Reading Blog for Week 1

D&M Chapter 1 - Introduction 

The text talks about a method being defined as a way of doing literacy research. We know that there are many ways that literacy research can be collected. The purpose of the literacy research and the circumstances will determine how the research is conducted.

Sometimes methodologies used for research will overlap and combine. Research does not have to fall into one specific category.

While reading each chapter, I should learn the answers to some specific questions about each type of research I read about:
1.  What is this methodology?
2.  What kinds of questions and claims is this methodology appropriate for?
3.  What are standards for quality in this methodology?
4.  What is one or more exemplar of this methodology (in literacy), and what makes it so good?

D&M Chapter 20 - Toward a Pragmatics of Epistemology, Methodology, and Social Theory

These are important key terms that were mentioned in the text and I want to remember.

• Epistemology - one's view of what can and cannot be known and how.
• theory and theoretical - an explanation originating external to the phenomenon the researcher is focusing, such as Vygotsky's theory of the zone of proximal development
• quasi-experimental - as many intervening variables as possible are controlled but the selection and assignment of subjects is not randomized and instruction procedures may not be completely identical 
• formative experiment - aim to improve instruction through the combination of qualitative methods of investigation and intervention in learning situations 
• triangulation - using multiple methods to study the same general topic, but the actual research questions and designs differ 

In order to understand a research method, we have to understand the epistemology of the method as well. It is important to examine how a research project's epistemic beliefs, methods, and prior research influence each other.

Approach 1: 
Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Design

There are some key components to an experiment. These components work to limit the possibility of external influences on outcomes.

• how the experiment subjects are selected and assigned 
• how the groups (at least 2) are used 
• uniformity and regularity among groups
• measurement procedures that work to eliminate human error and bias 

The most reliable experiments are usually those that are fully randomized and procedurally controlled. If we conduct more experiments of a similar nature, and obtain the same result, this allows us to look at the possibility of patterned predictability. This is the knowledge that experimentalists in literacy research strive for. This knowledge remains true in all circumstances.

example: Studying the relations among class size and instructional practice -- at least two groups with the factor of instructional practice varied and two groups in which the class size was varied; sixty students randomly selected and assigned to four treatment groups (large class with lecture and discussion, large class with study circles, small class with lecture and discussion, and small class with study groups); all four groups read the same novel over the same period with the same physical conditions, using standard instructional procedures for both methods of teaching; test scores would be examined from each group; this experiment would likely need to be performed multiple times in order to know if results can be trusted.

One of the weaknesses of this method is that it is nearly impossible to generalize the findings of a study to all groups. Also, the conditions called for may be hard to create in actual schools.

Approach 2: 
Formative Experiments

Formative methods of research can solve issues that arise in local settings as information is obtained from collaboration.

example: Studying the effect of classroom size on instructional practice -- four upper elementary teachers - two of the four have their classroom size reduced from 30 to 15 students; texts would be selected to use in literature study circles in the four classrooms and one novel would be read at a time; prior to intervention - observe teaching of reading in each classroom, interview each teacher about practices and philosophy, collect test scores and data, and interview kids about their attitudes toward reading and school; during the experiment, notes would be kept about classroom arrangement and written responses to the reading would be collected along with test scores and information; once one novel is finished the process is repeated with a different novel.

One weakness to this method is that the collaborative and adaptable nature of formative experiments makes the findings hard to replicate and can cover up unintended consequences.

Approach 3: 
Case Studies 

Case studies can provide detailed narratives that give information about an individual in a social setting. This study can then be used to generate hypotheses.

example: Studying how the students experience instruction -- two classes observed (one with 27 and the other with 17 students); small group uses a literature study-group approach, larger group uses a lecture/discussion approach; students from each class are interviewed to know their preferences and artifacts of their writing and interviews from parents are collected; demographic information is collected; all the information is used to draw conclusions

One of the weaknesses of case studies is that they can encourage unwarranted generalization.

Approach 4: 
Discourse Analysis (Conversation) 

Discourse analysis can tell us information about where and how learning happens within certain settings by using the powerful method of language.

example: Studying class size in relation to instructional approach -- researcher videotapes all novel-related conversations in both settings and keeps notes from direct observation of relevant classes; conversations would be transcribed and carefully examined to look for patterns of conversational exchange.


Each of the approaches has the ability to produce different types of knowledge that can be useful to us in different ways. But with whatever method we choose, we need to approach with caution and be skeptical. We need to consider the possible benefits and also the possible consequences of each method. A mixed methods approach can also not guarantee that an experiment produces useful information.


D&M Chapter 21 - Conclusion

This chapter outlined some specific messages that the authors hope we take away from this book. These messages represent the purpose of this book and also represent my learning goals for reading.

Messages-
There are many different research methodologies that can each be useful in their own way to literacy and literacy research. The information that has been provided from literacy research studies has been valuable to our knowledge of literacy. This literacy research has also provided important information that has been used by classroom teachers to improve their teaching practices. Some methodologies used in these studies include oral miscue analysis, correlation, case study, and experiment and quasi-experiment, to name a few.

It is important to pair the right type of research methodology to the question that is being researched. We want to make sure that the claim that is made or the conclusion that is reached will be valid. The only way to do this is to match the question with the method.

We need to pay attention to the quality of research. Each methodology can bring with it different challenges. Sometimes these challenges may affect the results and the quality of those results. It is important that we encourage the highest quality of research.

The goal is to have different studies conducted by using different methodologies to inform each other and make the other better in some way. For example, verbal protocols have demonstrated that good readers attend to text structure when they read. Research has also found that good comprehenders attend more readily to text structure than poor comprehenders. Experimental studies have found that teaching children to pay attention to the structure of texts leads to bette comprehension. Each of these studies built upon the other.

We need to keep pursuing and encouraging others to pursue research and various methodologies that can help inform our knowledge of literacy.