Searching

One question I am frequently asked "is how do I know that I have found all relevant articles in the library?" You really don't know- new literature is added every day. So searching should continue even after you have written the literature review.

However, I can give you some additional suggestions. Check the keywords on relevant articles that you find – and use those for additional searches. Check the references on all relevant articles and look for ones that you may not be aware of yet. Look at those articles' references and keywords. Think of it as being a detective- you are searching for that elusive clue!

Try searching without "full text" turned on – you may pull up articles that you have not seen before. You can request up to 20 articles (total at Walden) from the library's document delivery service – see the library home page for info on this.

Keep track in your research notebook of all the searches you conduct, the database used, and the keywords used. You will need this info in c. 2; it also cuts down on the time for future searches.

There are a number of special features in the Walden library that I want to mention, that can help your search. When you have found an abstract that appears relevant, look to the left of it and you will see a green box labeled: "Find Similar Results using SmartText Searching." It is worth checking this to see if it gives you any help. Another resource is to look right above the green box at "Times cited in this database." This shows you every article that cited the one you are looking at. Often they will be related in topic.

Also a hint, if you find a reference you want to use – look at the right side of the screen and click "Cite." It will provide the full reference in APA format, this can be copied into your reference section.

Finally, if you are having a great deal of difficulty finding literature, contact the librarian. They are able to come up with many ideas for keywords and search terms that you have probably not considered.

Next time, I will post an updated blog index. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Send me an email with your ideas. leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu

The Final Dissertation- from a Faculty View

In my inbox I have received all five chapters of the dissertation from a student, what am I looking for? First, I will carefully read the abstract; this is all that the CAO will see, so it has to be written as well and as complete as possible. I will make sure that the student mentions the theory used, details about participants, analysis, some results, and ends with social change.

I will review c. 1-3 to make sure anything about the study is now in the past tense. I will carefully read c. 3 the methods and then read c.4, the results. First, I double-check the consistency between what they said they would do in c. 3 and what they actually did in c. 4. Any changes must be detailed and explained.

Chapter 4 should review the methods actually used and any problems that arose. It should also fully explain the analyses, and the results. Chapter 5 should explain the results by linking them back to the literature and to theory. This is where the student should show that they understand what they found and that they understand the implications. They also should discuss what the next steps should be in research in this area and the social change implications.

Of course, there should be no misspellings and the APA should be correct throughout.

Next time, we will take a look at searching for articles. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Send me an email with your ideas. leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu

The Proposal- from a Faculty View

As a faculty member when I receive a complete proposal, I am looking at a number of things. First, I look at the writing- is it clear and does it make sense? Is the grammar correct? Are there misspellings? It is always surprising how many students cannot pass this initial test.

Second, I look at the APA formatting. Are citations used correctly? Are there citations for every fact? Are there no contractions nor are there colloquial comments (e.g., "kids")? Are references written correctly and are they from primary sources?

Third, I look at the content. Does the student's logic make sense? Have they discussed all of their variables and made a strong case as to why their study is needed? By the end of c. 1, I should feel convinced that the student's study is needed and is an appropriate answer to that need. By the end of c 2, I should feel convinced that the student has a good understanding of the literature and the variables in his or her study.

In c. 3, I am looking for a complete description of the study in enough detail that I could go out and do the study based on the description. I want to know who will be the participants, how they will be recruited, what will happen to them during the study, and what they will be told. I expect to see any surveys or interview questions that will be in the study given in the appendixes (and referred to in c. 3). Similarly, the consent form(s), demographic surveys, and permission agreements should all be in the appendixes. I will take a close look at the methodology and see if it is described correctly, given the population. I will also consider whether any ethical issues will arise when the student goes through the IRB.

I should be able to print out the references and read through the paper crossing off each the reference when it is cited in the paper- and have no citations without references and vice versa. Citations with 3+ authors should be using et al. after the first citation. All references should be in correct APA format.

Finally, I will take one more look at the study as a whole- is it consistent through the three chapters? Are all variables described and addressed in the study? Are the research questions consistent with the methodology? Does the theory make sense given the study as a whole?

Next time, we will take a look at the final dissertation from the faculty view. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Send me an email with your ideas. leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu

The Prospectus – from a Faculty View

A prospectus shows up in my inbox, what do I look for? First, I read through the paper making general notes in track changes. Is the APA correct? Are there misspellings? Does the general topic make sense? Is the topic area original or has it been done before?

Then I go through the paper again reading more carefully. Does the literature make sense? Is there a logical flow to how the rationale is described? The student should be making a case that his or her study is needed through citations of literature and previous research. By the time, I finish the Background section I should be nodding and thinking, yes, this study is needed.

Another consideration is if the topic is one that student has either been trained in at Walden or demonstrated he or she has a previous background in the topic. Therefore, if you want to examine the deaf, you must show that you have outside experience in this area. Save yourself revisions by including a sentence or two documenting your experience.

Do the theories discussed in the Framework section make sense with the topic? Has the student provided enough detail that I am convinced he or she understands the theories? Will the theories provide interesting areas to discuss when the student has results?

Do the research questions fit with the research methods? These two sections must fit together well. A common error here is to have a quantitative wording for a qualitative study; an example, Is there a correlation between X and Y? This is not a qualitative question. Will the student be able to answer the research questions given their methods? Sometimes I see students wanting to know about a variable, but do not indicate that they will be measuring/ asking about it. Alternatively, is it a variable that it isn’t possible to realistically examine- for example, how people learn a language. I suppose you could watch a child for 24 hrs. a day for several years, and know what words he or she learns, but you still will not really know how he or she learned them.

