Type of qualitative design in each article
The Qualitative design in the first article is the reading and analysis of textbooks at the foundation level of education. The phenomenological design has been adopted in the second article (Conceicao, n.d., p. 33).
“Phenomenologists, in contrast to positivists, believe that the researcher cannot be detached from his/her own presuppositions and that the researcher should not pretend otherwise (Hammersley, 2000).” (Groenewald, 2004).
The rationale of the design
The rationale for the choice of this qualitative design could be seen in that the aspects of LGBT are very often not dealt with at foundation level class teaching, and even if it were dealt with, it provided negative stereotyping and often depicts LGBT in a bad light as a result of which LGBT individuals with such sexual orientations are marginalized by mainstream heterosexual society. This happens due to the sole reason that teachers may believe that heterosexuality is the only accepted form of sexual orientation and thus condemn and shun all other forms of sexual manifestations. “The existence of a larger community including gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people has also been questioned by noting the exclusion of some of these groups by others; for example, biphobia among gays and lesbians, transphobia among non-trans LGB people, or lack of inclusiveness of lesbians in gay milieux. For example, in some cities, especially in North America, gay men and lesbians tend to live in certain neighborhoods.” (Encyclopedia: LGBT communities, 2005, LGBT culture, para. 4).
Moreover, it is also seen that aspects of race, ethnology, religion, etc., find their way in foundations classes and, therefore, it is in the fitness of things that LGBT topics could also be introduced as well. (Macgillivray, & Jennings, 2008, p.171).
In the second article, the rationale for choosing the qualitative design could be in terms of setting a cogent procedure for clearing preconceived notions about online teaching and sharing experiences between the researcher and respondents. (Conceicao, n.d., p. 33). “Moreover, one of the main benefits of internet teaching is that “With increased bandwidth, students and tutors can now engage online at the same time as in a physical classroom.” (Encyclopedia: Online tutoring, 2005).
How the authors collected data
The authors have done data collection through the following methods:
- Through leads of prior research conducted by Zittleman & Sadker(2002), which contains interviews with appropriate text authorities
- Published copies of prescribed textbooks
- Online searches of booksellers’ catalogs and internet searches for the foundation course program (Macgillivray, & Jennings, 2008, p.171).
In the second article on online teaching, the data was collected using partly structured, open-ended interviews, which were held at the venue agreed upon by the respondents with backup confabulations through emails. (Conceicao, n.d., p. 33).
How each of the articles displays results. Identify qualitative techniques of analysis
The main aspect that this research study is to answer the following two questions:
- Which foundation of learning textbooks incorporated LGBT topics?
- What proportion of textbooks is set aside for LGBT issues? (Macgillivray, & Jennings, 2008).
All eight textbooks contained some LGBT content. In order to find out the proportion of each textbook set aside for LGBT content, the authors gathered the total number of narrative lines in the books by multiplying the number of narrative lines of text message on one sample page by the number of pages in the book. Next, it is seen that the narrative lines (not full sentences) devoted to LGBT is found out and is expressed as a percentage of total narrative lines. Thus the proportion of LGBT in the full book is discerned. A similar procedure is followed for line illustration is also taken, in that narrative for illustration replaces line narratives in this case. (Macgillivray, & Jennings, 2008, p.178 -179).
In the second article, results are attained by way of descriptions of the changing role of online teaching through the use of facilitators. There is a unique two-way communication between online partners, the students, and the teaching faculty wherein the instructor needs to teach while he is also learning since he has to cater to a large number of online students seeking different types of clarifications.
However, “While it would take considerable work, a person may be able to receive an online teaching degree faster than attending night classes at a college” (Wagaman, 2009).
Write an initial critique about each article considering
Research questions: In the first article, the research question examines the significance of proportion of LGBT presence in textbooks. It is necessary that in a study of this kind, multi research models are considered, and thereby, a more elaborate and deeper analysis is generated. The authors have restricted themselves to the basic concept of occurrence of LGBT and have not strived to consider what has been really written about LGBT, which is more important.
In the second article, the author has gone to great lengths to describe online teaching but has not delved into how it scores over campus teaching, which has its own advantages and strengths.
Measurement and instrumentation (if applicable)
In the first article, the measurement is old-fashioned and devoid of any statistical technique. Chances of errors are high, and this could vitiate the final decision. The computation of LGBT occurrences may not be entirely error-free, and a more scientific and modern approach would be more appropriate.
In the second article, there are no measurements as such.
Validity processes
In the first article, the main crux would be how apparent the discrimination is against Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, and transsexuals could be removed, and such people be provided a larger role in society, irrespective of sexual proclivities.
“In its 1994 decision in Toonen v. Australia, the UN Human Rights Committee — the body that interprets the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), one of the UN’s core human rights treaties — held that human rights law prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation.” (Amnesty international public statement, 2008, para. 8).
Thus, more than a textbook approach, a complete and comprehensive reorientation and changes need to be made through result-oriented studies that identify and provide recommendations to tackle these issues appropriately.
In the second article, a comparative assessment of online teaching over other mediums needs to be made.
Sampling procedures
In the first article, it is seen that eight textbooks have been taken as samples, which may or may not be deterministic of the entire population dealing with the issue of LGBT education at foundational levels. It is seen that in the survey of qualitative kind, it is better that a larger sample population is taken in order to reduce sampling errors.
Besides textbooks sampling, there could be other more effective methods of tackling this issue through personal interviews with respondents, online questionnaires, surveys, etc., which could have addressed the issue more objectively.
In the second article, a wider distribution of respondents needs to be made, including online specialists, and sample quantum needs to be increased.
Ethical considerations
In a study of this kind, there are no surveys or interviews, and therefore the scope of major ethical considerations does not arise. Even the names of the respondents in the text would be suitably altered to protect their privacy.
In the second article, pseudonyms have been used to protect the identities of the respondents in the phenomenological research study. (Conceicao, n.d., p. 35).
Conclusion
From the above deliberations, it is clear that the methodology of research plays an important role in the final analysis and results drawn in research studies. Thus, it is very important that the right research design be adopted depending upon the special characteristics of the issues to be tackled. In the first example, the textbooks search the research design was adopted, whereas, in the second example, the phenomenological design model was adopted. It would not be wrong to state that both fell short of desired levels of application since both methods need to be further refined and contextually enlarged in the research. In the first case, the mere fact that references to LGBT do not carry weightage, since what matter has been written is more important, and secondly, the second article does not fully explore the relative benefits and advantages of online teaching over other forms of contemporaneous teaching methods.
References
Amnesty international public statement: United Nations: General assembly to address sexual orientation and gender identity-statement affirms promise of universal declaration of human rights. (2008). Amnesty International USA: Action for Human Rights, Hope for Humanity.
Conceicao, S L O. (n.d.). Faculty lived experiences in the online environment. (Provided by customer).
Encyclopedia: LGBT Communities: LGBT Culture. (2005). Nation Master.Com.
Encyclopedia: Online tutoring: Real-time tutoring over internet. (2005). Nation Master.Com.
Groenewald, T. (2004). A phenomenological research design illustrated. International Journal of Qualitative Methods. 3 (1).
Macgillivray, I K., & Jennings, T. (2008). A content analysis exploring lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender topics in foundations of education textbooks. (Provided by customer).
Macgillivray, I K., & Jennings, T. (2008). A content analysis exploring lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender topics in foundations of education textbooks. Journal of Teacher Education. 59 (2). 170+. Questia.
Wagaman, J. (2009). Receiving an online teaching degree: Benefits of an online teaching degree program. Suite101.com: The genuine article literally. Web.