A Pilot Study (PS) is a small-scale research project conducted before the final full-scale study. A PS helps researchers to test in reality how likely the research process is to work, in order to help them decide how best to conduct the final research study. In piloting a study, a researcher can identify or refine a research question, discover what methods are best for pursuing it, and estimate how much time and what resources will be necessary to complete the larger final version of the study. There is, however, a paucity in literature that focuses on using, reading and representing PSs. This article discusses the importance of a PS to test and identify how methods and ideas would work in practice when undertaking a qualitative PhD thesis. The proposed PS in this paper addressed many challenges, and the researcher reflected on different perspectives of their work including ethical, cultural, social and professional issues. By the end ISSN 2327-5510 2018 http://ijssr.macrothink.org 2 of the PhD thesis, undertaken with the guidance of the PS, it was found that a well-conducted PS, giving a clear list of aims and objectives within a formal framework, can encourage methodological rigour and ensure the validity of both the study itself and the methodology applied. The objectives of this paper are thus threefold: first, to identify the issues within a specific qualitative PS prior to conducting the final study; second, to address the researcher's reflections on these findings and finally, to share the experiences and knowledge that a PS can be expected to bring. International Journal of Social Science Research

Abstract. Co-learning agreements between researchers and practitioners have been suggested as a way of generating research findings that are useful to improving schools and informing classroom practice. In this chapter we describe how a co-learning agreement was developed as a basis for researching aspects of the learning of mathematics in the classroom of a teacher whose pedagogy emphasised collaborative problem-solving as a major vehicle for learning mathematics. A study of co-operative group work in mathematics found that the perceptions of high achieving students (in terms of the purpose and benefits of group work) were more in line with those of their teacher than those of low achieving students. In contrast, the research reported in this chapter of a collaborative mathematics classroom revealed no such differences between students. In using a co-learning approach both authors felt that they learnt more about the processes of collaborating in researching and learning mathematics than they would have done with either a more traditional 'data gathering' approach led by the researcher or as a piece of action research by the teacher. The chapter suggests that co-learning can be a useful way of collaborating and describes the benefits such an approach can offer when researching classroom processes.

Objective: Peer support practice has seen exponential growth during the past several decades. While there exists a body of research on job satisfaction among this emerging workforce, many studies had limited sample sizes and demographic diversity and focused on few facets of job satisfaction. The present study examines multiple factors associated with job satisfaction and compensates for limitations of previous smaller studies. Methods: A convenience/snowball sample of 645 peer support staff was recruited via National Association of Peer Supporters and Academy of Peer Services listservs. Eligible participants were at least 18 years of age, currently employed for a minimum of 6 months, and residing in one of the 50 states or one of U.S. territories. Global and multidimensional facets of job satisfaction were measured using the Indiana Job Satisfaction Survey. Results: Data from an anonymous online survey were analyzed using hierarchical linear regression. The main hypothesis was supported; coworker support, perceived organizational support, supervisor support, and job empowerment explained 71% of the variance in overall job satisfaction, Adj R2 = 0.71, F(9, 271) = 77.77, p < .01, with age and status as a certified peer specialist significant contributors. Perceived organizational support and job empowerment explained most variance in overall job satisfaction. Conclusions and Implications for Practice: As this workforce continues to burgeon, it is crucial to promote peer support values, role clarity, certification, diversity, and optimal organizational and empowerment resources to sustain a satisfied and effective peer support workforce.

In this paper, we describe the findings from a three-year multiphased investigation into the Web practice of online mathematics communities. Our results indicate that the equivalent technologies that enable text-input or image-uploads without the need to understand programming languages have not been made available for the mathematics/ scientific communities to enable fluid communications. Given the global importance of mathematical and scientific collaborations, we argue that the mathematical and scientific communities are significant but neglected groups, and that more attention should be given to the user-interface designs to support fluid online mathematics communications.

No abstract