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.