Social Research Methods - Coursework Example

Portfolio of Tasks B. Action Plan Skills My current skills My aim How will I achieve this? Target date Academic writing and literature reviews:- My critical writing skills are satisfactory. I can successfully present ideas and facts in an argumentative form using the right structure and paragraphing methods. Generally literature reviews are important in that they help researchers identify gaps in the existing body of knowledge and, as a result, model their researches to address the gaps (Paul 2012, p. 6). Therefore, my aim will be to perfect my ability of conducting a comprehensive review of academic literature. Revisit information on how to write effective literature reviews. 25/03/2015 Critical thinking and writing:- I have average ability to think and write critically. Although I can successfully write in the form of presenting arguments and counter arguments, I am yet to fully master the process of critically assessing what I am reading. Mastering critical thinking skills is a very important objective since it has been observed that many students fail to show their mastery of this skill that is central to academic work (Cotton 2010, p. 73). Therefore, I will seek to develop the ability to actively question and evaluate opinions and findings that are presented in different academic works. This will be done through repeated evaluation of various academic sources. Consult on how to preset material in a critical form. 18/02/2015 Data Collection Methods:- 1. Average ability of collecting primary data by use of methods such as interviews and observation. 2. Relatively good mastery of collecting secondary data using methods such as case studies and review of published academic sources. To master the use of data collection methods. Special emphasis should be on primary data collection methods such as interviews and observation. Mastering how to conduct interviews will be important since this is the method that will be used in the course of my research. 1. Review content about data collection methods for secondary and primary data. 2. Specifically do further reading on how to collect data using interviews, observation and review of secondary data sources such as case studies. 25/04/2015 Data analysis Methods:- I have a basic understanding of methods that can be used to analyse data in a research. To be completely familiar with the use of data analysis methods that are useful in my research. Specifically, to gain a thorough understanding of using the SPSS data analysis software when managing quantitative data. 1. Since SPSS is one of the most common and useful quantitative data analysis software (Bryman & Cramer 2011, p. 21), I will have to learn the procedure of using this software so that I master the skills. 2. Through independent research, I will review information on how to analyse qualitative data. This will also help me to master the skills that are required of me. 21/06/2015 Reading:- 1. My note taking skills are above average. 2. My ability to read at a high level and critically interpret information is average. 3. My ability to separate fact from opinion and critically examine sources that are got from the Internet is at an average level. 1. To polish my note taking, note making and summary making skills. This is because they are important skills that define my success. 2. To maintain a high ability of critical thinking and reading at a high level. 3. Hone my abilities to critically examine sources and separate fact from opinion in academic sources. 1. Do further practice on how to make notes and summaries of texts of academic sources. 18/02/2015 Planning and Mind mapping:- My planning and mind mapping skills are quite good. I can successfully visualise all the elements that form the entire research. Furthermore, I can evaluate how every element in the research links to the others to form a cohesive and complete research project. I still need to perfect my mind mapping skills. This is so particularly in the area of visualising specific interconnectedness between different elements of the project. Attempt to create complicated mind maps that indicate the relationships among different elements of the research. 22/01/2015 Referencing:- My understanding and use of the Harvard system of referencing is above average. I can successfully make in-text citations and develop the reference list using this system. To perfect my referencing skills using the Harvard referencing system. This is important since it will help me avoid committing plagiarism and other referencing mistakes in my work. 1. Review learning material that is available on the website of the institution in order to learn how to make use of the Harvard referencing system in academic work. 2. Review information on how to make citations for specific types of academic materials. Emphasis will be laid on how to make references for journals and other forms of academic materials that are accessed from online databases. 3. Revisit my notes on plagiarism, its definition and methods that can be used to avoid plagiarising the work done by other people. 25/03/2015 Using data analysis software:- 1. I have good exposure to the use of data analysis software for quantitative data. 2. My exposure to using data analysis software for analysing qualitative data remains limited. 1. Gain good exposure in using data analysis software for qualitative data. Since computer analysis methods for qualitative data have become common and the intended research will make use of qualitative and quantitative data, it is important that I acquire this skill. Do further reading on how to use specific software for analysing qualitative data. 21/06/2015 Using Electronic Blackboard to access material: My skills of accessing electronic materials and using the blackboard effectively are satisfactory. I can easily access the e-reserve by simply logging in on the blackboard at any time of the day. To fully understand how to access different types of materials from the blackboard. To master how to view and even print academic materials that I access from the blackboard. 