February 22 – March 11, 2016
Over the past couple of weeks, our group has been working with Mike to develop two preliminary surveys that we would administer prior to our arrival to Williams Lake. Mike and Siobhán have been supportive of us through this process, as they have offered valuable suggestions and insights to help us refine our survey questions. A full discussion of our chosen research methods can be found here.
Mike has agreed to administer the surveys after the students return from Spring Break, and will have the results sent back to us around April 5th. This will be extremely helpful, as we will have the opportunity to learn more about the different students at Skyline and begin compiling the student feedback as data for the analysis of the surveys. Between now and then, our group will continue to do more research and further educate ourselves about the Williams Lake community and various studies regarding alternative education systems.
One important thing that Mike mentioned in our previous meeting was to be prepared to face changes in the direction of our research question and focus upon our arrival to Williams Lake. Specifically he talked about how our relationship and engagement with students on a personal level will contribute and potentially inspire other avenues of where we choose to explore. This will be a vital point to keep in mind, both as researchers and outsiders of the Williams Lake community. We should be adaptable to the unexpected changes that occur along the way throughout the entire research process.
Great to hear you’ll be able to collect lots of information before we go up to Williams Lake! Interesting issue to have to be careful about categorizing students for your survey and avoiding stereotypes. I was especially interested in how your group is currently trying to figure out to arrange students in focus groups. Though I can see disadvantages to having a diverse group in each group, you probably wouldn’t want the students to know how you grouped them (ethnically etc)! Looking forward to hearing more about your progress, and seeing what you decide for the focus groups!
This is a very impressive in-depth description of your methods thus far. It must be very exciting for you to have the opportunity to collect data before you go up there and refine your research even more. I also agree with you that using a variety of methods makes your research project very holistic (especially considering that your research question seems quite open ended, it’s good to have that flexibility). I am just curious about the transportation questions in your survey (partly because transportation and youth is my own group’s focus)- do you think Skyline would look into improving access to the program by addressing transportation barriers? All the best with the next steps of your research!