The Worst Way to Approach a Research Project

by Timothy Howe

Start by gathering "enough" data
Research implies gathering data. One temptation to be resisted is thinking that there is such a thing as "enough" data. No amount of information will ever seem like enough. It is not even possible to determine what constitutes "enough" during the research stage. Certainly, gathering a large volume of data is important, but avoid determining in advance what amount will be sufficient. 


Expect the research to organize itself
A sure way to bog down in a project is to permit the data to dictate the research process. This will lead the researcher down whatever trail the research leads instead of gathering the most important information for the project. Instead, start with an outline and stick with the outline. Only veer off it when it proves untenable. Good organization will cause good research.


Don't worry about the context of your quotes
Quotations are important since they give authority to your work, whether in support of your argument or as an argument to counter. But ignoring the context of the quote could affect understanding. Each quote originates in  a field that gives it meaning. Be sure to not strip the quote out of that field without its reinforced meaning.  


Don't verify if you are quoting the author's idea correctly
More dire than ignoring context, the researcher could misrepresent the ideas of the original source. Not all information is easy to process and it is easy to misunderstand ideas. As one quotes experts, it is vitally important to get the facts right. Poor quality control at this stage could nullify a research project. 


Find the hidden "gems"
Research is about hard work. There are rarely moments when a researcher happens upon a special "gem" that fills in all the gaps. The end product comes about as the result of persistence and tenacity. Hope will never be a replacement for effort.


Research possesses a time element. Thus it is crucial to get the right data, get it into some order, verify it and get to hard work quickly. 

How to Choose Your Research Topic in 6 Steps

by Timothy Howe

All Academics research. It is a part of the job. If you are in academia you will need to research. Whether you are working on a research paper, thesis, dissertation, field project, or a new book, you will need to research. Many times research topics come easily. They are dictated by someone else, by pressing circumstances or are a particular passion. However, almost every writer comes to a point in his or her career when he or she is required to write without a lead. The writer knows that something must be written, but what? 


Six Steps to Choosing Your Topic
1. Work in an area of personal interest.
You will not want to research a topic that is dull to you. The larger the project, the more personal investment will be required to stay the course. So, from the beginning investigate topics that interest you. It is also likely to be the area where you already have some expertise. 


2. Consider if your interest matters.
Just because you like a topic does not mean it is either important or interesting to others. Since writers presumably research in order to be read, consider if your interest matters. If it does not, select a new one. If it does, your are on the right track. 


3. Identify what research already exists in your field of interest.
You do not want to expend a great deal of research effort only to find out that someone else has written your paper. Identity what topics are sufficiently covered and what topics have questions yet unanswered or conclusions yet unchallenged.


4. Brainstorm various possibilities.
Before researching, sit down and come up with as many ideas as you can concerning your interest. Among other things, brainstorming benefits you by leading you to something you never before considered, helping to establish the outline for when you begin writing, and by producing many future topics. 


5. Narrow your topic to a manageable size.
It does no good to choose a topic of gargantuan scale. You must narrow your topic as soon as possible to a size that is appropriate for your project. Research papers must be very narrow in focus; theses, dissertations and books can be a bit broader, but be careful to not let them grow unwieldy. 


6. Choose your topic. 
Sometimes the enemy is not the lack of a topic, but it is that you cannot decide between equally compelling topics. There comes a time when you must simply choose. Choose your topic and begin your research. Put your remaining other good topic ideas in your mental vault for future research.


Finally, once you have chosen your topic, start writing. 

Giving It Your All

By Steve Huerd

Having worked with high school students these past twenty-four years in professional youth ministry, I’ve seen thousands of students who have made incredible sacrifices to gain entrance into the colleges of their choice.

Students' Commitment to College

A friend of mine was telling me recently how his son (only now in "eighth" grade) decided that he wanted to attend an Ivy League school.  This goal pushed him to spend many Friday nights studying while his other friends were out having fun, so he could earn the highest GPA possible.  He also pushed hard in cross-country and track so he could be nominated for team captain.  He ventured into DECCA and other organizations that would shine on elite college applications.  After being turned down by several Ivy League institutions, he eventually wound up on the west coast at Stanford.

Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA

Every year it seems that the stakes grow higher as high schools offer more and more AP courses as they seek to prepare their students for college.  With the rising cost of undergraduate tuition, well-meaning parents are constantly pushing their kids to take as many college prep, AP, and college-high school credit courses as possible resulting in even higher standards of performance.