1. Revisit the instruction on how to access different academic sources that are available on the blackboard. This is of great importance since there is a large collection of materials that are of potential benefit to my research on the blackboard. 21/02/2015 Using Microsoft Office:- I can comfortably use Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel. However, my mastery of the other applications (Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Access and the others) remains below what is required of me. 1. To fully master all the features of Microsoft Word so that I can use it to the maximum. 2. To master all the tools and features of Microsoft Excel. 3. To gain acquaintance with Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Access and all the other applications under the Microsoft Office suite. 1. Consult on how to use specific features of Microsoft Word which are important for my work, for example the review tool. 2. Do practice on how to make simple presentations using Microsoft PowerPoint. 3. Review my notes on how to use all the features of Microsoft Excel. This is particularly important since I will need the application when analysing quantitative data. 21/02/2015 Finding academic articles:- 1. I am yet to master how to use library catalogues to search for academic sources that I can use in my work. 2. My understanding of how to use library websites when searching for e-sources is at an average level. 3. My skills of using reading lists to search for different academic sources that are appropriate to my research are at a basic level. 1. Master the art of using library catalogues to search for academic sources. 2. Gain a full understanding of how to search for electronic academic sources using different library websites. 3. Hone my skills of using reading lists to search for academic sources that are appropriate for my research. 1. Review how to use library catalogues, reading lists and library websites to get academic sources. 25/03/2015 C. Personal Reflection There are several ways in which the content that I have learnt in this module will assist me in producing a master’s dissertation. This will be in the form of how my mastery of different concepts and topics that were taught in the module will be applied to specific scenarios in the course of developing the dissertation. To begin with, the content that I learnt under the theme of skills will be highly beneficial to me during the process of developing my dissertation. Of particular importance will be the information that I learnt about finding academic sources. In general, it is observed that in the current times, computers and information and communication technologies have become integral components of academic research (Franklin 2012, p. 124). This is because many researchers are increasingly depending on online academic materials as sources of information required for their research. I will not be an exception since I will use various types of sources for my research. Therefore, the information that I learnt in this module about finding academic sources will be quite helpful in that it will help me find appropriate academic sources for my dissertation. Using these skills, I will be able to successfully search for different types of sources and this will boost the quality of my work. Apart from how to find academic sources, referencing is another important skill that I think will be very helpful to me when working on my master’s thesis. The importance of correct referencing cannot be overemphasised. By making the right references in a research, a researcher not only shows a high level of understanding different findings on the subject of research but also acknowledges the work that has already been done by others (Lategan, Lues & Friedrich-Nel 2011, p. 105). Therefore, the knowledge that I have gained in this module will help me do my referencing in the final paper correctly. Also, information about how to think critically, read text at a high level and write in different academic styles that I have learnt will inform the manner in which I will go about doing my master’s dissertation. In the course of the module, I learnt several issues with regard to research methods. Specifically, a considerable amount of time was spent on the topic of research questions. The emphasis was on different aspects of the questions that are used in research. The first one was how to initiate the right topic of research from which the right questions can be developed. The second one was how to underpin the questions with theoretical developments. The third one was how to use evidence when developing the questions and the last aspect was how to model the questions on the philosophy of the entire research. I find the information indispensable in the process of developing my dissertation. First, it has been observed that developing the right questions for a research is important in that it helps the researcher to clearly identify a problem that is to be solved and to remain fully focused during the research (Springett & Campbell 2006, p. 26). Therefore, by using the right approach, not only have I been able to identify the right questions for my research but I will also be able to focus on the identified problem in the course of my research. There is also a close interaction between the questions that are framed for a particular research and the philosophy upon which the entire research is built. Since it is from the questions developed that the methodology and findings of the research are produced (Ellis & Levy 2008, p. 19), it is important that theoretical