AIL 689 Discussion Thread
I was asked to complete a variety of assignments that helped them develop a research topic and to fully understand the dissertation process.
Discussion 1
Students were asked to review resources relating to selecting a dissertation topic. Students were then asked to reflect on the material and pose any questions.
My posting is as followed: 1/25/2012
I am very lucky to have found a topic early and to find a topic that has little research attached allowing me to really mold my dissertation into what I want with out as many constraints but I found this article on strategies to be very helpful and I think I will send it out to my students in Tide Together. There were a few things I wanted to highlight or comment on. First the section where the authors talk about looking at what others have said about implications for additional research, or not enough sufficient research; this is how I found my topic really. I was given a link to a video by Dr. Wright a year or so ago that talked about what’s the impact on our youth and social media/online “mania”. I took their comments on the need for more research and started there and moved forward. Second thing I wanted to mention was it was interesting to know that with sciences, math, and engineering a lot of times it is a team effort and not an individual research project, this is very helpful for me to know for my work but also raises the question has their been dual dissertations in education? Also wanted to mention the section where the authors talk about students might end up doing their advisors suggested research topic. For many of my colleagues in my other program this is the way they end up going because they are so unclear about what to do or where to begin, for me personally I would hate to have something chosen for me because in the end its your research, its what gets you that job, its what gets you started on a passion for knowledge (or at least that is what has happened for me). I would suggested to anyone who is searching for a topic to try and find something that is unique to you because it can be hard getting behind a topic that isn’t your own. I am actually glad we are going to be looking through the database of dissertation and theses as our next assignment because this will help me find more literature (or at least I hope). Its funny how something so easily accessed never crossed my mind as a valuable resource in finding information. I think that brings up a good point that as we move forward in our dissertations/theses we need to develop a peer review system that allows us to have these “suggestions” made to us when we can not see them. With my own research I get so bogged down by a particular theme, subject, fact, that I can’t see past it and I am “stuck” it helps to talk it through. I have bothered my professors so much about all my concerns with my topic. Fortunately we have a great department and I haven’t been told to get lost yet! References:
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Discussion 2
Students were asked to review another set of literature references and reflect on their own academic writing. They were to post their reflections to the discussion board.
My posting is as followed: 1/31/2012
After reading From Manuscript to Article: Publishing Educational Technology Research I clicked file, save as! This article provides so many helpful tips, as well as, templates to go by when I begin to publish my work. A few things stood out that I wanted to take time to reflect on. First, the authors begin talking about developing studies for publication. I have already found it very true that research “is rarely a linear and systematic process” (pg 4). I have found that I have to go back to the beginning to answer questions that I have come across later down the road in my research; it seems never ending. The other day at a group meeting I blurted out “that sometimes you have to do backwards to move forwards” and I feel like I am always going backwards to inch forward with questions and answers in an attempt to make my research solid. I will say that after starting this pilot study of mine I have learned more about research, writing, and requirements for academic submissions then I have during the whole 3 years of coursework. Second, when the article mentioned having a “pipeline” of projects I had to laugh, only because in my mind I am always coming up with new research topics but the key is to get them in working order so I can actually do something with them. Maybe when I do not have class or a dissertation to write it will not seem such a daunting task to have more than one research project going on at the same time. I wanted to take a few minutes to go back to our first class meeting when we all had to look through journals that Dr. Wright gave us and become acquainted with the style and “culture” of the journal. “The first issue relates to “fit” (making your manuscript fit with other articles in the target journal)” (pg 5); this statement seems to be reiterated through several of our assignments now. I see how important it is to find a proper medium to convey your research; my concern is trying to find that proper medium with so many choices out there. The numerous journals, online forums, organizations, and conferences are overwhelming when starting out. Does anyone have any tips on how to wade through all of it? Finally, as I said at the beginning this article has given a great overview of what to expect, what to do, and even providing examples. I never knew you needed to provide a cover letter with your article submission, and I was shocked to see it could take over year to get a decision on a submission. In the end this article gave me many pointers but I think the best advice it gave is to how to move forward from a rejection on a positive note. As graduate students we are critiqued on our writing at any given moment, even this assignment requires our writing to be critiqued. We have learned to move forward with our critiques and become stronger writers in our studies and as we move into becoming leading scholars in our fields we will again learn to move forward with our critiques to become even stronger scholars. References:
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Discussion 3
Students were asked to search the Dissertation and Thesis database and select 3 dissertations that relate to their topic. Students were then asked to post summaries of the dissertations to the posting board.
