practice, practice, practice!

In this week's lab meeting, we ironed out questions from students about the research protocol and talked a bit about issues arising from the recordings of students' first practice interview.

Interviewing skills are complex; when interviewing we are required to attend to the human participants in front of us and treat them with respect and care. We are required to present in a professional manner and we are required to maintain the integrity of the data. All of this with someone who is a stranger to us and given our population, who may have physical or cognitive limitations which further test our interpersonal and academic skills. Volumes have literally been written on interviewing skills so it is no surprise that we too need to practice.

Personally, I know that my own interviewing skills were honed by doing hundreds of clinical interviews. It was like interviewing boot camp, in hindsight but it was invaluable. The more I did, the more comfortable I became with both the protocol and anything that the interview threw at me!

AES

Week 3 Summary

This has been a quiet week; students are reading about gerontology and qualitative research and are doing a practice interview with a friend. They are finally getting the hang of the article review form, and are starting to add in the relationship of the article with our study- wonderful practice for writing a dissertation or a journal article!

I would like to follow up on Dr. Sickel’s comments for the week. I totally agree with her that teaching the lab is a difficult form of multi-tasking! It rather feels like being a juggler – trying to keep all of the balls in the air at the same time. For me, the issue is that I tend to want to focus on the research aspect more and training the students in the methodology. But also important is the class portion and making sure the “experience” of the lab works and that students have the information and support that they need. Dr. S and I were talking about this yesterday and considering ways around the multitasking portion. One alternative we may try in the future is to have one person in charge of the classroom part and one person in charge of the research. Hard to always divide it up that neatly though.

I am also always planning ahead for lab meetings, such as next week we will do another conference call. The logistic issues are tricky, we tried using skype last time but it was hard to hear everyone and we ended up switching to the phone. Next week we are going to try skype again and if that does not work go to Yahoo Messenger, which has a call function. We need to avoid the phone if we can, because one of our students lives in Europe, and I do not want her to have to pay ridiculous amounts in phone charges.

Also in planning stages is preparing for the data collection that will be starting soon. I still need to set up a SPSS file for the quantitative data. We also need to make sure the syllabus for next quarter is ready and start working on the 3^rd quarter’s syllabus. I will be traveling for the next week, I am visiting family in Portland OR, and so we will see how good I am at juggling on the road.

Lee Stadtlander

Finding a groove...

This week for me, for whatever reasons, has felt a little all over the place. I think it is because we are now really starting to get into the day to day practice of our lab and research plan. We have the eCollege classroom which is really a lab space but of course still feels like a classroom but with different parameters and expectations than we typically have in our eCollege classrooms; we have this blog space; we have our contact with students both in the class and via Skype/calls and then there is the research study/design itself, around which these other entities revolve.

It is almost like I am trying to get comfortable with juggling these different and parallel cyber spaces which are related through their common goal - this research study but yet this blog does not directly correspond to the lab space.

I like the fact that our 'classroom' = lab is new to Walden and that we can use that eCollege space as we need it for our lab purposes (versus how a tradition course might be run) yet at the same time, all of these differences add up! My role in the lab is different from my role in classrooms. First, I have the pleasure of working with two esteemed colleagues in the lab. This is different; we don't get to co-teach in our regular instruction (but that is a neat idea, as I think about it!).

Second, while the lab is definitely and predominantly educational - it is not the same in content/demand as a 3 credit Walden course, by comparison. I review but don't always grade; I comment on some student work/participation but not always on everyone's discussion, for example. Imagine how overwhelming it might be to get discussion replies from three faculty each week!

As for this blog - I cannot say that I am comfortable yet, with using it but at the same time see its value in helping tease out current issues pertaining to the lab and research work.

As an adequately type-A individual, I like my routines and typically revel in them. The joy of my first cup of coffee at my desk each morning is surely one of life's finer things. I like my work space to be fairly orderly and I like to know due dates as to what is expected of me. I think my feelings of being 'all over the place' are related to these things; I am right now, outside of the box - outside of my usual comfort zone and it is taking a moment to find a new, if you will, comfort zone in this work. This is not a bad thing, mind you - I am just feeling particularly aware of it.

AES

Summary, Week 2

This week we had our first lab meeting / call. We had planned to do it on skype – but that did not work out – too much noise and we couldn’t hear some people. We moved it to a conference call on the phone – the negative is I can’t record it. The call went well and we had an opportunity to do a practice interview for the students – unrecorded. We plan to record a practice interview and post it in the classroom.

