Week 11. Critical Theory

We learned two weeks ago that there are a lot of different theories we can use to direct our research. And we also learned that there is a hierarchy for those theories. This week we talked about critical theory, a big umbrella that covers a lot of other micro theories. Critical theory is an emancipatory theory, that looks for freedom, social justice and power balance in our society. It deals with very complex and sensitive topics providing understanding and interpretation.

This theory is not free of critiques, one of the biggest being its political agenda that can generate a strong bias in the researcher. Concerning this, we had an interesting exercise today, a debate considering how unbiased has to be a researcher. I think that it is impossible to completely isolate the science of the context, especially in the educational context. Our area is an ever-evolving field where context acquires a particular importance in order to achieve appropriate comprehension of the studied phenomenon.

We should develop relationships in order to access data, we must take the research to the participants instead of moving them into the research. We don't have the luxury of controlled environments and variables, so the best way to confront this is with the correct theoretical foundation and a research project design that has approaches and methodologies that fit the purpose.

Week 10. Functionalism/Structutalism

This theory states that every role in society has a function that is necessary for its correct existence. Power imbalances and conflict will happen but in the end, the system will regulate itself. Every part of society works to promote social harmonization.

We can use our body as an example, every organ fulfills a complex function, but they are not useful isolated, they need to collaborate with other organs to keep the entire body functioning. In the same way, society's behavior is integrated of the individuals' behavior.

Week 9. The importance of Theory in research

This week we talked about the importance of theory in research. I have to be honest, this is particularly hard for me at this point. I come from an operational job where philosophical assumptions received little consideration.

However, I'm aware that this is one of the skills I need to develop in this program in order to become a serious and respected researcher. I've had long conversations with Dr. Riveros about the theoretical approach to my Thesis research. He has given me the orientation I never had before and in conjunction with this Seminar, I'm sure I will reach my goal.

Theoretical frameworks are like glasses, they give us different perspectives of the same phenomena and because of that, it is really important that we select the most appropriate one. Before I come here I was confident that the binary qualitative/quantitative was all I need to learn for analyzing a problem or an issue. Now I'm aware of the different paths we can follow to find the truth (or truths).

We can use theory to select ideas, formulate and design research questions, even for predictions about the outcomes. Therefore, it is crucial to develop a strong knowledge about which techniques and methods can be applied to the theory we select. this will take me some time, but the OGS paper application will be a fantastic opportunity to test what my progress has been this far.

Week 8. Data Collection Techniques

This week we had our data collection techniques presentation. I was so afraid because this was going to be my very first graded presentation in a different language (not Spanish). I'm glad Dr. Marianne gave me the chance to work with Hershy. It was an amazing journey from the planning to the actual presentation. We had such a continuous ideas exchange form the very beginning.

Hershy's background was extremely useful for this assignment. I should say that I learned a lot form her y I'm very happy with the final result. It was an interesting exercise because just a few months ago I was on the other side, grading my students' presentations. At that time I probably wasn't fully aware of how they felt, about their fears and insecurities. It is amazing that being here for around two months have shown me a thousand ways to be a better professor when I come back to Ecuador. I'm more grateful to my Government, to Western and my family for allowing me to live this transformational experience.

My classmates' presentations were impressive. I will especially remember Polin and Carolyn's storytelling. It was a very engaging technique, I would've never thought that the association of a story with an inanimate object could have such an impact. This reminded me of the Indigenous Methodologies class because of the respect a researcher needs to have over artifacts, words, and gestures.

Week 7. Librarian Resources and Qualitative Data Analysis with Nvivo

One of the reasons that influenced my decision to come to Western university was the resources available for research and the investment administrators make in databases and bibliographic resources access. But, being here, I found out that the amount of resources is even higher than I thought.

I am impressed with all the features and options our library has. This week, Denise Horoky visited us and talked us about all the support we can get from our librarian system. I should highlight that we are not just talking about Western Libraries but a more complex network that extends the resources availability even further.

This is a service I will absolutely use in the future. Coming from a young, low budget university I find myself in front of one of the biggest opportunities of my career. I talked about this with my supervisor, Dr. Riveros has provided me with such a great support (both in the academic and personal transitions to a different country and culture).

I mentioned my supervisor before because, in my first week here, he told me about NVivo as a powerful tool for qualitative data analysis. It is interesting that Dr. Marianne said the same about the tool. This is something I must further explore, I would love when I come back to my country to introduce and teach how to use this software to my colleagues. Together we can improve substantially the research level in our country.

Week 6. Mixed Method Research

This week we talked about mixed methods research. I would like to start by stating that for me this is the best approach to doing research. Considering last weeks methodologies and paradigms I believe that it is impossible to drastically take sides between qualitative and quantitative research. Combining the systematicity od quantitative research with the ability of deep explorations od qualitative research will enable the researcher to acquire a holistic vision about the studied phenomena.

We also learned about a real-life application of this type of research. And for me that proves that although several author express that qualitative and quantitative approaches are mutually exclusives they can actually be reinforcing for the confidence of the study.

It is important to remember that the mix of methods can manifest at different levels and stages of the study. We can find several types of design, like parallel, convergent, multiphase, but they are all focused on providing a complete perspective of the world and its particularities.

