I have completed the transcriptions for my research (a bit later than I hoped, but it is moving forward), and am beginning to analyze it. Some of the transcripts for the 8 interviews I conducted still need to be sent to the research participants for member checking, but all that is underway.

My initial review of the interviews is wonderful; I believe I have a lot of rich stories that may reveal some very interesting things about the experience of Public Transformations.

However, I have to fight against the anxiety of feeling I am very behind where I hoped to be (my paper is due in another week). In some ways, I wish I had the luxury of being able to research without any other work, but it is a fact of my life that there are a lot of things happening. Regardless, I still expect to have the draft of this paper submitted by February 8, when it is due. Hey, what else is there to focus on at this time of the winter?!

Tags: interview, Research, transcription

I am thrilled to share the news that my paper, Autoethnographer Communities of Practice, has just been accepted to present to the 7th International Conference on Networked Learning NLC2010! This conference is at the beginning of May in Aalborg, Denmark. It will be the second time I have presented in Europe, and the first time I am presenting there as the single author / researcher on a paper.

I am really looking forward to finally meeting some of the people whose work has helped my own thinking in the Technology Eenhanced Learning (TEL) / Networked Learning field, including Etienne Wenger (one of the keynotes), David McConnell, and Chris Jones. I am also excited to share some of my research findings about studying those who engage in autoethnography, as this is something that does not seem to be frequently used in the networked learning research community.

I will speak more about this as the conference date approaches. Hope to meet some of the other networked learners I speak to online and have never met F2F.

Tags: Autoethnography, Community of Practice (CoP), NLC2010

With so many generous participants offering to assist me with my research project, Public Transformations: Adult Learners Who Use Social Media to Express and Understand Their Identities as Developing Researchers, I want to provide a brief update as to where I am with all this.

I have thus far completed 6 interviews (I initially planned for 3), have one more confirmed, and am trying to coordinate 2 additional ones. I will collect far more experiences (data, in research terms) than I need for this course project, and hope this helps me understand the topic more completely, perhaps to assist with my dissertation (thesis, in UK parlance) direction for next year, a research paper I am already formulating, and some really valuable findings to better understand how this all fits together. With so many wonderful people out there willing to open their lives and meaning making to me, I want my work to benefit our community of learners and educators as well.

Next, continue with the transcription steps . . .

Tags: interview, Lancaster University, Research

Quite happy to share the news that the second abstract I submitted for consideration to the 6th International Conference on Qualitative Inquiry was also accepted! I am really looking forward to this conference now!! This one is entitled:

The Design and Initial Development of an eLearning Course to Organize and Frame a Qualitative Research Design: The Learning Qualitative Project

There is increasing attention to the challenges faced by faculty who teach qualitative research method courses. Whether lecturers do not have sufficient background to teach in this area, students are not ready to take these courses or their expectations differ from what is taught, logistical institutional factors inhibit teaching and learning, or challenges in the theory-practice relationship pose struggles to coursework, the struggles with teaching qualitative methods seem nearly endless (Hurworth, 2008). With so much need, it was decided to create a freely available eLearning course to assist faculty and students alike. A qualitative research design eLearning course was developed to address some of the basic elements of a research design, and the first version of this is being tested with feedback being used to improve the course’s usefulness.  

I look forward to meeting some old friends and making some new ones this May. BTW, the call for abstracts continues for another week.

Who needs a ride from Indianapolis?!

Tags: QI2010, qualitative research, Research

One of the abstracts I submitted for the QI2010 Conference (in May, 2010) was just accepted! Here is the title and abstract:

Learning Goals and Personal Learning in Practitioner Autoethnographic Inquiry: A Case Study

Autoethnography is an increasingly used method of inquiry in the social sciences that focuses upon an experience, or case, in the life of the researcher, who then studies this with the hope of presenting it with vivid and rich descriptive details. It is often intended that the reader be able to share in the experience, so the research is intentionally related to common cultural perspectives. There is limited research around why autoethnographers engage in this method, especially in the context of trying to better understand their goals and intentions for their own work, as well as what is hoped for within the audience. This exploratory case study research will explore the researcher’s learning goals for his or her readers, as well as how the researcher’s own learning develops through the process of conducting the autoethnographic research.

I attended this conference last year, liveblogged it, and had a wonderful time (I learned, I laughed, and I saw a much larger world than I noticed before). Looking forward to attending once again this year.

Tags: QI2010, qualitative, qualitative research

If you just ran out of time to submit an abstract for the QI2010 (6th International Conference of Qualitative Inquiry), you are in luck — the deadline was just extended to January 15! You can find more information about it here.

