Mailbag

How can I find a gap in the literature?

This is definitely one of the trickier aspects of research! My suggestion is to first, pick a major topic in which you are interested. Then start reading the literature about this area (take notes in your research journal). Pay attention to the discussion section; the author(s) will suggest areas that they have found to need more research. Once you have narrowed down your topic area, do searches with the term "review" as a search term. This will bring up articles that are just literature reviews of the topic. Pay special attention to what the author(s) suggest as areas still in need of research. Once you think you have found a gap, do searches to make sure no one has done the study you are considering. Write your search terms, databases used, and articles that you found helpful in your research journal.

 I need to do a PowerPoint for my defense, do you have any suggestions?

Typically, you will only have about 20 minutes for your portion of the defense (the rest of the hour is questions), so it is best to have 20 or so slides. It is usually best to just have key points on the slides, you can write out the rest and read it. For the proposal, concentrate most on the methods and analysis, with just enough theory and literature to put it into context. For the final defense, concentrate on c. 4 & 5, with enough of the proposal to put it into context.

I do have examples of quantitative and qualitative PowerPoint for both proposal and final defenses. If you would like to see one of these, just send me an email and tell me your type of study and what stage you are in the process.