Landmark studies

I love landmark papers. Those initial reports that explain why they even started investigating something in the first place! It's easy to get lost along the way when we forget why we do what we do. We can learn so much from pioneers. Even later on, why did the direction of research change? Was it because of the findings in the pioneering study? These interesting things make research fun!

Lit Review for Thesis Part 2

"You should establish two main goals for your literature review. First, attempt to provide a comprehensive and up-to-date review of the topic. Second, try to demonstrate that you have a thorough command of the field you are studying. Keep in mind that the literature review will provide the basic rationale for your research, and the extent to which you accomplish these goals will contribute in large measure to how well your project will be received. Note that these goals reflect the seriousness of the task you have undertaken, which is to contribute to the body of knowledge in your field. (Galvan, 2013, p. 13)


Galvan, J. L. (2013) Writing literature reviews: A guide for students of the social and behavioral sciences. 5th edition. Glendale, CA: Pyrczak Publishing

Writing a literature review for a thesis or dissertation

"The review chapter for a thesis or dissertation is the most complex of the literature review types covered in this book because you will be expected to prepare the initial literature review as part of your research proposal, well before you begin your actual research. Conducting a literature review is one of the steps you will follow in the process of defining the research questions for your study, so you will probably have to redefine your topic and revise your research questions several times along the way." (Galvan, 2013, p. 13)

I  quoted this in full because for the first time I felt someone identified how I felt! When I applied to do this Masters, I had simply wanted to do a Masters. I had not previously examined the literature, nor was I familiar with the field... How was I suppose to from scratch write a research proposal with a literature review for my application?

I did it anyway.

So my first topic for my application to this programme was about how the East and West differed in their approach to critical thinking. I was guided by my interest in critical thinking, coupled with the data I knew I had. I was using secondary quantitative data and hence knew what was available.

But along the way, that got shelved as I got busy with modules and work... Then I took a module on writing a literature review. Aha! This was my chance to write the literature review properly I thought, remembering the quick job I did for my application. However, this time round I struggled even more to locate a topic. Again, I did not know how to find a topic that matched my interest and also the gaps and literature and for me, I was using some already collected data, so it had to also match the data already collected!

I just wrote it anyway. It was extremely general: Perceptions and Practices of Teachers in Citizenship Education.

And then my supervisor who was a quantitative research specialist left, so now I had a new supervisor who was skilled in qualitative methods. She asked me to write her a research proposal...

But this time round, I looked through what I have written for that module and I extract a section from it and modified it from there. It was difficult for me. For some, perhaps reading more would reveal their interest, for me, it muddled my interest even more. I actually didn't know what I wanted to research anymore by this time...

However, praise to God, from whatever I had written, my supervisor discerned my interest in the clash between patriotism and critical thinking. And she zoomed in on that. And told me to rewrite my literature review to focus more on patriotism.

So... this was the third time I wrote a literature review. And thankfully, it has remained here and this is where I have heavily reanalysed, redrafted and decided to sink my heels in.

I wrote this personal experience to illustrate the dilemmas I felt writing my research proposals and literature reviews. I had tried 3 times to identify something important to me and possibly worthwhile to the field. The process was not straightforward to me, but it did give me a better survey of the field. It was a messy process. :) But on hindsight, there appears to be some patterns. Hope this might encourage some of you who are thinking that you should have gotten it right the first time. I didn't. :) In fact, it made it all the more miraculous when I finally got it.

References
Galvan, J. L. (2013) Writing literature reviews: A guide for students of the social and behavioral sciences. 5th edition. Glendale, CA: Pyrczak Publishing

Breakthrough in writing

I think my breakthrough in writing came when I stopped thinking in terms of words and sentences but ideas. 

There are much language rules guiding how words should be put together to form sentences but there are fewer rules guiding how ideas can interact with one another.

Hence the moment I start to understand the unit of writing as ideas rather than words, a whole new playground opened up to me. 

Another thing important for me to write is emotions. I cannot write well when I write without engaging my spirit but relegate the task to a mental exercise. I don't like to talk about the heart and mind being separate because I believe they should be one. To me, writing is an emotional act. I write best when I'm fully immersed into what I'm writing, when I can feel it, sympathize with characters in my story, imagine the impact of my writing on future generations. 

The researcher as a tool

The most humbling and remarkable thing about being a researcher, may I say more so a qualitative researcher, is that you are the tool, for data collection, for data analysis, for data reporting.

