Ethnographies

There are definitely ways that I am biased in my own research. I struggle to look at things honestly when I have my own agenda. For instance, right now I am researching the best practices for teaching reading at the University. Although I think there are some skills that simply need to be memorized (like multiplication tables, for instance), I find myself being extremely critical of teachers who use the skill-and-drill method of teaching. It's hard for me to look at the assessments they do in an unbiased way. It doesn't matter how much improvements students have made from the beginning of the term until the time I look at the data, I am always skeptical about what the teacher is doing. The data has little relevance to me because I am so against this style of teaching.

I have had to force myself to step back and allow the evidence to speak for itself. I can't just assume that I know all the answers (because, obviously, I don't!). To do a true ethnography in this setting where I am so biased, I think I would definitely need another person to help me code. It would probably be best to have someone who has no vested interested in teaching styles too. I would also need help from "outsiders" to design good research questions that would not be leading. Since I definitely have a slant already, I would need others to help me eliminate that slant as much as possible from the actual research portion. And, finally, I would need to rely on video and audio taping rather than my own biased notes to allow myself and others to see a clearer picture of what is going on.