CONCILIACIÓN RESULTADO CONTABLE Y BASE IMPONIBLE FISCAL

The main methods for collecting qualitative data are individual interviews, focus groups and observations. For this study I employed an approach that is based on gathering data through

[97]

various data gathering instruments. The data gathering methods for this study consisted of in- depth semi-structured interviews with individual teachers as well as focus group interviews with selected groups of teachers across schools in order to cross check the data gathered during the individual interviews This according to Ritchie and Lewis (2003), ensures depth and richness to the data. The following qualities of the different interview methods framed my approach to this study.7

Unstructured interviews with the following characteristics:  It can be referred to as 'depth' or 'in depth' interviews;  They have very little structure at all;

 The interviewer may just go with the aim of discussing a limited number of topics, sometimes as few as just one or two;

 The interviewer may frame the interview questions based on the interviewee and his/her previous response;

 This allows the discussion to cover areas in great detail; and

 They involve the researcher wanting to know or find out more about a specific topic without there being a structure or a preconceived plan or expectation as to how they will deal with the topic.

1. Semi structured interviews with the following characteristics:

 Semi structured interviews are sometimes also called focused interviews;  Comprises a series of open ended questions based on the topic areas the

researcher wants to cover;

7 _{These guidelines were gleaned from the following source:}

http://libweb.surrey.ac.uk/library/skills/Introduction to Research and Managing Information, Leicester/page_32.htm

[98]

 Comprises a series of broad questions to ask and may have some prompts to help the interviewee;

 The open ended nature of the question defines the topic under investigation but provides opportunities for both interviewer and interviewee to discuss some topics in more detail;

 Semi structured interviews allow the researcher to prompt or encourage the interviewee if they are looking for more information or find what they are saying interesting;

 This method gives the researcher the freedom to probe the interviewee to elaborate or to follow a new line of inquiry introduced by what the interviewee is saying; and

 It works best when the interviewed has a number of areas he/she wants to be sure to be addressing.

2. Structured interviews:

 The interviewer asks the respondents the same questions in the same way;  A tightly structured schedule is used;

 The questions may be phrased in order that a limited range of responses may be given, e.g. 'Do you rate our services as very good, good or poor';

 The researcher needs to consider whether a questionnaire or structured interview is more appropriate; and

 If the interview schedule is too tightly structured this may not enable the phenomena under investigation to be explored in terms of either breadth or depth.

[99]

The interview processes for this study was purposefully arranged in such a way that it would engage interviewees in a deep discussion about PLCs and their understanding of the components of a PLC as indicated in my conceptual framework.

4.3.1.1 Individual Interviews

In-depth interviewing is one of the most appropriate methods of gathering data on phenomena that is not readily observable (Kvale, 2008). In this study interview questions were structured in such a way to elicit data from the perspective of the participating teachers that would relate to the processes and issues in the establishment of a PLC (See Appendix F).

The conceptual framework (see Appendix I) guided the interview process, in order to ensure that relevant data is gathered. The interview questions were purposefully crafted to generate responses that would probe teachers’ understanding and experiences as well as their perceptions of a PLC and how it could function in their contexts. They were also invited to share their views on the sustainability of the project and what may be the way forward when funding for LEDIMTALI ends in order to ensure that their learning gains are sustained and that further PLC activities may be continued.

Open ended questions were posed in order to give participating teachers the opportunity to express their ideas in their own words. Interviews were audio recorded with the participants’ permission. The recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim and were given back to the participants for member checking prior to analysis. Hence participants were afforded the opportunity to amend responses they deemed inappropriate or sensitive.

3.4.1.2 Focus-group interviews

A focus group interview is a technique involving the use of in-depth interviews with a number of participants at the same time. One of the distinct features of focus-group interviews is its group dynamics, hence the type and range of data generated through the social interaction

[100]

of the group are often deeper and richer than those obtained from one-on-one interviews (Kvale, 2008). For the study, two focus group interviews were conducted. The instrumentation is described in Appendix G. The sampling method for these interviews will be explained in a later section.

3.4.1.3 Self-administered surveys

This was done to gain insight into teachers’ perception of the maturity of the group’s understanding of a PLC. A survey instrument labelled PLC Development Profile (see Appendix B) was developed in this regard. This instrument measured teachers’ understanding on a Likert type scale consisting of four (4) levels namely:

1. None, 2. Emergent, 3. Developing, and 4. Fully developed. The levels are defined as follows:

Level 1 - Non-existent: The participant does not attach any particular meaning or implication to the feature in the context of the project.

Level 2 - Emerging: The participant attaches meaning in a semantic sense, to the feature but is not able to reflect on its implication for participating in the project.

Level 3 – Developing: The participant attaches meaning to the feature and is able to link them to the project in a limited way.

Level 4 - Fully developed: the participant understands both the syntactic and semantic meanings of the feature and can reflect on them as the underpinning reasons for engaging in the project.

McLafferty (2003) describe questionnaire surveys as a research method for gathering information about the characteristics, behaviours and/or attitudes of a population by

[101]

administering a standardised set of questions or questionnaire. In this research I found it a useful instrument to explore participants’ perceptions about professional learning communities. The convenience of this method is that the data collection process is systematic and well defined and it generates group level summary statistics. A self-administered questionnaire was handed to all participants at a teacher institute and collected for analysis at the end of the day. The response rate was 65 %. Forty questionnaires were handed out and 26 were returned.