Save yourself revisions and go into detail with your research methods. How many participants are you thinking of having? How did you arrive at that number? How will you recruit them? What measures/ surveys will you use? It is ok to say that the specific instrument is to be determined- but at least have an idea of the variable. If you are doing a qualitative study, give a couple of example interview questions. Talk about where and how you will do the interviews. I will consider whether ethically, you will be allowed to do the study- for example, interviewing your own students or subordinates is not ethical.

Optionally, discuss the analysis, what statistics or qualitative techniques will you use. The idea is to give the reader an awareness that you have thought about these topics.

Finally, I look at the references. Are they in APA format? Are they primary sources? The best prospectus has all of the elements I have discussed. Everything is consistent and pieces build upon each other.

Next time, we will take a look at the proposal from a faculty viewpoint. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Send me an email with your ideas. leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu

Alternative Sources for Articles, part 2

Previously I discussed the easy sources for articles, however, there are some other alternatives. If you have a college or university near you, you might check if they have the article you need. If all else fails, you can write to the author, although this will probably require some detective work. You can try the email he or she listed in the article (often listed on the abstract page), however, be aware faculty tend to move around a lot, and it may no longer work. The problem is you usually do not receive any notice the person no longer works there, so if you do not get a reply you do not know if they are just rude or never got it. If you know what affiliation (college, university, etc.) they listed on the article (it is usually listed near the title or as a footnote), go to the institution's website, and see if they are still employed there. They usually provide email addresses. If you still cannot find the author, do a Google search on him or her; you may pick up a clue where they work now and can try to track down an email address.

What do you say when you write them? Tell them you are very interested in their work on X and ask if they could send you a copy of their article (give the citation for it). Also, ask them if they have any other papers in this area. Be sure to include your mailing address in case they want to send it that way. Here is a sample letter:

Dear Dr. Jones,

I am very interested in your work on fear of pencils. I am a doctoral student in psychology at XXXX University and my dissertation is in this area. I have been unable to locate your paper Jones and Smith (2010) "Fear and Pencils: How do I function now?" I would greatly appreciate it if you could send me a copy of this article. In addition, if you have any subsequent papers in this area, I would love to get copies of those too.

Thank you so much for any help you can provide,

Suzy Student

17 Hopeful Lane

Johnston, NY 98765

Unfortunately, some people are rude, and you may not get a response. Give the author a week or two to respond; the final step would be to try to track down other authors on the paper.

Next time, I will discuss the prospectus – from a faculty view. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Would you like to be a guest writer? Send me your ideas! leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu

Alternative Sources for Articles, part 1

Students frequently ask me how to find articles that are not available in the library. Here are a few alternative sources. Make sure you have checked Google Scholar, also check electronic professional media such as LinkedIn or Research Gate. These are sites where authors frequently post preprints (work not yet published) as well as published articles. Be sure you have checked all of the available databases in your library. In psychology, one that is frequently missed is "Psychology: A SAGE Full-Text Collection." This database has many psychology articles, which for some reason, are typically not picked up by PsycINFO. If you are interested in a health related topic, make sure you check CINAHL (a nursing database) and Medline.

Check out "Thoreau: Search Multiple Databases." This often pulls up articles not found in individual databases. Similarly, the database, "Academic Search Complete" brings up some information outside the regular databases.

If you still cannot find a particular paper you are looking for and if you know the authors and title, you can request an interlibrary loan, in which the librarian will track it down for you. As a dissertation student, you may be allowed only a certain number of free loans, so check the rules out first.

Next time we will consider other alternative sources for articles. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Would you like to be a guest writer? Send me your ideas! leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu

Learning

During the course of writing, collecting, and analyzing your data for your dissertation, you will learn a great deal. You will learn about technical writing, APA format, and more about your methodology. However, if you are observant and self-reflective, you can learn a great deal about yourself too. Occasionally take stock of how you approach this large task. Are you methodological and require a step-by-step plan be implemented? Are you a last minute person, trying to put something together before you have to meet with your chair? Think through the implications of your responses, how is your personality interacting with your desire to be done with your doctorate?

Do you need frequent feedback or are you a person who likes to work on your own and just get feedback when necessary? How do you handle criticism? Do you become angry and defensive or do you look on criticism as a learning opportunity?

What writing issues are frequently commented upon by your chair/ committee? Do you tend to get into the little details to such an extent that your committee does not understand why you have included these issues? Common comments might be "please reduce your number of pages! Relate this back to your project." Perhaps you tend to follow interesting but irrelevant tangents in the literature- either never writing because you cannot get out of the literature or writing about issues not related to your study. Consider what leads you to these tendencies… how can you keep yourself on track?

How do like to read articles- in print or on the computer? How do you (or do you??) organize these articles? Do you have piles everywhere or is your office very tidy? All of these are giving you information about yourself and your personality. Why not take a little time to think about how you are reflected in your work habits? None of the characteristics are necessarily bad or wrong, however, it is an opportunity to decide if it they are getting you where you want to go.

Next time I will discuss some alternative sources for articles.  Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Would you like to be a guest writer? Send me your ideas! leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu