First Summary of Research Proposal and Plan

MY SUMMARY RESEARCH PLAN

Jim Byrne, DCouns (cand), MA(Ed), Dip.CP.Psych
15th March 2007


1. Introduction

On 24th December 2006, I submitted a twenty-thousand word research proposal, which had taken many months to research and write.

On 2nd February 2007, I submitted a 3,500 word Research Plan, with substantial appendices, for my Research Review Panel.

I am now submitting a 1,300 word summary of the research outlined in those two documents, in the light of the experience of my Research Review Panel, and subsequent reflection. (There are no appendices attached to this document, but the appendices from my previous documents may prove to be relevant to a reading of this document).

This document needs to be read in conjunction with my larger, more substantial proposal and plan. In particular, all the philosophical derivation and soul-searching of the first two documents have been omitted from this summary.

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This plan received outline approval on 13th February, at my Research Review Panel; and was subsequently approved by my supervisors on 22nd March 2007, after further refinement.

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The complete proposal follows below:


MY SUMMARY RESEARCH PLAN

Jim Byrne, DCouns (cand), MA(Ed), Dip.CP.Psych
15th March 2007


1. Introduction

On 24th December 2006, I submitted a twenty-thousand word research proposal, which had taken many months to research and write.

On 2nd February 2007, I submitted a 3,500 word Research Plan, with substantial appendices, for my Research Review Panel.

I am now submitting a 1,300 word summary of the research outlined in those two documents, in the light of the experience of my Research Review Panel, and subsequent reflection. (There are no appendices attached to this document, but the appendices from my previous documents may prove to be relevant to a reading of this document).

This document needs to be read in conjunction with my larger, more substantial proposal and plan. In particular, all the philosophical derivation and soul-searching of the first two documents have been omitted from this summary.


2. What am I proposing to research?

I am proposing to research the question of how postgraduate research students – in the School of Social Care, University of Minerva - learn how to be ethical researchers; and how their tutors teach them. Also, how they could respectively learn and teach this subject more effectively.

My main research question is:

“How can we understand the mind and behaviour of postgraduate research students, such that:

– If you are a postgraduate student, you will know how to learn to be an ethical researcher?; and:

– If you are a postgraduate research tutor, you will know how to help your students to become ethical researchers?”

My main contribution to knowledge is likely to be: A model of human moral functioning, and how it relates to the teaching and learning of research ethics among postgraduate students in counselling. This is likely to be of help to future generations of postgraduate research students and their tutors. The main gains are likely to be:


(a) Safer research;

(b) Better coaching of students in the subject of developing competence in ethical research; and:

(c) Better systems for tutors to employ in promoting the ethics-learning of their postgraduate students.


3. How am I proposing to research it?

I intend to offer a training programme to postgraduate students at the University of Minerva, aimed at teaching them to be more effective as ethical researchers. This will commence on 27th March and run for at least three or four months. In the process I will measure how developed they are as ethical researchers at the start of the programme and at the end of the programme, to see how much improvement has been achieved. That measurement will be done qualitatively, as I am not convinced that any of the quantitative tests of morality are valid and reliable.

I also intend to share my learning from the student group with a group of postgraduate research tutors, to see if I can learn anything about how they (the tutors) think about the task of teaching ethical research approaches to postgraduate research students.

With both groups I will be using Teacher Inquiry methods (from Action Research), and writing up the results on an Action>Reflection>Conclusion>Planning>Action spiral, with about four to six loops or cycles. I will audio record substantial sections of each of my educational interventions.


4. Who will be involved in my research?

I will be working with a group of about 13 postgraduate research students, mainly from the MA in Social Care, who have opted into my proposed training programme. This group has been called ‘the Ethical Research Study Seminar. I hope also to be working with a group of ten or more tutors identified by “Dr Brown”. If and when this group emerges, it is likely to be called ‘the Ethical Research Teaching Group’.


5. How will I collect my data?

Some of my data will be collected in the form of audio recordings of discussions, among groups of students and groups of tutors. Some may also be in the form of some appropriate questionnaire responses. And, of course, there are lots of data in the results of my literature review.



6. How will I analyze my data?

Firstly, I will be conducting four to six cycles of action research, and I want to analyze the data/texts at the end of each cycle. I will do this by a process of immersionðexternalization-(in-writing)ðactive-reflection/interpretationð conclusion-formationðplanning the next step.

Secondly, part of the “next step” will be to take my interpretations to a “new group” for evaluation/appraisal, which may throw up elements of validation and/or disconfirmation. In other words, I will take my learning from the student group to the tutor group, and use that as a stimulus for a tutor-group discussion. I will then take my learning from the tutor group, and use that to improve my working with the student group.

Third, I will be looking for “patterns that connect”: Newman (1998: 7). Pattern making seems to be a basic human cognitive (or cognitive-emotive) process.

Fourth, with regard to the details of immersion: I will immerse myself in the data/texts, and allow my unconscious mind (or “adaptive unconscious”) to process it into whatever patterns emerge. (McLeod, 1994: 89). This immersion process could involve listening to audio tapes several times, and extracting whatever stands out on each listening, instead of transcribing everything.

Fifth, I may use elements of ‘conversation analysis’ when interpreting certain elements of the audio tapes of discussions and the qualitative questionnaires, if any. (McLeod, 2001: 91-99). And I may combine this with aspects of ‘argumentation analysis’, as described in Hart (1998: 79-108).

Sixth, I will use my best ‘academic detectiving skills’ to track down patterns and connections. To briefly distinguish ‘academic detectiving’, I perceive it as questioning strategies; but instead of questioning ‘witnesses’, or ‘suspects’, I will be questioning, or interrogating, my own texts, including audio recordings. For an example of questions I could use in academic detectiving, please see Appendix ‘E’ of my Research Plan. Of course, I will be questioning both the supportive and disconfirming feedback I received from my research participants.


7. Ethical considerations

The main ethical issues in my proposal are:

1. Maintaining confidentiality of research texts and audio tapes. These will be stored in a secure filing cabinet, and destroyed as soon as possible after my viva.

2. Maintaining informed consent as an ongoing process. This will be achieved by designing a no-pressure entry process (see point 3); plus multiple exit points; and explicit permission for anybody to leave the research at any time without any need to explain or excuse themselves.

3. A no-pressure entry process. With regard to informed consent, I will send out Information Sheets and Consent Forms for each educational intervention that I run. These will be despatched to potential participants at least ten days before the event is due to take place. Therefore, each individual can decide, in the privacy of their own home, whether or not to attend the event, thus avoiding any peer pressure to participate which could arise if the consultation took place after their arrival at an educational event.

4. Protecting research participants from ego-anxiety or threats to their self-esteem; and other emotional disturbances. This depends upon two aspects: Ground rules for participant behaviour towards each other; and sensitive communication strategies by me. (For example, no sarcasm, no put-downs).

5. Ensuring that I do not harm the good name of the University of Minerva and its postgraduate tutors and students. This involves ensuring that I handle the information I collect in a sensitive manner, and publish nothing that could be misconstrued, misinterpreted or misapplied to the detriment of teachers in general or the tutor-participants in this study.


8. Conclusion

From the foregoing, it is clear that I have a viable Action Research project, and that I am likely to be able to collect some good quality data from the student group. Hopefully, it will also be possible to get volunteers for the tutor group, or, if that is not possible, to develop a less formal approach. I will also link and interrelate my learning from my Action Research interventions with data and ideas from my Literature Review.

My timetable is to conduct my research between March and August 2007, and to write up my thesis between September 2007 and August 2008.





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For further information, please contact Jim Byrne at ABC Coaching and Counselling Services.

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