4.4 Overview of Data Collection

The data were collected over a period of ten months i.e., from September, 1998 to June, 1999. Two primary methods were used to collect data for this study:

1. a French online discussion list and an English online discussion list
2. an open-ended, mail-out questionnaire

The English and French discussion lists were comprised of teachers from more than four continents but primarily from North America. The questionnaire was circulated among teachers of FSFL in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Comments made by participants in the discussion list inspired questioning or probing in the questionnaires. Some of the comments made in the questionnaires were recirculated by the researcher in the discussion list. Thus, the research could be described as cyclical and integrated, with each method of data collection influencing the content of the other methods.

In-depth probing, or dialoguing as it will be referred to in this study, formed a secondary means of collecting data. Sixteen participants from the discussion list were involved in e-mail dialogues with the researcher in order to gain further insight into individual beliefs. In the case of the questionnaires, five of the respondents were selected to participate in dialogues or interviews with the researcher. The following sections of this chapter describe in detail, the participants, procedures and instruments used in this study. (See Appendix A for a summary of the study’s research methods).