VI. SAMPLE
OF RESEARCH METHODOLOGY DESCRIPTIONS
My research
methodology requires gathering relevant data from the specified documents and
compiling databases in order to analyze the material and arrive at a more
complete understanding and historical reconstruction of the lives of selected
female scholars. I hope to shed light on the following questions through my
research: 1) How did female scholars obtain their education? a) How important
were factors such as kinship networks and socio-economic status in providing
women access to their education? b) To what extent did women attend classes
with other students and/or was their training obtained through private
tutoring? 2) Did religious rules regarding veiling, seclusion, and women’s
mobility in the public sphere affect the physical circumstances of women’s
education? For example, did women interact directly with male students and
teachers in formal educational settings, or did they participate through
informal spheres such as gatherings in homes, mosques, libraries, and literary
salons? 3) Are there any indications of a curriculum—or a set course of study—
that a woman had to complete before gaining recognition as a hadīth transmitter
or as a legal scholar? What credentials qualified women to interpret Islamic
law or to transmit hadīth ? And how do these compare to the credentials
and curricula of contemporary male scholars? 4) To what extent did female
scholars obtain an education in a range of religious sciences beyond hadīth transmission,
such as Islamic law, Qur’ānic exegesis, or poetry?
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William
Faulkner’s books—first with my teachers at [a previous institution], later at
the [another university] and the [a university], then with my students in
undergraduate and graduate courses at [another university], and finally with
literary critics and historians at the [another university]. Decades ago, I
left Mississippi, traveling all over the world and living at various places in
the United States, as well as in Germany for four years. During this time, I
attended seven different colleges, focusing primarily on southern literature. I
have enjoyed studying and living in over fifteen places, affirming my adaptability
and collegiality. Each return to my study of William Faulkner’s works, however,
enhances my understanding of his fictional Yoknapatawpha County and the
Mississippi of my youth. But it was not until I finally visited [host country]
decades ago and later began reading Oe Kenzaburo’s novels that I realized the
influence and universality of William Faulkner’s vision of a defeated country
and a patriarchal society. Being a Fulbright scholar would allow me the chance
to work with Japanese students, explaining Faulkner’s writings, as well as the
Mississippi of my youth, all the while exploring Oe’s moving works.
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This project
will utilize both quantitative and qualitative data collection tools, but is
rooted in a qualitative epistemological position that recognizes the importance
of locating the research within a particular social, cultural, and historical
context. It also takes seriously the social construction of these contexts and
the identities participants construct within them.
Data
Collection
Data collection will consist of
surveys, classroom observations and interviews with [host country] teachers, as
well as journal logs from teachers. Initially, a survey instrument to measure
teacher attitudes and beliefs regarding professional roles and responsibilities
will be administered to a broad spectrum of participants (ideally, n=300).
Subsequently, a purposeful sample will be identified to participate in the
second round of data collection. A structured observation protocol will be
developed to aid in field note collection and an interview protocol rooted in
the literature will be developed to act as a guide for the semi-structured
interviews. Multiple interviews are planned with each participant in order to
provide more in-depth data collection and opportunities for follow-up. The goal
is to interview approximately 20 participants who embody a range of identity
positions and who come from different schools and communities. I will work with
[host country] teacher training programs (IUFM), and with faculty at the
Research Center in [host city], to identify potential participants. I will also
ask teachers to respond to a series of journal prompts over the course of the
project that allow them to provide a more detailed and longitudinal view of
their daily lives as teachers—their experiences, reactions, beliefs, and ideas
about their roles and responsibilities as educators.
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A
qualitative evaluation shall be utilized for this research project leveraging
subjective methods such as interviews and observations to collect substantive
and relevant data. These interviews shall be conducted with practicing
diplomats from the [one host institution] as well as visiting diplomats to the [another
host institution] conferences. Such a qualitative approach is valuable here due
to the varying experiences of the diplomats in [host country] and other country
cultural situations. Upon collecting the qualitative data derived from said
interviews, careful analysis shall be done (both manually and utilizing nVivo
software) to prepare a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats)
to analyze how to best customize the course to the target student populations.
Recent research on intercultural communication and instructional design shall
be consulted to validate collected data. A bibliography containing such
research sources has been submitted separately with this Fulbright application.