Over and over again in high school counselors' offices the phrase, “If you want to go (there), you’ll have to do this and this” is repeated to youth who truly want to obtain the best that the next four years can give them.  And, year after year, in school after school, they pursue their dreams with intense fervor and discipline-- hoping that one day it will all be worth it.

Whether you agree or disagree with the current state of affairs regarding this phenomenon, the reality is that there is an ever-increasing class of eager students pushing themselves to achieve their dreams and aspirations.  They come naïve and somewhat open-handed to us, the learned and the educated of society, to prepare them for what lies ahead.  Along with their parents they pay small fortunes in order to sit at our feet, to read the books of our choosing, and to complete the coursework we deem appropriate.

Our Corresponding Responsibility As Professors

Knowing this truth, how should we feel as professors of these students?  While we are instinctively aware that we simply cannot give them "all" that they need-- knowing them and seeing their hearts should motivate us to be the absolute best we can be.  In every class, we become stewards of their sacrifices, hope for their dreams, and wisdom for that which they seek.  And while the mileage of this truth varies from student to student, the overall stewardship and responsibility of imparting knowledge and training to them continually remains in our court as professors.  Teaching at this level to such impressionable and eager minds is truly a high calling worthy of the stricter judgment God requires (James 3:1).  Being aware of the generational impact of our teaching upon the church and the society as a whole ought to cause us to give it our best.  May God, in his mercy, grant us continued steadfastness showing us His approval, making our efforts successful.

On Not Quitting

by Sharon Warkentin Short

            Seven years ago, on my first visit to the campus where I eventually completed my Ph.D., I had the opportunity to sit in on one of the classes. It happened to be the first session of the term, and in his introductory remarks to the students the professor offered this simple counsel: The key to getting a Ph.D. is to not quit. I reflected on that bit of wisdom many times throughout my journey to graduation, and it occurred to me that it is equally valid advice for recent graduates like me who are in the process of building their academic careers. 

            Following graduation a little over a year ago, I launched a personal campaign to determine exactly what I wanted to do with my shiny new Ph.D., and to develop a plan for making my vision happen. After only a few months of concentrated full-time effort, my spouse was unexpectedly unemployed, and in order for us to make ends meet I had to take a wage-earning job immediately. I was frustrated and disappointed that so many hours of my days suddenly had to be devoted to work other than my academic career, and I was anxious for the day to come when I could get back to what I really wanted to do. The months wore on, and nothing changed.

            I finally realized that I did not need to, nor should I, wait until our lives were “back on track” before continuing to work on my own future career. Even if I could work on career development for only an hour a day—even if it should take two years instead of one to get started in a teaching job—even if my situation never returned to the ease that I had enjoyed before—even then, I could continue to build toward an academic profession. The key was simply to not quit. It sounds easy and obvious, but for me that realization was a terrific breakthrough. It freed me to stop waiting and get moving, to stop being discouraged and start being hopeful, to get excited again about the work I want to do.

            Now I am back in the process of creating a comprehensive plan for finding potential schools and programs, identifying and initiating contacts with key people at these institutions, preparing job search documents, and establishing my professional reputation through publications and presentations. The circumstances within which I am working on all these projects are not ideal, but then circumstances rarely are. The point is to keep moving forward in spite of setbacks and complications. This perspective carried me through a six-year doctoral program, and I am confident that it will bring me to a satisfying teaching career as well.

            Footnote: As part of my career development plan, I have joined the first cohort of The Academii, and this online mentorship is giving me great inspiration, support, and guidance!

Getting It Right

by Sharon Warkentin Short

            A friend of mine told the story of how their eldest daughter (upper elementary age) had taunted her little sister for being “ig-NOR-ant” of some fact. The mother had responded, “If you are going to call somebody ignorant, you should probably pronounce it correctly.”

            I feel a little bit like that mom when I see scholars using inaccurate forms of terms borrowed from other languages. If we are going to toss around Latin phrases, we should probably make sure our grammar, spelling, and pronunciation are correct. I am referring to variations of the phrase represented by the abbreviation CV, which is widely used in academic circles. It stands for “curriculum vitae,” and can be translated “course of life.” Although “vita” is the correct nominative form of the word for “life,” when it is used in the prepositional phrase it must be written “vitae” meaning “of life”. (“Vitae” is also the plural nominative form, which might be a source of some of the confusion.)

