Day 6 Reflection - The Human Condition: How Does It Affect Research?

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When we began our first activity today, I felt a little information overload.  Everyone has gone in such different directions that it was hard to dissect anything to make suggestions on. 

I did notice, however, that a number of people have taken on topics that revolve around citizenship, empathy, wellness, etc. and these all stem from many of the issues we are facing in schools today.  Due to various ideologies, beliefs systems, family breakdown, a ruthless business world affecting economic wellbeing, technology, and a host of other pressures placed upon people, we are living in a rather stressed out era.  It brought to mind a class I took at W.W.U. nearly twenty years ago regarding the rise of individualism. In it, my professor demonstrated how in spite of societal pressures brought on by intensive changes, people with solid social supports are able to cope and develop the desired traits listed above in their lives.  But as people have gone down a road of intense individualism, where do people (and kids in particular) go for support when faced with the myriad of pressures that can affect emotional health? 

Interestingly, it was through these topics that I was able to have excellent discussions with some of my peers and it brought to mind once again how the human condition plays a driving role in any form of research being done.  Regardless of whether it is qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods research, it is by-and-large being done to look into questions of life and how to make it better through the insights gleaned from the research. 

While I may not have been able to write much on people’s charts, I thoroughly enjoyed the personal interactions and the topics at play in particular.  Ultimately what I saw this morning was sixteen people beginning a process in which students and other stakeholders will benefit from the assessment designs and research we are doing.  No matter the topic, or how many people are impacted by it, every single topic should benefit someone regardless.  And while this may sound like a cliché, if each person’s study/tool makes even one student’s school life better, in the end you have sixteen children whose lives have been touched in a positive way. 

I believe this should be the end result of research: that our window into who we are as humans is opened a little further with each study and in the end, benefit those who need that specific information to improve their existence.    

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When it comes to ethical considerations in regards to research, my initial impressions is that, though it is time consuming getting the forms completed, much of Cresswell’s (2014) chart lists is common sense.  If one is going to conduct research, it would seem to me that it is obvious that all participants “receiver equal treatment” or that I would “avoid deceiving participants” (p. 93).  Another area I would think is obvious to avoid is what is found under the chart’s section on Analyzing Data.  “Siding with participants” would render the study biases, as would “disclosing only positive results” (p. 94).

But then again I have not done this before, and I also recognize that, if what I wrote of last time is true, that people often research areas of interest, concern, or passion, it may be more difficult to not side with the people involved as one is moved by the condition in which they find themselves.  I would think this would be immensely difficult if a researcher with a Transformative worldview were to do a phenomenological study.  In fact, any time one does qualitative research involving people and their personal stories it must be difficult. 

At this point I am still not certain of which methodology would be best with a music topic.  That being said, I think I would need to be aware of being more biased in favor of the quality of the music than necessarily of the human plight as to why they couldn’t practice at all.  I will have to continue to reflect on how to remain completely objective in regards to one of my greatest passions and interests.