I.

Topic: REPORTING AND EVALUATING RESEARCH

Introduction/Overview:
This module outlines the key processes involved in reporting and evaluating
research, with a focus on qualitative research. Emphasis is placed on findings through
narrative discussions, utilizing direct quotes, applying interpretation strategies, and
validating results. Additionally, this module touches on structuring research reports and
evaluating their quality based on different standards.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of this module, students should be able to:
 Understand the importance of accurately reporting qualitative findings,
including the use of direct quotes and other strategies to communicate
results.
 Understand the importance of evaluating research, including assessing
the quality of research design, data collection, and data analysis methods.
 Define the purpose of a research report and identify the types.
 Identify the structure of your research report.
 Identify good, sensitive, ethical, and scholarly writing practices.
 List criteria for evaluating a research report.

II. Pre-test:
Directions: Answer the following questions below.
1. What is the primary form used for presenting qualitative research?
2. Define triangulation in the context of qualitative research.
3. What role do direct quotes play in qualitative research?
4. Name one alternative form of writing qualitative research.
5. Why is ethical writing important in reporting research?

III. Lecture Content

How do you present and report the findings?

Qualitative researchers often display their findings visually (Miles & Huberman,
1994) by using FIGURES or PICTURES that augment the discussion.

Different ways to display data are listed:

 Create a comparison table
  Develop a hierarchical tree diagram
 Present figures
 Draw a map
 Develop a demographic table

Reporting Findings
The primary form for representing and reporting findings in qualitative research is
a narrative discussion. A narrative discussion is a written passage in a qualitative
study in which authors summarize, in detail, the findings from their data analysis

Direct Quotes
Direct quotes play a crucial role in qualitative research by providing authentic
evidence that supports the themes or categories identified during analysis.

Role of Direct Quotes:

 Evidence of Credibility
 Authenticity and Voice
 Clarification and Illustration
 Ethical Representation
 Reader Engagement

Several steps are involved in

coding data. Although there is no
definite procedure, Tesch (1990)
and Creswell (2007) recommend the
following steps:
1. Get a sense of the whole.
Read all of the transcriptions
carefully. Jot down in the
margins some ideas as they
come to mind.
2. Pick one document (e.g., one
interview, one fieldnote).
Choose the most interesting,
the shortest, or the one on top of the pile.
3. Begin the process of coding the document. This process involves identifying
text segments, placing a bracket around them, and assigning a code word or
phrase that accurately describes the meaning of the text segment.
 4. After coding an entire text, make a list of all code words. Group similar codes
and look for redundant codes.
5. Take this list and go back to the data. Try out this preliminary organizing
scheme to see whether new codes emerge. Circle specific quotes from
participants that support the codes.
6. Reduce the list of codes to get five to seven themes or descriptions of the
setting or participants.
Consider also the narrative elements that go into a report of your findings:
1. Include dialogue that provides support for themes.
2. State the dialogue in the participants’ native language or in the regional or ethnic
dialect.
3. Use metaphors and analogies.
4. Report quotes from interview data or from observations of individuals
5. Report multiple perspectives and contrary evidence.
6. Write in vivid detail
7. Specify tensions and contradictions in individual experiences
How to interpret findings
Interpretation involves making sense of the data, or the “lessons learned,” as
described by Lincoln and Guba (1985). Interpretation in qualitative research
means that the researcher steps back and forms some larger meaning about the
phenomenon based on personal views, comparisons with past studies, or both.
Interpreting findings involves:
a. Summarize Findings
b. Convey Personal Reflections
c. Make Comparisons to the Literature
d. Offer Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research
How do we validate accuracy?
Validating findings means that the researcher determines the accuracy or
credibility of the findings through strategies such as member checking or
triangulation. Several qualitative researchers have addressed this idea (Creswell
& Miller, 2000; Lincoln & Guba, 1985).
Three (3) primary form used for qualitative research:
 Triangulation is the process of corroborating evidence from different individuals
(e.g., a principal and a student), types of data (e.g., observational fieldnotes and
interviews), or methods of data collection (e.g., documents and interviews) in
descriptions and themes in qualitative research.
 Member checking is a process in which the researcher asks one or more
participants in the study to check the accuracy of the account.
 This is the process of conducting an external audit, in which a researcher hires
or obtains the services of an individual outside the study to review different
aspects of the research.
This audit may occur both during and at the conclusion of a study, and auditors
typically ask questions such as those mentioned by Schwandt and Halpern
(1988):
Are the findings grounded in the data? Are inferences logical?
Are the themes appropriate?
Can inquiry decisions and methodological shifts be justified?
What is the degree of researcher bias?
What strategies are used for increasing credibility?
Six Steps in the Process of Analyzing and Interpreting Qualitative Data
1. Prepare and Organize the Data for Analysis
2. Explore and Code the Data
3. Coding to Build Description and Themes
4. Represent and Report Qualitative Findings
5. Interpret the Findings
6. Validate the Accuracy of the Findings

