I am going to survey teachers in my school as well as the media specialist and perhaps the administration. Most of them will know me as I have taught in the school for over 20 years. This will likely, at least I hope, work in my favor in terms of response rate. I know that I am much more willing to do a favor like filling out a survey for someone I know. However, it may also work against me in some ways. I hope they will be honest with me instead of telling me what they think I want to hear, or being reluctant to criticize the media center or administration in fear that it may "get back to them."
Although my survey will not cause any physical harm, I am a bit concerned that it may cause "psychological discomfort" or embarrassment on the part of the media specialist. I certainly am not conducting this survey to point out any flaws she has or criticize any lack of collaboration with teachers. In fact, if anything, I am confident that she has been doing an excellent job reaching out to the staff. To address this, however, I will need to make it clear, particularly to her, that this study is more about teacher attitudes, perceptions, and blocking forces on their part. I will be sure to be honest about that in my survey directions so that participants are not misled. Certainly, participation will be optional and the information will remain (sort of) confidential. Because I am studying my own school, it will be difficult to truly keep the media specialist and administration anonymous, even though I won't name them.
As we discussed in the last class, this kind of study can be very tricky. You are an insider, so this gives you special expertise and understanding about the situation and people. But it also makes it very challenging if the answers to the questions you ask might be construed as criticism of colleagues. Actually I think this is why learning research methods is important for everyone ... why nurturing a culture of research and assessment is critical. I believe that such a culture would encourage people to look beyond their own interests and preferences, in a safe environment, and be able to better work for the good of the whole. That's a lot easier said than done. :)
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