“How should internet be adopted in primary education system so that young children can use it positively and constructively in order to avoid the menace that comes with it?”

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Chapter 3: Methodology And Procedures

In this methodology chapter is information regarding the characteristics of a qualitative research study, the research setting and participants for this study, the rationale for the use of the case study approach and the unit of analysis and the data collection methods. The issue of trustworthiness is also discussed.

This research used a case study methodology to investigate the process of adoption of new technology for a group of seven teachers in a Manchestern Manchester Business School. The research focused specifically on the factors that affect the teachers' support, or otherwise, of the introduction and integration of the new computer program known as the “Blackboard” Learning System (Release 6). The study explored the needs, beliefs and perceptions of the users of the program, in relation to their own participation in the adoption of “Blackboard” program, and their perceptions of a planned change process.

Characteristics of Qualitative Research Study

The characteristics of qualitative research define the nature of the research process I used to learn more about how teachers perceive and experience the process of implementing new technology into their classroom, and the teaching strategies they use in this process. A qualitative research design assumes a worldview in which “there are multiple realities, that the world is not an objective thing out there but a function of personal interaction and perception” (Merriam, 1988, p. 17).

These realities are dynamic and change over time. This view is important to research in that it attempts to bring understanding to a process or event as perceived by the participants in that event. In the education field, classrooms are of a dynamic nature, unique and constantly in flux. A qualitative design is an effective research design to use in this educational setting.

According to Bogdan and Biklen (1992), qualitative research has five major characteristics. The design provides the researcher with an avenue to step inside of the context of what is being researched. Qualitative research has the natural setting as the direct source of data and the researcher is the key instrument (Bogdan & Biklen, 1992). The nature of the research is descriptive and I am concerned with process rather than simply with outcomes or products. The description of a process or event is valuable when quantitative research designs do not provide the insights necessary to understand the participants' role in the process, and their perceptions of the experience. Qualitative researchers analyse their data inductively. The research is like a funnel in which all the possible information is collected and then organised into themes and patterns revealing the meanings from the participants' perceptions.

I am involved in and not removed from the research process in a qualitative design. I brought my biases as a technology studies teacher to the research study. I developed my theories through trial and error and evaluation of student participation and achievement in using the new ...