Value the use of data as the starting point for professional work.
Artifact:
EdTec 690 – Educational Blog Content Analysis [ PDF ]
Reflection:
The purpose of the analysis from ED690 – Methods of Inquiry was to determine the amount and type of learning that takes place in educational blogs. With this goal in mind, we performed a content analysis of 16 high school and college course blogs. These blogs were categorized into two groups representing two different types of courses. A secondary examination was done to see if there were any significant differences between the two different types of blogs. This artifact was a group effort that summarizes our conclusions and the analysis upon which they were based.
This entire project from start to finish was based on data. To start, our research involved the data of others gathered as part of a literature review. As the project progressed, we implemented a methodology to gather our own data which was analyzed and provided the basis for the conclusions contained in this artifact. Without this data we would not have any kind of foundation for testing and supporting the validity of our hypotheses.
As with many data analysis efforts, the first challenge we faced was to identify the proper set of data to be examined. Perhaps our biggest challenge was implementing a coding scheme so that data collected by each member would be as consistent as possible minimizing inter-rater variances. Being relatively inexperienced with this type of research, this project was an excellent opportunity for me to gain an understanding of the process while investigating a very current and relevant topic that can be applied to other areas of educational technology practice.
The main skill demonstrated here is the ability to properly gather and appropriately analyze data relevant to the hypothesis being tested. This work also shows an understanding of how to apply the appropriate statistical tests and correctly interpret their implications.
During the course of this project I learned how to interpret a number of common statistical analysis measures – ANOVA, Wilcoxon, positively skewed, normal distribution, etc. and how those measures can be used to prove or disprove your stated hypothesis. Since, I had very little data collection experience prior to this project, the most important thing I took away from this work was the importance of having a sound methodology in place before collecting any data. We usually have some sort of intuitive feeling when we approach this kind of analysis. This project showed very clearly how to confirm or invalidate those gut feelings and provide a solid, widely acceptable basis for supporting our conclusions.
This reminds me that the importance of asking the right questions is at least equal to, if not greater than, the importance of getting the right answer.
“It’s better to have a rough answer to a right question, then a detail answer to a wrong question” – Lord Kelvin