We asked the students this week to use an article review form (originally from C. Diebold), which helps them to organize their info about the article. We are planning in week 6 for the students to use the form as a basis for writing literature reviews of the articles they are reading. I have the form if any of our readers would like a copy.

The students read an article on gerontology and one on the ecomaps that we are using to track their social networks. We also asked them to look up their state laws on mandatory reporting for concerns about the elderly and worked up an action plan for informing the faculty of such concerns. The faculty will then assist if a report is needed to be filed.

We started something new this week in the lab - in which we assigned one faculty member as the primary instructor for the week. This week it was Marty Giles. I realized it is hard for me to give up control (not a surprise to those who know me, I am sure).  But it is nice to be able to look at the course from a broader angle rather than from the narrow instructor in charge one.  One issue I realized was developing is that a few students shifted from calling us Dr. as in Dr. Lee to just using our first name. I posted a request that they go back to the more formal version. I think it is important when we are working with students over 3 quarters that the line between supervisor and peer remain clear. The fact is that we are ones who would be penalized if students were not following the protocols established by the IRB and Walden - I want to make it very clear that we are in charge. Although we are open to suggestions, we have to have the final say in the project.

Lee Stadtlander

Research Design & Alignment

I must confess I really like what we are having students do in week two's discussion - where we are asking students to review and article by using answering a list of questions that tease out the key components of the research approach utilized in the article chosen. We will be discussing research design more formally in later sections of this lab, but these questions are a fantastic precursor for those discussions.

I teach research design and it is honestly one of my favorite courses to teach. This list of questions clearly helps the reader understand *what* is being done and *why* certain design elements or parts of the study were utilized. This list of questions gets at that issue of 'Alignment' (a term, by the way, I borrowed from Walden's residencies) in one's research design.

If we find, after having run through these questions, that our answers don't make sense (e.g. the gap in the literature does not 'match' with the research questions being asked or the variables being measured), we know the study lacks in alignment and may be questionable in design.

In my research design classes, I introduce this overall issue of alignment in the research process because it can be a very helpful road map for understanding a given study. If you attend a Walden residency in the future, you will likely come across this term of ‘alignment’. At times, we may find ourselves wondering why, for example, a particular researcher chose the questions, variables, measures, sample, or analyses he/she chose. Careful consideration of these individual study parts can reveal that all of these parts *should* be connected to the social problem and the gap in the literature that initiated the study in the first place! It is just like a puzzle and can (hopefully) be pieced together.

AES

Week 2- Thoughts

 This week we have our first conference call lab meeting- which is exciting! We are going to try it on skype, mostly because it is much easier for me to record it that way. Also, it gives the students the ability to add another skill to their research tool box of using skype.

I will interview Dr. Giles on the call, I am sure that it will be a tough interview! J  We have done this before, and she loves to throw some strange things at me to deal with. This week we will focus on students learning interview skills during the call – so how to keep the interviewee focused but comfortable with the questions and while being respectful. Also, we will provide examples of a passing and failing Mini Mental Status Exam, and what to do if the person fails it.

Students are learning about gerontology this week in the lab and will read an article about the ecomaps that we will use to understand their social networks. I read and graded the journal papers that were handed in last week, and students seem satisfied so far with the way the lab is going. We had some great reflections and suggestions for the first week.

Lee Stadtlander

Thoughts

I am constantly amazed by the way students see different things in the same material. This week the research assistants (students) had to read a journal article on the oldest old or on virtual labs. Each student pulled something out of the article that resonated with them. Some of the areas they raised, I had not ever considered. It seems that each of us comes to research with our own history, which influences how we see the research project and the readings related to the project. I wonder if so many eyes hinder or help? Do new viewpoints enrich a project or do they delute the focus?

I am not sure what the answer is as yet. I think it will become more clear as we go. My bias is that it will enhance the project. And yes, that would be a hypothesis...but for now it will stay a bias.

I do realize that it will be up to the Primary Investigators to ensure the project stays on track, but it will also be important that we allow for new ways of looking at the project with encouragement. Those new ideas may not happen in this project, but perhaps in future ones.
Just some thoughts
MG

Lab Summary of Week 1

This week students were introduced to the project through reading the grant application and IRB application. They were also required to read the Hinck (2004) qualitative article on the oldest old.

