Quan vs. Qual vs. Action Research
Video 2: Horowitz
There is one line that was mentioned by Horowitz that I believe gets to the point concerning research, "...questions drive the method, not the method driving the questions." When I was in elementary school, we had an half hour a day to read whatever we wanted. I chose to read the choose your own adventure Dundgeon and Dragons books. Why? because my choices led to a newly discovered outcome every time I went on these literary journeys. Our questions, concerning research should do the same, lead to new discoveries with the questions we derive. Our questions will lead to new acquired information only if we use them properly to drive the method.
Videos 4 & 5: Dr. A.G. Picciano
Dr. Picciano did an excellent job describing the different aspects of quantitative and qualitative data. I learned something new about each of the methods that will help guide me concerning my projects to come.
As far as quantitative research, I was familiar with the mathematical related concepts and the descriptive/correlational/experimental/survey research, but Ex Post Facto research (newly learned) will definitely be implemented in my future projects. As far as qualitative data, essence (who, what, why, where, when, how) was mentioned. Of course I have heard of these one-word questions before, but to describe them all in one word helps simplify the research process. The essence of the research should drive the method.
Video 6: Participatory Action Research (Military)
This explanation of his dissertation is highly helpful in understanding the direction of the action research process. His points from the visual concerning creating a adaptive curriculum, will help me comprehend the goals to achieve form my research. It is interesting it will take cycles (as mentioned in video 7) to acquire the results. PAR is a tremendous path of direction to follow to understand change and and potential improvement of educational practices. The action research results (1st-3rd persons) will be used in my research practices as well. I did not realize before this video information, I was already using these practices in prior surveys and questionnaires I have used in the past. The section discussing stories and data is useful in relating the results in a more appetizing informative format. Data becomes stories and I can analyze the data for stories.
