4th question in small group discussions

4th Question in Small Group Discussion in January 28th: Can you create an example of a technology tool (other than data analysis software) and how it might afford particular uses for qualitative research?

In response to this question, I would like to share one of the tools which was not designed for qualitative research but I enjoyed using in coding my interview data and in presenting the results visually. Since we did not have time to talk about this question as a whole class, I thought it will be better to share it here, in this blog.
The name of the tool is Inspiration. It is mostly know as a concept map software because you can easily develop fancy and sophisticated concept maps. The tool has an important feature such that it has both outline and map view which are connected to each other. In other words, it allowed me to make an outline with lots of subtitles and to view the concept map or hierarchical map aligned with my outline.
I used outline view to list my categories, codes, sub-codes. Then I used the map/diagram view to see which codes are related with which categories. One of the useful functions is that I could connect two codes in the map view by making a connecting line between them and this new connection was automatically transferred to my list of codes in outline view.
Another feature I liked about this tool while using for qualitative research is that it allowed me to hide subcodes in map view, so that I had both a general picture of my results and a detailed visual representation of my results.
It has also kid's version, called Kidspiration. I found it useful for teaching math. I think it is also helpful tool for researchers whose participants are younger kids. I think it can be a useful data collection tool because kids may not always express their ideas clearly in words. Therefore, data collection can be supported by giving them a chance to express themselves in a different way (i.e. by representational media in Kidspiration or in similar tools).
Inspiration was available in IU Anyware until last moth. I have checked it recently, but could not find it. I hope IT people will update it soon.

Affordances of technology: Reflection on my experience

I think the discussion of what the term affordance meant is so enlightening. My perception of the term affordance is close to "possible use"  based on Salomon's theory rather than "intended use" (Conole & Dyke, 2004b).
I would like to give an example from my experiences with technology and how the affordances influenced learning. When I was in the graduate school in Turkey, I learned statistics by using SPSS. The taxonomy proposed by Conole and Dyke (2004a) made me realize that SPSS through which I learned statistics afforded me how to select and carry out statistical tests procedurally. I learned how to conduct t-tests, ANOVA, ANCOVA, MANOVA, bi-variate correlation, multiple regression, and so on. However, the technology I used afforded only procedural knowledge (i.e. how to do).
When I started my doctoral study at IU, I learned Fathom and ThinkerPlots and how to carry out the same statistical tests with those tools. While using those tools, I realized that I did not know what a particular test means and what is the difference between each other. In other words, SPSS did not allow me to learn statistics conceptually.

Readings of this week made me look at my experience and reflect on it in the light of "affordances of the technology". Even though I taught statistics with SPSS for several years, but I haven't realized that the affordances of the technology influenced not only my learning but also my teaching which resulted with procedural understanding.

Qualitative Research: Iterative Process

We had wonderful discussions today. One of the most important thing took my attention is qualitative research's being iterative. I would like to talk more about what we do mean by saying it is an iterative process. Is it iterative in terms of data collection, in terms of data analysis, or in terms of the design?

My research is based on design research of modeling perspective. This perspective presumes that model (i.e. interpretation systems) development is an iterative process which includes express-test-revise/refine/reject. In the design research, researchers also go though this cycle many times as well as participants to produce the data of the study. What data they collected, what technology or tool they used, what method of analysis they carried out informs and in fact determines the following steps. Moreover, researchers can revise any process by changing the tool or the method that has been used. Thus, they build their interpretation of the data based on this continuous and iterative process. I wonder whether we meant similar or different thing by saying that qualitative research is iterative.

In addition, I really liked thinking about the image of qualitative research. It made me aware that what image we had in our minds is a reflection of how we perceive the qualitative research. For instance, on of the images that we came up in the class was a recorder which implied the data collection process of qualitative research. Even though I did not state in the class, the image that emerged in my mind was a concept map or a sort of picture representing relationships among pieces. When I think about my image, I can see that my perception of the qualitative research has a focus on ways of presenting the results.