In the first discussion question of the week, students were asked to consider what their goals are for the project, what they hope to gain and their concerns. A number of students expressed concern over doing statistics and trying to fit the research requirements in with their normal class work, and family obligations. Some were worried about working with others in the virtual lab setting and that it would be similar to the notorious “group work” of classes. One person mentioned a concern of interviewing people he/she did not know, while another student question whether he/she would be able to deal with unexpected occurrences.

In the second discussion question the students were asked to comment on the Hinck (2004) article. One student indicated that the article reminded her of her childhood and listening to her grandparents and older relatives. It was determined that the article expressed several things that were important to the oldest old: home, the presence of one's personal physical condition, the role of one's physical condition in impacting daily functioning, the importance of balancing physical needs and staying in own home, and the role of social support in allowing the above 'balance' to happen. One student also commented on the fatigue seen in this age group and the need to provide breaks.

Several people commented on the author’s use of photos as a basis for interviews and we had a discussion about their possible use in studies and the ethics issues that arise with photos. A student brought up the issue that Hinck (2004) had all Caucasians in the sample group, which resulted in a discussion of the lack of diversity seen in this age group and the difficulty in recruiting minorities.

Behind the scenes we have been preparing for our first lab meeting on skype. We are going to have one faculty member interview the other for the students. We have become aware that are really 2 different aspects of research interviewing we need to train: 1) interviewing skills, in terms of keeping the person on track and using clarifying questions and 2) research skills that allow the researcher to make sure the question has been answered. We have decided to do 2 separate example interviews (one in week 2 and one in week 4) that will highlight the different skills each week. We have also clarified the role of each of the faculty members in teaching the class.

Hinck, S. (2004). The lived experience of oldest-old rural adults. Qualitative Health Research, 14, 779-791.

About perfection...

In reading the posts from our lab this week, students are discussing goals and anticipated challenges and one student's post mentioned 'perfectionism' which struck a chord with me both personally and because I think it is a pretty important construct as we discuss research work.

Perfectionism, in my humble opinion and observation, often gets in the way of actually being able to complete projects for some and yet striving for it is really desirable in the detailed world of research work. I think I got hired for a research position once largely because one of the hiring faculty was impressed with the detail of my then CV and its lack of typos and errors. In this case, my own perfectionism had a positive result but certainly this can be a vicious cycle!

I see the quest for perfection play out regularly in my mentoring work. Making mistakes, struggling, and having to work harder at certain parts of our lives makes sense to me--this is poignantly depicted in our dissertation process. You have likely heard at least one person say: 'If it were easy, everyone would have a doctorate'.

So how do we find and accept a balance in this tension, such that we don't make ourselves a wreck in the process? I am still looking for helpful answers here myself, but am thinking that one way to work with this is to look at the signs...our friends, our colleagues, our family, our work product, not to mention, ourselves to take the pulse and in fact measure that balance. When we are off balance - we need to recalibrate. Students in our lab candidly note things about the project that are new/uncertain; I respectfully want to say that your awareness and even apprehension are great and totally normal. This information is useful and helps alert you to all of the exciting things this opportunity can bring. So long as you don't obsess over them ;-)

AES

Different Atmosphere

Building a bit upon what Dr. Lee said: I am so excited about the introductions in the "lab". In so many courses, intro seem to be about how smart, or accomplished, or experienced, or (you fill in the word) the student is. In this lab, students are
talking to each other... sharing both strengths and weakness', sharing photo's, and generally getting to know one another. Everyone seems to be saying that they are here to work and learn, not only from faculty but from one another. It is so refreshing and exciting to see.

MG

Week 1, Tuesday, thoughts

Officially, the lab started yesterday and we have had everyone check in and introduce themselves. I like the way people are working as a team already and offering each other support. Many students have posted photos of their pets and loved ones - which helps us appreciate who they are beyond just a name.

We have already had a few people start posting in the discussions. I really want students to critically analyze the articles that they are reading and think about implications for future research. Personally, I think considering how you could extend the research is one of the most enjoyable aspects of reading a professional journal article. It feels creative and more like play to me than work. I like to consider new methods and if they would work in my areas of interest and what that might look like.

