Synthesis

I worked on my second draft of my Literature review. I must admit that I struggled with it a bit. One important concept I struggled with was synthesizing. At times it was hard for me to identify times in which I was merely reporting about what I had read. Finally after talking with Dr. Weaver, I got a better understanding. So off I go to try to move forward with synthesizing. It was slow going at first. But I think I am getting the hang of it. When I was writing my first draft, I had pulled particular studies that I wanted to site, and had put others to the side. But now I am going back to get as many articles to support my arguments as possible. So my piles are starting to have a different look. My dinner table is completely covered. I just read that my Literature review needs to be at least 20 pages. I am going to have to spend this next week churning out more pages. I don’t want to sound repetitive, so I will either have to add more sections, or be sure that I have covered each section thoroughly. So now I am ready to start working on draft three with the hopes of continuing with synthesizing and adding more content.

First Draft Behind Me

This week I worked on my first draft of the Literature Review. I have words on the paper which was tougher than I had imagined it would be. I tried to take the advice of Dr. Lowenthal and just write. It was a slow start, but I got words on to the paper. For me getting started was important. I kept looking for articles, but finally I started to realize that perhaps this is what is meant by gaps in the literature. I had a hard time finding some topics because the concept of bringing your own device is rather new. Having an outline helps because it helps give my literature review the flow from each topic that it needs. Dr. Tamim spoke of this, and I think having a solid outline helps when I get stuck. Now for next week, I plan on adding more content and making it cohesive. Taking this lit review in tiny chunks helps keep me organized. In the past when I have done reviews of literature, my writing had no order neither did my research. It was reflected in the quality of output. It was difficult for me, but now while I do struggle, I have some tools that help me. I have noticed a pattern in the advice that we are receiving. We must read and organize our thoughts in an outline. Put the things that we have read into categories. I have tried hard to follow the advice that is being given to me. So, with the draft behind me, I plan to move forward on reading the few articles that I have found that will help build on my topic. I plan on adding more content to my review and working on my conclusion section. I am painting a picture, and I am beginning to see it take form. How exciting!

Making Progress

 I had quite an eventful week!  Even though I did not spend the week gathering and reading each day as planned, I still did some important work.  I met with many professionals  in the field of instructional design. 

This week, I worked on my last third of my annotated bibliography.  Even though I am getting better at Identifying empirical research, I felt that I needed to go deeper and wider.  My goal this week was to learn more about my topic which is SMAR Model and BYOD.  I went to the AECT conference this week and the first session that I attended discussed technology integration and the TPACK model.  Specifically it was about one-to-on iPad integration.  I didn’t know much about TPACK, but I had come across the concept several times in other research.  So I spent some time reading about it.  I also spent more time attending TPACK workshops. 

I had the opportunity to spend time talking to Ward Cates.  He gave me advice about how to spend time researching and narrowing my topic and learn more about what’s interesting to me.  I find a recurring theme of reading the literature.  He suggested that I find 8 journals and read each issue thoroughly going back two years. As daunting as the task sounds, I understand why it’s so important to read the literature.  If I am going to be and “expert”, as Dr. Mims says, then I have to know what the research says.  So I have heard it from the experts and when I have time, I plan on doing more reading outside the demands of course work.  I want to know what’s going on in my field.

Completing this literature review has been a very different experience than ones done in the past.  It has less to do with the volume, but more to do with the knowledge that I have acquire in the process.  I have spoken with the librarian who has given me invaluable searching tips, and I have spoken with many professors who have given me helpful advice along the way.  I am taking note. 

Finally, I am moving forward with my outline.  I am keeping in mind that is a process and in the end I will have a chapter of dissertation.  I am off to a great start. 

Moving at a steady pace

This week I spent time searching for articles for my bibliography.  This search was easier and yet more challenging than the week before.  I have become a better searcher able to refine my technique.  But it seems that I may need to broaden my search criteria because the results are becoming repetitive.  I have to ask, how much research can I include in my review without become redundant? 

Looking at the video advice from professors from other universities is helpful.  I never really thought about how I could fall into to the patterns of writing that reads like a laundry list.  I will be cognizant of that moving forward.  

Getting Better with Time

I was able to meet with Dr. Dennis earlier in the week so that I didn't get too far into my journal search without her help.  Identifying 20 articles was a challenge at first, but it became more manageable after my meeting, and I was able to get the twenty done in the time frame allotted.  I think learning how to properly execute a search of literature was an important goal this week.  I think that I got better as the week went on.  I was able to refine my search and search through other cited articles.  Going to meet the librarina helped me with the annotations assignment because I didn't realize that I was not using the database to the fullest. 

In the past when I completed searches for articles, I only used education full text.  While that is a good start, it is by far not the only option.  I can find articles in databases just based on topics.  I didn't think that I would have any use for articles in psych info, but I learned that there are a lot of theory based articles located in that database which will help me as well.    This assignment would have been beneficial to me in my other classes last semester.  I wish that it could have been offered last year when I just beginning the program and had to do literature reviews.  I would have selected better articles and used more databases for searches.  Even though I feel more confident in my searches, I still need more practice with refinement.  I will use the feedback that I receive from this week to make the required improvements.  

