Abstract
In this paper, we describe a methodological approach that can be used to analyze large sets of qualitative data such as classroom videorecordings and transcripts. The method emerged while conducting longitudinal case studies of four pairs of students' small group activity. In the first phase of the analysis, the data are dealt with on an episode- by-episode-basis in chronological order. Sample episodes are given to illustrate how inferences made while analyzing one episode are viewed as initial conjectures that can be revised when analyzing subsequent episodes. In later phases of the analysis, these conjectures become data that are (meta-)analyzed to create chronologies that are structured by general assertions and yet are grounded in the particulars of students' mathematical activity. In the course of the discussion, we clarify the role of domain-specific psychological models and the influence of assumptions about the relation between psychological and social processes. We conclude by considering both the generality and the trustworthiness of the approach.
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The research reported in this paper was supported by the Spencer Foundation and by the National Science Foundation under grant No. RED-9353587. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of the Foundations.
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Cobb, P., Whitenack, J.W. A method for conducting longitudinal analyses of classroom videorecordings and transcripts. Educ Stud Math 30, 213–228 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00304566
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00304566