RESEARCH REPORT
It is a completed study that reports an investigation or exploration of a problem;
identifies questions to be addressed; and includes data collected, analyzed, and
interpreted by the researcher. It is composed for audiences, varies in length and
format, and differs for quantitative and qualitative research.
What Audience Will Receive the Report?

What Are the Types of Research Reports?

Dissertations and Theses
Dissertations and theses are the doctoral and master’s research reports
prepared for faculty and graduate committees. The length of a dissertation or
thesis can vary, depending on the tradition in a school or department.
Dissertation and Thesis Proposals
A dissertation or thesis proposal is a plan for a research report, initiated and
developed before the research begins.
The purpose of a proposal is to help an investigator think through all aspects of
the study and anticipate problems. A proposal also provides a written document
that faculty and advisors can read, evaluate, and critique to improve a study.
Journal Articles
A journal article is a polished, shorter research report that you send to an editor
of a journal.
Conference Papers and Proposals
A conference paper is a research report presented to an audience at a state,
regional, national, or international conference typically sponsored by a
professional association (e.g., AERA, American Association of Teacher
Educators).
A conference proposal is a brief proposal to present a study at a conference.
Typically, these proposals run about three pages long, and reviewers use them to
determine whether they will accept the authors’ research for presentation at the
conference.
Sample Guidelines for Proposals
 Objectives or purposes
 Perspective(s) or theoretical framework
 Methods, techniques, or modes of inquiry
 Data sources or evidence
 Results and/or conclusions/point of view
 Educational or scientific importance of the study (AERA, 1999, p. 33)

Report for Policy Makers or School Personnel

A final type of research report is one that you present to practitioners who are in
positions of responsibility in education. These individuals may be policymakers in
state and federal governments or leaders in schools, such as superintendents,
principals, curriculum directors, and teachers.
The research report presented to these individuals might follow these guidelines
(see Muffo, 1986):
 The timing is most important.
 Report specific results from your research.
 Present the results simply and clearly.
 Include a one-page executive summary at the beginning of your research report.
 Obtain clearance from key individuals to present your research.
Consider these alternative forms for writing qualitative research:
 A scientific approach is similar to a quantitative study in which all or most of the
five sections (“Introduction,” “Review of the Literature,” “Methods,” “Results,” and
“Discussion”) are present.
 A storytelling approach can have varied structure. The author uses literary
devices (e.g., metaphors, analogies, plot, climax) and persuasive, creative writing
to present the study.
 A thematic approach includes extensive discussion about the major themes that
arise from analyzing a qualitative database. Often, this approach uses extensive
quotes and rich details to support the themes. Often these themes are
interrelated and incorporated within specific qualitative designs such as grounded
theory, ethnographic, or narrative designs.
 A descriptive approach incorporates a detailed description of people and places
to carry the narrative. A study in this mode might convey “a typical day in the life”
of an individual.
 A theoretical approach is when the author either starts with a theory (e.g., a
theoretically oriented case study), ends with a theory (e.g., grounded theory), or
modifies an existing theory based on views of participants.
 An experimental, alternative, or performance approach may include a report
of qualitative research in the form of a poem, a fictional story, a drama, or a
highly personalized account, called an autoethnography (see Denzin, 1997, or
Richardson, 2000).
How do we write in a sensitive, ethical, and scholarly way?
 Are sensitive to individuals and use language that reduces bias
 Use appropriate research terms
 Write and report the findings ethically
  Employ a point of view consistent with quantitative and qualitative approaches
 Balance research and content
 Interconnect parts of a study
 Advance a concise title

How do we evaluate the quality of research?

Employ Appropriate Standards:

◆ Does the research meet the standards for publication?

◆ Will the research be useful in our school?
◆ Will the research advance policy discussions in our region?
◆ Will the research add to our scholarly knowledge about a topic or research
problem?
◆ Will the research help address some pressing educational problems?