This chapter begins simply by helping
the reader define "interpretation". Reading the following
passages, I thought more about my insecurities regarding action
research. Through the process of learning about how to be a
consistent and reliable researcher, I have learned more about how the
data we collect can influence our own perspectives regarding our
research. Near the beginning of the chapter the text cites the words
of Tilden who said that "information, as such, is not
interpretation." I get the feeling that a great deal of
researchers have fallen prey to this aspect of research and attempted
to make meaning from the information alone. I agree with the authors
who discuss how interpreting data can be a daunting task to even the
most seasoned of researchers. I have no doubt that I will have a hard
time with this aspect of data interpretation. It almost seems wrong
making a judgment about a population based on my observations. Who's
to say that my data collection was flawed or skewed in any way? I
think that is what will worry me the most when I perform my action
research in the fall. Even later in the chapter the authors discuss
the voice in your head that says that you don't know enough. What put
my mind slightly at ease was reading about the steps of data
collection. I figure if I successfully perform the steps, I should
have enough information to make a basic inference.
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