I was struck by the organization of all the articles we read this week. I found them very helpful while working on my research proposal. Each article included some of the following elements:
- abstract/summary
- an introduction and some background
- a description of the plan or case/reasons/motivation for the study
- a description of the "users"
- the methods and process(es) used for conducting the study
- results/analysis/interpretation of the data collected
- reflections/thoughts for action/further research/conclusion
Paying close attention to these elements has given me a better idea of the questions I need answers to and the data I need to collect. At the moment, as Rob points out in his comment to my last entry, the goal of my research for this class is to collect data from a questionnaire and analyze those answers in order to direct further study. This is why I've called it a pilot study. But what he says about what I plan to do with that data concerns me:
"Your proposal seems to missing what you plan to do with the data. In other words, your procedure is only data collection. Are your analysis techniques dependent on the data you collect?"
I think the answer to this questions is yes, and I hope this is something I can address further in my research proposal.
1 comment:
Hi Liz,
Good insights! I also think it's great that Becky has pulled out some good models for us to emulate. I am always wary, though, of her throwing in one stinker to help us see what we SHOULDN'T do - and why. :)
I also am developing a much better sense for how I might have worded by research proposal as I read more for this class - this week's readings, especially, reminded me that, since I'm doing mostly qualitative stuff, my project is only halfway done once I've finished collecting data. I'll want to code the data and identify themes using a homegrown version of NVIVO, and I think this phase of the project was probably a bit too "implied" - rather than explicitly stated - in my proposal. Of course, I haven't even gotten IRB approval yet, so who knows whether and when I will actually be able to start collecting data.
See you in class!
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