Having completed a pilot of the four inquiry tools, I am now able to evaluate the merits and limitations of each one. From conducting the pilots I have been able to see which of the tools may be appropriate for my inquiry. In order to help me decide, I am going to evaluate how effective each tool was in helping to answer my questions.
SURVEY: I created my pilot survey using http://www.surveymonkey.com/ and the questions focused on participants current careers compared to their ideal career goals. It focused on how likely they were to undergo career transition and tried to find out the main reasons why dancers may want to undergo career transition.
Merits:
· I found the process of creating the survey (using http://www.surveymonkey.com/) quick and easy. The website guides the user through the process and it is free to create a basic survey.
· Due to the fact that my survey was created on the internet meant that it could then be easily accessed by others to take part. I posted the link to my blog and to the BAPP facebook page, meaning that I got a good number of responses. In just a couple of weeks 21 people from this course completed the survey, meaning that my results and more rounded and fair. This was just by posting the link in two places. I feel confident that I can use this tool to reach many more people during my inquiry as I can send the link to more people and allow a longer time period for people to answer it.
· The survey was also good as it allowed for a variety of different types of questions including; multiple choice, comment boxes and rating scales. This meant that my results were both quantative and qualitative.
Limitations:
· People skipping some questions means that results may not be fair. A few people skipped the responses in the comment boxes so some results were lacking an explanation. During my actual inquiry I am going to use the option to make some questions which can’t be skipped in order to make results as fair as possible.
· A survey is limited for results with expanded explanations. Even though there is the option for comment boxes, people do not tend to leave long answers. This could be a limitation if you were looking for a lot of qualitative data.
INTERVIEW: For my pilot interview I interviewed a friend of mine who is currently attempting to undergo career transition from dancer to television actress. I used a semi- structured approach and the areas of discussion focused on; Why she wants to transition, the obstacles she is facing, how she plans to get to her ideal career goal and her views on whether someone undergoing transition should continue to work in their previous area or industry.
Merits:
· It was useful to talk to someone on a one on one basis as you can go deeper in to their individual ideas much more than you can with a general survey
· The semi structured approach meant that I could be spontaneous with some of my questions if the interviewee brought up something of interest which was relevant to explore but it still gave a structure which meant I could get back to my questions at any time. This also meant that we covered all my planned questions in the interview without getting too much off the point.
· I recorded the interview using a Dictaphone so I didn’t have to spend the whole time writing notes. This allowed me to focus on the responses I was getting so I could effectively steer the interview depending on what she was saying.
· This tool was also good as the interviewee did not feel intimidated as there was no one else in the room unlike during a focus group. I was able to give her my full attention without having to worry about controlling a whole group of people.
· It was easy to organise the interview as she lives close to me. We met on neutral ground at a coffee shop to ensure that she felt as comfortable and relaxed as possible.
Limitations:
· Compared to creating and sending out a survey, the process was quite time consuming. We had to arrange the meeting around a week in advance due to both of our busy schedules. I also had to allow travel time in to my day and time afterwards to listen to my recording and then make notes. The process took a lot more time than the survey and I only had one person’s answers at the end compared to a large number of responses after the survey. However, the responses were much more comprehensive and insightful.
· I sometimes found it hard to maintain professionalism due to the fact that I was interviewing a friend. It was hard not to slip into a friendly chat and steer the conversation back to my questions.
· It was hard to maintain objectivity when talking in person as often the person can see your opinions through your expression and reaction even if you do not say exactly what you think. This could then influence their answers even if they are not aware of it.
OBSERVATION: For my pilot observation I observed fellow participants during a day presenting course I was on. I focused on looking at how their previous or current career affected their skills as a presenter, both favourably and adversely. The results were useful in highlighting the skills necessary to be a good presenter and the likelihood of a successful transition from various careers.
Merits:
· This tool was effective as you can see things from a firsthand perspective.
· It is the only tool which doesn’t rely on other people’s opinions, but instead allows you to analyse their behaviour. This was useful as sometimes people do things they aren’t necessarily aware of. If they were asked which skills they gained from their previous career best help them as a presenter they may not necessarily know. However, just by watching the other participants and comparing them to each other I was able to clearly see which skills they had acquired and which were necessary to come across as a good presenter.
· I used an overt observation, meaning that I informed the participants beforehand that I would be observing them for academic purposes. They all consented and this didn’t seem to affect their behaviour. I felt it was more important to take ethical considerations.
Limitations:
· There is a risk when using an overt observation that it will affect the behaviour of the participants. However, then there is the dilemma that conducting a covert observation may be ethically wrong.
· As a participant on the course myself it was sometimes hard to record the data from my observations as I was also concentrating on making sure it didn’t affect my learning on the day. I had to record my observations during the breaks which meant that some information may have been missed.
FOCUS GROUP: To pilot this tool I arranged a focus group with 6 friends who I trained with at college. All were trained dancers but I tried to include people with a variety of careers and ideal goals. Three of the participants were happy with their careers as a dancer but the other three were all looking to already undergo career transition, either into television, acting or management. During the discussion we focused on why they did/did not want to undergo transition, the main obstacles they were facing, how they saw their ideal future, the importance of being happy in your career and the way they felt their experiences during training has affected what they want to do.
Merits:
· Due to the number of people there I was able to gather a variety of opinions and ideas rather than the view of just one person like in an interview.
· Individuals were able to bounce off other people in the group leading to a more dynamic discussion
Limitations:
· A large number of different personalities meant that some people’s opinions may have been lost or swallowed up in the discussion
· The conversation tended to go round in circles rather than reaching any solid conclusions
· It was much harder to steer the discussion back to my questions with this number of people
· It was a time consuming process to organise everyone getting together at a convenient time
· It was hard to record the discussion as even though everyone said their name on the Dictaphone before we began, it was still hard to differentiate between the voices when listening to the recording
· The discussion moved too quickly to make any detailed notes
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