Come and look over my shoulder: Literature Review

I have been asked to write a literature review as an article in a journal for midwives and doulas. I thought you might find it helpful to "look over my shoulder" as I select a topic, do the literature search, and organize and write the paper. Today, I will talk about the topic selection and literature search, I'll save writing for a later time.

The journal editor asked me to pick a topic on the subject of child obesity that would be relevant to childbirth educators (e.g., midwives, and doulas). Let's start by doing a search in the Walden library in Psycinfo, Cinahl (a nursing database) and Medline. I like to start searches as narrow as I can; I want to link child obesity closely to pregnancy – since that is the readers' interest - so I start with the search term of infant obesity. We find a variety of topics, many focused on interventions and assessments; we read through the titles and abstracts. One topic that particularly appeals to me is the relationship of maternal obesity to child/ infant obesity. Our next step, is to make sure there is sufficient literature in this area to write a literature review on the topic. Let's do a search using the terms maternal obesity and infant obesity, hmmm, only 3 articles. Let's try the terms maternal obesity and child obesity. There were a number of articles on this, so let's narrow it further and add in the term review- which will find us any previous literature reviews of the subject, and there are 3 recent ones.

Our next step (at least my typical next step) is to go to Amazon.com and search for any reference books on the subject. Let's search using maternal AND child obesity. There are a couple of books on the topic, they have the tables of content available, so we double-check and yes, there are chapters on the topic (I add the books to my Amazon wish list to save them for now). I now know there is a reasonable literature available on the topic. Now let's double check that the editor is interested in the topic. I send her an email and yes, she likes the topic.

Now we go back to the Walden library and extend the search to maternal obesity and long term effect. I also run the searches again in the Psychology Sage database. I download any articles that seem appropriate and save them on the computer, I end up with 10 articles. We also go back to Amazon and buy the best two books on the subject. I will probably need more articles when I start to write, but this is enough to get me started and familiar with the topic area.

Now I need to go read what we have found. How did the process we went through relate to your dissertation searches? Ours was a smaller version of your literature search. You can start with same basic search technique: 1) Discover whether there is sufficient literature for your proposed topic. 2) Start very narrow in the search and then broaden it. You will have specific variables that you are interested in, so include those as you broaden the search. 3) Download (or print) your articles and be sure to check if there are reference books available on the topic. Walden's library has some ebooks available, but they often are out of date and may not directly relate to your topic.

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? Would you like to be a guest writer? Send me your ideas! leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu

Secondary data

What is secondary data? It is data that has already been collected by someone else. It may be data that is collected as a standard practice in an organization (e.g., medical charts, pre-employment testing). Some things to know about this type of secondary data, particularly if it is from an organization where you are employed. First, you will only be able to use information that is available to any outside researcher. Second, the data will need to be "de-identified" before you get access to it. This means someone else will have to remove all names of individuals, so the data is anonymous when you receive it. Check with IRB early in the process, if you are interested in this option.

Another source of secondary data is large datasets that have been available by the original researchers. Walden provides students with the opportunity to access hundreds of datasets. To see what is available – go to http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/ The researchers provide information on the background, variables, and any coding they used for data input. The use of such a dataset is perfectly acceptable as a dissertation, however a few cautions. Make sure that the study you are considering has not been previously published with the data. Typically, the researchers give a bibliography of all articles published by them. However, it does not mean that other people have not published. Search the library carefully, and include dissertations in the search. Use the name of the dataset as a search term. Another very important caution is do not try to access the data until you have IRB approval, you must have Walden's ok to proceed. Also, be aware that it can be tricky to convert the data to SPSS, and to understand the logic of their data entry. You probably will not be able to contact the researchers, so you will need to figure it out with the help of your committee.

Secondary data analysis is a great way to get access to difficult populations' data; an example might be sex offenders. However, you are stuck with the variables that the original researchers used, and there is no possibility of getting additional information from the participants. If you decide to go this route, you can reduce your time to completion considerably, but be prepared to work through the issues I outlined above.

Next time, I invite you to look over my shoulder as to I do the literature search for an article I am writing. 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

Sharing

I have heard a number of students say that have posted information about their dissertation on their personal website or on social media. I caution you to reconsider doing this before the study is complete. The reason is that there are people who may "borrow" your ideas and publish a study on the same topic before you can get your study done. This could mean having to rework your study (remember you are required to make a new contribution to the field). While I do not recommend being paranoid about this (e.g., fearing that your committee will steal your ideas), do be cautious in sharing. General topics are fine, but don’t be specific about it.

Next time I will discuss secondary data.  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

Make your voice heard!

You are invited to take part in a study on the experiences of older online graduate students. The object of this study is to explore how being an older online graduate student affects relationships. I am looking for participants who are Walden University students over the age of 30 who are currently enrolled in a graduate program. You may contact me through my e-mail shirley.losiewicz@waldenu.edu or call/text me at 720-207-4405 if you would like to participate. No compensation is available for this study.

Making Mistakes

How do you handle it when someone calls you on a mistake you made? Perhaps you inadvertently went out of the line of command on an issue or you did not give credit when it was appropriate in your paper. How you handle these situations is important to both how others and how you perceive yourself as a professional. The temptation may be to deny any wrongdoing, or blame it on other people. My advice is to admit you made a mistake, you will learn from the incident and you will make sure it does not happen again. Be an adult, face the consequences, and move on.

Everyone makes errors; it is the cover-up that causes problems.

Next time I will discuss sharing.  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

Where are you going?

One of the most difficult aspects, of your dissertation journey, is that you are not sure where you are going! As shown in the attached photo, you know there is a road, but the destination is not clear.

What can you do to make this easier? Be sure to read all of the info you can that is put out by the university, and of course my book (https://www.amazon.com/Finding-your-way-Ph-D-2nd-ebook/dp/B079X5889N/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=lee+stadtlander&qid=1555541368&s=gateway&sr=8-1)!  Talk to students further along in the process and discuss their experiences.  Learn all that you can to make your journey easier and clearer!

Journal empowerment

You should consider keeping a journal of your dissertation adventure. This is different than the research journal I have talked about previously, this is a personal volume where you can share your hopes, dreams, and frustrations. It can be a paper or electronic version, but the important thing is that you write it in regularly! What to talk about? Write about what you are doing each day on your paper, and how you feel about it. Talk about your chair, committee member, and URR; this is where you can write out frustrations and revelations.

Keeping such a journal is empowering, it allows you safely vent and work through problems. Your spouse/ partner, family, and friends while supportive, probably do not really understand what you going through, you can also burn them out through your frustrations. A journal provides a place to share your feelings, it also lets you go back and reread entries. You will tend to find that you have been through such events before, you survived and learned from it; you will survive the present one too!

A journal lets you be in control; give yourself permission to write what you want. It is a map of your dissertation experience, the pitfalls, and the joys. You may want to consider publishing a version of the journal when you are done or you may wish to share it with your own dissertation students someday. It will be your map of your adventure. Use it wisely!

Next time I will discuss finding your way.  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