And this tool has its potential, as well as its limits. How well you train and care for this tool, determines the work that you do. If you spend the day busy with many stuff, adrenaline rushing and all, don't be surprised if you sit down and try to work and find that you have little left to give of yourself.

Research is an emotional work. How you feel determines how you think and what you write.

This truth is all at once liberating and humbling. I have control and yet no control at all.

Voices

I realized my voice is so different from my bosses' voices. I think I can identify their styles. They write so differently. I can't even inject my voice into theirs in because I interpret differently from them. 

I actually can't imagine how someone would want to steal another person's voice. I can't imagine why someone would want to plagiarize. When we can be masters of our own voice. Isn't that so much better. To have something your very own? 

Lessons learnt from grad school so far

1. No one is perfect and we all need help. 

We usually see the finished product. The completed thesis. The published article. But my time at grad school, I work on a dissertation that seems to morph with every new insight gained, new article read. My boss gave me the privilege to edit her work and other scholars work and we critique one another's work in this way. There was once I praised one of  my professor's student thesis and she told me what I saw was the finished product and it took many drafts to get there and she had scolded him a lot because he was biased and wrote like a junior college student. My pencil dropped when I heard it. So it's true that we are all working on revising works. The one who succeeds is not the one who gets it right the first time but the one who through preservering through unproductive moments and criticism from different places, hones his or her skills in the meantime and doesn't give up. 

Why? in Context

"The next question to ask is why the subject might be important to others.
Why is the subject significant?
What is the background of this subject, and why is that background important to understand?
To what else does the subject relate?
If you understand the complexities of this subject, what will be the benefit and who will obtain it?
What is the context of previous work that has been done on the subject?
How will your work build on what has been done already?

... Such reading should inform researchers of the context of the research, allow them to gain a better sense of the issue's significance and how it has been approached before, as well as reveal what is missing in the previous research. These understandings can be integrated into the various sections of the proposal and do not necessitate a separate one that sometimes reads like a book report."

- Interviewing as Qualitative Research by Irving Seidman, 3rd edition, page 33

Paint the context. Shuyi, paint the context.

Fear and Greed

I came across an advice from someone to budding scholars about how writing is about overcoming one's fear and getting help from all useful sources.

I actually have a slightly different perspective about the "greed" part.

Indeed, it must have been one of the most frightening experience for me, beginning to step into the shoes of a scholar. I stepped into a vast ocean with no boundaries, with every step I take, opening new leads. How will I know where to start? There is surely that overcoming the fear part.

And then greed takes over. You don't know when to stop. With every step you take opening new leads, you take every lead, wherever they lead. And you kinda stray from your hypothesis or you get lost and no longer know where you're headed. You want everything. You have so much ideas, you can write a few thesis. But there is no depth and no coherence. That is another unpleasant experience, where you find yourself standing on shaky ground.


I was initially surprised at the greed part. It was so real. It was mixed with pride. I felt at the top of the world. I felt powerful, that I had knowledge in my hands. I thought I could do anything and go anywhere.

Thankfully, I have my feet planted right back on the ground. I have no idea where this thesis would lead me. Who knows, I might thread another path after graduation, totally different from whatever I'm studying now. Who knows? God, He knows. And in Him I shall dig my heels firmly into the unshakeable Rock.

Courtroom

Taken from "Research to the Point" by Allan A. Metcalf, the 2nd edition of the book, published by Harcourt Brace & Company in 1995 in Florida, pages 5 and 6.

"Efficient, successful research requires the use of your judgment at every stage. You will understand the necessary attitude if you imagine yourself involved in a courtroom trial. A trial always tests a proposition, a hypothesis: that someone (or something) does or did something. Lawyers bring evidence, and witnesses offer testimony, for and against this hypothesis. The judge considers the evidence, decides for or against the hypothesis, and then writes an opinion, using the evidence to support this decision. When you write a research paper, you are the judge.

In fact, for a research paper you also have to take the part of the lawyer on both sides. You find the evidence and the witnesses and arrange for their testimony. But above all, you are the judge. As a good judge, you will consider all sides of the question. You will also rule digressions out of order and will determine the case as efficiently as possible. Your time is too valuable to waste."

We are now scholars

I remember how I gushed with pride and embarrassment when I gave a correct answer in bible class and my bible teacher told me I was now a "bible scholar". I wonder whether it's an Asian, or even Chinese thing, to reverence scholarship. But here I read a good tip in the book "Complete Your Dissertation or Thesis in Two Semesters or Less" by Evelyn Hunt Ogden published by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. in 2007 in Plymouth on pages 54-55 (now I understand why citations and bibliography are done the way they are. Imagining having to type something like this every time you cite something.).