Let me know if you plan to submit and / or attend. I already booked my hotel and will be renting a car from the Indianapolis Airport — happy for some company for the drive if the scheduling works!

Tags: QI2010, qualitative research, Research

Trying to catch my breath between work and teaching and my research project, I realized I have not posted my New Year’s Resolution for this year to once again share what I am thinking about (in the hopes that it may trigger some reflection, keep me honest, and perhaps give me some support). I think I did somewhat well with the one I worked on (as personal improvement) in 2009.

Now, for 2010, I am trying to be more present to the uses of the terms should, must, and have to. Perhaps more than being a little present and aware of them, I am trying to limit their use in my verbiage, as they seem to get me into nothing but trouble.

Should implies some obligation, whether externally driven or internally focused. Either way, the issue of power is involved, with me at the receiving end of it. Whether I am told I should do this or that (usually to support somebody else’s agenda) or I believe I should do something (usually related to childhood control issues to see the world in a certain way), I often find that guilt and follow-the-leader (who somehow always knows better and more) drive me in ways I often do not want to go. It is so easy to do things because other people conveniently do the thinking (i.e., power issue alert!) for me (you?).

Must is the same, though it often comes from a higher moral, patriotic, academic, or organizational place. I would never be blogging for years or engaging in interesting research if I only listened to ways how I must think, believe, do, or say. Is Have to much different?

Now, I am not that much of an activist (ok, I am alas not one at all), and am not advocating any behavior beyond my own change in perspective. However, this may be where activism does start . . .

Tags: new year's resolution

I have the fortunate problem to have more potential research participants than I can use. This is in many ways a great problem to have, as some colleagues face just the opposite. I credit this to a somewhat untapped area of study, one that invites personal reflection and growth, where I supposed that people may have a passion and an interest that may lead to some interesting directions.

All this remains to be seen as I hope to begin the interviews next week (as this research paper is due in only five more weeks). My challenge now is to try to figure out what criteria to use to determine how to narrow down such a generous bunch.

I think I want an international representative sample (and being a New Yorker studying in the UK, this does make some sense), with people from different countries and academic affiliations). I hope to have some men and women. I do want the participants to be engaged (current or previously) in formal academic study, using social media (a blog, Twitter, Facebook, etc.) to express (or process) their learning along the way.

I really hope that some of the learning that is shared via social media is of the sort of paradigmatic shifts, significant critical examination, or of a transformational nature — though all of this will be explored in the interview.

It may be a little ironic that I am writing this while sitting in a theatre awaiting Avatar, a tale about identity and personal learning, to begin. I hope to reach out to some people, who already contacted me, directly beginning tomorrow.

I feel good about the direction this is headed, and think there may be some interesting findings ahead.

Tags: Research

As I just received ethical approval for my research study (for one of the modules in my doctoral program at Lancaster University), I want to list the specifics here and begin to look for potential participants. Please let me know if you are wish to volunteer to be a potential interviewee or want to speak about this / get more information. I have a formal research consent form with some additional information. 

I hope to have 3 participants, and will hope to have the interview by the second week of January.

Name of Project:

Public Transformations: Adult Learners Who Use Social Media to Express and Understand Their Identities as Developing Researchers

Dear Potential Participant:

I want to invite you to take part in a research study which is part of my doctoral studies in the Centre for Studies in Advanced Learning Technology (CSALT), Department of Educational Research at Lancaster University. You should understand why the research is being done, and what it will involve for you. Please read the following carefully and decide if you wish to take part. Ask me if there is anything that is not clear or if you want more information.

What is the Purpose of the Study?

The purpose of this study is to explore how people develop as researchers while using social media tools to engage in reflexivity, self-expression, feedback, and collaboration. I am especially interested in knowing how learners make sense of their experiences when they believe they learn something significant that helps them see things in a different way.

Why have I been Invited?

You are invited to participate in this research because you are (or were) an adult learner who communicated with others about your graduate or doctoral research experiences via social media (e.g., via a blog, microblog such as Twitter, Facebook, etc.).

What will Taking Part Involve for Me?

I will conduct one interview, on the phone or via an online conference service, for approximately 60 minutes. The interview will be recorded and the transcript sent to you for your review and edits. The audio recording and transcript of our discussion will be safely stored on my password-protected computer, as will your contact information. The data from this study will be used in the completion of course work in my doctoral programme, and it may also be included in my doctoral thesis, published, or presented at conferences. To safeguard your confidentiality and anonymity, you will be given a pseudonym, and all identifying information, such as the institution or department to which you belong, will be removed. You may withdraw from the study for any reason and at any time. If you withdraw from the study, any data that you have contributed will be destroyed.

Tags: Lancaster University, Research