This morning I had a Skype session with Adesola which has opened my eyes into my Inquiry. The session stemmed from me sending her a small drafted part of my inquiry proposal, and the Skype session was to discuss questions and feedback.
Adesola opened my eyes and by discussing the draft with her I was able to reflect on what I had written and look to see what I can improve on.
First and foremost I have decided to take a different approach to my inquiry looking into something I actually don't know anything about rather than looking for evidence to prove something. Not only will it mean I can now find out something new and exciting, I will also be engaged with the project, as reflecting on my previous inquiry subject which I knew a lot about this new subject will be completely new territory so anything I discover will be very interesting. I want to gather information that I don't know is out there, Adesola gave a great example of the fact If you want to find out that the sky is orange there's always someone out there who will tell you it is. So it's better to go into this Inquiry with my eyes and ears open to see what is there to be discovered.
We also discussed the fact that there is no such thing as an un biased question no matter how hard you try. You can't rely on the idea you can ask something pure and get an honest reply. First of all I will be asking the questions, also I have made them up. You have to consider how you will appear when asking questions, for example I would get a different response to that of a Middle Aged man asking the same question. Also the behaviour that I conduct with in the interview will have an impact on the responses I gain.
I found a piece of literature which sparked an interest with me. I have already analysed it as one of my literature reviews. It is a theory by Malcolm Gladwell who suggests that to become a successful professional in your chosen field you need to have practiced for 10,000 hours or more! I feel this could be a good basis for an interesting inquiry. As I don't know whether this is the case with dancers or not? It also brings to light the relationship between success and being a professional which is becoming more muddy in this day and age.
I would be really interested to hear your thoughts and comments.
Monday, 8 April 2013
Friday, 29 March 2013
Task 6D
Before embarking on task 6d I wasn't aware of what Delicious was....How ever it has come to light that it is a very useful tool! Not only does it act like a bookmark bar you can have it on all of your devises so you can access them at anytime or place!
Here is the link to my account, check out what links I have created.
https://delicious.com/hannahbapp
I am still unaware of how you tag people and find friends so would appreciate some advise on that! As I feel if we are able to create a network on delicious it will be very beneficial as we can check out each others resources!
Here is the link to my account, check out what links I have created.
https://delicious.com/hannahbapp
I am still unaware of how you tag people and find friends so would appreciate some advise on that! As I feel if we are able to create a network on delicious it will be very beneficial as we can check out each others resources!
Group SIG Wiki - Part of Task 6C
I have created a wiki which can be used to share all our literature.
The link is below, if you want to add to it with your literature I will have to add you so please leave a comment with your email address and I will do that. We can then discuss ideas that may relate to our inquiry that other people have discovered. (This is all part of 6c)
Group SIG Wiki
The link is below, if you want to add to it with your literature I will have to add you so please leave a comment with your email address and I will do that. We can then discuss ideas that may relate to our inquiry that other people have discovered. (This is all part of 6c)
Group SIG Wiki
Literature Review 3
Please find the link below to my 3rd Literature Review
Literature Review 3
The articles that I have reviewed here are very interesting for us as performers so I urge you to read it and leave me your thoughts!
Literature Review 3
The articles that I have reviewed here are very interesting for us as performers so I urge you to read it and leave me your thoughts!
Thursday, 28 March 2013
6B - Pilot Interviews
I decided to do two pilot interviews one structured and the other un structured to see what worked best. Before undertaking the interviews I had a feeling the structured one would work better and for the kind of data I am looking to collect and I still think that applies.
The unstructured interview was interesting however It didn't allow me to gather all the information I needed as a researcher. The structured interview was more help as it allowed me to explore different things with the interviewee. For example I would ask them a specific question and once they gave me their answer I would ask them to expand and keep prompting them to delve further for a deeper understanding. When conducting the real interviews I will give them some time at the end for additional thoughts and comments then I can gather some of the interesting data that came out of the unstructured interview with out spending a lot of time incase no new data arose. Being on a strict time scale means we cant waste anytime.
An interesting point we came up with was to do with the questions asked. We found some were similar to the survey but you gained more in depth and personal response. At first we thought with the questions being similar it would leave us with a lot of the same information however we came to realise through conducting the interviews the information gathered was more detailed and perhaps provided information that we could use for quotes and more through evaluation.
Like everything the interviews have both pro's and cons.
The pro's which became apparent during this process were ;
In my inquiry I wish to have both qualitative and quantitive date so Interviews will be playing a part of that. I feel the method is appropriate for the kind of data I wish to collect.
