Capturing Workplace Learning In Situ by Semistructured Diaries

• In Event: 58.082 - Roundtable Session 25
  In Roundtable Session: 58.082-9 - Methodological Advancements in Quantitative Research on Work-Related Learning and Professional Development

Abstract

Informal learning in the workplace has gained increasing attention over the last decades. Reviews of research on workplace learning revealed that retrospective measures, such as questionnaires and interviews, are the dominant methods (Berings, Doornbos, & Simons, 2006; Sawchuk, 2009). These methods usually assume that the respondents are able to deliver a valid and balanced judgment on varying situations, their respective experience, and related outcomes over long periods of time (Brandstätter, 1981). However, this is a strong assumption since neither the processes nor the outcomes of workplace learning are always recognized as such because workplace learning is often only a by-product of working processes (Eraut, 2004; Simons, 2005). Hence, if one is interested in everyday incidents of learning in the workplace collecting data on-site and (near) real-time seems to be a promising approach. One such approach of collecting data on-site and (near) real-time is the diary method. From a diagnostic perspective, all diaries refer to a data collection procedure in which the participants themselves record certain internal or external events according to specific guidelines and at a specific time or condition defined by the researcher (Laireiter & Thiele, 1995; Bolger, Davis, & Rafaeli, 2003). The phenomenon of interest within a particular field of research usually determines the name of the respective diary (e.g., ‘interaction diary’ focusing on social interactions in the workplace; ‘error diary’ focusing on errors in the workplace). In contrast to private diaries, the diaries that are used in research are usually more structured in that they contain closed items (e.g., check boxes, rating scales, etc.). This contribution provides a systematic overview of the manifold options when using diaries in research on work and learning such as item format, sampling method, reference time of an entry, time delays, and recording method. Altogether, ‘in situ’ measurement results in (a) higher ecological validity and allows for (b) the analysis of situational influences, (c) the analysis of changes over time periods, and (d) the analysis of interpersonal differences (Bolger et al., 2003; Ohly, Sonnentag, Niessen, & Zapf, 2010; Reis and Gable 2000; Schmitz 2006; Scollon, Kim-Prieto, & Diener, 2003). However, downsides such as participants’ reactivity or reactance call for a balanced decision between the time required for one diary entry and the requested frequency of diary entries. Exemplary implementations of the diary method derive from several studies on workplace learning within vocational education and training (VET). Approaches to the analysis of diary data as well as future perspectives of the diary method will be discussed in this contribution.

Author

• Andreas Rausch, University of Mannheim