Exploratory Research
From WikEd
Many of the suggestions in this presentation are made on the basis of a evaluative activities I have carried out with the initial class and a series of follow up activities with subsequent research methods and statistics classes. I have developed and piloted a questionnaire for exploring student cultures but there is still much preliminary work to be done in developing a research program. In particular, I am aware of issue in the following areas:
1. Continued issues with the concepts of a student culture and a technology 2. Difficulties with measuring aspects of student culture and technology 3. Difficulties with establishing causal relationships between cultural factors, technology and behavioural outcomes
Contents |
Conceptual Issues
In the field of Organizational Behaviour, the concept of culture tends to be used to describe: "the pattern of shared values, beliefs and assumptions considered to be the appropriate way to think and act within an organization" (Robbins and Langton, 2003)Although this focusses on the normative aspect of culture it doesn't quite capture, in my view, the characteristics of student culture as 'sub cultures' which is closer to the concept as previously used in the Sociology of Deviance. According to this concept, sub cultures sometimes selectively amplify the effect of norms held more widely. In other instances, they nullify the effect of wider norms through established subcultural discourses. So, for example, the normative expectation to complete work ontime can be nullified by reference to a series of narratives which rely on background 'knowledge' of the 'reality' of student life. (please excuse the 'jargon') Whereas student cultures may vary widely around issues such as drug taking, drinking, partying, plagiarism etc, I am still working with the proposal that norms, beliefs and identities tend to be quite consistent in areas such as time orientation and individualism. (although individual values and preferences can vary widely) I believe that that orientation towards dyadic communication may be changing communication and friendship norms and identities.
The concept of a 'technology' is also quite complex. As a starting point, I share the widespread view that a technology is a series of practices and a set of 'knowledge' linked a specific set of tools. According to this view, a Wiki is not, by itself, a technology, although it may tend to predispose users to particular practices. The use of Wikis to support self organising, closed project groups in the tasks of shared planning, shared research, shared writing and shared presentation constitutes a technology.
This clearly needs more work.
Measurement Issues
Although there is ample scope for qualitative and ethnographic research, trying to pin down culture and technology in a series of valid and reliable measurement procedures is a tough nut to crack. Questionnaires by themslves run up against familiar problems. The ingrained tendency to present practices in a 'better light' (from the dominant perspective) makes it difficult to trust this data. There is not a clear, shared understanding of concepts like 'collaboration' or 'teamwork' on which to base questions. Memory of time and behaviours tends to become 'adjusted'. For example, accounts of when an assignment was actually started can vary widely during a conversation and according to the interviewer.
Ideally, I would like to combine qualitative approaches with questionnaires and behavioural observation (or record keeping) but I am still some way short of this target.
One of my aims would be to develop a 'scale' of collaboration which might be used across a variety of courses and projects. Does anyone have any suggestions here?
Difficulties in Establishing Causal Relationships
Perhaps it's the Behavioural Scientist emerging, but I would like to actually show some interactions within a pattern of causal relationships. If I want to focus on culture and technology as independent variables, then I have to (at the very least) compare the effect of different cultures and technologies on work patterns (perhaps the 'level' of collaboration) It may be posible to compare different programs within the same institution. Cross institutional research seems to have great potential here, although of course there will be, unavoidably, large numbers of potential confounds.
One possibility might be to find a way of changing the effect of culture and/or changing the technology (or it's effect) and seeing whether these changes were reflected in the level and pattern of collaboration. It's very difficult (ethically as well as practically) to experiment with actual live courses. But it might be possible to use simulations or scenario questions.
A Research Network?
If you have any interest in this areas, have already researched some of them (or would like to)I would be very interested in exchanging ideas. Perhaps there is an existing network. If not, there may be enough people with common interests to establish some connections. I would be very pleased to get emails at:
graham@rodwell.com