After conducting both interviews I engaged with a member from one of my SIG groups Lauren Sheridan. We discussed the importance of asking the 'right' questions so not to waste time and resources. Throughout both the pilots we both saw that the participant could easily go off on a tangent or if the question was to vague they would talk for a long time period and still not really get to the bottom of what you were asking. Both Lauren and I discussed the importance of constructing efficient questions so this would not occur. As both time and resources are precious during the inquiry process and we definitely don't want to waste any time!
The unstructured interview was interesting however It didn't allow me to gather all the information I needed as a researcher. The structured interview was more help as it allowed me to explore different things with the interviewee. For example I would ask them a specific question and once they gave me their answer I would ask them to expand and keep prompting them to delve further for a deeper understanding. When conducting the real interviews I will give them some time at the end for additional thoughts and comments then I can gather some of the interesting data that came out of the unstructured interview with out spending a lot of time incase no new data arose. Being on a strict time scale means we cant waste anytime.
An interesting point we came up with was to do with the questions asked. We found some were similar to the survey but you gained more in depth and personal response. At first we thought with the questions being similar it would leave us with a lot of the same information however we came to realise through conducting the interviews the information gathered was more detailed and perhaps provided information that we could use for quotes and more through evaluation.
Like everything the interviews have both pro's and cons.
The pro's which became apparent during this process were ;
- You could produce clear ideas as there was no lack of clarity during the interview, if any issues arose due to lack of clarity you could sort them out immediately.
- Its a very focused and concentrated environment, enabling you to get the most out of the participant.
- You can gain a lot of depth to your research.
- I was able to support the interviewee in exploring new thoughts and ideas.
- You can see their body language and gauge responses and feelings that way too
The con's were ;
- It can be time consuming if you don't plan or stick to time management.
- I took both notes and recorded the session how ever there could be worries that some of the data is lost in transit.
- They may be hard to arrange in the future, could perhaps explore a phone interview how ever i feel that could be less personal also may have issues regarding a consent form.
- You have to be careful not to be dominant and let the interviewee speak. Trying to create the right balance can be hard.
- When asking questions don't be bias, whether its in vocal tone, body language or construction of the questions.
In my inquiry I wish to have both qualitative and quantitive date so Interviews will be playing a part of that. I feel the method is appropriate for the kind of data I wish to collect.
After conducting both interviews I engaged with a member from one of my SIG groups Lauren Sheridan. We discussed the importance of asking the 'right' questions so not to waste time and resources. Throughout both the pilots we both saw that the participant could easily go off on a tangent or if the question was to vague they would talk for a long time period and still not really get to the bottom of what you were asking. Both Lauren and I discussed the importance of constructing efficient questions so this would not occur. As both time and resources are precious during the inquiry process and we definitely don't want to waste any time!
6B - Pilot Focus Groups
From the pilots that I have conducted it the focus groups were the biggest surprise. Perhaps as I had never even taking part or lead one before but I think they will be very useful data gathering tools.
The focus group was a great way to get lots of different thoughts and ideas, these gave a lot of insight to my Inquiry. There was a constant flow of knowledge and ideas. I also felt people let go as they had the support of others. The ideas that did emerge were also able to expand and gain deeper understanding due to the constant voices developing it.
There are a few issues that may arise, the main concern I have is the transcript. I will be recording these and taking notes like the interviews however it can be an issue when picking out voices. I feel when doing them 'for real' I will get the focus group to make sure before they speak to say their name so I can identify the speaker. Also to try not to talk over one or another, we had this issue at the pilot as everyone got so passionate and wanted to voice their opinion but I had to remind them to speak one at a time to avoid this. Like interviews typing up the transcript will be time consuming so its something worthwhile to think about when conducting a time management plan. I also feel it may be hard to get a certain group of people together at a given time so also another thing to think about when making a time schedule.
A few other points that may be of concern are that one person in the group becomes dominant, ideally you want everyone to contribute evenly. This didn't happen during the pilot but is worth while to keep in mind. Also you don't want anyone to feel pressured into behaving in a certain way so will also be something I will keep my eye on for future reference.
I think the focus group will provide my Inquiry with lots of insight and could be a powerful took for collecting qualitative data. I will need to ensure it is managed correctly in order to get the best out of it.
The focus group was a great way to get lots of different thoughts and ideas, these gave a lot of insight to my Inquiry. There was a constant flow of knowledge and ideas. I also felt people let go as they had the support of others. The ideas that did emerge were also able to expand and gain deeper understanding due to the constant voices developing it.
