With your three possible dissertation topics assessed on a preliminary basis, you should next conduct a broad scan of the literature. A broad scan is the first of a three-phase review of the literature that you should undertake. Many students believe that the review of the literature occurs in one intensive period of reading. It makes more sense to see it as a continuing process. Each of the phases of literature has a different purpose, and each makes a contribution to your knowledge base. Your goal for the broad scan is to increase your knowledge so you will be better able to make a final decision about the research topic and the research problem. How much time you spend on this step will depend on the time available, your existing knowledge, the resources available to you, and how many topics you investigate. You have a choice about this last issue. If the preliminary assessment has convinced you that one topic is clearly superior, then investigate only that. If you feel torn between two of the topics, then you should investigate both. And if you have ample time available and feel very confused, then review all three possible topics. #literature #dissertationtopic #dissertation #topic #researchsupport #research #students #university #CollegeLife
As you conduct the broad scan, organize your work, keeping in mind the following guidelines. 1. Begin to keep a research journal. The research journal is your personal record of your ideas, feelings, and actions as they relate to your dissertation. The journal will provide a very useful source as you do your dissertation and reflect on your progress. Here is a sample entry to illustrate how you might use the journal: June 16. Read a good article in the Review of Educational Research on “Teaching writing using school to work transitions for youth with disabilities,” by P. Nathan Siceloff and Millie S. Griffith (89, 971226). That might make a good topic; I could do a follow-up study of students with disabilities. 2. Develop a good filing system. You should see your filing system as a flexible one that changes as your study takes shape. You should develop a system that reflects your own way of organising materials. You should also investigate software that makes it possible for you to computerise your knowledge base. At this stage of searching for a topic, you probably will have one general folder for each topic you are investigating. Once you have identified a topic, you will reorganise your files, establishing a folder for each major phase of the problem you have decided to study. #literaturereview #dissertationtopic #dissertation #topic #researchsupport #research #students #university #CollegeLife #broadscanofliterature
3. Secure the approved style manual. Check with the chair of your department to determine which style manual is to be followed. Get a copy and follow it precisely. If you have a choice, purchase and use the current edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (usually referred to as APA). It is the style manual most widely used in education. 4. Hold on to useful sources. Whenever possible, make copies of articles, chapters in books, and shorter monographs. Don't rely on your note-taking skills. If the entire book seems useful, purchase your own copy if it is still in print. If you cannot buy the book, copy the title page and pages that seem especially useful. #literaturereview #dissertationtopic #dissertation #topic #researchsupport #research #students #university #CollegeLife #broadscanofliterature
5. Get full bibliographic information. Style manuals vary considerably in relation to the information they require in endnotes and reference lists; check the manual you are using to determine which information is needed. However, err on the side of completeness. For example, the current edition of the APA manual requires you to use the author’s first and middle initials in the reference list, not the author’s first name. However, you may decide to submit your article to a journal that requires you to include the first name; you therefore should have it in your files so you do not have to look it up again. #literaturereview #dissertationtopic #dissertation #topic #researchsupport #research #students #university #CollegeLife #broadscanofliterature
6. Begin your search record. You should find a search record helpful to you throughout the dissertation process. A search record is just what the term implies: a detailed account of the search process you used. The search record will help you be more systematic about your search. It can also provide the data you need for your literature review chapter, and it will enable your chair to give you constructive feedback about your search process.
#literaturereview #dissertationtopic #dissertation #topic #researchsupport #research #students #university #CollegeLife #broadscanofliterature
- Badges
- Science topic