Welcome to Jeffrey Keefer’s Blog!
Educational Researcher / PhD Student (Lancaster University, UK) in E-Research and Technology Enhanced Learning / Adjunct Instructor (NYU & Pace U) / Project Manager (Clinical Education) in New York City.
Interests in educational research influenced by interdisciplinarity, focused on digital identity, doctorateness and the postgraduate experience, threshold concepts and transformative learning in higher education, Internet research, networked learning, technology enhanced learning, distance education, adult and organizational learning, narrative inquiry, and actor-network theory.
My professional work is at JeffreyKeefer.com
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I am participating in the #change11 MOOC (massive open online class) as I mentioned last week, and while I am still not sure what sort of time or resource commitment this will mean for me in practice, I think it may have some potential usefulness for my doctoral research.
With this stated, I am very interested in how the facilitators of the course will use the information provided, so was happy to read the posting of privacy information that was shared with participants. Good for them to discuss this all so openly at the beginning of the course.
If I am reading this correctly, the researchers who are facilitating this course state that anything publicly shared that is related with the course (most readily identifiable by the #change11 tag), can be used for research purposes. This seems consistent with the current (though somewhat dated and in the process of revision) Association of Internet Researchers guideline for ethical researcher and participant consent - Ethical decision-making and Internet research: Recommendations from the aoir ethics working committee document.
I am wondering what sorts of ethical issues around consent or identification may surface in this, especially given the enormous data set that is being created related to this course? For example, I published this posting (anybody can see it), it is tagged with the course (#change11), and is identifiable (my name and picture are on this site). Does that mean the researchers can quote me or otherwise identify my if they want to in their research around the MOOC? Do they need my permission to quote me, given I am saying this publicly? Will I know this even happens? If I am stating all this publicly, is that my default consent? Is anything online really ever private?
These are not easily answered, and having engaged in Internet research myself I know that various ethical boards will interpret these questions in different ways, I do think it is valuable to ask them, especially as (I suspect) many participating in this course will not even consider them . . . until they get quoted or referred to, of course!
I visited Montreal for the first time two weeks ago, while on my way to the British Education Research Association Conference. I stayed with my friends Robin and Edward, and had two beautiful days of weather with which to explore Old Montreal and St. Joseph’s Oratory (among other sites).
While I uploaded the pictures of my time in Montreal to Flickr, here are a few of my favorites.
 Now that I have returned from #BERA2011 and the UK (I still have a lot to write about the conference, Stonehenge, Avebury, Montreal, and the like over the past week), I decided that it may be a great opportunity to decompress (or what-have-you) with George Siemens, Stephen Downes, and Dave Cormier who are facilitating the Change: Education, Learning, and Technology! Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), affectionately known as #change11.
Yes, I have attended these sorts of massive courses (open to a variety of ideas on one hand while unfocused and hard to navigate as the Web itself on the other) before, though I think now I am in a somewhat different place. Yes, I am working full-time while also writing up my doctoral thesis, though what better way is there to decompress online while also being open to learning something new while in the middle of so many (and soon-to-be) friends?
Let the learning begin. Hmm, perhaps it already has?
 I am happy to share that I have completed data collection for my doctoral thesis research!
It has been four weeks filled with countless interviews, discussions, explanation about my research, national and international phone calls, Skype sessions, and more support than I ever dreamed of. Having engaged in research interviews several times during my course of study, I knew a little about what to expect in these interviews. What I did not expect was a consistent sense of well-wishes, encouragement, interest, and positive energy on behalf of my many participants during this period. In many ways I feel like I engaged in conversations, rather than data collection. What better way is there to think about our research, especially research that in one sense involves colleagues, however far and distant and heretofore unknown?
Thanks to so many people, I feel I have now passed over this step, and while transcription and sense-making await, I am very thankful that I have turned this corner in my work.
