Blog # 3 Chapter 3 & 4 Activities: Identify Topic for Lit Review
Chapter 3 Activities
I was excited about this activity although it became much more involved than I expected. I went to four different data bases because my studies and field is broad. With that being said, I have to narrow down my topic and that is not always easy when a great amount of the information seems interesting, if not useful.
Some of the data was from medical data bases and I also used some of the psychology data bases because much of the descriptors interface in these areas. There was more opportunity to find data in the psychology data bases due to the material being exceptionally relevant to the research that I am studying. I was reviewing research from 2010 to the present and sometimes that can be limiting but I did find an array of potential articles to choose from.
A few of the descriptors I used were those concerned with human connection and communication. One site alone made over 14,000 results available. It can become a game when you have to continue to be more specific with subcategories for the sake of staying on topic and not drifting off nebulously. It seems like it could be tempting to get carried away with interesting information and that is why I think it is imperative to target specifically the research intended to be studied.
Currently, I have at least 150 possible sources and most of them are begging for my attention. I know that I will not use them all but I am thankful to have choices.
Chapter 4 Activities
One of my articles included an abstract at the beginning and a discussion near the end. Another article provided an outline at the beginning and an introduction but did not include a summary titled as such but the information was summarized in the writing as a conclusion.
The section that included the heading "Method", the authors described and explained the research
question and the research purpose. One article is about social bonding and opioids and naltrexone reducing feelings of social connection. Another article is about human connectedness with regard to brain patterns. Even though this article looks interesting, I am not sure it will be specific enough or contain the types of themes that I am hoping to study.
While many of the articles look interesting at first glance, I realized that many are not specifically what I am researching. It will be important to comb through more of the details of each possible article before deciding if it is necessary to this project. I can see how creating this list may also help develop a more solid outline for study and research. Some of the material is broad in thought or not on topic at all so those articles will be easy to weed out. I am looking at this like finding treasure in a jungle, the gems are out there, although I have to dig for them! Happy Hunting!
I was excited about this activity although it became much more involved than I expected. I went to four different data bases because my studies and field is broad. With that being said, I have to narrow down my topic and that is not always easy when a great amount of the information seems interesting, if not useful.
Some of the data was from medical data bases and I also used some of the psychology data bases because much of the descriptors interface in these areas. There was more opportunity to find data in the psychology data bases due to the material being exceptionally relevant to the research that I am studying. I was reviewing research from 2010 to the present and sometimes that can be limiting but I did find an array of potential articles to choose from.
A few of the descriptors I used were those concerned with human connection and communication. One site alone made over 14,000 results available. It can become a game when you have to continue to be more specific with subcategories for the sake of staying on topic and not drifting off nebulously. It seems like it could be tempting to get carried away with interesting information and that is why I think it is imperative to target specifically the research intended to be studied.
Currently, I have at least 150 possible sources and most of them are begging for my attention. I know that I will not use them all but I am thankful to have choices.
Chapter 4 Activities
One of my articles included an abstract at the beginning and a discussion near the end. Another article provided an outline at the beginning and an introduction but did not include a summary titled as such but the information was summarized in the writing as a conclusion.
The section that included the heading "Method", the authors described and explained the research
question and the research purpose. One article is about social bonding and opioids and naltrexone reducing feelings of social connection. Another article is about human connectedness with regard to brain patterns. Even though this article looks interesting, I am not sure it will be specific enough or contain the types of themes that I am hoping to study.
While many of the articles look interesting at first glance, I realized that many are not specifically what I am researching. It will be important to comb through more of the details of each possible article before deciding if it is necessary to this project. I can see how creating this list may also help develop a more solid outline for study and research. Some of the material is broad in thought or not on topic at all so those articles will be easy to weed out. I am looking at this like finding treasure in a jungle, the gems are out there, although I have to dig for them! Happy Hunting!
Hi Shari,
ReplyDeleteI so relate to your comment about "drifting off nebulously". Just when I had a conversation with my dissertation chair on Saturday she said that I have to be careful to stay on top right now and not get lost in the weeds. Yes, with so many interesting articles, it is easy to get lost in the weeds.
I hope that you continue to get good results as you search and you can decipher them to be useful and not get you caught in the weeds.
Keri
Yes, thanks Keri. I am sure this is a constant temptation for most of us. This type of research "exploring" is exciting and exhausting at the same time. That is one reason why I am going to make time to get some more instruction and feed-back from the librarian. I am hoping it will help with managing all the weeds. LoL :-)
Delete