Adjusting to the online environment

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Chapter 3 Research design and methodology

 Introduction

The research problem emphasises the necessity to know what different roles the online facilitator needs to play in the online environment as well as to identify which competencies the online facilitator needs to function in the online environment. The intellectual puzzle (Mason, 2002:13) is presented in the form of the research question, the research objectives and subsidiary questions. A research strategy and research design are created to address the research questions. Observer participant observation, various written texts, a face-to-face interview and a group focus interview were selected as data collection methods. Each method, with its corresponding data collection instrument, is described in terms of objectives, preparatory work, advantages, disadvantages and corrective measures put in place to counteract the disadvantages. All data gathered was in preparation for the pivotal Work Profiling System session, which is described in detail in Chapter 4. To ensure trustworthiness and authenticity in the study, member checks, peer reviews, crystallization and investigator triangulation were employed. The chapter ends with information on the various assistants used by the researcher, their duties and preparation for their respective tasks.

Research problem and motivation for the study

The implementation of online learning has forced organisations to change their way of work. Dobbs (2000a) poses a warning about the implementation of online learning. The perceptions of the advantages of Internet technologies for training have motivated organisations to rush to adopt online learning regardless of whether they had a clear reason to do so (and no one wanted to find out what was happening, but no one dared to get left behind). The core problem of this study is that classroom facilitators, instructors and trainers are nervous to take the step toward online facilitation, as they do not know what is expected of them in this new online environment. It implies that traditional trainers need to step outside their comfort zone into a relatively new territory and the trainers need help in this area (Xebec McGraw-Hill, 2001:13). Trainers have always played a vital role in the learning arena and the introduction of Internet-driven learning methods should complement what trainers’ offer, not eliminate the need for them.
It is for this reason that it is imperative to know what the online facilitator does in terms of fulfilling various roles to increase visibility as well as to identify which competencies the online facilitator needs to function in the online environment. The suitable person needs to be selected for this role.

Purpose and objectives of the study

The purpose of this research, as was stated in Chapter 1, is to identify what different roles the online facilitator plays in the online environment in order to be able to identify which competencies the online facilitator needs to function in the online environment.
Given the purpose, the objectives are inter alia:

• To describe what the online facilitator did in the online environment.
• To investigate the various roles that the online facilitator played to be ‘visible’ in the online environment.
• To scrutinise the challenges that an online facilitator needs to faced.
• To design a Work Profiling System (WPS) Person Specific Report for the online facilitator from the most job-relevant competencies, based upon an analysis of the tasks, activities and work context that comprise this job.

Research questions

From the objectives, the following questions emerge:

• How did the facilitator adjust to the online environment?
• How did the online facilitator ‘talk’ to the learners and encourage dialogue with the learners?
• What roles did the online facilitator play to be ‘visible’ in the online environment?
• What challenges did the online facilitator face?
• What people competencies were identified for the online environment?
• What thinking competencies were identified for the online environment?
• What energy competencies were identified for the online environment?

The main research question and the essence of the enquiry (Mason, 2002:13) can be summarised as follows:
What are the roles and competencies of an online facilitator?
The intellectual puzzle (Mason, 2002:13) is represented in Table 3.1. At a glance the main research question is indicated with the research objectives and clearly formulated research subsidiary questions.

 Research paradigm

Linking research and philosophical traditions helps to illustrate different research orientations (Merriam, 1998:3). The research philosophy depends on the way you think about the development of knowledge (Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill, 2000:84) or about the production of knowledge (Merriam, 1998:3). Carr and Kemmis (1986) distinguish between three basic forms of educational research, namely positivist research, interpretive research and critical research. Knowledge gained in positivist research is objective and quantifiable. Knowledge gained in critical research is an ideological critique of power, privilege and oppression (Carr & Kemmis, 1986). In the interpretive approach the researcher does not stand above or outside, but is a participant observer (Carr & Kemmis, 1986:88), seeking to discern the meanings of actions as they are expressed within specific social contexts. The purpose of interpretive social science is not to provide causal explanations of human life, but rather to deepen and extend the knowledge of why social life is perceived and experienced in the way that it is (Carr & Kemmis, 1986:90). Figure 3.1 graphically represents the study as adapted from the Burrel and Morgan (1979:22) sociological paradigms.
According to Burrel and Morgan (1979:22-23), the functionalist paradigm views the social world as consisting of concrete artefacts and relationships that can be identified, studied and measured through natural sciences from an objectivist point of view. The interpretive paradigm is concerned with understanding the world as it is. Interpretivism views the social world from subjective experiences of individuals. The radical humanist paradigm also views the social world from an ideographic perspective, as does the interpretive paradigm, but the frame of reference focuses on overthrowing the limitations of existing social structures. The radical structuralist paradigm focuses on structural relationships within a social world, providing explanations for the basic interrelationships within the context of social formations. The radical structuralist paradigm is concerned with radical change and emancipation. This study is situated in the interpretivist paradigm.
Interpretivism, as used in this study, is summarised in Table 3.2 in respect of the purpose of the research, the nature of reality (ontology), nature of knowledge and the relationship between the inquirer and the inquired-into (epistemology) and the methodology used (Cantrell, 2001).

