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The general foundation of my research methodology is fairly strong. My goal is to conduct a multi-method study. My quantitative component will be the analysis of the pre-test and post-test data from the digital tools course. The instrument will be the Technology Proficiency Survey for Educators instrument (TPSE). I will use SPSS to analyze the data. The qualitative component will come from a focus group. The focus group will be made up of in-service teachers, with at least one year of classroom experience. The questions will center around the main question, “What technology skills do you feel you would have benefited from learning before entering the classroom?” I will use Nvivo to conduct a thematic analysis of the transcript from the focus group. To provide an opportunity to gather participants from outside my immediate location, and to provide diversity to the participants, the focus group will meet via Zoom. The use of Zoom will allow for the meeting to be recorded, allowing me to review it during the analysis phase, and for a transcript to be generated. I will compare the transcript to the recording to determine accuracy.
When we met briefly in Zoom, my partner and I discussed his topic first. We shared a few ideas, and the general feedback from my partner is that I have a strong foundation, and need to further develop my ideas. This is completely true. I have a base idea, but I have not yet set it into motion, and am still developing the smaller details like what my call for a focus group will look like or what codes I will use to code and analyze the data in the focus group. The quantitative analysis part is less of a mystery because I have conducted the analysis using similar data in past courses.
My coursework with qualitative analysis and scaling methods has made me more confident as a researcher to gather data and analyze it in multiple ways. I feel very prepared to select my instrument, collect my data, and sufficiently analyze it. The qualitative analysis course this semester has allowed me to further develop my understanding of qualitative analysis, and see its multi-method uses. It is courses like these that when adequately taught, have a significant impact on dissertation preparation.