My digital storytelling action research project is based on a central storytelling activity that tests student partners’ sense of connectedness to each other. I selected specific research methodologies for a number of reasons.
- Theme: I wanted to match my methodologies to my overarching theme of storytelling and narration. A qualitative enquiry focused on text analysis seemed to be a good match for me align my methodology with my initial research question.
- Context: Working in a context of online education with a focus on guided learning, I wanted to make sure my research methodology could be designed and delivered in the same way, i.e. research findings were gathered through asynchronous means online.
- Practicality: I made use of methodologies that I was able to apply within the restricted timeframes of the action research project.
My research project activities include a number of learning tasks, to which I have assigned specific research methodologies as outlined below.
- Reviewing relevant project information, providing consent and reviewing activity instructions
As an initial tasks, participants were asked to review project information and provide their consent. Data gathered in this phase was excluded from any analysis.
- Exploring and contributing to a Padlet containing storytelling elements
I conducted a thematic analysis of Padlet submissions by extracting over 170 key words and then categorising these. For example, I was able to relate several contributions to the idea of spaces and architecture, and many with a sense of darkness or lightness. I also ran an internal session with staff to gather additional insights and seeing how my own analysis compared to those of my peers.
Exploring and contributing to a collective map of individual student partner stories
I then conducted a narrative analysis by extracting student parter stories, adding them to a Miro, and then going through each of them, line by line, looking for clues of connectedness between different stories, such as how participants made use of narrative styles or character development.
I was particular interested in seeing if there were any narrative elements that highlighted participant’s freedom of expression and individuality. Reading about narrative network analysis, I decided to review the different stories by highlighting three distinct themes:
- Constancy and change across time: such as routines, patterns, or the explicit development of an identity.
- Sameness versus difference: such as contrasting or comparable elements, e.g. different characters’ moral values.
- Agency: a strong sense of self as the actor or as the ‘undergoer’.
Bamberg (2012) highlights these three unique themes as particularly relevant in the development of identity through storytelling. I thought this approach was particularly relevant in my own analysis, given that I wanted to evaluate how storytelling might be able to create connectedness amongst a diverse group of students, but at the same time support their individuality and freedom of expression.
Similar to the thematic analysis exercise above, I then ran a short internal session with peers to see how my own analysis compared to that of other members of my team.
- Complete an activity evaluation
Finally, I asked all participating student partners to complete a research questionnaire containing 15 liker-scale and open-ended questions. Due to the relatively small number of students participating in the project, and data not being representative for a larger population of students, my methodology focused on qualitative data analysis. Although I drew conclusions by contrasting and comparing sets of data between students, I focused on the open-ended questions answered by students.
Bibliography
Bamberg, M. (2012). Narrative Practice and Identity Navigation. In: J.A. Holstein and J.F. Gubrium, eds., Varieties of Narrative Analysis. [online] Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications, Inc., pp.99–124. doi:https://doi.org/10.4135/9781506335117.