ABSTRACT
The purpose of this chapter is to demonstrate some of the pedagogical tools that can be used and adapted in pedagogical action research. The chapter is presented in two sections. The first section is based on the author’s research experience of adapting both qualitative and quantitative instruments that have already been published. The second section describes two of the author’s own questionnaire-based tools which are illustrated by colleagues’ case studies.
In section 1 the advantages and disadvantages of using published questionnaires are discussed, followed by advice on how to adapt quantitative instruments. In adapting qualitative measures, the author demonstrates how a published interview methodology can be adapted to an open-ended questionnaire method.
In section 2, the author describes two of her research tools that readers are invited to use in their own context. Online. Available at: www.linnorton.co.uk/research-instruments (accessed 10 April 2018). The first of these is known as the ‘Ideal***Inventory.’ It is a flexible instrument that can be used to generate dimensions of interest, represented by the asterisks, as well as a rating measure. An example is given of how to construct the Inventory using a six-step process, and potential applications for its use both as a teaching and a research tool are discussed. The second tool is called the ‘Essay Feedback Checklist’ which can also be used for pedagogical and research purposes. It was designed to help students improve their essays by enabling tutors to give targeted feedback and by giving students practice at judging the quality of their own work before it is marked.