The research from this Fulbright project shall become an asset to the
established body of literature on cross-cultural issues, however now with a
special [host region] point of interest. As for my own research efforts, I will
have the opportunity to implement by intercultural education expertise within
another country and assist a recognized university in developing a
ground-breaking and vital course.
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I have an
established collaboration with [host scholar] from the Department of
Environmental Science, Faculty of Science, [host institution] We have already
collaborated on a project to develop an annamox culture that anaerobically
oxidizes ammonia for nitrogen removal from wastewater…. His extensive network
of contacts will optimize my time in [host country] by providing ready-made
avenues for me to contribute my knowledge of environmental science and
engineering to several [host country] universities and for me to learn as much
as possible about the [host country] approaches to nutrient removal and
decentralized sanitation.
During the
proposed visit, we will investigate the application of the annamox process to
remove nitrogen in domestic wastewater. …This process is called annamox (for
anaerobic ammonium oxidation). The conventional approach to remove nitrogenous
pollution in wastewater involves the aerobic biological oxidation
(nitrification) of NH4 …However, this process typically requires separate
reactors for the two processes, nitrifying bacteria are relatively slow
growing, and the denitrification process requires carbon that is not always
available … These probes allow detection of the anaerobic ammonium oxidizing
bacteria by techniques such as fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH). In
FISH, microscopic visualization of specific microbes occurs in relatively intact
samples, which allows insight into the spatial distribution of ....Work at the
host institution thus provides an opportunity for me to work on a very cutting
edge microbial process with a waste stream very different in nature from the
waste I typically see.
. Methods of collecting qualitative data
Data
collection approaches for qualitative research usually involves:
- Direct interaction with individuals on a one to one basis
- Or direct interaction with individuals in a group setting
Qualitative
research data collection methods are time consuming, therefore data is usually
collected from a smaller sample than would be the case for quantitative
approaches - therefore this makes qualitative research more expensive.
The benefits
of the qualitative approach is that the information is richer and has a deeper
insight into the phenomenon under study
The main
methods for collecting qualitative data are:
- Individual interviews
- Focus groups
- Observations
- Action Research
6. Observation
Observation involves
may take place in natural settings and involve the researcher taking lengthy
and descriptive notes of what is happening.
It is argued
that there are limits to the situations that can be observed in their 'natural'
settings and that the presence of the research may lead to problems with
validity.
Limitations
with observation include:
- Change in people's behaviour when they know they are being observed
- A 'snap shot' view of a whole situation
- Think Big Brother...
- The researcher may miss something while they are watching and taking notes
- The researcher may make judgements of make value statements or misunderstand what has been observed
Strengths of
observation
- Can offer a flavour for what is happening
- Can give an insight into the bigger picture
- Can demonstrate sub-groups
- Can be used to assist in the design of the rest of the research
Sometimes,
the researcher becomes or needs to become a participant observer, where they
are taking part in the situation in order to be accepted and further understand
the workings of the social phenomenon.
Observation
can sometimes obtain more reliable information about certain things - for
example, how people actually behave (although it may not find out the reasons
for why they behave in a particular way).
Observation
can also serve as a technique for verifying of nullifying information provided
in face to face encounters.'
People or
environment can be observed.
When
environment is researched, it can provide valuable background information that
may inform other aspects of the research.
Techniques
for collecting data through observation
- Written descriptions
- The researcher makes written descriptions of the people, situations or environment
- Limitations include
- Researcher might miss out on an observation as they are taking notes
- The researcher may be focussed on a particular event or situation
- There is room for subjective interpretation of what is happening
- Video recording
- Allows the researcher to also record notes
- Limitations may include people acting unnaturally towards the camera or others avoiding the camera
- The camera may not always see everything
- Photographs and artefacts
- Useful when there is a need to collect observable information or phenomena such as buildings, neighbourhoods, dress and appearance
- Artefacts include objects of significance - memorabilia, instruments, tools etc
Documentation
- Any and all kinds of documentation may be used to provide information - a local paper, information on a notice board, administrative policies and procedures...etc previous research, even
2. The Nature of Qualitative Research
Qualitative
research is concerned with '...developing explanations of social phenomena...'
- The world in which we live
- Why things are the way they are
- Concerned with social aspects of our world
- Seeks to answer questions about
- Why people behave the way they do
- How opinions and attitudes are formed
- How people are affected by the events that go on around them
- How and why cultures have developed in the way they have
- The differences between social groups
- Qualitative questions:
- How
- Why
- What
