Who am I as a researcher

The question asked in class-- who are we as researchers? What are we comfortable with is becoming more important in reality as I start to think about what it is I want to do. Through the early readings in the text, I looked at the five different approaches and saw each one of them as relevant, but I was unattached to any of them in particular. As I think more deeply about them, as I think more about which one of the approaches best matches my personality, I can honestly say-- I like them all. That doesn't help, but I can certainly see how some of the approaches might be a better fit than others. I am seeing, as I think about what I might want to do, an overlap and can certainly see how some can lead into others. Creswell (2007) stresses the importance of understanding that one must be able to pose the need for the study. I agree with his idea that the word problem is a misnomer(p. 102). I associate the word problem with other things, so framing the research problem as a need make it easier for me to understand. I note as well that it is mentioned that the need for study is often rooted in personal experiences and job related problems as well as other things. Of all the items listed, the ones that struck a cord with me were the two just mentioned. I have noticed certain things as a sixth-grade English teacher in the work I receive from students and often do not know how to incorporate what I am witnessing on the job with my teacher role. I have experience (if that is the correct word) in trying to figure the problem out and in coming to the conclusion that what I am seeing is becoming more of a trend instead of a one shot deal. What am I noticing? I am noticing that students are incorporating a lot of text-talk language into formal writing. In essays and papers that are turned in, standard English is still the norm, but more and more often, the type of "talk" they use on social networks and cell phones is appearing in their work. As I became more and more aware of this phenomenon, questions starting forming in my head, long before this class and long before I started this program. The questions were many and are growing and I am not going to mention them all, it would take too long, but I am going to throw a few general ones out to my reading public. I might add, that now since this course started, I am realizing that my questions themselves need to be categorized into more manageable units and that some of the questions I have actually are moving away from what I thought I was interested in.

So what am I thinking about?

1. How will writing change as more and more students become familiar with using text-type language
2. Will writing begin to take on a different "Look" or "format"
3. Will standard writing conventions be thrown away
4. Will students continue to blur the line between what is acceptable writing on a phone to friends on a social network and what is acceptable in academic settings
5. Will academics start to accept text-talk
6. What are the states noticing in their state direct assessment of writing tests and what are they doing about it
7. Will students who struggle with writing in standard format struggle less if their writing tools change
8. Will increased comfort in writing via technology lead to more comfort in the classroom
9. Will the quality of their writing change
10. will their interest and engagement increase through writing in a different format
11. will this increased engagement created better performances overall
12. will the writing they do on computers in different formats produce more authentic writing
13. will they talk more to each other and share ideas more on computer sites than they do in classroom talk
14. will their motivation increase to revise writing or continue writing if they get immediate feedback from their peers online
15. will they be busy checking for responses more frequently, and if so, will they go back to work on something they "thought was finished"
16. will writing become more enjoyable as technology use increases
17. will new systems of assessments need to be formed
18. does writing with the anonymity and distance make a difference
19. is digital writing a new cultural-language in development
20. what happens to punctuation, do we need new rules about conventions

There are a lot of questions posted above, a mere sampling, but as I study these questions more carefully I realize that they are not really looking at the same things. Some are looking at motivation, some are looking at assessment, some are looking at writing-rules, some are looking at language development, some are looking at questions that might affect the future of how education is delivered, some are looking at the exponential growth of technology and so on. So what does this mean to me as a potential researcher? It means I have to narrow my focus and really think of what the essential central question is and pinpoint those questions that are supportive and closely related to the central question. It means that I have to figure out what the most important thing for me is and what will add the most to the literature and information currently available. It means that I have to choose the best way to study the problem. I might have to create several central questions, all framed differently to reflect different approaches and then figure out which approach will serve the problem and me the best. What I am realizing is that there is a lot of background work to do before the work can begin. I am realizing the vast amount of planning that is necessary and the importance of the memoing activity in order to keep a close watch on how the dynamics change. This is no small task to be sure!