A Fresh Start

I really feel that I am off to a great start this week because I have narrowed my research topic down to something that is interesting to me as well as researchable.  So I have more of a purpose and that will help me move forward with less stress than when I started reading the first assignment.  I think this was an important first start and I am proud.

This week I got to read and get a better understanding of what a literature review is.  This would have been very helpful in my last term when I did a literature review.  Creating a concept map helped me to organize my thinking.  Click here to see my concept map. This will be helpful as I start organizing my thoughts for my literature review.  While reading about the different types of literature review, I was able to see that I will do a more comprehensive review that is a part of a larger body of work.   I will be writing about Bring your own device (BYOD) in school. There is a growing body of knowledge that can be found, and I hope to also be a contributor.   

At the beginning of this week, my main goal was to narrow my topic, and I did that so I  elated to have met that goal.  Next week, I will meet with the librarian.  I hope to have some articles already selected so that I can see how I am improve my researching techniques.  

My Concept Map

Starting the dissertation

 

I found this article on the internet and thought that it would be helpful in my dissertation.  It basically is a compact version of the books that I have been reading.  This article offers tips on picking a topic, conducting a lit review, and narrowing the focus.  It was written by Mellissa Dittman.. It was good.

 

You've watched other classmates sweating over their dissertation topics, poring over the literature, agonizing over their research design, writing and editing. Now, it's your turn.
But, when and how do you begin?
Ideally, dissertation advisers say, students identify a research interest in the first or second year of their program and then use that general area as a theme throughout their coursework. But students don't need to view that general area as a trajectory of their career. Instead, experts encourage students to view the dissertation as a teaching exercise, in which they learn how to conduct, design and analyze independent research.
So first off, you need a topic.
"The topic is the foundation for everything-with a good topic and research question, you'll be set to go," says Melinda Stoops, PhD, a director of the counseling center at Framingham State College in Framingham, Mass., who has spoken at APA conferences on writing the dissertation.
Experts offer the following advice on tackling these beginning stages of your dissertation-from getting organized to narrowing your topic to identifying your problem and research questions.
Then, take it one chapter at a time, dissertation advisers say.

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 PICKING A TOPIC

When deciding your topic, keep in mind that you will undoubtedly spend the next few years immersed in it, says psychologist John Cone, PhD, a professor emeritus at Alliant International University (AIU) and co-author with Sharon Foster, PhD, of "Dissertations and Theses from Start to Finish" (APA, 1993). Cone advises the following steps to pick a topic:

• Ask a favorite professor, preferably one active in research, about possible topics.
• Read departmental information on the research interests of the faculty to find a topic a faculty member is interested in as well. Consider asking the faculty member to be a part of your dissertation committee, which will help guide you in your research.
  
• Read an empirical paper that interests you and see what future research is suggested in the discussion section.
  
• Think about term papers you enjoyed writing and choose a topic that reflects those interests.
  
• Sift through literature reviews in your areas of interest-such as in the Annual Review of Psychology, Psychological Bulletin and Clinical Psychology Review.
  
• Avoid topics in which you are overly emotionally involved-such as research on depression if you or a family member is depressed. Such emotional elements can interfere with your research, Cone says.
  

To narrow your focus, identify what within your chosen topic area interests you, says Foster, a psychology professor at AIU. Bounce ideas off a mentor and consult the literature to determine what has been done before, she advises. Also, consider choosing a topic that you've already been exposed to, such as through your master's thesis or a research project.
That's exactly what sixth-year doctoral student Jody Ernst did. Ernst-who is in the University of Texas at Austin's individual differences and evolutionary psychology program-has spent her entire graduate career researching behavioral genetics.
"Selecting the topic sort of fell into place naturally as a product of the research I have been doing for the past five years," Ernst says. In particular, her dissertation investigates the genetic factors that influence problem behavior development over the life span.
"It is helpful to choose a topic that builds upon past work you have done," Ernst says. "I think this makes the process of identifying the big questions much easier because you are already familiar with the relevant literature."
But, make sure you have passion for the topic. Nate Tomcik-a fifth-year doctoral student in the clinical psychology program at the University of Tennessee-has an interest in his research on therapists' views of couples therapy because it allowed him to integrate research with his clinical work with couples.
"My advice would be to not choose a topic that is an unappealing offshoot of your adviser's work or a project that you have lukewarm feelings about in general," Tomcik suggests. "It's important to remember that the dissertation is a marathon, not a sprint, and lukewarm feelings can turn cold quickly.
"If I didn't love my dissertation idea as much as I do, I know it would have been much harder to stay on track and focused," he adds.