I look forward to now trying to make sense of everything I heard, and hope to continue to share and discuss this with my colleagues, old and new, over the next several months.
I want to share an update on my doctoral thesis data collection, as a lot has happened since the last one I did a little over a week ago. I have now completed 13 interviews in total (60-90 minutes each), and am hoping to finish the remaining interviews in another week. While I initially planned to have 15-20 people in total (which should be enough for some sense of data saturation, given the qualitative design I am using), it now seems I may be nearer the latter when I finish.
While I am not beginning any systematic processing of this data yet (transcription, anyone?  !!), there is one thing that I have learned in this process that I want to share for the benefit of anybody else planning a similar research endeavor. Data collection in the form of long, in-depth interviews takes a lot of energy. Moreover, I am finding that it takes almost everything out of me. Let me explain.
My research asks about barriers and liminal (in-between) periods that happen during doctoral study, resulting in some form of an aha! or new sense of one’s identity. This often involves the telling of difficult stories, ones that are personal and oftentimes riveting in nature. Being privelged with listening to these stories is a rich experience, one that requires my full attention in way unlike many of the other tasks I have encountered in research (or practice, for that matter). I feel emotionally humbled when I finish with each one, and find that I struggle to do my ordinary work or other commitments in life during this period.
I am thankful for this opportunity to engage in this study, as it is a deeply moving experience. I think I have a lot more to process in its effect in me, much less as part of my research.
 I want to share my progress with my doctoral thesis data collection that I started in my posting on July 28 where I outlined my research and began to request participants.
I have been absolutely blown away by the support and interest I have felt from so many people who have so kindly offered to assist or otherwise help promote participation in my work. Having already completed 7 interviews lasting between 60 and 90 minutes each, I feel I am indeed learning more about the liminal experiences that occur during doctoral studies related to learning leaps, aha! moments, and passing through conceptual thresholds.
I have learned that I really do not know what sorts of initial findings I can draw from this work until I begin transcribing and analyzing the transcripts, but I have already noticed that some of my questions and frames have developed the more I learn about how current and former doctoral researchers experience and make sense of their in-between periods of meaning-making while on the path to their degrees. Each person I speak with is so different from one another, and this opportunity to hear about what at times involves personal experiences en route to the degree often leaves me in awe.
I so value how generous many people are with their time, and I look forward to engaging with the other participants I have scheduled to interview through the end of the month (when I now hope to conclude my data collection for my research).
 Today I begin data collection for my doctoral thesis research at Lancaster University, and I invite you to consider participating in my study. I have all this information, along with the ethical consent form, in a permanent link on my Doctoral (Thesis) Research page on my website.
There are 3 criteria for participation:
1. Are you doctoral student or have you completed a doctoral degree (in any discipline, with any type of doctoral degree, anywhere in the world)?
2. Have you encountered any thresholds or had any troublesome experiences while engaged in your degree that left you with a new sense of your discipline or identity of yourself as a researcher / evidence-supported expert practitioner? Perhaps you experienced an aha! along the way? How about a transformed understanding or perspective?
3. Did you engage in any aspect of your studies from a distance, online, or using any form of technology while engaging in your doctoral degree?
If you answered yes to these 3 eligibility criteria, I invite you to consider speaking with me about it in a single 60-90 minute interview (phone or Skype, as you wish). For more information, my email and contact information are here.
I appreciate any assistance with identifying participants for my study; please share this link or information with anybody who you think may be interested. Thank you.
 I am happy to report that I concluded the pilot testing for my doctoral thesis research, and am now ready to begin data collection in earnest.
I finished the pilot interviewing last Thursday, debriefed it over the weekend, and worked with my supervisor this morning to process it. I learned a great amount about my research area by interviewing some people for the pilot, revealing some unexpected areas in the process. I will then write-up my findings and process the experience to put it directly into my thesis. Now, with one or two tweaks of my invitation to participate in my research study that I do this evening, I plan to seek participants for my research beginning tomorrow.
