours which are deeply embedded in the context of the subject’s life. In my own professional experiences, I have not seen a lot of support for this research tradition as it is costly and timely to conduct. In addition the results have been considered too subjective and anecdotal to warrant any valuable learnings. What do you think of these criticisms of ethnography? How would you suggest that these comments be addressed in regards to ethnographic inquiry in the classroom?
What other kinds of research traditions would be applicable with your students?
Christine
Hi Christine,
DeleteI can see how the factors of time and cost would be an issue with this approach. The experience I see as a possibility is with simulation of nursing scenarios. Students are observed through a one-way mirror as they make their way through a simulated clinical situation. The outcome depends on their actions. There is often a lot of emotion around these experiences.