Well, I have reached the point in the research process involving data analysis and how to display my data. I have spent most of the last week trying to make sense of all of the data that I have collected over the past 10 weeks, and I am starting to think that this is by far the hardest part of this project. I have been asking myself so many questions pertaining to my data analysis, and am hoping that as I continue to play with different ideas and ways to display my results I will figure it out. Not only am I confused as to how I will compile and summarize my data, but even after reading our APA manual, I am struggling with how to display it in my paper. Initially I entered all of my data from the teacher surveys into an excel file and converted it into a bar graph. My problem now is that I am not sure what the bar graph is actually showing me. My thought is that I have to display this data in a way that shows if my student made growth or not according to his teachers. In order for this data to be meaningful to my project I believe that I have to separate the questions stated positively and those stated negatively. For example, one question on the survey is "The student generally displays positive behavior in my class" while another is "The student frequently disrupts my class." Maybe I will give each answer from strongly agree to strongly disagree a numeric value and go from there.
Another idea I have is to use pie graphs for each question highlighting which areas were effected by the intervention. I could then compare the baseline survey results with the survey given after the intervention. Although this seems to me like an easier way to see the data, I think it is too much. Luckily I have figured out a better way to compile my other data I have collected including my student's daily logs, points system, and feelings charts. My goal to to show any trends or relationships between his behavior and the intervention that I put into place. Even though I believe that my intervention was worth while and helped my student to control his own behavior through self-reflection, I can not wait to see what my data will tell me. My hope is that the data will back up what I believe to be true, but even if the results are not what I expect, I have learned so much during this process. Stay tuned for my data analysis and how I decided to display my data!
"Nothing could be worse than the fear that one had given up too soon, and left one unexpended effort that might have saved the world." - Jane Addams
Another idea I have is to use pie graphs for each question highlighting which areas were effected by the intervention. I could then compare the baseline survey results with the survey given after the intervention. Although this seems to me like an easier way to see the data, I think it is too much. Luckily I have figured out a better way to compile my other data I have collected including my student's daily logs, points system, and feelings charts. My goal to to show any trends or relationships between his behavior and the intervention that I put into place. Even though I believe that my intervention was worth while and helped my student to control his own behavior through self-reflection, I can not wait to see what my data will tell me. My hope is that the data will back up what I believe to be true, but even if the results are not what I expect, I have learned so much during this process. Stay tuned for my data analysis and how I decided to display my data!
"Nothing could be worse than the fear that one had given up too soon, and left one unexpended effort that might have saved the world." - Jane Addams
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