Wow, data collection. Finally!!
The piloting I have been doing as part of my doctoral thesis is wrapping up tomorrow, when I am scheduled to interview one final person.
It was suggested that I pilot test my semi-structured interview questions, and while this is extra time when I should be looking for participants, I do see a great value in the process. Up until now, what I have wanted to ask to get to my research questions has made perfect sense to me, though that does not necessarily translate to working with others. The piloting has helped me to see some gaps in my questions, as well as some places where I can combine things to ask about them in a more targeted way.
Granted, I am engaging in semi-structured interviewing, and while my discussion (what I call the interview) with my participants develops and adjusts along the way, I really like having a bunch of questions, often asking about similar ways in slightly different ways to help trigger the discussion and clarify my research purpose, that have been “tested” with real people. In “testing” them, I mean that I am asking real people real questions about their experiences (as per my research design), and then having a discussion about the experience and how the discussion (interview) fits with my research questions. I am not planning such a debrief after the actual interviews, though this step has been valuable right now.
My supervisors have been very helpful and supportive of this process, and while this piloting is also another check-off I can make on my thesis process, I do know it is serving a valuable step as I am on the verge of data collection. What an exciting time so long in the preparation.
and the winner is . . . Red Oxx!
Last month I posted about how I was trying to find the perfect travel bag for carry-on (nothing with wheels as they just add weight, you lose 1/3 of the space for the wheels and handle, and it will not fit in European carry-ons). Both bags I examined were wonderful. In many ways, they were even comparable–the weight, the thickness, the quality. I even considered keeping them both, though could not justify this to myself (at least for now!). While the Tom Bihn Aeronaut seemed a little more stylish and eye-catching, I really do not want to draw any attention at all to my travel bags. The more attention, the more somebody, somewhere, on some airline will want to measure or weigh or otherwise examine my luggage, potentially delaying me or separating me from my luggage during the flight. You see, style for me translates as attention, and I do not want to attract any of it, for any reason, when I travel.
To be honest, the other deciding factor that had me settle on the Sky Train from Red Oxx, besides this bag feeling a little more rugged, was what I perceived as being stronger backpack straps and hardware. Nothing plastic in sight, the straps had solid metal hardware, felt a little more padded, and appeared to be more firmly attached to the bag itself. Let me be clear, I cannot carry any bag for long on my shoulder, as it will throw off my alignment and leave me nursing knots in my back. I am fully planning to use the backpack straps as I navigate the public transportation, trains, and walking to and from airports (not to mention navigating between terminals), as I move to and fro for the academic conferences I attend. Filling this bag with 20 pounds of clothes and books to test it as I walked around my apartment clearly showed me the Sky Train would be the hands-down winner carrying this on my back. Of course, only time will tell, so expect an update after my next travel in September.
Now I settled on a bag, all that remained was to get the assorted peripherals to help me organize the minimal load I will carry. That box just arrived, so let me share what else will travel with me (all in the colors I ordered to fit together!).
For my computer, I ordered the Metro Briefcase:
For my toiletries, I ordered the Tri-fold Shave Kit:
For my socks and such, along with assorted small items (like a clock, slippers, vitamins, etc.), I ordered 2 Nomad Shave Kits:
For my electronic items, such as chargers, camera, cords, adapters, and the like, I chose the Lil Roy:
And finally, the Travel Basket so I can have a central place in the hotel room to put my wallet, watch, hotel key, and such when I am in the room (as these things always get spread around since there is not a central home for them):
The colors of all these items fit nicely together, and will help me organize (and locate) things along the way.
I spend a lot of time thinking about travel, due in part to the fact that the trips I take are often very busy and commonly involve a number of side excursions. The less I have to consider how and what I transport while on the way to seeing what I am really traveling to see and experience, the better. Let’s hope all this gear from Red Oxx will work as I am planning; I am confident it all will.
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