"Remember the university descriptions of dissertations, in which the word scholarly was used? Start to think of yourself as a member of the scholarly community. Calling or e-mailing other scholars can save untold hours of library work and give you confidence concerning another dissertation requirement, establishing credibility of sources.

Build into your budget long-distance phone calls. E-mail ahead of time to ask for a time you might be able to talk to the person. A $100 phone bill can save you a whole semester in costs. It is amazing how helpful most of the top people in the various fields can be. Identify these people in your field, read at least their most recent articles, then e-mail and call them. Find out what they are currently working on that may relate to your topic. Get the names of other graduate students or professors who are working on related research. Check your understanding of how this scholar's theory or work differs from some other noted researchers in the field. Talking with practicing researchers saves time by getting immediately the most recent and relevant findings for inclusion in your literature search chapter. Such direct conversations can help you to further define your topic and/or methodology; it can also be extremely effective in the defense of your proposal and then of the dissertation itself. If asked a question on method or interpretation of another's research, you will be able to respond with, "I talked to Barbara Jones about that, and her view was..." Finally, conversations with people who have devoted years of study to a field is downright interesting and can make dissertation research much more enjoyable.

Consider travel as an extension of the telephone. Sometimes while talking to a scholar you will be told about planned conferences or seminars that will focus on research very relevant to your dissertation topic. Such meetings will bring together several of the people whose work you will be using in your literature search. From your conversation with a particular researcher, you may find that the department in that university or the professor has a library of related published and unpublished research that you can use. Hop on a plane, bus, or train, or drive your car and go. Make a list of what you want to accomplish and who you want to see. Time can be conserved, dissertation quality increased, and in the long run money saved. You have spent thousands of dollars on this degree; don't quibble over a few hundred dollars more. Build into your trip budget funds to possibly take the professor and/or others to lunch or dinner as gesture of thanks for valuable information. Remember you are making important contacts in your field."

Reference
Ogden, E. H. (2007). Complete your dissertation or thesis in two semesters or less. Rowman & Littlefield.

Don't pursue success, let it pursue you

"And so it is both strange and remarkable to me that - among some dozens of books I have authored - precisely this one, which I had intended to be published anonymously so that it could never build up any reputation on the part of the author, did become a success. Again and again I therefore admonish my students both in Europe and in American: "Don't aim at success - the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it does so as the unintended side-effect of one's dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one's surrender to a person other than oneself. Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success; you have to let it happen by not caring about it. I want you to listen to what your conscience commands you to do an go on to carry it out to the best of your knowledge. Then you will live to see that in the long run - in the long run, I say! - success will follow you precisely because you had forgotten to think of it."

- Man's Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl, Beacon Press, Boston, 2006, xiv-xv

Road Map for Literature Review

I did an assignment last year, writing a literature review. I was hoping it would be the literature review for my thesis which I was to do as well, but the topic didn't come in time. I was similarly confused. I didn't know whether the literature review should come first or the topic should come first. So I did the literature review with a very broad scope. Our goal was to find the gap. I thought that if I found the gap, I would have found my topic.

To my horror, I did not discover a topical gap, a methodological gap I did, but not a topical gap. I remember that episode with fear and trembling. I remember spending most of my time analyzing that I had very little time to write and I wrote like a guy seeking a treasure without a map, hoping with each paragraph that I would find my treasure. There was so argument, I simply described the landscape.

This time round, here I am! I have a topic with me now. And I want to start with my road map.

"Guideline 3: Create a topic outline that traces your "argument."
Like any other kind of essay, the review should first establish for the reader the line of argumentation you will follow (this is called the thesis in composition classes). This can be stated in the form of an assertion, a contention or a proposition; then, the writer should develop a traceable narrative that demonstrates that the line of argumentation is worthwhile and justified. This means that the writer should have formed judgments about the topic based on the analysis and synthesis of the research literature.
The topic outline should be designed as a kind of road map of the argument... Then the introduction is followed by a systematic review of the relevant areas of the research literature and ends with a conclusion that relates back to the original assertion." (p. 51) - Writing Literature Reviews by Jose L. Galvan

The Author's Voice

I generally prefer reading more personal voices in technical academic writings, but did notice that only the big shots dared to write in that style. It's also more personal for qualitative research than quantitative research. My supervisor told me to write more formally after looking at my Chapter 1. So here, I'm convincing myself of why I should, so I convinced myself once and for all, and I will not have that debate every time I type a sentence.

