Having scrutinized and finally outlined a
question that still needs refining I am going to pilot my tools of inquiry. I
need to test these tools so that when I conduct my inquiry I not only can
gather the most beneficial results but also document and reflect upon them. All
with be prepared and completed ethically subject to the place and people taking
part.
Pilot
Questionnaire
Even though this is a less personal way to
research I can collect a larger amount of data with in a shorter time. Surveys
can take 2 minutes to fill in and the data can easily be put into graphs and
percentages. I have to risk that questions maybe left incomplete and people may
misinterpret the question but I feel that statistics are a good piece of
evidence.
I have chosen to use Survey Monkey and have
posted it to everyone with in my SIG and all affiliations.
Pilot Interview
Being a
qualitative method it enables flexibility in the questions that I ask and I am
able to explain if the interviewee does not understand. The questions need to
be structured fittingly to gather honest and non-bias answers. Even though the
interviews will be time consuming and more complicated recording and using the
results I feel they will contribute to my inquiry.
I have made a
content form that the interviewee must complete before the interview
commencing. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eNDcobg4-YMt-uDCVDV2-8EFL25x2REowBw2YKXJfjM/edit
Below are a few
questions that I would like to ask, it will be semi-structured which allows for
discussion. Depending on the answers alters the following question.
Has your performance face always been natural to you
or something that you have had to concentrate on?
Do you have a technique behind your performance?
What do you think makes a good performance?
Was acting classes integrated into you professional
training?
Have you ever used your life experiences to create a
character on stage?
Would you consider acting classes to enhance your
performance as a dancer?
Focus Group
Being on a ship
and having limited internet I do face the problem of creating a focus group.
However I do life on a ship with 15 other dancers, from all over the world,
with different training backgrounds, different experiences and all of different
ages. It would be a waste not to get all these people in one room to share
ideas. It allows me to explore everyone’s opinions on a subject everyone is
currently practicing.
I will use the
same questions that I use for the interview and again put forward the questions
that fit in with the answers I receive.
Observation
I am struggling
to complete or trial an observation while on the ship. I am going to think
further into this. I would ideally watch a specific acting class for dancers
and look into the effects. Even participate in the class myself. However I do
not have access to such a class. Any ideas would be welcome baring in mind my
current situation.
Once I have
gathered the results I need to analyse and preserve the data, honestly and in
the most beneficial way.
Great blog post Kimberly. Your emphasis on testing and piloting tools is an important one. We need to be making mistakes in the pilot so that our inquiry runs as smooth as possible.
ReplyDeleteGood work!
Ahmet
Good skype discussion Kimberly - I think relating what you have been finding out about what makes a good performer to a new teaching role in Norfolk sounds really interesting - regions do have differing practice and you can now use your issues about acting and performance training in a comparison with how practitioners see those issue in that region/area/space/sector. You mentioned that you had experienced some of those differences yourself - and I think many practitioners do when they move around. In the US 'regions' are important because the bigger cities are even more distant. Liam was talking abut the difference that the BBC was making to the Manchester area. Great - writie it up and send me a draft plan...
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