Module 4

Module 4 had a very “hands-on” approach to learning.  There were a variety of readings and videos to cover how to interpret research articles, differences between types of research, and videos on how to write a literature review.

I found the Phillips readings to be very interesting this week.  Phillps (2008) says that researchers can collect quantitative data, but the qualitative study is recognized by its reliance on words for data (p. 83).  I found this to be interesting (and reassuring) that some aspect of “numbers” can be incorporated into a qualitative study; it just is not the basis for it.  The reading goes into great detail regarding the process and reasoning behind doing a qualitative study.  In order to better understand how qualitative research is broken down, Phillips (2008) took an actual research article (an ethnographic study to be exact) to study.  I found this study on Chinese and American music education majors to be very interesting.  It really grabbed my attention as to different thought processes into the subject matter.  He later makes a commentary on another research article.  This was again a qualitative study, but it focused on the life of school music teachers.  After each section of the study, Phillips (2008) provides a commentary to help the reader understand why the researcher included the information that was presented.  This information will prove to be very useful as I progress through this class and must propose my own research study.

While I usually find the Mertler (2012) readings to be easier to understand, I must admit that there was a lot of information to absorb this week and I felt a bit overwhelmed by all of the topics presented.  There was a lot of information and detail regarding different types of qualitative and quantitative research designs.  He explained things very well, but there was definitely a lot to comprehend.  As someone very new to research, I found myself having to re-read a number of things.  As always, I do appreciate Mertler’s use of bold-faced words to help me identify key words.  I think that the most helpful aspect of the Mertler (2012) reading for this week was the detail regarding ethics in research.  Mertler (2012) provides examples (and explanation with notes) of letters to send to specific people (i.e. participant, parent, student, etc.) when conducting a research study.  Mertler (2012) also goes into detail of getting organized for research so that it can flow better, and even included a sample research-planning schedule for use.  Again, he goes into detail and even provides an example of a research plan.   He ties this research plan into an extension of a previously proposed topic from an earlier chapter.

The videos (and handout) for this week were very helpful in clarifying the literature review.  I really enjoyed the jolly man (the woman was a bit dry to listen to) who presented in a conversational manner.  I am very glad that these videos were there.  I was very confused as to what a literature review included and did NOT include.  It was made very clear with all three videos as to what is expected when completing a literature review and I plan to use them again for the project due in module 5.

The video on Robert Woody was very interesting.  His class seems very innovative and practical in a world where music educators often come across students who play rock instruments.  Often times, however, music educators do not always possess those same skills.  Woody seems to give these music education students a skill to use in the classroom that a lot of music educators may have to end up learning in a pinch if they are put in to teach a guitar class or music composition class.