            All that to say, “curriculum vita” is never correct. Only when it stands alone could “vita” be used to describe the summary of an individual’s life. “Curriculum vitas” (meaning more than one CV) is also erroneous. To refer to more than one such document, the correct form is “curricula vitae” (“courses of life”). Oh, and it is properly pronounced “vee-TIE,” not “vee-TAY.”

            Who cares? Or more to the point, who would even know? Probably only a handful of Latin scholars would recognize these errors, but excellent scholarship by definition demands accuracy in as many details as humanly possible. Practicing precision is habitual for outstanding scholars, in small matters as well as large. 

The Third Thing

by Sharon Warkentin Short 

       Every now and then, an idea from a book changes forever the way you think about something. This was my experience when I read The Courage to Teach by Parker J. Palmer (Jossey-Bass, 1998). Parker challenges the traditional teacher-centered model of education not by defending a student-centered alternative, but by introducing a “third thing”—a subject-centered approach. Gathered around the subject that draws them together, neither the teacher nor the students control the learning experience, but all are held accountable to the subject itself.

            This style of teaching replicates the process by which all knowledge is gained: it is the work of “a community of people looking at a subject and debating their observations within a consensual framework of procedural rules” (p. 104). Rather than merely delivering to students the conclusions of their community of learners, subject-centered teachers invite students into the community to participate in the process of coming to know the subject. Sometimes this kind of pedagogy produces that awkward moment when a student catches the instructor in a contradiction or an inaccuracy. To Parker, such a moment is cause not for embarrassment but for celebration, because it demonstrates that “students have direct, unmediated access to the subject, and they can use their knowledge to challenge my claims” (p. 118).

            Parker’s “third thing” corresponds to a quality that many students rate highly in their evaluation of their professors, which is “passion for the subject.” This passion, Parker observes, is more than simply excitement or fascination with the content: “Passion for the subject propels that subject, not the teacher, into the center of the learning circle” (p. 120).

            I have realized that, for all my commitment to the active involvement of students in the construction of their knowledge, I still often default to standing between the content and the learners rather than gathering around the content with them. For me, the most enjoyable aspect of teaching is often the learning that precedes the presentation to the class. I like to collect, study, organize, summarize, and deliver neat packages of information to my students, but in that process all the immediate interaction with the subject matter is mine. How much richer my students’ experiences would be if I invited them into exploring that subject with me.

            I love the little rhyme by Robert Frost that Parker quotes to capsulize the joy of gathering around a subject and coming to know it together as teachers and learners:

We dance around in a ring and suppose,
But the Secret sits in the middle and knows. (p. 105)

ePortfolios for Assessment and Professional Job Opportunities

Promote Yourself As a Job Candidate Using an ePortfolio

  

Overview of 4 ePortfolio Platforms 

for Educators & Doctoral Students 

These below are used primarily for academic assessment

·         

     They also have limited application for professional purposes, which is also important (students may need to set those up separately if they used these educational tools, rather than using the resources listed in a recent Academii blog on Virtual CVs and similar resources)

1. Live Text

www.livetext.com   OFFICIAL SITE

https://www.livetext.com/overview/faculty-overview.html  FROM FACULTY’S PERSPECTIVE

https://www.livetext.com/overview/student-overview.html FROM STUDENT’S PERSPECTIVE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJJZNexRAiM&feature=related VIDEO

2. Mahara Open Source e-Portfolios

www.mahara.org  OFFICIAL SITE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y32NoAgN9Ik VIDEO, INFORMAL but INFORMATIVE

http://demo.mahara.org/ Demo/Try It Out

3. Task Stream

https://www.taskstream.com/pub/SubscriptionRates.asp INFO

http://www.5min.com/Video/TaskStream-Portfolio-Interview-Explained-247682672  USE

4. Nuventive Web Folio

http://www.nuventive.com/products_iwebfolio.html

http://www.uc.edu/honors/eportfolios/tutorials.html Example of university using iwebfolio

http://www.gonzaga.edu/academics/libraries/foley-library/ATASupport/iWebfolioSupport/iWebfolioFAQ.asp Example 2 of university using iwebfolio

 _________________________________________________________________

Analyzing and Evaluating ePortfolio Products 

(designed by iwebfolio, but still good)

http://www.nuventive.com/ElectronicPortfolioAnalysisTool.pdf

 

Additional Resources: 

Also see pages 27-31 in the WASC Resource Fair Guide at http://db.tt/dFpiS76J

Sales reps are willing to come to your academic campus if you’re interested in a test drive