RED Methodologies
- Sydney Hamilton
- Aug 12, 2020
- 3 min read
What was expected?
Expectations for ETEC500: Research Methodology in Education were very clear, and I had received very positive feedback from peers as to the value of the skills and knowledge gained in this course. At the same time, this did not change the fact that this was the core course I was the least motivated to begin. I knew that the skills I would gain in searching for academic literature, properly citing resources and evaluating published work would be valuable, but I also feared the theoretical aspects of understanding the relationships between various research methods and designs.
What was the reality?
I was truly surprised at how much knowledge I gained in the projects completed in this course. Not only did they set me up for success in research, but I really enjoyed critically analyzing the research. The opportunity to choose our research topics allowed me to research areas that were of interest to me, taking a closer look at research that has been conducted related to organizational learning and development. What I learned was that it was lacking. At the same time, the skills I learned in conducting refined searches of academic literature set me up to find those needles in the haystacks, which proved to be extremely beneficial throughout my MET journey.
While I value the importance of practicing ethical behaviour in conducting research, this was one area that I struggled to relate to as designing research studies was not something of interest for me at the time. At the same time, I did find that when these topics came up in a learning analytics course, that this foundation helped me appreciate the importance of ethical practices in analyzing research and data in workplace learning.
What went well and why? How did it support my goals?
I particularly enjoyed discussions we had around qualitative research; this reminded me of how needs assessments are often conducted in the instructional design process. While the methods are not as formal, principles of identifying a problem statement (knowledge gap), research purpose and questions, making assumptions, and evaluating data draw many parallels.
I also felt the topic of Action Research to be very relevant in the context of adult education, professional development and and workplace learning. I like the emphasis on usability in action research, and the important of being able to make a change, to act, when something isn't working, to find ways to make the learning meaningful, relevant and applicable to the training task. I found that action researchers stand to gain much more from surveys, interviews with managers and direct observations and interactions in the workplace.
The theoretical knowledge that I developed in this course was very closely aligned with my first goal, and I gained a deeper understanding in this field than I expect. This knowledge has extended beyond the classroom as I find myself more likely to call into question what I read that is not peer-reviewed.
What can be improved, and how?
My experience in this course was very positive, but I do wish I had taken it earlier in my MET journey as I feel that the knowledge and skills gained would have been beneficial, primarily as a time-saver in conducting research for other project work. I also feel that my views around quantitative research as it relates workplace learning. Where I previously felt that it was far less applicable in the workplace where quantitative evaluation methods are less common, I would say that some of the work I did for the Learning Analytics has shifted my view here slightly, and that with the introduction of new technologies the support learning in the flow of work, that there is more room for quantitative research than I would have thought at the time.
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