Campus Session 3 - Tools of Inquiry

In our final campus session of this module, Alan spoke to us about the four main tools we would pilot as we begin to explore and gather more information in relation to our own inquiries. We discussed all the positives and negatives involved when using each process, as well as the dynamic between the participant and the researcher.

Survey
+ Can be completed anonymously
+ Not as time consuming for the researcher or participant
+ Quantitive data of which stats/figures can represent findings
+ Provides a 'general' consensus

- Lack of authenticity due to the formality of the procedure
- Question could be left incomplete/misinterpreted
- Non-engagement with participant
- Non-leading questions could result in a lack of information being found

Interview
+ Depth due to a one on one situation
+ Leading questions/flexibility resulting in a more personal discovery
+ Higher authenticity
+ Less chance of misunderstanding

- Time consuming resulting in limited numbers being able to take part
- Non-anonymous could result in participant being influenced
- Good interview technique required to avoid bias
- Specific knowledge

Focus Group
+ Conversational nature allows ideas/opinions to be explored
+ The group share a common interest/specialised knowledge
+  Validating

- Influential factors
- Practicality of creating a focus group/convenience

Observation
+ There are different forms of observation which carry different opportunities

- Reliability of data

Within each of these methods there is a strong relationship between the participant and researcher. Ideally all the data gathered while using each tool should be a complete representation of the information provided by the participant, however as a result of bias/authenticity, these levels can be altered. After discussing these important factors we captured each tool of inquiry in a short video presentation filmed and compiled by Alan.