considerations on which the problem of the research is based be kept in mind throughout this process (Lim & Odom 2009, p. 3). Since I have learnt the complex interconnection among these concepts, I believe that I will be in a good position to develop research questions which are linked to the existing theoretical developments and connected to the other elements of the entire dissertation. There are other topics under the theme of research methods that will assist me in developing my master’s dissertation. For example, in the course of the module I learnt about how to collect primary data using different tools such as interviews and surveys. Basically, my research will entail collecting primary data about Arab entrepreneurs in relation to the specific aims of the research. In doing so, I will use interviews and other methods of collecting primary data. Therefore, the information that I have gained about using such methods from the study will be quite helpful to me. The second topic that I have learnt under the theme of research methods that will be helpful in developing my master’s dissertation is how to use secondary sources in the course of a research. When using secondary sources, descriptive analysis is an important method that can be used by the researcher to gain an overall understanding of the nature of the existing literature in the subject of the research (Lipsey 2009, p. 156). For my case, using the methods of descriptive analysis that I have learnt in this module will help me to effectively evaluate existing literature and identify the existing gaps that my research will attempt to fill. Apart from being used in the process of doing literature review for a research, descriptive analysis can be used to analyse data that is collected during a research. Usually, descriptive analysis in the form of bivariate or univariate analysis can be used to analyse quantitative data in a research process (Rubin & Barbie 2009, p. 290). This knowledge will be important since during my research, I will have to analyse quantitative data with different numbers of variables. Lastly, there are several topics under the theme of project that will be helpful to me during the process of developing my master’s thesis. One important topic is that of ethical considerations in the course of conducting a research. In theory, ethical considerations in research are an extremely important aspect and are based on two main issues: how the people involved in the research are treated and the specific activities that should be carried out during the research (Bryman 2012, p. 130). For my case, there are several ways in which this knowledge will be applicable. For instance, when choosing individuals who will be interviewed in the research, the need for their informed consent and willingness to participate in the research will be considered. Furthermore, when conducting the interviews, issues such as the privacy of the interviewees and the confidentiality of the information provided will be taken into consideration. Apart from ethical considerations, issues to do with how to develop literature review and the overall format of the dissertation were covered under the theme of project. This information will be quite useful to me in the process of developing the dissertation. Importantly, knowledge on the specific methods and skills that can be used to carry out an effective literature review will be quite useful. In theory, the process of conducting literature review can be divided into distinct stages as follows: formulating the problem, collecting data, evaluating the data interpreting the collected data (Randolph 2009, p. 4). Since my dissertation will be based on primary research, I will use these stages when conducting the literature review for the dissertation. Lastly, information about the overall structure of a dissertation will be important to me in that by referring to the provided structure, I will be able to model my work to the required standards and avoid unnecessary errors. References Bryman, A 2012, Social research methods, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Bryman, A & Cramer, D 2011, Quantitative data analysis with IBM SPSS 17, 18 and 19: a guide for social scientists, Routledge, New York. Cotton, F 2010, ‘Critical thinking and evaluative language use in academic writing: a comparative cross-cultural study’, in G Blue (ed.), Developing academic literacy, Peter Lang, New York, pp. 73-86. Ellis, TJ & Levy, Y 2008, ‘Framework of problem-based research: a guide for novice researchers on the development of a research-worthy problem’, Informing Science; the International Journal of an Emerging Transdiscipline, vol. 11, pp. 17-33, viewed 26 January 2015, Franklin, M I 2012, Understanding research: coping with the quantitative-qualitative divide, Routledge, London. Lategan, LOK, Lues, L & Friedrich-Nel, F 2011, Doing research, Sunpress, Bloemfontein. Lim, Y & Odom, W 2009, On the importance of framing questions for user research in the experience-centred design process, viewed 26 January 2015, . Lipsey, MW 2009, ‘Identifying interesting variables and analysis opportunities’, in C Harris, LV Hedges & JC Valentine (eds.), The handbook of research synthesis and meta-analysis, Russell Sage Foundation, London, pp. 148-157. Paul, O 2012, Succeeding with your literature review: a handbook for students, McGraw-Hill International, New York. Randolph, JJ 2009, ‘A guide to writing the dissertation literature review’, Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, vol. 14, no. 13, pp. 1-13, viewed 26 January 2015, . Rubin, A & Barbie, E 2009, Essential research methods for social work, Cengage Learning, Mason. Springett, K & Campbell, J 2006, ‘An introductory guide to putting research into practice: defining the research question’, Podiatry Now, pp. 26-28, viewed 26 January 2015, . Read More