My posting is as followed: 2/10/2012
“Engaged Citizenship: The Effect of Blackburn Institute Participation on Post-Graduate Behaviors and Beliefs” By Rebecca Reamey, The University of Alabama ELPTS- ProQuest Conceptual Framework: Dr. Reamey used the mission statement and values/goals of the Blackburn Institute here at UA along with Van Hecke’s 5 Characterizations of citizenship (2004) as the framework to her dissertation. She used these two frameworks to help categorize her coding of interview transcripts. Van Hecke’s five characterizations of citizenships are: 1.) Civic and political engagement; 2.) public good; 3.) community service; 4.) moral discernment; and 5) communities across difference. What is interesting is that “Van Hecke constructed these characterizations of citizenship for her dissertation in 2004 using literature from sociology, psychology, political science, and higher education” (Reamey 2009). Reamey used the Blackburn Institutes mission statement and value/goals to analysis data and measure the success of the organization here at UA. Reamey even drew up a visual model of Van Heck’s 5 characteristics and the Blackburn Institute’s overarching values and how they are interconnected and will be used to cross check participants “various levels of community involvement”. Only Alumni Blackburn Fellows were asked to participate. Recommendations for Future Research: “This study was designed to understand the lasting effect of participation in the Blackburn Institute” (Reamey 2009). Dr. Reamey recommended that further research be done on the Blackburn Institute to “examine the lasting impact...on undergraduate students as well as alumni Fellows”. She also recommended that more research be done on actual undergraduate experiences during their year in the institute, does the length of time in the program make a difference in student future involvement, how can the institute better “engage their alumni Fellows in the Blackburn Institute”. Dr. Reamey suggested a comparative study be done on other institutes like the Blackburn Institute across universities as well as do an in-depth study of organizations that are named after charismatic leaders and how that naming influences the people and organization. Finally Dr. Reamey suggested that a study or studies be done on the “variation of community involvement based on demographic factors” (Reamey 2009). Connection to my Dissertation Topic: I found Dr. Reamey’s dissertation to be extremely helpful not only in added literature review material but in themes and codes. She was able to put a defined parameter on civic responsibility. This parameter helped her narrow her transcription and develop defined themes to guide her dissertation. I am having a hard time narrowing my definition of community and civic responsibility and provide firm themes to build off of; I will definitely look into Van Heck’s 5 characteristics. I also found it very helpful to see that Dr. Reamey didn’t use a philosophical framework or a theoretical framework to guide her research but a mission statement and themes developed from a colleague’s dissertation. It shows me that I have options when trying to tying everything together. “Engaged Scholarship and Education: A Case Study on the Pedagogy of Social Change” By Tessa Hicks, Claremont University, Cultural Studies- ProQuest Conceptual Framework: Dr. Hicks’ dissertation was very interesting to read because her dissertation format was completely different. She talked about her framework, design, and methodology all in chapter one. It was actually a little difficult to pinpoint her framework so here is what I think is her framework. She first talks about research as sharing traits with “oppressive history of colonization” (Hicks, 2009). She goes on to say that most research takes the stance as the researcher being all knowing and the researched being oppressed and exploited. She thus is changing her researcher style to action research allowing her participants to have a significant say in how the research is conducted and shared. She also states that “this action research project utilized a critical methodology found on philosophical and epistemological assumptions that reject the traditional conventions of social science research that assume truth is fixed, value-free, and “out there to be discovered” (Hicks, 2009). She rejects neutrality in methods and analysis and rejects these notions in postmodern, antipositivist, feminist, and critical theorist. She uses social constructivism and multiple realities that form the human experience. All and all she doesn’t give a clear framework for her dissertation even though it is 370 pages! I liked Reamey’s better just because everything was very clear cut and she took considerable time linking everything together Recommendations for Future Research: Dr. Hick’s keeps her recommendations closely linked to the organizations she studied during her dissertation and has several recommendations for improving those organizations. She also has recommendations for improving faculty relations with those organizations. She does give a call for change in our colleges and universities along with our community organizations to work together and provide this “pipeline” of community engagement. Connections to my Dissertation Topic: Even though Dr. Hick’s dissertation was not easy to understand or follow due it had a lot of key points that I found interesting and will help me along the way. Dr. Hick’s talks about community engagement and the University both in historical context and present day allowing me to add to my body of knowledge for my topic. She then goes on to describe how community engagement effects and impacts student when interacting with specific community organizations, even though this is not exactly where my research is headed it does allow me to fine tune my research questions and structure of my research methods because I am trying to find the effects and impacts of online education on community engagement. “An Analysis of Selected Professors’ Perceptions and Concerns Regarding Online Distance Education” By Normand Louis Hays, The University of Memphis- ProQuest Conceptual Framework: Dr. Hays describes his study as “descriptive” research. As before with Dr. Hicks, he does not spend a significant amount of time sectioning out his conceptual framework but incorporates it through his dissertation; once again providing me with confusion as to what his framework actually is. He is using a mixed methods approach with interviews, focus groups, and surveys. He uses studies by Hislop and Atwood (2000); Smith, et.al, (2002); Pachnowski and Jurczyk, (2003); Rockwell, Schauer, Friz, and Marx, (1999); Schifter, (2002); and Tao and Chu-Chen, (2003) to mold his survey questions and uses a Likkert scale and open-ended questions to measure and his data. Recommendations for Future Research: Dr. Hays gives 5 recommendations for further research: 1.) A longitudinal study using the same participants. Would allow for additional insights 2.) Similar studies using various universities and colleges 3.) “Additional research should include university members that use the online course management system as filler or do not teach an entire course online”. 4.) Using the RODP system conduct research with all faculty teaching in the RODP 5.) Further research should be done on staff personal who assist with online students, online teaching faculty, or online technology. Connections to My Dissertation Topic: Dr. Hays dissertation connects with my topic because it is talking about online distance education and faculty. In my research I am looking at online distance education and their perception to how it impacts student sense of community, civic responsibility, and social engagement. His dissertation allows me to view what goes into training faculty about online distance learning, their attitudes towards it, and to what level it takes to incorporate complex pedagogy into a distance education format. All this is something I need to take into account as limitations, assumptions, and challenges. References:
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