Session 4 Reflections

Déjà vu

Continue with the journey to understand "How to assess a learning environment?", today is filled with technical and hands on practicuum such as data entry, analysis with statistical tools/ instruments and report compilation based on the responses collected from the 2 questionnaires (one on actual perception and the other on preferred perception). These bring back alot of memories on my days in the University when I was bombarded with many statistics formula, calculation and interpretation such as means, standard deviation and reliability test.

The group project on the "SAF learners' perception of NIE learning environment" is appropriate for novice/ beginner to have a good flavour and understanding on how a researcher interprets and analyses his data to validate his hypothesis. With reliable and accurate data collection and process through both Quantitative and Qualitative analyses, it will enable the researcher to justify his hypothesis with strong and credible statistical evidence. This will in turn enable the study to be certified and recognised as a professional academic paper and study. To appreciate and have a deeper understanding of research methodologies, please refer to Gartner's Research Methodologies @ http://www.gartner.com/it/products/research/methodologies/methodology.jsp

Further readings can also be made on the following references:

a. Creswell, J. (1998). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five traditions. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications.
b. Creswell, J. (2003). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications.
c. Guba, E. and Lincoln, Y. (1989). Fourth Generation Evaluation. Newbury Park, California: Sage Publications.
d. Patton, M.Q. (2002). Qualitative research & evaluation methods (3rd edition). Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications.