| Focus of research | Type of data | Some sources of existing data | Some methods to generate data |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adapted from A handbook for teacher research: From design to implementation, by Lankshear and Knobel, 2004. (Berkshire, England: Open University Press). Reprinted with permission of the Open University Press Company. | |||
| People's knowledge, ideas, feelings, emotions, etc. | Oral language that is recorded/documented Written language Artifacts (objects created by people) |
Students' writing (e.g., journals or stories written during or outside lessons) Published writing by practitioners or students Art created during or outside lessons (drawing, sculpture, drama, song, etc.) E-mail correspondence |
Oral interviews (face-to-face or by phone; individual or group) Requesting responses to questionnaires Journals or diaries that people keep Eliciting story-telling Art created in response to a research-related prompt (e.g., collage about learning goals) |
| Teaching/learning strategies that people use How people respond to strategies Teaching/learning environments How people interact |
Any of the above Observations that are documented |
Some of the above may be applicable Relective journals (e.g., kept by students as part of class) Curriculum, texts, readers, workbooks |
Any of the above Observations |
As noted in the chart, some relevant data may exist already, or will be created, even if you are not doing a research project. For example, Pam Young (2002) wanted to find out about what writing strategies students used. Students were keeping learning journals as part of their course, and with the students' permission, Pam used the journal entries as data for her research.
The chart also lists ideas for generating data. This is data that wouldn't exist if we weren't doing the research. For instance, Fay Holt Begg (2002) wanted to learn about the effectiveness of a teaching approach for a student named Carol. She tutored Carol for six months and wrote notes after each tutoring session about what she had observed, heard and experienced. Fay's notes became her data. Andrea Pheasey (2002) wanted to hear from students about what they thought it meant to be literate. She conducted interviews with individuals and small groups after regular class time, and the recorded interviews provided data.