"A writer's voice, when preparing a literature review, should be formal because that is what the academic context dictates. The traditional voice in scientific writing dictates that the writer de-emphasize himself or herself in order to focus the readers' attention on the content." (p. 49)

That makes very much sense. It's an act of confidence and humility, to tell others to look at what I'm writing, consider it, and decide yourself whether you can trust it. Don't look at me, look at what I have done. "De-emphasizing myself". Yes, I can do that in my writing. Direct attention not to my voice, but use my voice to direct attention to evidence and arguments.

"Notice that academic writers tend to avoid using the first person. Instead, they let the "facts" and arguments speak for themselves." (p. 50)

Quotes taken from first edition of "Writing Literature Reviews" by Jose L. Galvan. Published by Pyrczak Publishing.

The Art of Facilitation

The art of facilitation is to invite voices into the conversation and steer them towards knowledge discovery and concept building. 

For a teacher, the challenge of facilitation is how to incorporate 30 voices into this conversation? Teachers have developed different techniques to cope with this need. 

Firstly, teachers can let students share their opinions one by one, of course limited to a few more vocal students because time doesn't allow.

Secondly, teachers can try to consolidate voices so that more can be heard. Many use the written form, either using google document, butcher paper, or the whiteboard. Usually voices are grouped to come up with a refined combined voice, after grouping, if all voices speak during group time, during class time, all voices are heard. 

The teacher has to inject his or her voice to guide the direction of the conversation. Using their knowledge, their sense of what students know and do not know, and their passion for building student knowledge and understanding up, they guide student learning. 

Communicating as a creative endeavour

"The act of reading any text relies on the interpretative efforts of a reader, as well as on the communicative efforts and intentions of the author. As a system for transmitting specific factual information without any distortion or ambiguity, the sign system of honey-bees would probably win easily over human language every time. However, language offers something more valuable than mere information exchange. Because the meanings of words are not invariable and because understandings always involves interpretation, the act of communicating is always a joint, creative endeavour. Words can carry meanings beyond those consciously intended by speakers or writers because listeners or readers bring their own perspectives to the language they encounter. Ideas expressed imprecisely may be more intellectually stimulating for listeners or readers than simple facts. The fact that language is not always reliable for causing precise meanings to be generated in someone else's mind is a reflection of its powerful strength as a medium for creating new understanding. It is the inherent ambiguity and adaptability of language as a meaning-making system that makes the relationship between language and thinking so special."
- Neil Mercer in Words and Minds, p. 5-6.

The Habit of Writing

From Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches by John W. Creswell, 3rd edition, page 80-81: 

Establish the discipline or habit of writing in a regular and continuous way on your proposal. Although setting aside a completed draft of the proposal for a time may provide some perspective to review your work before final polishing, a start-and-stop process of writing often disrupts the flow of work. It may turn a well-meaning researcher into what I call a weekend writer, an individual who only has time for working on research on weekends after all the "important" work of the week has been accomplished. Continual work on the proposal is writing something each day or at least being engaged daily in the process of thinking, collecting information, and reviewing that goes into manuscript and proposal production. 

Select a time of day to work that is best for you, then use discipline to write at this time each day. Choose a place free of distractions. Boice (1990, pp. 77-8) offers ideas about establishing good writing habits: 

- With the aid of the priority principle, make writing a daily activity, regardless of mood, regardless of readiness to write. 

- If you feel you do not have time for regular writing, begin by charting your daily activities for a week or two in half-hour blocks. It's likely you'll find a time to write. 

- Write while you are fresh. 

- Avoid writing in binges. 

- Write in small, regular amounts.  

- Schedule writing tasks so that you plan to work on specific, manageable units of writing in each session. 

  - Keep daily charts. Graph at least three things: (a) time spent writing, (b) page equivalents finished, and (c) percentage of planned task completed. 

- Plan beyond daily goals. 

- Share your writing with supportive, constructive friends until you feel ready to go public. 

- Try to work on two or three writing projects concurrently so that you do not become overloaded with any one project. 

It is also important to acknowledge that writing moves along slowly and that a writer must ease into writing. Like the runner who stretches before a road race, the writer needs warm-up exercises for both the mind and the fingers. Some leisurely writing activity, such as writing a letter to a friend, brainstorming on the computer, reading some good writing, or studying a favourite poem, can make the actual task of writing easier. I am reminded of John Steinbeck's (1969) "warm-up period" (p. 42) described in detail in Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters. Steinbeck began each writing day by writing a letter to his editor and close friend, Pascal Covici, in a large notebook supplied by Covici.