Writing My Problem Statement - Thread 3

Reflect back on writing your problem statement and post on what you might do differently the next time you have to write a problem statement.
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There are definitely things I could do differently the next time I write a problem statement. First of all, I now realize that a problem statement is more than one sentence...it's the introduction to a paper/article! It needs to set the focus for the paper and it needs to get the audience into the right frame of mind for reading the paper...kind of get everyone onto the same page. Next time I write a problem statement I will do a bit more brainstorming before trying to write. I did a pretty good job of having a variety of sources to pull from when writing this, my first, problem statement, but I didn't have a great idea of how they all fit together. Now, having written the first few drafts of my problem statement, I see how the puzzle pieces fit. Everything is slowly, very slowly, starting to make more sense! Yay!

Research Knowledge & Skills - Thread 2

Post on what research knowledge and skills you have gained through writing a problem statement.
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Working through my problem statement I learned a few things. First of all, I learned that I am still not motivated by this project. Next, I learned that I can still do a great job on this project even if I'm not motivated...I just need to keep talking with Chad about it to get a little more motivated! Third, I learned that I have found some really helpful articles, both for references and also as examples of how to write a research paper. I am becoming much more familiar with the WSU libraries and I actually feel somewhat-nearly-almost confident that I'm searching for articles "the right" way! Fourth, I learned that it's not nearly as difficult as I first felt like it was. I can get through this, I really can!

Semester Timeline

Having a timeline laid out for the remainder of the semester will be a big help for me. If I have a goal to reach each week, I will be more motivated to work on this project. Also, the structure will help me feel like I'm accomplishing something with this.

My proposal will have three chapters: introduction, literature review, methodology.

For the following Thursday classes, I will:

February 23 – turn in chapter 1 (intro/problem statement) and rubric
o Work on methodology…research this!
o Continue working on literature review

March 2 – do rough draft of methodology
o Continue work on lit review…should have a good draft complete at this point.

March 9 – finish methodology section.
o Continue work on literature review.
o Put together the three chapters and make sure there is a good logical flow to everything.

March 16 – finish literature review and have rough draft of proposal done.
o Review the proposal and give myself feedback
o Have teammates review my proposal
o Have professional review my proposal

March 23 – incorporate feedback to finalize the proposal and begin working on presentation.
o Make sure there is a logical flow!

March 30 – finalize presentation.
o Practice presentation on my own.
o Give presentation to Chad, Jana, & Teresa and ask for feedback.

April 6 – Proposal Presentation
o Incorporate feedback from my presentation to write final version of the proposal

April 13 – work on statement of learning
o Attend SOL presentations to see what others are doing and saying

April 20 – have statement of learning complete and practice the presentation.
o Attend SOL presentations to see what others are doing and saying

April 27 – Statement of Learning Presentation
o Review feedback from presentation
o Conduct a self-reflection on the presentation
o Write SOL Cover Letter
o Submit SOL Cover Letter and Presentation materials by Monday, May 1.

May 2 – submit final proposal to Todd

Contact an Expert (Thread 1)

Before class next week we are supposed to contact someone in our area of research that is published. I looked through my articles and decided to email one of the authors of an article I found quite interesting. I'm curious to see what kind of response I get. If this turns out to be a dead end I will try a different author.

My lit review is coming along pretty well. I currently have 32 references to use. Putting the references into proper APA style and seeing how many of them I have makes me feel better about where I am in this research process. Now, if I can just figure out the difference between a problem statement and a research question, I'll be doing great!

UPDATE:
I got a response from the expert that I contacted. He seems very nice and interested in offering assistance. I also got an email response from a graduate student that had conducted a study at another university. She, too, seems eager to help. Good contacts to have!

Problem Statements -- Choose a Side! (Thread 3)

Which of the following statements did you side with in class?
"The characteristics of a high quality problem statement are universal and can be applicable to any academic domain."
"Overall, the characteristics of a problem statement will depend on the area under study"

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I sided with "The characteristics of a high quality problem statement are universal and can be applicable to any academic domain."

The discussion we had in class about these two statements strengthened my position. During the discussion I really felt that everyone was arguing the same point. I truly didn't see a difference in what people were saying. It felt more like we were arguing semantics. The main thing I understood was that one side of the room took "characteristics" in a broad sense, whereas the other side of the room took "characteristics" to mean the specific details of a specific problem statement. Overall, I felt strengthened because I felt that the whole class was on the same side I was, it's just that everyone didn't realize it! I often feel more confident in a decision I make when a lot of other people make the same decision. So, as the class discussion/debate went on, I realized that I was thinking the same way most everyone was in class.

I don't enjoy debates or heated discussions. Often, my way of dealing with them is just to laugh through them or to tune them out. I find that if I get really involved in a debate I just end up getting ticked off, annoyed, and/or frustrated so it's better just to laugh about the silliness of the debate and not take it seriously. I have been to a few conferences and the debates that can take place when two researchers don't agree REALLY turns me off to research. I don't want to watch people yelling at each other. If I go to a speech (whether it's at a conference, or a visitor on campus), I try to leave before the Q&A session to avoid those scenes :-)

Overall, I think the class activity was a great way to show that individuals are not always going to understand two identical sentences the same way!

Question about Research (Thread 2)

Pose a question about a problem you are facing with a research principle or process
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My question right now is: what is the difference between a problem statement and a research question?

I am still completely baffled by this. I don't know how these two things are different and I have no idea where they are each supposed to fit into my research proposal. I am hoping that things will make a lot more sense after I clarify this area!

If you can explain the difference to me, or know where I can go to learn more about these two, please point me in the right direction!