I think one of the things that is hardest for students to understand is that research is not always serious - that it is ok to begin a design by "playing" - thinking about alternatives and what might happen. I think that is one of the problems with only reading finished, published studies and not having the opportunity to do one of your own - it leads you to believe that researchers knew exactly where they were going from step 1 - which is totally not true! You should play with the theory and design: think about ways people might respond with a qualitative approach with interviews - then what would happen if you used a quantitative survey - how could you do that? What different information would you get? What populations could you use? If others have used adolescents what would happen if you used a different group? This is the time and place in research to be creative and get in the research "sandbox" :)

Lee Stadtlander

Thoughts on Teaching a Lab

Students have started showing up in the lab - it is exciting to finally be getting the project started. This seems like a good point to talk a little about what faculty should consider in teaching a research lab like this. I have conducted similar in-person labs and while there is some similarity, there are also some issues unique to the online environment. In-person there was less of a class structure, students were assigned specific tasks and I made sure they understood enough about the project to do their task; I was available in person to help with any issues that came up. Online students are much more isolated and have a variety of levels of knowledge so it is more important to have a class in which to "bring them together" and have a mechanism to train them to handle any problem on their own. The students feel more like co-researchers and less like subordinates.

There is the need for preplanning and preparation of materials. In the current manifestation of the lab, the faculty members need to design the syllabus and set up the course. They need to have the IRB approval and all materials in place - otherwise students are wasting time waiting. It is the faculty's responsibility to make sure all IRB training has been completed by students and any additional paperwork is in. I strongly recommend having students sign a contract so they know what you are expecting from them and issues such as data ownership and publication issues are discussed. We have examples if anyone wants one - we incorporate it into our application for being a research assistant.

Organization is critical, you need to keep track of who has returned what forms, which recordings have been submitted and checked, who needs more training or closer supervision. I have several spreadsheets going all of the time with lists of students and notes on issues. I dedicate a flash drive to each project for all of the data so I can keep track of which recordings have been transcribed, submitted to the transcriptionist, and been analyzed. I keep them in separate folders on the flash drive. I try to enter quantitative data in SPSS as it comes in, otherwise it is easy to miss things.

I think it works well to have at least 2 faculty members on the project and in the lab - particularly with qualitative studies with interview recordings. It takes a lot of time to train the students in interviewing and requires listening to many practice recordings and giving feedback. Also, all participant interviews need to be checked so students can be informed if there are problems (and there are always some!). We always assign a faculty member to specific tasks so it is clear to everyone who has to be in charge of what.

A strong active presence by faculty in the classroom is essential. Students need and are looking for leadership in the unfamiliar environment of a research project. They feel very isolated but want to do a good job- so you want them to always be aware that you are there, available for questions, and have them feel accountable for their commitments to the project. Otherwise, the project will not be finished or data will be compromised. Have a discussion (and printed materials) on how to handle unforeseen issues while working with participants (critical with protected populations such as the elderly).

I think we have worked out a lot of the bugs in teaching a lab, but I am sure some new things will arise over the next 3 quarters. To echo Dr, Sickel - this is a unique, cutting edge opportunity, and I am really grateful to have the opportunity to be involved!

Lee Stadtlander

Starting in our Classroom Space

I just posted an introduction in our research lab classroom and it sunk in a bit more, as to how *unique* it is that we will all get to work together toward these research goals in this capacity. Not only is this new to Walden and perhaps most/all online universities, but after attending a recent alumni event at my alma mater, I see that brick and mortar schools are trying to jump on this, the use of eClassrooms and social media for research purposes, bandwagon.

At this alumni event, I was struck by how cutting edge not only Walden truly is but how particularly true that is for this lab. Indeed, use of online learning 'portals' as noted in this Chronicle article (see: http://chronicle.com/article/Online-Learning-Portals-/127694/?sid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en) are increasing so I expect we will see more of these online labs within short time.

That same Chronicle also mentions the use of blogs for graduate students (see: http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/announcing-gradhacker/33741?sid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en) and I certainly would have liked access to a blog when I was in school. My husband is considering buying a new car and has been following blogs on the fuel economy reported by current owners of that car, to get additional data to help his decision. It is a whole new world, almost every day it seems ;-)

So I feel excited on the one hand about starting this project and on the other, I feel honored to be among the pioneers in online research labs. It is an invigorating time to be here!

AES