Author: Melissa Peterson-Malen
Title: Selecting Mixed Methods, Including Narrative Research Methodology, to Investigate
Advocate Experience of Learning to Advocate for Students with Attention Issues
Poster Abstract
This paper aims to solicit feedback and discussion from viewers regarding the use of
mixed methods, specifically a quantitative survey and narrative research, to investigate the
learning experience of advocates of students with attention issues. Feedback on this poster/paper
will be used to refine a doctoral research proposal on this topic. The concepts of “advocates of
students with attention issues” and “narrative research” in the context of an educational setting
will be defined and an outline of the research proposal will be offered for discussion. The
proposal will include discussion regarding the importance of the study and a rationale for
selecting a mixed methods approach that includes narrative research methodology. In addition, a
description of the study follows that includes the population, size, and how information will be
collected and analyzed. Finally, possible limitations and further potential problems in the
proposed research study will be outlined for the purpose of gathering viewer feedback.
Paper for Poster Presentation
Purpose:
This paper/poster has been developed for the purpose of generating viewer feedback on a
doctoral research proposal. The writer is a doctoral student in the process of finalizing the
dissertation research proposal and would like to gather feedback on the idea, choice of
methodology, proposed research plan and limitations as well as potential implications of the
proposed study. Clearly, the writer is still in the exploratory and learning stage and would
appreciate discussion that would contribute to refining this proposal in a way that might optimize
the success of a dissertation based on this research proposal.
Research Proposal:
The research proposal includes using a mixed methods approach designed to gather
quantitative and qualitative data that can be used to develop a deeper understanding of the
experience of advocates as they learn to advocate for students with attention issues in school.
Attention issues refer to behaviors that students demonstrate such as inattentiveness,
distractibility and hyperactivity. Although the identification of these behaviors can be used as a
basis for ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) diagnosis, students with attention
issues do not necessarily have ADHD.
A depth of literature indicates that two sets of resources are tapped by advocates as they
learn about students with attention issues. The two sets of resources are distinguished by the
accessibility of each set, by the diversity of information in each set and by an orientation toward
medicalized or non-medicalized treatment of attention issues. For example, the major set of
resources which is widely available and offers information about the most common influence on
inattentive behavior, ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), and includes behavioral
characteristics such as inattentiveness, distractibility and hyperactivity. Resources about typical
medical treatment approaches for inattentive behavior are also widely available. The second or
minor set of resources is less widely available to advocates, includes information about a diverse
set of influences on inattentive behavior and does not focus mainly on medical approaches to
treating inattentive behaviors.
Defining this gap the literature has led to the emergence of a hypothesis that theorizes
that if the minor set of resources was more widely available, advocates would survey several
influences on inattentive behavior and may be less likely to initially select a medical route to
treating inattentive behaviors. An inherent benefit to students would be a decrease in
misdiagnosis and over-diagnosis of ADHD. Investigation of this hypothesis would involve a
quantitative survey to discover what resources advocates report finding and using to support their
learning. The second part of this study involves using a qualitative approach to further
understand the experience advocates of students with attention issues use as they learn to become
advocates. Further, using a narrative research approach to understanding the experience of a
sample of survey participants would provide insight into the experience that advocates have as
they locate resources and learn about inattentive students. The combination of using a survey to
provide information about what resources advocates locate and using narrative research to
understand their experience in doing so will offer rich research that can be used to improved
adult education of advocates of students with attention issues in school.
Advocates of Students with Attention Issues: Definition
Advocates of students with attention issues in the school system are usually parents who
become advocates in response to the child’s need for support and a call for parental involvement
from the school. Advocates are confronted with many challenges, the foremost is to learn to
advocate for a child who is often viewed by teachers and peers as unruly, disrespectful and
underachieving. Major resources regarding inattentive behavior support advocates in navigating
special education services and educational planning, as well as medical assessment and
diagnosis, are very useful to advocates. Major resources are referred to advocates by advocacy
organizations such as PACER Center and the Institute on Community Integration. However, a
set of minor resources exists that is not readily accessible to advocates yet these resources can be
applied in practice and contribute to the improvement of inattentive student behavior and
achievement in school. Minor resources present information about inattentive behavior on
topics such as misdiagnosis of ADHD and conditions that contribute to inattentive student
behavior such as giftedness, learning disabilities, physiology, and environment (Baum &
Olenchak, 2002; Bental & Tirosh, 2007; Haber (2003), Johnson-Gros, 2007; Konofal et al.,
2008; Mota-Castillo, 2007; National Institute of Mental Health, 2008; Piechowski, 1991;
Renzulli, Smith, Callahan, White, & Hartman, 1976; & Richardson, 2006).
Narrative Research: Definition
“Experience is the stories people live. People live stories, and in the telling of these
stories, reaffirm them, modify them, and create new ones. Stories lived and told educate the self
and others, including the young and those such as researchers who are new to their
communities”. (Clandinin and Connelly, 1994).
Narrative research does not take a positivistic approach and thus does not aim to disprove
a hypothesis or define a characteristic of an experience as generalizable in the way that
positivistic research aims to collect data to use to generalize and predict future behavior. The
purpose and ultimate value of narrative research is to facilitate the meeting of an individual's
story with the reader thereby creating an opportunity for the reader to engage with the story and
experience the individual’s story and reactions. Narrative research creates a forum where the
reader can reflect on the story and construct meaning by interpreting the story in the context of
his or her experience, beliefs, and educative goals. Epistemology in the context of Narrative
Research remains individualistic and constructivist because knowledge and justified belief are
constructed as the reader reflects on his own set of beliefs and experiences as he or she gets close
to the individual’s experience and interprets the narrative. This process of interpreting the
narrative results in meaningful knowledge construction by the reader. The goal of obtaining
absolute knowledge that relies on having true facts and data that can be used in a scientific way
to predict or explain phenomena is not a purpose for narrative research. I agree with Phillips that
"the importance of a narrative or story does not depend on its being true." (Phillips, 1994)
Widely respected authorities on narrative research, Clandinin and Connelly wrote
Narrative Inquiry (2000) which stands as a comprehensive resource in narrative research
literature. A brief, non-exhaustive review of narrative authors presented in this book and found
in the literature is:

