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Development of Further Questions As the researcher
read the data, especially the first time through, and began to make analytic memos, more questions emerged. The analytic memo (two examples are in Appendix F) is a tool used for researcher reflections, whereby the
researcher uses observations to stimulate analytic thinking. This thinking is then exercised further by reflecting and analyzing via writing – the analytic memo (Maxwell, 1996). These initial memos caused insights to
emerge, and this stimulated more questions to emerge. These questions helped to keep an open mind to new insights, as well as help organize the data to diminish its complexity. These were the more significant questions
(with related questions) that helped to organize and stimulate further analysis:
1. What were the students talking about? (Described content.)
- Were certain topics and particular words more prevalent / frequent?
- What, if any, was the "purpose" of the comment: i.e., inquiry, advice,
puzzlement, sharing, complaining, directing, problem-solving, etc.?
2. How were they talking about it? (Described structure and process.)
- To whom was the response directed?
- Was it connected to another comment?
- What was the tone and nature of comments?
3. What were the more significant and salient topics in their dialogue? (Described what seemed important to the students.)
- Did topics and words seem to have any proximal relationship to other topics and words, etc.?
- How did the important topics, content, purpose and intended "audience" all link up together?
- Was there frequent use of particular words?
- Were there recurring discussions on particular topics?
4. What aspects of the course seemed to be effective and successful? (Described what seemed to facilitate learning, enjoyment, and enthusiastic interaction.)
- What topics or activities seemed to stimulate the most discussion?
- What things in the environment, instructional design, and/or dialogue that seemed to facilitate learning?
5. Did students' behaviors change? Was there student progress?
- Was there evidence of: transformation, learning, and enlightenment?
- Did students help each other, offer advice, and solutions to problems?
- Were there shifts in opinion or "position" on issues?
- Were there changes in communication patterns?
Along with the original research questions, these emerging questions helped to broaden the analysis, and allow the emergence of important insights that might have otherwise gone
unnoticed. After initial stages of analysis, there was necessarily a tightening again, as the amount of data was extremely large and complex. The data analysis process was designed to be fairly tight, yet allow for the
emergence of interesting insights. As the process began, it was apparent that there was so much here, it would be wise to broaden things for a while, and then rethink the categories, and tighten again. The questions
above that emerged served important purposes, because they:
(1) allowed the researcher to stay open and responsive to new perspectives and ideas; (2) made the analytic process more logical in starting broad and then narrowing (than vice-versa);
and, (3) helped facilitate the huge task of organizing and categorizing the data. These questions were a significant help in building the meta-categorical structure discussed below.
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