COMPARE AND CONTRAST THE APPROACH TAKEN BY RESEARCHERS IN TWO OF THE PAPERS YOU HAVE READ IN UNITS 1- 4.

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U4222403

JACQUELYN KNIGHTON

U4222403

TMA 01

OPTION 1 – COMPARE AND CONTRAST THE APPROACH TAKEN BY RESEARCHERS IN TWO OF THE PAPERS YOU HAVE READ IN UNITS 1- 4.

The two papers that I have chosen to compare for this assignment are the research paper by Elizabeth Coates and the paper by Aldgate and Bradley  in The Reality of Research with Children and Young People Edited by Lewis et al . The paper by Coates involves the observation of children in nursery and reception classes whilst they drew pictures. The paper by Aldgate and Bradley involved the interviewing of children and their families as to their experiences of being in short term foster care (accommodation). Clearly the main difference between the two papers will be the different approaches taken to data collection. More difficult will be the formulation of comparisons between the two papers, however, both authors cited ethical concerns about involving children in research h and this could be one of the comparisons between the two papers, for example were the ethical considerations the same and what conclusions did the researchers come to.

As her research approach Coates used observations.  Observation is often used to collect data; there are different types of observation techniques that can be used depending on the type of research undertaken. Naturalistic observation involves the researcher (or observer) simply observing as a by-stander trying to neither manipulate nor stimulate the behaviour or actions of those being observed. (Introduction to Social Research. Punch pg 184) the situations observed are natural and not set up for the purpose of research. Structured approaches in contrast tend to be very structured and need pre-developed observation schedules. The recording of data can vary video taping, audio taping or the use of field notes are some examples of the methods used in observational research. Coates decided on a Naturalistic approach, she required to undertake her research in schools where pupils had the opportunity to participate in free drawing activities rather than artistic activities under the restrictions of the national curriculum.  The school settings chosen all had free drawing and writing areas where children could come and go freely. Because of the casual and free nature of the sessions Coates had no choice over which children she could observe she merely had a choice from those who chose to participate in activities in the drawing area. In order to minimise disruption to the setting Coates decided to make notes rather than use video or audio recordings.  Coates decided on a qualitative method, principally because there was such a small sample. In consideration of the ethical issues of involving children in her research Coates’ use of note taking as opposed to videoing made it easier to ensure that the children maintained their anonymity, she sought permission to both keep the drawings and to show them to other people from the children in general conversation.

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In their research Aldgate and Bradley used interviews to collect data interviews are one of the main data collection tools in qualitative research. Interviews enable researchers to access people’s perception of situations.  Patten (1980) cited in   (Introduction to Social Research. Punch pg 175) distinguishes three main types of interview, the general interview; the informal conversational interview guide approach and the standardised open-ended interview. Generally interviews are either structured with the respondent being offered a selection of pre-established questions, unstructured interviews involve asking the respondent non-standardised open-ended in depth questions. Focus groups or group interviews involves the researcher working ...

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