The work I have done in my innovation planning during previous courses has been instrumental in helping me select my action research topic. I have identified an intriguing issue in present-day education: digital literacy among kindergarten through third-grade students. Through my '5 Why Process,' I concluded that the root cause of digital illiteracy is closely tied to reading illiteracy. This connection hinders students' ability to comprehend digital tools and become proficient.
Thus, the topic of my action research is the examination of the impact of digital literacy instruction on reading comprehension and technological proficiency among third-grade students. The purpose of my study is to investigate how digital literacy instruction affects third-grade students' reading comprehension and their proficiency with technological tools. My fundamental research question is: What impact does the frequency of digital literacy instruction have on the reading comprehension and technological proficiency of third-grade students?
In Chapter 4 of "Action Research: Improving Schools and Empowering Educators," readers learn about the qualities of a well-thought-out research question. The book outlines at least seven important considerations when creating a research question (Mertler, 2019). A good research question should determine whether the study will be qualitative, quantitative, or mixed (Mertler, 2019). If the research question is qualitative, it should be open-ended, whereas quantitative research questions should have a more focused approach (Mertler, 2019). Additionally, research questions should not be assumed before data collection, should strike a balance between being too broad and too specific, should be answerable through data collection methods, should be ethical, and should be practical to answer (Mertler, 2019).
If these considerations are not followed, your action research question may not yield practical data to address the root cause. Dr. Mertler mentioned in video 4.1 again the importance of designing a well-thought-out research question and he also focused on how describing your question will be important as it should be parallel to the study and design of your research (2023). Reflecting on my research question and the considerations from Chapter 4 and Dr. Metler, I believe my research question meets these criteria: it is ethical, and mixed (both quantitative and qualitative), neither too broad nor too specific, and it is designed to be answerable through appropriate data collection.
The most appropriate type of data to collect for my research is a mixed-methods approach, combining both qualitative and quantitative data. This approach is particularly suitable for examining the impact of digital literacy instruction on third-grade students' reading comprehension and technological proficiency. By using mixed-methods, I can leverage the strengths of both data types, providing a more comprehensive understanding of the research problem (Metler, 2019). Quantitative data, such as test scores, assessments, and checklists, will measure the extent of the impact, offering statistical validity and generalizability. Qualitative data, gathered through observations and journals, will capture the nuanced experiences, attitudes, and behaviors of students, providing deeper insights into how and why certain outcomes occur (Metler, 2019). Integrating both types of data allows for triangulation, increasing the reliability and validity of the research conclusions.
References
Mertler, C. A. (2019). Action research: Improving schools and empowering educators (6th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Mertler, C. (2023). Action research: Improving schools and empowering educators video 4.1 [Video]. SAGE Publications. https://edge.sagepub.com/mertler5e/student-resources/chapter-4/video-resources
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