Teacher Inquiry: Analyzing Data

Note: The following blog is the final installment of a three-part series on teacher inquiry.

In previous blogs, we covered how to design and launch a teacher inquiry and ways to collect data. In this final blog of the series, I will recommend various methods to analyze your data or findings. The purpose of this phase is to make sense of what you have found so you can then take action on your new knowledge. Gathering lots of data and trying to study it can be confusing and challenging—but you can develop approaches that assist you in breaking down this information and better understanding it. Since we are mainly dealing with qualitative research data collection methods (e.g., interviewing, observation notes, reflections), I will provide suggestions that fit that type of data. Just be aware that there are many ways to analyze data, and these are just suggestions.

Dana and Yendol-Hoppey (2009) recommend a four-step process for teachers to analyze data. First, read and reread your data to become familiar with it, to get a descriptive sense of the data. What do you notice? What are your initial insights? Next, begin making sense of the data by asking questions such as "what parts of the data stand out?" and "how do pieces of the data fit together?" At this point, you may find it useful to physically cut out data on strips of paper and arrange and rearrange them. Personally, I prefer to highlight data bits on a Word document and work electronically, but physically working with data may work better for you. You then move into categorization of these data pieces; it may help to label or name the categories as you develop them. For instance, within your data set, you may create a category called "student talking" as you study information about an inquiry on transitions in the classroom. The final step involves interpreting the categories and constructing statements based on those categories that express what you have learned and what it means. For example, based on the category "student talking" and perhaps another category called "lost time", you may write a statement student talking causes the loss of time during transitions. This would be known as a theme. With this discovery, you could then create a plan of action to change your current transition methods or perhaps further research transition methods that might better help you reduce wasted time.

There exist additional ways to represent or illustrate your findings, which can help make sense of them. These methods include metaphors, diagrams, narratives, drawings and vignettes. For instance, I find it extremely helpful to map out findings to determine possible relationships between my themes. By visualizing arranging them, I often begin to see hierarchical structures and other connections. Another analysis method involves looking for "what’s missing" (Bogdan & Taylor, 1975), that is, what you don’t see within the data. Maybe when studying transitions, you notice certain elements are absent, such as goal-setting or motivation. This now informs your practice and enables you to create a plan of action.

In wrapping up this series on teacher inquiry, I want to emphasize the importance of making inquiry a regular part of your practice. Developing wonderments, collecting data and studying that data so you can use that knowledge to improve your craft can become a way of life. With practice, it can become as natural as managing the classroom, planning instruction, etc. The choice is yours. I hope you see the many benefits.