Lastly, I want to share one of my experiences about using tools in qualitative research. I was in Turkey at that time and haven't started my PhD yet. I and my colleagues saw an announcement of a workshop of Nvivo. Most of them enrolled in this workshop (I did not because it was too expensive for me). After couple years, I observed that there were a lot of researchers using Nvivo in their research. Today's class made me think this situation from different perspectives:
Did those researchers used this software
       -because they  knew only this tool?
       -because it was one of the most popular software in the department at that time?
Were they aware of that the tool decides the research process?
Were they unaware of how their research has been shaped by the tool?

I think those questions are really important. They will definitely be the questions that I will keep in my mind and ask to myself  to decide the digital tool that I will use in my research.

Thanks for wonderful, informative and illuminating discussion in the class.

Position Myself as a Researcher, a Technology User, and a Researcher using Technology

While reading a paper, I always find myself conceiving particular information which are aligned with my purpose. For instance, when I read the same paper in different times for different purposes (i.e. for my literature review, or for class discussion), I realized that my understandings vary depending on my purpose and depending on my background knowledge. Therefore, I really liked the suggestion of Paulus, Lester, and Dempster (2014) that readers are better to reflect upon themselves and their use of technology. I would like to take this reflection opportunity in my blog to describe how I position myself as a researcher, a technology user, and as a researcher using technology in her researches.

Since my family could not afford, I met with computers when I started to college in 2001. So, I am definitely a late adopter. Until 2006, I learned enough about computers and using some software; enough to do my assignments but not more. I always hesitated to explore new things because I was afraid of making mistakes. Also, there were technology consultants in the computer labs who were ideally supposed to help you and answer your questions. However, the ones that I encountered were so arrogant that they discouraged me a lot. Therefore, my real engagement with technology started with having my own computer in 2006. I explored freely without being afraid of making mistakes and being humiliated. The more I explored, the more I learned, and the more I enjoyed.

After I started my PhD at IU, I involved in several research projects which required using various digital tools and apps that I have not used before. I worked hard to learn those tools quickly in order to take part in the projects. This process made me discover how I learn a new digital tool. So now, I feel more comfortable as a technology user even though I am a really late adopter and "digital immigrant". 

As a researcher, I put a lot of emphasis and effort on building a good rapport with my participants. If they want, I also prefer continuing to communicate with them after data collection. Why is this so important for me? It is because I participated a lot of research so far but I feel like I didn't really be part of any of them. It is because after the survey or interview, researchers disappeared. I don't know what conclusions they reached, what papers they published, and how my contribution helped them. So, I do not want to exclude my participants from my research process and even after the research has been completed. To keep in contact with them, I used facebook, email groups, dropbox folders to share documents with them.

Besides, I like creativity and flexibility in research. In my studies, I always seek for creative ways of inviting participants to my study (i.e. once I made a short movie and embedded presentation in the movie), creative ways of collecting data (i.e. In the data collection of my dissertation, I developed thinking flow chart which served as a record of individual's ideas. So, I learned their ideas even if they did not have chance to state them in the class), and creative ways of analyzing data (i.e. I think that digital tools open us more room to develop our creative way of analyzing data). Creativity is one of the important reasons why I value qualitative studies and why I want to learn more about digital tools and how to use them in qualitative studies.

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog!
I'm Serife Sevis, a PhD student in Mathematics Education.

My research interest is Models-and-Modeling Perspective which investigates thinking development of problem solvers. To elicit problem solvers' thinking process and understand the implicit ideas as well as the explicit ones, I had to collect different types of data (i.e. written works, posters, group discussions, individual and group interviews, observation notes, field journals, etc).

I am currently in the stage of deciding the most appropriate analysis method(s) for my research questions in my dissertation. I believe that this is one of the important skills that I need to develop as a researcher. I am also aware that it requires great deal of knowledge both in my research area and in qualitative inquiry. I am hoping to improve my knowledge and skills in this direction throughout this semester with the help of Y650-Digital Tools in Qualitative Inquiry.

This blog will serve as a record of my thoughts on class readings and digital tools that I will experience in this semester. So, "Becoming a Reflective Researcher" blog will be my research and reading journal.

With this blog, I am hoping to engage in researcher reflexivity, which will help me conceive myself thoroughly as a part of the research (i.e. a part of the research data and process).