Data Collection

The data collection method or methods used are important aspect of the research. One of the most important aspects of data collection is attaining permission not only from the site but also the participants’ parents. To gain permission from the site letters will be sent to the superintendent of the independent school district in a large city in the Panhandle of Texas for entry into two of the schools in the district. Once permission is gained from the site then letters will be sent home with the at-risk at these two schools in district explaining the research. Permission will also be attained from the Institutional Review Board for this study.

The method or methods used to collect the data will need to be reliable. The qualitative research data collection methods are growing and involving active participation of the researcher with the students and sensitivity to the students in the study. The data collections used in this qualitative study will be: surveys, interviews, observations, bench mark ninth grade math TAKS tests and the TAKS ninth grade math taken towards the end of the school year. In using these data collection methods will provide a better understanding of the students and their needs in math.

The next aspect of qualitative collection of data is the selection of the site and participants. This study will be using the purposeful sampling. The reasoning for this type of selection for the site and participants is that the city has four high schools two that are in vary affluent areas of the city and two that are in low-social economic areas of the city. In selecting one school from each area will give a clearer view of how at-risk students perform across the city not just in the affluent or low social economic. In the table created by Creswell will provide a clearer understanding of the reasoning to use purposeful sampling.(p 214)

Purposeful Sampling

surveys

The qualitative interview questions will be open-ended. The open-ended questions enable the participant is able to state their experiences unconstrained by viewpoint of the researcher or past research results. The open-ended questions permit the participant to form options to reply to the question.

Observations will be used to determine the uses of researched based differentiation instructional methods the teacher uses during a class period. The researcher will spend no less than five class period to record the differentiation instructional methods. The observations of the participants views the number of times the participant request help from the teacher and how the different differentiation instructional methods have an affect on the participants.

bench mark ninth grade math TAKS tests and the TAKS ninth grade math

Reference

Creswell, J. W. (2008) Educational research planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, NJ