Chapter Three
CHAPTER THREE RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY RESEARCH DESIGN This study entitled "The Effects of Technology on Discipline in the Pre-school Montessori Classroom" is a qualitative research that attempts to accumulate existing information and data regarding the governing principles and systems of Montessori education in the modern times. Trochim stated that "a key reason for doing qualitative research is to investigate and become more experienced with a particular phenomenon of the researcher's interest in order to deliver a detailed description." This study wishes to depict the current state of discipline and creativity – two fundamental elements of the Montessori education system – in the onset and spread of modern technology like television, video games, the Internet and music. The researcher decided to use the qualitative approach in order to verify her observations on her own Montessori pre-school classroom regarding the negative effects of technology on children's behavior.
The research would utilize both descriptive and exploratory research methods in the conduct of the study. Descriptive research is a method used to obtain information relating to the current status of an issue or phenomenon to describe "what exists" within the variables or conditions of the situation. The two most common types of descriptive research tools are surveys and observation (Key). The researcher would make use of her observations from her experience of teaching in a Montessori pre-school in order to come up with a personal description of the answer to the research problem. Exploratory research, on the other hand, is often utilized in order to yield information to explain problems which are not yet clearly defined or the real scope is still unclear. It allows the researcher to familiarize himself/herself with the concepts of the problem under study to facilitate development of insights and hypotheses (Exploratory Research).
The research would utilize both descriptive and exploratory research methods in the conduct of the study. Descriptive research is a method used to obtain information relating to the current status of an issue or phenomenon to describe "what exists" within the variables or conditions of the situation. The two most common types of descriptive research tools are surveys and observation (Key). The researcher would make use of her observations from her experience of teaching in a Montessori pre-school in order to come up with a personal description of the answer to the research problem. Exploratory research, on the other hand, is often utilized in order to yield information to explain problems which are not yet clearly defined or the real scope is still unclear. It allows the researcher to familiarize himself/herself with the concepts of the problem under study to facilitate development of insights and hypotheses (Exploratory Research).