Geertz, anthropology: Patterns of change narratives tell about accounts of connections
among things

Bruner, education: Theory of learning --active, social, constructivist, experiential and
narrative research looks at experience as situated in culture and contributing to the
learning process

Bateson, anthropology: Continuity results from adaptation to change

Czarniawska, organizational research : Narrative is heuristic device, used to understand
organizations

Coles, psychiatry: Narrative unifies psychiatry with life and teaching

Polkinghorne, counseling psychology: constructs a theory of narrative practice based on
what practitioners do

Barone, arts based educational research: Purpose is formative and best researched using
NR rather than traditional social science research

Ellis, social science & education: Autoethnography and ethnography and discussion
about how determine when narrative qualifies as research

Phillips, education: A critic comparing NR with opposing interpretivists perspespectives
and presenting criteria for judging a good narrative
Research Methods
Selection of Participants
Participants for the survey will be selected from a 384-member group on the social
networking site, LinkedIn. The group is owned by the researcher and is called “Advocates of
Students with Attention Issues.”
(http://www.linkedin.com/groups?viewMembers=&gid=2342947&sik=1301688180608) These
group members have selected themselves into the group. All members will be invited to take the
survey. Participants for the narrative research interviews will be also be selected from this
group.
Data Collection and Analysis
Survey data will be collected from the 384 members of the LinkedIn group, Advocates of
Students with Attention Issues. Narrative research interviews will be conducted with 4
individuals from this group. Data for the survey will be analyzed using standard statistical
analysis and outcomes will indicate what resources advocates truly locate. Comparison findings
and the hypothesis will occur to determine if advocates truly do not readily locate the minor set
of resources. The narrative research will be analyzed and used to construct a narrative of
advocate experience.
Limitations and Concerns
There are many, the primary being can this study be executed as a doctoral dissertation?
Is it possible to do both the survey and the narrative research in a reasonable amount of time?
Should I only do the survey? How can I design the most effective approach to collecting
narrative research data? What are additional limits of using a social networking group as a
population from which to draw a sample?
References
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