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CHAPTER FOUR: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
In the first cycle the focus groups followed the drama lessons by one or
two days, this was introduced so the younger participants of these lessons
should not be too exhausted after the two hour sessions, but this also gave
them time to reflect on their experience. In the second cycle the focus groups
were conducted immediately following the final session, because of logistical
reasons. In these cases online guestionnaire made it possible for participants
to have time for further reflection.
Questionnaire
Anonymous questionnaires were used to ensure that all participants in
every lesson got the opportunity to give feedback and to help identify central
moments of each drama lesson. The survey was different in the first cycle and
the second, while it contained more Likert scale items and a few open-ended
questions with younger participants in the first cycle, the questionnaire for
the secondary school age-group contained more space for detailed responses.
The variation between different types of questions made it possible to get
results in different spheres of the research.*”? The questionnaires were filled in
by students at the end of the series of lessons to reflect on the whole sequence
rather than just individual lessons. In most cases time for completing the forms
was scheduled into the lesson, but unfortunately it was not possible to
complete the filling in of the form in some cases when we ran out of time. These
questionnaires were collected by teachers and handed over to me. I explored
the use of online questionnaires with some groups of secondary students.
While the return rate was somewhat lower in these cases, the data provided
by participants was much more in quantity and more refined in quality.
In the first cycle, where the focus group interviews followed the lesson by one
or two days, the interesting reflections or particular tendencies appearing in
the questionnaires could be investigated further in the focus groups.
Observation — Video Recordings
The research included data from two kinds of observation. Where it was possible
I asked teachers known by the participant group to observe the lesson and
give feedback. Teachers were specifically asked to not intervene in the lessons
and their reflections were collected as interviews at the end of the sessions.
The teacher-observers had no experience of drama, with exception of one
case which is indicated in the table of lesson details above. Neelands used this
method in drama research because he believed “these observers will give me
53 Gordon Rugg — Marion Petre: A Gentle Guide to Research Methods, Berkshire, Open
University Press, 2007, 151.
+ 164 +