Month: February 2013

Week Two: Research and Enquiry

Originally published here.

Though I'm quite adept at research as I have undertaken both in my academic work but also in personal interest and intriguing topic I found it very beneficial to have clarified and clearly identified the aspects of both primary and secondary research. I've also found it incredibly beneficial to have qualitative and quantitated research clearly and specifically explained and identified to me as this is an area that I felt I have always been cautious about as I never quite understood it. The topic that I have learnt about from this process is the aspect of triangulation of data to build a more comprehensive picture and results to ensure that the research has a greater validity.

I believe that the group that I was in completed the research project to a very effective and comprehensive level resulting in a clear answer and solution to a very ambiguous question that could have been taking in several directions. I also think that we managed to undertaken in a wide range of research aspects including primary and secondary. However I would like to have investigated some statistical data from secondary evidence, as I feel that this would have supported and developed argument further and stronger.
Unfortunately I don't feel that I was as effective in the collaborative process as I would like to have been due to other factors interfering with the time I could've spent doing the research. As an older and experience individual within the research arena I feel that I could've supported and encouraged my fellow collaborators more to ensure that we progressed and developed a more holistic and comprehensive argument and approach towards the data and the research.

A challenge that I've faced was trying to filter and decide upon the specific arguments and sets of sub questions that I wanted to answer within my own research. Due to the nature of the question being ambiguous I found it hard to specify and focus on the sub questions that I wanted answered as they didn't flow naturally I felt. To overcome this I decided on having a focus on the health and nutrients aspects of the egg and whether that changed due to the conditions that it was cooked in or not. In this aspect I feel that I accomplish my research fully as I have a clear focus that I wanted to investigate.

Week Two: Research and Enquiry

Originally published here.

Though I'm quite adept at research as I have undertaken both in my academic work but also in personal interest and intriguing topic I found it very beneficial to have clarified and clearly identified the aspects of both primary and secondary research. I've also found it incredibly beneficial to have qualitative and quantitated research clearly and specifically explained and identified to me as this is an area that I felt I have always been cautious about as I never quite understood it. The topic that I have learnt about from this process is the aspect of triangulation of data to build a more comprehensive picture and results to ensure that the research has a greater validity.

I believe that the group that I was in completed the research project to a very effective and comprehensive level resulting in a clear answer and solution to a very ambiguous question that could have been taking in several directions. I also think that we managed to undertaken in a wide range of research aspects including primary and secondary. However I would like to have investigated some statistical data from secondary evidence, as I feel that this would have supported and developed argument further and stronger.
Unfortunately I don't feel that I was as effective in the collaborative process as I would like to have been due to other factors interfering with the time I could've spent doing the research. As an older and experience individual within the research arena I feel that I could've supported and encouraged my fellow collaborators more to ensure that we progressed and developed a more holistic and comprehensive argument and approach towards the data and the research.

A challenge that I've faced was trying to filter and decide upon the specific arguments and sets of sub questions that I wanted to answer within my own research. Due to the nature of the question being ambiguous I found it hard to specify and focus on the sub questions that I wanted answered as they didn't flow naturally I felt. To overcome this I decided on having a focus on the health and nutrients aspects of the egg and whether that changed due to the conditions that it was cooked in or not. In this aspect I feel that I accomplish my research fully as I have a clear focus that I wanted to investigate.

Week Two #crit101

Originally published here.

The focus of this week was research and enquiry. I learnt a lot about the research process which will help me with my homework, especially history where research plays a big part. I have learnt that there are lots of things you have to think about when researching and a variety of methods that you can use to research. The most helpful things I have learnt is all about primary and secondary research and triangulation. I discovered that the research process has a variety of stages and is a complex journey; it is a lot more than just typing the question into google. There are a variety of routes you can take and these all lead to different destinations. Although there are shortcuts, it is sometimes better to ‘go the long way round’ as you can make more discoveries about your chosen research area.

I had to participate in a group piece, trying to answer the question “What’s the best way to cook an egg”. During this project I learnt a lot about online applications you can use, for example I learnt how to create an online survey on google docs. With the help of my group I feel like I have improved in a variety of areas.

However, it has not been without difficulties. As we had a week to complete the project, some of us waited until the last day to contribute and some of us wanted to start sooner. This made it diffucult to collaborate sucessfully. Despite this, I am happy with my contributions; I feel like a helped my group in at least a little way.

This is the link to my groups assignment: https://docs.google.com/document/d/15RI_Tb1mfQ5-1J0Awh5Xb3m0dUKF_r3UEVlMATKPrU0/edit

I am going to continue to journey along the path of research…


#crit101 – Week 2

Originally published here.


Our instructions this week were to complete a blog post reflecting on the week’s reading and research project:
§  What did you learn about the research process?
§  How successful were you in completing the research project? Include a link to your groups’ published assignment.
§  Were you an effective collaborator? (Be honest!)
§  What challenges did you face/overcome during the project?

This week I returned to work after the Christmas break. Luckily it was a short week as there was a holiday for Australia Day on Monday. Along with my team, I was busy preparing for the new courses in our upgraded program. I am trying to influence my colleagues to use some of the great free tools available for blended learning.
With work taking priority this week, I found it difficult to find enough quality time to devote to #crit101. However, I did have a go at the ‘egg research’ and looked at the resources (particularly liked the one about using Google more effectively for research).
I was really interested in the research process outlined by James. My previous experience with research has been around ‘action research’ (qualitative?) which tends to look more at case studies, and evaluating and analysing literature to reach a conclusion. The concept of triangulation was also new to me. I was a little lost at first in what the expectations were for the task, but when the other group members started contributing, I made an effort to ‘get my head around it’.
On reading the most recent group contributions, I wondered whether I was completely off track. But as time was running out, I decided to edit the material that was there and adjust it according to James’ recommendations.  At the same time I attempted to combine the work I had completed so that it related to the content already there.  I’m not sure if I was ‘drawing a long bow’ by adding my material, so I am looking forward to feedback.
I also had a little trouble correctly adding the website references – in previous work I have always only written the link and the access date. This was at a time when there were no clear cut rules for referencing of sites, so it was great to get the (very prompt) reminder from James that they needed to be as per the Harvard method. I had another look at the linked information and made an effort to rectify the work I had included.
So did I collaborate effectively? Unfortunately I have been suffering from a terrible summer cold and not the feeling the brightest. Nevertheless, I would probably been a more effective group member had I participated earlier. On reflection, I would have been better off spending more time reading all the blogs and getting better acquainted with my other group members – interacting more with them. I did look at twitter and completed the questionnaires as requested by others.
My biggest challenge this week was finding the time to participate- and that will become even more difficult over the next few weeks as the new semester starts on the 11th Feb. At the same time I am very keen to continue, so I will try to organise my time so I can do some work earlier in the week and allow time for follow up on the weekend. 

#crit101 #egg Research – Advice and Guidance

With the tomorrow’s 6PM deadline being just around the corner, I thought it would be pertinent to offer some advice and guidance to help you complete your research and get it written up.

Today, you should continue collecting data and write up your introduction and methodology.

  • In the introduction you should discuss the ambiguity of the question and what you settled on in terms of your chosen line of enquiry.
  • In the methodology section you should explain your research approach and chosen methods. Do not discuss any findings.

Tomorrow, you should analyse and evaluate the data collected, then write up your findings and conclusion.

  • In the findings section you should present your analysis of your findings, triangulating your data sources.
  • In your conclusion you should reflect on and evaluate what you have learned.

Remember, I am just an email or tweet away. Your finished article needs to be published and a link to it included in your individual blog posts.