As you consider the construction of your data gathering instruments, use the following questions and
explanations by Sagor (2011) to guide you.
What are three data sources will you use for your AR?
Do you need a matrix for data triangulation?
Is the process I am using to answer my question clear enough that my students (clients or participants) can
understand it?
When collecting and analyzing data, action researchers can do a great deal to ensure the validity and reliability
of their findings by using a process called triangulation. The term triangulation refers to the use of multiple
independent data sources to corroborate findings. The purpose and necessity of corroboration is the same for
the action researcher as it is for the trial lawyer. A trial lawyer knows that to convince a jury of the accuracy of a
legal theory, it helps to have more than one witness; the more individual witnesses whose testimony supports
the theory, the more credible the theory becomes (Sagor, 2002, p. 16-18).
Educational action researchers usually have a wide variety of data sources available to them. Some of the
most common data sources are the following:
Existing data
School/teacher records
Referrals to the principal
Attendance records
Tardies
Classroom behaviors (talk outs/negative behaviors)
Number of detentions (per student)
Number of suspensions (per student)
Student work/portfolios
Observation data
Photographs
Videotapes
Diaries, logs, journals
Rating scales/rubrics
Data obtained by shadowing students through the school day
Probes
Tests
Surveys
Interviews
Focus groups
You, as the researcher, will describe the instruments and data gathering techniques used. You must establish
criteria for selecting the data as they relate to the scope of the problem.
A helpful tool for planning data collection and triangulation is a triangulation matrix—a simple grid that shows
the various data sources that will be used to answer each research question. The matrix provides the action
researcher with some assurance that the potential for bias (which is always present whenever a single source
of data is used) won't take on undue significance. Figure 2.3 illustrates how a completed triangulation matrix for
a study on student editing might look. I will attached the Matrix.
Your Task
Submit at least one of the data gathering instruments you have selected, or at least one of the instruments you
have constructed along with an explanation. Please be sure to include your explanation for what you have
chosen or designed – focus on how you see it connecting to your proposed project/research question. Attach
the data-gathering instrument (surveys, pre tests, etc.) to the assignment submission.
Please also include a triangulation chart showing the ideas you have for the remainder of your data collection.
You will need to develop the other tools for the final proposal as well, but for this assignment, you are
submitting one to show your thinking and to get feedback about your ideas in the triangulation matrix.
Sample Solution