So last week I unfortunately had to miss the module session with Paula. It was on an evening where I have an earlier show time so no possibility of re-arranging. I was frustrated as after my feedback last term it is a priority of mine to make as many sessions as possible. However reviewing the blog posts of people that attended the session was really helpful. Everyone was asked to identify where they are in the five stage process of an inquiry that can be found in the module handbook. I believe I am currently covering both stages two and three. I am continuing to carry out my literature review and am ready to carry out my inquiry activities. I have also focused on the comments people have made about the professional artefact from the session. I still feel slightly lost regarding my professional artefact. I understand that it should be a creative way to present our inquiry to other practitioners in our field of work, but I am at a loss as to what this should be! My next step is to look at previous artefacts that past students have produced to gain more understanding and inspiration.
My literature review started as a slow process, I have never done a literature review before and although I understood the end goal of the activity I felt slightly at a loss as to the correct and most efficient way to carry out the process. Module two helped a lot with this, however as I began Module three I felt I would be more comfortable and productive if I did some further reading on carrying out literature reviews. One source of knowledge on the topic I had identified in Module two was the book 'Doing Your Research Project: A Guide For First Time Researchers' Bell and Waters, 2014. There is a whole chapter dedicated to literature review and I have been able to gain some further understanding and organise my thoughts. The chapter covers:
- The purpose of a literature review
- How to organise and present a review
- The ethical considerations when carrying out a review
Purpose
The purpose of a review is to show what learning has already happened regarding the topic of your inquiry and how this has been applied in your community of practice. You must gain a further understanding of your topic and look at all sides of arguments made. The chapter contains opinions of practitioners that explain what they believe the purpose of a literature review is. One example is shown below:
“without it you will not acquire an understanding of your topic, of what has already been done on it, how it has been researched, and what the key issues are. In your written project you will be expected to show that you understand previous research on your topic. This amounts to showing that you have understood the main theories in the subject area and how they have been applied and developed, as well as the main criticisms that have been made of work on the topic. " (Hart 2001: 1)
Presentation
I have found the chapter very useful as it gives examples of previous literature reviews so I have been able to see ways of presenting the information. I am considering grouping my literature choices together using headings containing key words on my inquiry area. It is an organised approach to make sure I cover all the areas I need using as many sources as possible. In doing so I will be creating a relationship between the literature and be able to create an overall theory for my inquiry.
Ethical considerations
Throughout my entire review I must consider the ethical implications. When choosing and anaylsing sources I must consider the bias a writer may hold. I must question all information given, looking at arguments form both sides. As practitioner Duffy covers, a writer won't declare their bias so as a researcher it is your job to look for it.
After re-establishing my understanding of a literature review I have continued to locate and analyse sources. My feedback from Module two included that I should increase my range of sources. I have established 7-8 sources but need to increase this to improve my knowledge for the inquiry. This is time consuming but I have tried to plan accordingly so that I have the information on time to get my drafts in. Looking at the blogs of other students I can see they feel the same. Lizzie and Megan have discussed that if they could give their module two selves feedback it would be to focus more on literature. I agree, however at the start this is difficult as the whole idea is foreign and as first you must gain an understanding before you can begin to carry out the activity.
My goal now is to keep my blog updated! Starting with my gannt chart that I mentioned in a previous blog.
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