NVivo%20as%20an%20Aid%20towards%20Analytic%20Rigour%20when%20Researching%20in%20Non%20English%20Languages%20and%20Cultures

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NVivo as an Aid towards Analytic Rigour when
Researching in Non English Languages and Cultures
Dr Roger J. Vallance Ms Sophie M. Lee University
of Notre Dame Australia
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Saisiyat Tribe
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Amis Tribe
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Overview

• Research Overview
• How using NVivo to analyse Chinese transcripts
• Analytical and Methodological advantages
• Supervision issues across cultural contexts

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Research Overview

• 1. Research Questions
• RQ1 What are the views of classroom teachers of
  the policy reform in Aboriginal education?
• RQ2 What are the factors which affect individual
  teachers responses to change?
• RQ3 How are teachers perceptions expressed in
  their practice (reform or resistance)?
• 2. Mixed methods survey interview
• 3. Analysing the qualitative data

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Working in NVivo 2.0

• The Chinese transcripts needed to be saved as
  Rich Text Format (rtf) files
• These rtf files were loaded into NVivo
• The following electronic coding and analysis
  procedure was conducted in Chinese and was
  comparable to analysing text in English.

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Working in NVivo 2.0

• The rtf files display the Chinese characters with
  a high level of accuracy.
• Files are browsed using the NVivo interface (in
  English)
• Names of documents, documents properties, nodes,
  attributes and cases---in English

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Chinese doc

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Advantages and Issues

• Practical
• Time saving
• Grounded in the original language
• Reliability argument
• Repeatability, consistency, in understanding the
  sense of the text
• Fewer steps or intermediaries
• Fewer interactions with colleagues, supervisor
• A sense of private text.

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Analytical advantages

• Accurate analysis Data analysis stayed close to
  the participants speech
• Holistic analysis
• Nuanced analysis Working in the participants
  mother tongue, i.e. Chinese
• Validity argument

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Accurate Analysis

• Not literal accuracy
• Usefulness of the metaphors and idiom of the
  language into a meaningful form in the second
  language
• Aboriginal people should be self-heaviness to
  not rely on government
• Myths, allusions to traditional tales

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Holistic Analysis

• Analysis in the light of cultural norms of
  discourse
• One teacher said that the characteristic of
  Aboriginal people are mostly ?? ?? .
• The idiom refers to optimistic personality, to
  accept what happens to them in their lives.
• implies that there is a negative meaning, not
  responsible for their behaviours.
• Humour and what is unsaid in the language

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Nuanced Analysis

• Appreciating the flavours and tonality of the
  conversation
• Voice of the participant
• Rhythm of speech, use of images
• The homogenising effects of translation, then
  transcription, then analysis
• Needs to balance the nuance of metaphors with
  information conveyed

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Some technical problems when working in NVivo

• NV2 could not determine from the screen the text
  (Chinese) to search for.
• Copy-and-pasted from file
• Search nodes
• It looks like N7 will allow researchers to
  analyse, search and code data in any language,
  and a mixture of languages.

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Reflections on using qualitative analysis
software NVivo

• Merriam (1998, p.202) ... reality is holistic,
  multidimensional, and ever-changing, thus,
  keeping close to the text is part of the argument
  for validity. It is argued that the text should
  be as close as possible to the original interview
  events.
• Fair presentation of interviewees accounts
• To report the frequency with which each
  interviewee is quoted.
• To provide the Chinese original of each quotation
  which displayed in Appendix.

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Supervisors Role

• More of the same.
• Listener
• Getting into the world view of your student
• Supervisor has the chance to model learning
• Needs the researcher to explain the texts
• Researcher as guide
• Trust in the relationship
• What tells you that the student researcher is
  being honest?

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Advantages for the supervisor

• That the supervisor knows there are issues
  ensures that little is taken for granted
• The personal rewards of coming to understand
  another world view
• Real sense of co-production
• Consciousness
• Reflexivity

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Amis traditional costume