Week 5. Indigenous Methodologies: Storytelling and Insurgent Research

Indigenous communities represent history, fight, and resistance. They struggle to obtain the recognition they deserve, the visibility of their ancestral knowledge that lasts and share the same time and space with modern society.

This type of research should focus on respect. It is a big challenge to document, analyze and disseminate their experiences, practices, and perceptions without alterations caused by the researcher's biases.

Knowledge is not only generated by social interaction, but it is also a result of the articulation of historical facts and their own particular context. Indigenous communities own particular ways of communication and interaction that must be taken into account in order to gain access to their wisdom.

I personally think that this type of research should manifest like a vocation. Researchers should carefully balance the power dynamics with the participants, making them confident of the fact that their real voices will be heard.

Week 4. Case Study, Ethnography and Action Research

In previous weeks we talked about naturalistic studies. This perspective studies the reality in the participants' natural settings, looking for characteristics, causes, and consequences of social phenomenon.

Case study, ethnography and action research are methods (and techniques) with a qualitative inclination. They consider participants as meaning-making beings who help the research construct the meaning and sense of their world. Therefore, these methods accept the existence of multiples realities.

In all these methods, the process of research acquires the same importance as the outcomes. Researchers become instruments of research through the application of techniques like observation, interviews, field notes, and memos.

Ethnographic studies are concerned about cultural knowledge, activities of groups in a particular context and description and analysis of patterns of social interaction. This study uses all of the mentioned elements to build new theories.

While there are several types of ethnography, I found particularly interesting autoethnography, because it enables the researcher to describe and analyze personal experiences in order to understand the cultural experience. On the other hand, it's also interesting how this method fights the critiques about the relevance of one person's experience for scientific purposes.

Case studies can provide detailed examinations of evolving situations or small samples. This method can focus on a person, a group or an organization and it gives us great examples of real situations occurring to real people in their natural settings.

Week 3. Research Design

Last week we talked about some of the most popular paradigms, and how they shape our research. This week we discussed how to select a research project, the importance of questions, and some interesting strategies for research planning.
When choosing a research project we need to take into consideration what its implications are, what is the purpose of the research, who the beneficiaries are and how realistic is the project in terms of resources and time.
There are a lot of different sources for research projects: Problems we find in our everyday work, interesting questions and even guesses or hunches that can be tested. Looking at my own experience, what motivated me to start this program was the first one I mentioned before. Working in a specific topic for several years bring curiosity into the equation, that's why I want to know more about research policy implementation in my own country because I wish to improve those practices when I come back.
Research Questions are fundamental for this type of projects because they guide the research. Until I came here I didn't fully notice the importance of conversations, congress attendance or networking for shaping our own research interests. These activities can provide us with new insights, ideas or concerns we can use for future research.
It is fundamental to define research questions accurately, considering clarity, focus, and purpose. The research question also defines the scope of our study, and the orientation of the literature review. The literature review provides a justification of the issue we want to research, it must inform the research, and establish key facts.

Week 2. Naturalistic, Interpretive and Critical Paradigms / Publishing in Journals

This week we studied some of the paradigms that I consider are fundamental for educational settings. I particularly feel more inclined to use them in research, mostly due to their fit for our evolving and always changing environment.

Naturalist, interpretive and critical research includes concepts, visions, and techniques that are not usually considered quantitative. Naturalistic research focuses on objects and persons in their natural settings and their natural day to day scenarios.

They are interpretive because the researcher tries to make sense or interpret phenomena in terms of the meaning people bring to them. This means that what is real, depends on the perspective of the study.

The following are characteristics of this types of research:

• Variables should not be manipulated in an experimental way.
• The researcher can extract meaning from the data without the need to reduce it to pure numbers (although counting can be used, especially when using software like NVivo). 
• Using this paradigm can usually involve large descriptions of the phenomena.
• These paradigms reflect the perception of the participants, without alterations from the researcher.

This week we also talked about the importance of publications. For me, this was an escencial topic. I am already working in Academia, so I need to start building publishing skills as soon as possible.
We discussed what publications can provide a stronger impact in our careers and I will need to remind this order:

1. Papers in journals
2. Books
3. Congress Presentations
4. Book reviews

I feel that the resources available at Western University are an amazing help for us as Scholars. I also should highlight here the incredible support from my supervisor.

Week 1. First steps with Nvivo, paradigms proliferation, RICE

This week, thanks to mi advisor, I had mi first experience using Nvivo 12. It is unbelievable how technology can save us a lot of time with data analysis and processing. Up to this date, I always believed that this kind of tasks must be done manually. I am very excited for this opportunity, learning this will allow me to transmit this knowledge to my colleagues and students once I come back to my country. 

In my past graduate studies (MTI) I learned that as a researcher I only had two choices: qualitative and quantitative approaches, but thanks to the readings of this week I discovered that “the purpose guides the method” and that there is a huge toolbox of techniques and perspectives that I can make use of. Patti Lather describes the interesting concept of “coloring epistemologies” and how the educational researchers have to deal with several types of difficulties while they perform research activities. Educational research is a science but in some form an art.

I also was introduced to a Research Group: RICE (Researching International and Contemporary Education). I heard other students and faculty talk about their experiences and areas of research and I was impressed with the confidence and proficiency everyone have about their topics. They talked about resources, collaboration and opportunities too. I strongly believe that the networking on this group could help me achieve my own personal and academic goals.