class 3: 09/14/09 building research skills. research

class 3: 09/14/09building research skills

research

the 3 levels of seeing

• All there is to thinking [doing research],” he said, “is seeing something noticeable which makes you see something you weren’t noticing which makes you see something that isn’t even visible.” (Norman Maclean, 1976, p. 92)

• the immediately visible• that which is visible but noticeable

only to the careful observer• the invisible or the unobservable

all researchers must attend to:• precision and accuracy

– precision: exactness of description– accuracy: extent to which we are

describing what we say we are describing

• bias and efficiency– bias: systematic error in description– efficiency: maximizing the

information gathered

• the observation “n” problem– how many observations do I need

• cost/risk– will my research put someone at-

risk or cost someone• resources and constraints

– how much time, money etc. do I have

• including relevant factors and excluding irrelevant factors– am I observing the right things

• framing research questions– There is no such thing as a

logical method of having new ideas….Discovery contains “an irrational element,” or a “creative intuition.” (Karl Popper)

• building models– a narrative that explains one’s

observations

• evaluating models– does this model adequately

explain new observations– does this model explain

observations better than other models

constructing a model1. hypothesize the factors involved2. hypothesize how they might be related3. draw the models4. evaluate which one explains the facts

best5. guesstimate the strengths of pathsrules• model must be falsifiable• maximize concreteness• explain as much as possible

Krathwohl: ch 6 the literature review

• goals: see page 103• getting started:

– existing reviews– AERA (and other) programs– key articles’ references– people familiar with the area– ERIC

• terms•controlled vocabulary•keyword indexing•citation indexing

• copy Table 6.1 and keep it in a notebook

• copy General Suggestions (p. 121) and keep

Vogt• aggregate data• applied research• case study• control for• dummy variable (first paragraph)• ecological fallacy• emic, etic• endogenous, exogenous• experiment (first & third

paragraph)• gambler’s fallacy

ethics

Sieber: Ch 3

• general ethical principles– beneficence– respect– justice

• six norms– valid design– competence of researcher– identification of consequences– selection of subjects– voluntary informed consent– compensation for injury

writingwriting

quotationsfewer than 40 words• Price (1982) wrote, “Interventionists make efforts

to teach and typically do expect mastery, whereas anti-interventionists avoid teaching what they perceive as difficult, because they fear that children will be harmed by unreasonable expectations for mastery” (p. 282).

• Price (1982) wrote that “interventionists make efforts to teach and typically do expect mastery, whereas anti-interventionists avoid teaching what they perceive as difficult, because they fear that children will be harmed by unreasonable expectations for mastery” (p. 282).

more than 40 words• Ayers (1993) observed,

We experience our own culture from the deepest levels toward the surface, and so our own culture can be largely invisible to us. . . . When we look at another culture, however, we tend to see the surface first, and we may fail to probe toward the deeper well-springs of meaning. This, too, can cut us off, and make culture and other people invisible. (p. 79)

grad lifegrad life

Wildavsky: The Organization of Time

• honor the sabbath: have an inviolable day off

• do not do for yourself what others can do for you

• spend money to buy time• play when you play but work when

you work• learn to fill up the small fragments

of time

• organize the flow of your work: avoid waiting to work

• avoid downtime: plan ahead• keep yourself supplied with work• control your schedule: get small

things done ahead of time• have a rule to have rules• if you can’t think of what to do

with something, throw it away

• defend your work time, but don’t be a workaholic

• keep conversations with students businesslike

• keep things short• be careful about taking on new

obligations• efficient use of time makes it easier

to let go

more top 10 tips

• read Graduate Programs Handbook (your advisor may be a little out of date)

• get to know the grad programs secretary in your department and treat her well

• develop friendships with grad students in other departments and colleges

• find a special place somewhere on campus where you can work uninterrupted (hint: it probably won’t be your office)

• point every paper you write toward your dissertation

• take advantage of being a student—go to games (except for football and men’s basketball, all are free with student ID)

• work out regularly—get exercise• maintain a life and passion outside

of grad school, e.g., read novels, listen to music, dance, skate, play music, join a club

• do graduate school—don’t let graduate school do you

good resources• Chronicle of Higher Education

– academe’s job ads– available on line:

•www.chronicle.com–user name: uiuclib–password: library

• Tomorrow’s Professor– https://mailman.stanford.edu

/mailman/ listinfo/tomorrows-professor/

• Google Scholar (scholar.google.com)

best quick getaways

• Krannert Art Museum (2 minutes)• Carle Park (Urbana: Iowa St. 3 blks

east of Lincoln—15 minute walk)• Hessel Park (Champaign: Kirby St. 4

blks west of Neil—25 minute walk)• Meadowbrook Park (Urbana:

Windsor east of Race—short bike ride)

• Lake of the Woods (Mahomet—15 minute drive, west on 74)

• Salt Fork River Preserve (Homer Lake) (17 miles east of Urbana)

• Allerton (southeast of Monticello—30 minute drive)

free (or cheap) stuff this week(under construction)