Getting Started

My first idea for this project was to enjoin colleagues in a program-wide research project. That gave rise to a whole set of pre-research questions:

• What questions do we have? 
• What kind of data already exists? 
• How would we triangulate and validate our findings? 
• Which methods would serve us best? Would simple coding of archived sources be enough or would we want to learn about a variety of methods that would provide more flexibility in the field?
• How would we start?
• How would we ever find the time to fit in one more thing - even if it improved our practice and increased our investment in our work?
• Would we have access to our student, faculty, and partner survey data?
• Would our research be used for program improvement only or would we discover something to offer the field? If so, would we need IRB approval to review our archives that were never intended to be used for research purposes?

STEP ONE: I asked my colleagues to join me.

STEP TWO: I decided to start by reading about any/all research methods with nomenclature like ACTION, INQUIRY, COMMUNITY-BASED, PRACTITIONER, OR PARTICIPATORY.

STEP THREE: (I think) - Who else is doing this research? What exists? What are the models for us to consider?