Research Methodology " Observations of children with special educational needs.

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Research Methodology – Observations of children with special educational needs.

The objective of research is to improve our understanding of academic practice and the context in which it takes place.  Research is intended to provide a foundation for others, to develop their own professional practice.  There are many different ways in which research can be carried out, which fall into two categories.  There are qualitative methods and quantitative methods.  Qualitative research includes methods that produce non-numeric data.  It is concerned with understanding the meaning of various aspects of behaviour from the perspective of those studied, in other words collecting, analysing, and interpreting data by observing what people do and say.  Some examples of qualitative research include interviews, direct observations and focus groups.  In contrast quantitative research does generate numeric data or data that can be converted into numbers.  It is an inquiry into an identified problem, based on testing a theory, measured with numbers, and analysed using statistical techniques, whereas qualitative research focuses on developing a theory.  Quantitative research involves using structured questions where the response options have been predetermined and a large number of participants are involved.  Examples of quantitative research include surveys (which may include multiple choice answers), and questionnaires.

There are many advantages and disadvantages to both these types of research.  The advantages of qualitative research are that it allows for greater awareness of the viewpoint of participants, this method also helps build new theories explore new areas of research, and aren’t limited by rigidly defined variables.  However, it does have its limitations.  With this research method it is difficult to replicate results, so not all researchers will get the same results, in some cases background information may be missing, the group being studied may not be representative of the larger population, and analysis of observations can be biased on the observers side.  Quantitative methods are well suited to addressing the who, what, when and where (Day, 1998), it allows researchers to measure and control variables, and since it is a generic form of research, the results can be projected to the population.  However, the disadvantages include that it doesn’t answer why people act or think as they do, whereas qualitative does.  Also it requires a hypothesis being formed prior to research and only proves or tests this instead of developing the hypothesis.  It is also felt that this form of research isn’t cost effective and, for example in a survey where the answers are predetermined with multiple choice answers, people may answer differently than they would in real life.

Observations, a form of qualitative research, are generally used to record behaviour.  Observation becomes a research tool to the extent that it serves a formulated research purpose, is planned systematically, is recorded systematically and related to more general propositions.  

There are different ways in which observations can be carried out in a research setting.  The first is where the researcher enters the setting, yet remains completely physically detached from interaction and activities, for example watching children play in the playground from within the classroom; this is what Anderson refers to as “complete observer” (1999. p128).  There are advantages with using this method, for example, the researcher is less likely to be influenced by the group and so the data may be more objective and the researcher can use more aids for recording results as they aren’t trying to hide their role, although it is important to realise that this method also makes it difficult to discover meanings attached to events, as the researcher is unable ask further questions (Primary Research Methods, 2008).  The second is the opposite of this, the “complete participant” where observers may join in an activity with other participants and pose as members of the group but with the purpose of carrying out research.  However, most research falls between these two poles and researchers enter a setting as a “participant observer”.  This is where the researcher takes part in the activity but only to a certain degree, then steps back from the setting to check perceptions, record field notes and analyse data, after which they go back into the setting to gather new evidence.  This process can be overt (where the participants know) or covert (where they don’t).

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Researchers have developed two forms of observations, structured and unstructured.  Structured observations have most frequently been used in classroom studies, in educational research (Johnson, 1994).

 

Structured observations are where the researcher doesn’t observe everything but will only observe that which they have decided in advance to watch, trying not to influence the environment or setting they observe.  Structured observations can take one of several forms, but a common form is the checklist.  A checklist allows the researcher to record whether or not a given behaviour occurs.  One advantage of structured observation is that it is an excellent ...

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