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 CONDUCTING THE LIT REVIEW

Once you've identified a topic, the next step is to write a review of the literature in the area. The lit review section will include a brief introduction to your topic, introduce key concepts and review the existing literature.
But be prepared: The lit review often is the most difficult part of the dissertation, Foster maintains.
"Sometimes you are going to feel lost and like you don't know where you're going," Foster says. "The reason for that is because you are trying to do several things concurrently-you're trying to learn about this whole field and get a conceptual framework of how to map out this area of research."
But, it's nothing your classes haven't prepared you to take on, Foster says.
Cone and Foster also suggest that students:

• Determine how experts in the field have organized their thinking by reading chapters or integrative articles they've written.
  
• Find meta-analyses, journal articles or books on the topic and scan their reference sections for other references.
  
• Identify key journals that cover the topic and scan their table of contents from the past five years for material.
  
• Search electronic bibliographies-such as PsycINFO (which contains nearly 2 million citations of journal articles, books and dissertations in psychology) or the Education Resources Information Center, or ERIC, which offers a database of journal and other education literature.
  
• Identify major authors in the area and search for them by name in databases, such as PsycLIT, to determine if they've written on other related items.
  
• Determine if related research might be published under different keywords.
  

For example, Foster says in her research on girls' aggression, "aggression" as a keyword didn't cover it. Without trying other keywords, she would have missed key information on "delinquency" and "conduct disorders," which use similar criteria to define the population.
Jennifer Reese-a fourth-year doctoral student in the PsyD program at the University of Denver-used what she calls the "scavenger hunt" approach for her lit review; she scanned reference sections of relevant books and journal articles and then found those referenced sources as well. She is validating the use of Jane Elliott's Blue Eyes Brown Eyes exercise, a behavior training method that uses discrimination against a person's eye color to teach Caucasians about prejudice and oppression. Reese even spoke with Elliott-a retired schoolteacher who created the experiment in the 1960s-to get background on what similar studies had been done.
So how do you know when you've gathered enough for your lit review? "I know when I go to the reference sections, and I'm not finding any new things-when I keep turning up the same things over and over again," Foster says.

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 IDENTIFYING THE PROBLEM AND QUESTIONS

Once you feel confident that you've covered the literature, identify the rationale for your study, why it's important and what hasn't been studied about it before, Foster says.
To do that, Cone suggests writing a paragraph or two summarizing the literature review. Then, determine what unresolved issues are identified in the most recently cited studies-and most relevant to your study. Select one of these issues and formulate one or two research questions and associated hypotheses.
When formulating the research question, consider whether you'll be able to recruit enough participants, Stoops says. Ask your dissertation committee-which usually comprises three or four faculty members you choose when you first begin your dissertation-for feedback on whether they believe you'll be able to recruit enough participants or obtain animals, if needed, dissertation advisers suggest.
After her extensive lit review, Ernst was able to pinpoint her research questions for her dissertation on problem behavior development, including: Are there predictable developmental trajectories for problem behaviors? What factors influence the development of problem behaviors for vulnerable individuals across the life span? She identified these questions by finding the gaps within the problem behavior development literature.
Both the statement of the problem and research questions will be lumped in the introduction of your dissertation, which provides an overview of your study. But, while the introduction is sometimes the first chapter in your dissertation, don't feel compelled to have it be the first thing you do, says Framingham State College's Stoops. She didn't write her introduction until after doing her lit review and methodology.
However, Ernst wrote her statement first and then continually added relevant citations as she came upon them.
"Writing the intro first helped me to organize my thoughts about gaps in current research and helped me to identify what new and relevant information I would be adding to this line of research," she says.

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 STAYING ON TRACK

Whatever methods you choose, even these beginning stages to your dissertation may seem overwhelming. So treat your dissertation as a job, Cone advises. He suggests committing 10 to 20 hours per week for 12 to 18 months to avoid becoming a casualty to the All But Dissertation (ABD) label. Set specific work hours and choose a specific place to work, he advises.
And tap the guidance of others-such as professors, peers or other mentors-who can help you through the process, Foster adds. (For tips to finding a mentor, see Building mentorships for success.)
"People who are a little ahead of you in the process can be very helpful," Foster says. "They will tell you what they've gone through and normalize your experience and give you leads."
One way to get a peer network for your dissertation: Join the APAGS dissertation listserv.
Another is taking a class on the dissertation process. That certainly helped Chris Bernuth, a sixth-year counseling psychology doctoral student at University of Missouri-Columbia, to stay on track. The professor's due dates and the class's extra support prevented procrastination, he says.
"Very smart people can become ABD because they procrastinate or think they can write the dissertation in a couple of all-night sessions, and you cannot do that with a dissertation," Foster says.
When Stoops was working on her dissertation, she combated tendencies to procrastinate by setting deadlines with her dissertation chair. One way to set those deadlines, Cone says, is to list each step in chronological order and then use it to create a milestone chart.
And most importantly, Cone says students can be confident about their ability to complete the dissertation.
"After all," he says, "you have made it this far."