Mezcla y control de calidad para el tratamiento Base Ácido

The main research approach chosen for this research is a case study with ethnographic influences. Bassey (1999) presents a historical overview for a definition of a ‘case study’ and agrees with Lincoln and Guba (1985) that ‘what is a case study?’ is an easy question to ask but difficult to answer. Additionally Bassey (1999) outlines different categories of case study such as story-telling and picture-drawing.

The purpose of this choice of approach is presented in Table 3.1 which is adapted from Denscombe’s (2010) table titled; ‘Research strategies and research purpose; some links’. Through the case study approach the ‘complex relationship’ between digital technology and constructions of reading and writing was studied in the setting of the 21st _{Century classroom. In order to ensure that the case study was} exploratory, an ethnographic ‘flavour’ was added to the case study approach. As Table 3.1 shows, ethnography describes cultural practices and interprets social interaction within a culture. The case study approach was implemented in the light of ethnography since I wanted to understand the context throughout a particular period of time, that being a whole scholastic year.

Table 3.1: ‘Research strategies and research purpose; some links’ Source: Adapted from Denscombe, 2010, p.5

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A ‘case study’ looks at the subject as a whole, through various angles (Thomas, 2011). In the case of this research the main aim was explored within its own context and it was also elaborated through the point of view of students and respective teachers. Although this study has sought to seek the individual perspectives of the students and teachers chosen, the main scope behind this research approach was to gain a community perspective and understand the context into how students were reading and writing within their classroom context. Throughout this research, observations were carried out to understand the context in depth and although students had the opportunity to express their individual insights I was more interested to seek a collective perspective and that is why focus group interviews was also chosen.

One cannot generalise from a case study but it is the ideal way to get a rich picture and gain ‘analytical insights’ (Thomas, 2011). In relation to this Clough and Nutbrown (2012) argue that through a case study the group is not generalizable but it provides ‘a collective viewpoint of those present (at that time) in that composition’ (p.94). They further argue that if generalizable findings are needed, different methods should be used.

Through the study conducted I wanted to gain a deep insight into how constructions of reading and writing are changing and growing in the digital age. Thomas (2011) elaborates on this even further and provides the following definition of a case study:

Case studies are analyses of persons, events, decisions, periods, projects, policies, institutions or other systems which are studied holistically by one or more methods. The case that is the subject of the inquiry will be an instance of a class of phenomena that provides an analytical frame – an object – within which the study is conducted and which the case illuminates and explicates (p.23).

In relation to Thomas’s (2011) argument this research has mainly used the case study approach because it deals with the analysis of a particular group of students to understand how they are learning to read and write in the digital age. This research aimed at analysing this in detail, whilst it did not seek to generalise. In

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order to address the research questions the context of study needed to be understood ‘holistically’ and the case study approach facilitated this process.

Additionally, interpretive enquiry is closely combined with the art of a case study since ‘each calls for rich, intensive understanding’ (Thomas, 2011, p.124). Furthermore a case study approach and the interpretive enquiry both demand ‘a deep understanding of the multifaceted nature of social situations, so they complement each other and seem natural with each other’ (Thomas, 2011, p.124). The main feature of my choice of case study lies in the interest I have in the subject of my study; the use of digital technology to teach reading and writing – a subject that I am highly interested in and which will eventually help me develop as a teacher.

The case study reported in this thesis is both unique and typical in that the subject concerns a ‘new’ concept which has not been explored in the Maltese context and which is currently a national priority. Both students and the teachers concerned contributed and as the researcher and also a teacher in the school I could closely address the ‘why’ and the ‘how’ questions. As Thomas (2011) argues in a case study approach one needs to ‘drill down’ as deeply as possible to obtain evidence and data. One must also observe the case from multiple viewpoints in order to develop a ‘polyhedron of intelligibility’; a term used by Foucault which refers to research which looks at facets and intersections (Gutting, 2005). An important strength of the case study approach is that ‘it allows the researcher to use a variety of sources, a variety of research methods as part of the ‘investigation’ (Denscombe, 2010, p.54). Denscombe (2010) elaborates on this through Table 3.2 which shows the main characteristics emphasised through case study research.

Table 3.2: Characteristics of case study research Source: Denscombe, 2010, p.54

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As a researcher I was interested in understanding the context I was researching in depth, in the relationships and processes and in obtaining a holistic view of the scenario being researched. In the light of Table 3.2 data in this research were collected from two main classroom settings, one of which was participating in a pilot project. The data were collected within a time frame of a scholastic year. Time in this case might be regarded as a limitation in itself because if there was more time allotted for this study, further enriching data might have been obtained. However this study was more concerned with ‘depth’ rather than ‘breadth’ and this was another reason why the number of classrooms observed was limited to two. Research was conducted in the natural setting and data were collected through various research methods. Furthermore I decided to focus on one school and two classes in order to have a smaller and more manageable number of participants and collect data over a longer time frame.

In his book ‘Case study research in educational settings’ Bassey (1999) argues that ‘case study’ in education should be reconstructed and presents a conceptual reconstruction of educational case study. Bassey (1999) presents his proposals about educational case study in Figure 3.2 below. The proposals in Figure 3.2 were taken into consideration when choosing the type of approach for this study.

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Thomas (2011) argues that when a case study is interpretative in nature it can also be called an ‘ethnography’. The term ‘ethnography’ comes from the Greek word ‘ethnos’ which means ‘people’. The word ‘ethnography’ therefore refers to the ‘study of people’ (Thomas, 2011). Ethnography examines what happens and seeks to ask questions – ‘in fact, collecting whatever data are available to throw light on the issues that are the focus of the research’ (Hammersley and Atkinson, 2001, p.1).

The case study approach with ethnographic threads was chosen since it focuses in detail on one concept and I planned to spend considerable time in the field of research. In other words, the ethnography approach was chosen alongside the case study approach because in its most characteristic form it involves the researcher directly in people’s lives for an extended period of time. Through this method the ethnographer watches what happens, listens to what is said, asks the necessary questions and collects whatever data are available to throw light on the issues that are the focus of the research (Hammersley and Atkinson, 2001).

Since the main participants in this research were students, I planned to observe them within their own classroom setting; this again was suggestive of an ethnographic approach to the research given that ethnography ‘bears a close resemblance to the routine ways in which people make sense of the world in everyday life’ (Hammersley and Atkinson, 2001). In Thomas’s (2011) own words, the ‘aims of a case study and the style of interpretative inquiry dovetail together very nicely’ (p.124) with them ‘being made for each other: it’s love and marriage – and they go together like a horse and carriage’ (p.124).

The sections which follow explain how this research approach was adopted, with whom and through which methods. The main participants who were central to this research were mainly children and their class and literacy teachers. Section 3.4 will provide more information about the chosen participants, and explain why they were chosen and how they contributed to the research.

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