Unveiling Perspectives: Decolonising and Diversifying in Fine Arts at UAL
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I opted for a (quantitative) questionnaire format to survey the research for several reasons. Twenty of the questions are closed-ended and the last four open-ended. I wanted to standardise the process. The questions will have the same format and instructions for all respondents to reduce potential bias. This format will give me the data to analyse to draw conclusions and identify a pattern in the students’ understanding and attitudes towards decolonising and diversifying the Fine Art curriculum.
The study uses anonymous mixed methods to elicit responses from students across the Fine Arts Department in Chelsea College of Arts about their understanding of and views on decolonisation. I will be making four trips to the College to conduct the survey. The methodology will be quantitative, taking a responsive evaluation approach.
K.A Cox 2019, points out that “Quantitative research seeks to understand and describe a phenomenon, behaviour, or issue using numerical data and statistical analysis…” For this reason, I opted for a quantitative questionnaire to standardise and arrive at an objective measurement of responses. Responses are in numerical form, making it easier to analyse and compare the data. The groupings/patterns and variables will be used to draw a generalised conclusion.
Random selection process
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I have chosen a simple random sampling method for several reasons: It will ensure that each member of the student population has an equal chance of being included in the sample. According to Acharya (2013), “In this method, every individual has an equal chance of being selected in the sample from the population” (p. 330).
I contacted UAL to confirm which college most Fine Arts students are based in, and Chelsea College of Arts had the most compared to the other colleges.
Simple random sampling requires the researcher to define carefully the population from
which the sample is drawn. It is necessary to provide a framework for the inclusion and exclusion of the population; for instance, Cohen et al. (2018) state that random sampling requires the researcher to define carefully the population from which the sample is drawn as this is important to provide a framework for the inclusion and exclusion of the population; for instance, Cohen asserts further by saying that “it is little help in trying to generalise to all the males and females in a school if only males are taken as the population from which the sample is drawn” (p. 215).
I have included a Table of simple random sampling technique benefits and drawbacks below to compare the benefits and drawbacks of random sampling
Simple Random Sampling Technique Benefits and Drawbacks
| Benefits | Drawbacks |
| Impartial random selection are crucial (Sharma, 2017; Fink, 2003). | This procedure is cumbersome and is rarely used (Best and Kahn, 2016). |
| Representativeness of the population | A complete list of the population is needed and this is not always readily available (Cohen et al., 2018). |
| Randomization helps to offset the confounding effects of known and unknown factors (Stockemer, 2019). | Difficult to use when the population is widely dispersed and heterogeneous (Barreiro & Albandoz, 2001). |
| Each sample has an equal probability of selection (Reitermanova’, 2010). | Sampling error (West, 2016). |
Although I am aware of the drawback as stated above it is imperative to employ randomly selected samples to portray a larger population for this small research. This means that the findings and conclusions drawn from the sample are more likely to apply to the entire population.
From an ethical perspective, randomly selected questionnaires are often perceived as a fair and transparent method of arriving at fairness in the selection process. Cohen et al. (2018)
References
Acharya, A. S., Prakash, A., Saxena, P., & Nigam, A. (2013). Sampling: Why and how of it. Indian Journal of Medical Specialties, 4(2), 330-333. DOI: 10.7713/ijms.2013.0032
Adelabu, O J. “Parents’ Involvement in Education of Their Children: Case Study of Two Selected Secondary Schools in the Amathole West District.” 2020, https://core.ac.uk/download/492499178.pdf.
Burkholder, G.J., Cox, K.A., Crawford, L.M. and Hitchcock, J.H. (2019). Research Design and Methods. SAGE Publications.
Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2002). Research methods in education. Routledge.
Image reference
Business Research Methodology (2011). Simple Random Sampling – Research-Methodology. [online] Research-Methodology. Available at: https://research-methodology.net/sampling-in-primary-data-collection/random-sampling/.
Relevant Insights. (2019). 10 Things to Consider in Survey Design. [online] Available at: https://www.relevantinsights.com/articles/survey-design/.