Research approach

A qualitative research approach was conducted because the aim of this research was to study events in their natural setting in an attempt to interpret phenomena in terms of the meaning people bring to them (Greenhalgh & Taylor, 1997). This approach was derived from the humanities with an emphasis on holistic information and interpretive approaches to be able to Verstehen (Husén, 1999:32 – my emphasis) – understanding something in its context. This was applicable to the study as the researcher is investigating the online facilitator in a natural setting in order to arrive at understandings and interpretations of how the facilitator and learners create and maintain their social worlds.
The word ‘qualitative’ implies an emphasis on the qualities of entities and on processes and meaning that are not experimentally examined or measured in terms of quantity, amount, intensity or frequency (Denzin & Lincoln, 1995:8 – my emphasis). Qualitative researchers stress the socially constructed nature of reality, the intimate relationship between the researcher and what is being studied and the situational constraints that shape the research (Denzin & Lincoln, 1995:8).
Savenye and Robinson (1996:1172) define qualitative research as follows:
research devoted to developing an understanding of human systems … qualitative research systems typically include ethnographies, case studies and generally descriptive studies.
This is applicable to the study that is in the form of a case study.

Chapter 1: Background and research problem
1.1. Prelude
1.2. Introduction
1.3. Background
1.4. Problem identification
1.4.1. Practical problem
1.4.2. Research problem
1.5. Purpose and objectives of the study
1.6. Research question
1.7. Rationale and background for the study
1.7.1. Roles for the online facilitator: A review of previous research
1.7.2. Competencies: An explanation
1.7.3. Competencies for the online facilitator
1.8. Uniqueness of the study
1.9. Purpose statement
1.10. The scope of the study
1.10.1. What is excluded from the study?
1.11. Research approach
1.12. Research design
1.12.1. The subject of the study
1.12.2. Research methodology
1.12.3. Procedure of authenticity and trustworthiness
1.13. Delimiters of the study
1.14. Outline of chapters
Chapter 2: Literature review
2.1. Prelude
2.2. Introduction
2.3. Theme 1: Adjusting to the online environment
2.3.1. Literature review
2.3.2. Conceptual framework for the online environment
2.4. Theme 2: ‘Talking’ online
2.4.1. Literature review
2.4.2. Conceptual framework for ‘talking’ online
2.5. Theme 3: Facilitator roles
2.5.1. Literature review
2.5.2. Conceptual framework for facilitator roles
2.6. Theme 4: Challenges and demands
2.6.1. Literature review
2.6.2. Conceptual framework for online challenges
2.7. Theme 5: Competencies
2.7.1. Literature review
2.7.2. Conceptual framework for competencies
2.8. Conclusion
Chapter 3: Research design and methodology
3.1. Prelude
3.2. Introduction
3.3. Research problem and motivation for the study
3.4. Purpose and objectives of the study
3.5. Research questions
3.6. Research paradigm
3.7. Research approach
3.8. Research strategy
3.9. Research design
3.10. Research design – the case study in question
3.11. Data collection methods and data collection instruments
3.12. When administered and who conducted?
3.13. Trustworthiness and authenticity
3.14. Conclusion
Chapter 4: Analysing the case – Evidence and discussion
4.1. Prelude
4.2. Introduction
4.3. How did the facilitator adjust to the online environment?
4.4. How did the online facilitator ‘talk’ to the learners and encouragendialogue with the learners?
4.5. What roles did the online facilitator play to be ‘visible’ in the online environment?
4.6. What challenges did the online facilitator face?
4.7. What people competencies, thinking competencies and energy competencies were identified for the online environment?
Chapter 5: Conclusions and recommendations
5.1. Prelude
5.2. Summary
5.3. The answers to the subsidiary questions
5.4. Discussion
5.5. Recommendations
5.6. Conclusion
Bibliography 
Annexures
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