This document summarizes a doctoral student's phenomenographic research investigating students' experiences with networked learning. The research interviews 16-18 year-old college students in a non-major computing course about their educational experiences. The student conducted 35 interviews over four months using purposive sampling to maximize variation in responses. Phenomenographic interviewing aims to get rich data and lead interviewees to unsuspected reflections through a therapeutic discourse, but requires balancing this with remaining non-judgmental and bracketing personal views. The student views the research as a perpetual work-in-progress to be refined over time.

1. Doctoral Work-in-Progress
a glimpse through
phenomenographic interviewing
Maria Cutajar
Ph.D e-Res & TEL mini-conference
Lancaster, 2013
Ph.D e-Res & TEL mini-conference 2013

2.  A phenomenographic study investigating
students’ experience of networked learning
• My chosen doctoral research work
 bringing together
• learning and teaching interests  research questions
asked
• personal values and beliefs  research philosophy and
methodological assumptions
ENCOMPASSING RESEARCH
Ph.D e-Res & TEL mini-conference 2013

3. • Researched participants: Adolescents – 16/18 year old
students in post-compulsory pre-university education.
• Educational setting: A post-secondary college forming part
of the local university … where the lecture still reigns
unchallenged
• Learning (and teaching) setting: non-major computing
course
• Researcher participant: Academic staff member of the
college who was teaching the participants the previous
academic year (and with whom they experienced form of a
networked learning course
Research Context
Ph.D e-Res & TEL mini-conference 2013

4. • The data collection method
• Aiming to attain a rich pool of data
• The purposive sampling technique
• Aiming to maximize variation
• The data collection span
• 35 interviews collected across four months
• Pilot interviewing
• Three pilot interviews
The interviewing Process
Ph.D e-Res & TEL mini-conference 2013

5. • The interview as a conversation with the participant
developing into a ‘therapeutic discourse’ wherein the
interviewee is led to “unsuspected reflections”
• A balancing act between keeping the conversation
warm and conducive to phenomenographic data
collection aims and retaining a non-judgemental
stance by bracketing personal presuppositions
• Interviewing the phenomenographic style:
challenging act or a mission impossible?
Phenomenographic Interviewing
Ph.D e-Res & TEL mini-conference 2013

6. • best act is to be as explicit and transparent as
possible … to permit others decide for themselves
about the authenticity and trustfulness
• research work as perpetual work-in-progress … to
be refuted, refined, and/or extended
• I recognise the call to stretch myself towards the
unreachable with the same motivation and
excitement of attaining that which is reachable.
A Journey to Eternity … the Unknown
Ph.D e-Res & TEL mini-conference 2013