There are a few issues that may arise, the main concern I have is the transcript. I will be recording these and taking notes like the interviews however it can be an issue when picking out voices. I feel when doing them 'for real' I will get the focus group to make sure before they speak to say their name so I can identify the speaker. Also to try not to talk over one or another, we had this issue at the pilot as everyone got so passionate and wanted to voice their opinion but I had to remind them to speak one at a time to avoid this. Like interviews typing up the transcript will be time consuming so its something worthwhile to think about when conducting a time management plan. I also feel it may be hard to get a certain group of people together at a given time so also another thing to think about when making a time schedule.
A few other points that may be of concern are that one person in the group becomes dominant, ideally you want everyone to contribute evenly. This didn't happen during the pilot but is worth while to keep in mind. Also you don't want anyone to feel pressured into behaving in a certain way so will also be something I will keep my eye on for future reference.
I think the focus group will provide my Inquiry with lots of insight and could be a powerful took for collecting qualitative data. I will need to ensure it is managed correctly in order to get the best out of it.
Task 6B - Part 1, Pilot Survey!
Having already played around with a survey I had more of an idea when it came to conducting this pilot. However once you hand it over to the participant theres not a lot more you can do until the analytical stage the importance of the survey lies within its construction.
We established that its important to make the survey user friendly so it doesn't take up too much time but is the right length to provide you with the data you need.
It is vital that although you as the researcher are creating the questions you remain un bias towards the inquiry in order to gain truthfully and reliable data.
I found it really interesting getting feedback from my questions from the girls, both Mel, Chelsie and my friend Lauren who took part in the survey all brought to light one question which was not quite right. Both in the construction and the multiple choice answers provided. I have therefore re constructed it and presented it to them all again and received the thumbs up! Sometimes it's things like that no matter how many times you read it you can't see the issue.
They also brought to light some gaps in my survey and helped me workshop suitable questions that could fill them. For example Mel is currently doing a profit share job which she feels is enhancing her professional development. One of my questions asked if you do workshops and courses to improve your professional skills, she brought to my attention the likes of doing profit share and unpaid jobs also are developing your skills therefore I am going to think of a question involving these points as I feel it's relative to my Inquiry.
I found it really interesting getting feedback from my questions from the girls, both Mel, Chelsie and my friend Lauren who took part in the survey all brought to light one question which was not quite right. Both in the construction and the multiple choice answers provided. I have therefore re constructed it and presented it to them all again and received the thumbs up! Sometimes it's things like that no matter how many times you read it you can't see the issue.
They also brought to light some gaps in my survey and helped me workshop suitable questions that could fill them. For example Mel is currently doing a profit share job which she feels is enhancing her professional development. One of my questions asked if you do workshops and courses to improve your professional skills, she brought to my attention the likes of doing profit share and unpaid jobs also are developing your skills therefore I am going to think of a question involving these points as I feel it's relative to my Inquiry.
We established that its important to make the survey user friendly so it doesn't take up too much time but is the right length to provide you with the data you need.
I also found a very interesting journal which looked at the difference between an online survey and a paper survey and looked into the pro's and con's. Before I found this article I hadn't even thought whether a paper or online survey would make a difference however I now feel very differently about this. Denscombe looks into the quality of data received by both kinds of surveys. He touched upon the fact that web surveys come at a price as the data collected can sometimes be not as reliable as many people leave things out however it is less time consuming. I have personally looked into the likes of survey monkey which does in fact have a tool which you can put in place where the participant is told they require an answer to the question before they move on. Therefore would result in more accurate data if I was to use their format. How ever unless you upgrade to their plus version you can only have a 10 question survey which Im not sure is enough for me.
With paper surveys the trouble is they are more time consuming depending on how you collect the data from them, for example if they have to post it back to you. I feel with a paper survey people may feel more obliged to do it if they know the researcher especially if you personally approach them.
Denscombes article is called 'Item non response rates: a comparison of online and paper questionnaires;"if you wish to look into it further.
With my Inquiry it is aimed at a very specific group of people, therefore I wouldn't be able to do a mass postal or high street survey anyway, also I am not convinced that I will gain the best response from web surveys. The reason being I posted a basic one in our middlesex uni SIG page on facebook and have only had 4 responses which has been highly disappointing.
I feel to get the best out of my survey I am going to target a group of 30 people all of whom are musical theatre professionals. Due to the nature of my inquiry I will them split that group of 30 into 2 and target 15 whom are less successful and 15 whom are more successful in order to get a wide spread of data. I will also be using paper surveys, unless there are any unforeseen circumstances and in those cases I will email them the survey directly and get them to send it back to me fully completed. This is all still in the planning process so it may be subject to change but these are my thoughts for now!
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