Literature Reviews

A crucial part of the research process is the literature review. Not all researchers address a literature review in their published article, but it is a foundational piece to the research that is conducted and should have a clear presence in the final product. As I read through journal articles for LRNT 502, I was a bit overwhelmed with having to determine if a literature review was sufficient and/or appropriate. However, I’ve come to realize that my ability to do this is a reflection of my knowledge on a subject. For topics that I’m unfamiliar with, the best I can do is to identify the literature review itself and assess the quality based on the researcher’s comments regarding types of research that have previously been conducted and how the current research fits in. I think the better a literature review is articulated, the better it probably was conducted and understood. Rachel Dunifon (n.d.) states that “the overall goal of the literature review is to provide the reader with an integrative summary of other research findings and the questions that remain unanswered or require further research” (p. 2). The North Carolina State University provides a helpful tutorial titled Literature Reviews: An Overview for Graduate Students that discusses the types and purpose of literature reviews and some strategies for conducting a literature review in the process of writing a research paper or thesis. References: Dunifon, R. (n.d.). How to read a research article. Retrieved from http://www.iith.ac.in/rsportal/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/How-to-Read-a-Research-Article.pdf North Carolina State University. (2009). Literature reviews: An overview for graduate students [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2d7y_r65HU

Journal Clubs for Sharing Research

One of the challenges to living and working in the digital age is staying current with the most up-to-date information. My employer subscribes to relevant journals (nursing and/or education) but my review of them often looks like this: scan the synopsis for each article, flag the ones I want to read and set aside. On top of the required reading I need to do for my professional life, most times, I don’t make it back to those articles.

A strong message I’ve received in LRNT 502 is that knowledge and research is meant to be shared and I feel a sense of obligation in moving forward with that. In the past, a few colleagues and I have attempted to do some informal “Lunch and Learn” sessions. We would meet bi-weekly and everyone would come with something they had learned recently; it could be a journal article, a helpful website, a teaching resource, etc. These would be successful for a few months but would eventually dissolve. My plan for the upcoming academic year is to initiate a more formal “Journal Club” with a focus on research. The Society for Vascular Nursing (n.d.) identifies three designs that may be used as the presentation format for a club:

1. One article (most common & easiest to conduct) 
• Identify audience if 1-article design chosen – select a study that will                                appeal to the group. 
2. One topic (examine several research studies on a single topic – requires expertise to critique).
3. One journal (review all articles within a single journal – NOTE: may not be all research articles).

I work with a small, committed group of faculty and my hope is that, with some clear objectives, we will be able to make this an established routine within our work environment.

Reference:
Society for Vascular Nursing. (n.d.). Practical tips in starting a journal club. Retrieved from http://svnnet.org/uploads/File/JournalClubOutline.pdf

Employment and Business in the Digital Age

In his blog article Giving Up Control in the Era of Open Business, Luis Suarez discusses the resistance of large organizations to adapt in the digital age. A growing number of consumers are no longer willing to accept being dictated to by big business and demand the accessibility and quality that is now possible. Suarez provides an example of the Entertainment Industry’s lack of transformation and how this has resulted in a loss of consumers; he argues that this same pattern is also reflected in several other industries.

As a consumer, I appreciate when businesses provide me the services or product that I require in a way the works best for me. As a professional, I also appreciate this flexibility. I work in a post-secondary institution that presents itself as future-oriented and industry-driven but I find in certain areas of mobile business, that it demonstrates exactly what Suarez is talking about: reluctance to adapt to the digital age. Specifically, I’m referring to the concept of “the office” and the workday. The expectation is that work is done at the place of employment during the daytime hours and any work done away from the office during the day is frowned upon. But I can’t help wonder that by embracing this concept of a digital age workforce, how it could empower the employee and aid in faculty autonomy and well-being and an issue for retention. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy my place of work, my colleagues and the opportunities to interact with them outside the classroom; however, there are times when I need to work alone and the office environment can be a huge distraction. I have opened up my personal space and respond to students’ questions in the evenings and on weekends (within reason) through texting; this is a practice that I wouldn’t have considered five years ago because I wasn’t a regular texter. I have adapted and I hope to see more acceptance of this digital age concept in the future.

Reference:

Suarez, L. (2013, Sept. 3). Giving up control in the Era of Open Business [Weblog post]

Theoretical and Conceptual Frameworks

As part of a recent assignment to critique a journal article, one of the objectives was to identify the use of a theoretical framework in the research. Some were clearly identified, while others were never mentioned. As I read through the articles, I wondered how does a person determine the appropriate theoretical framework from the vast number that is available? And what about conceptual frameworks? How do these fit into the research?

Although the terms theoretical and conceptual framework are sometimes used interchangeably, the terms are not synonymous. Theoretical frameworks are broad generalizations that guide the researcher in the research process. It “provides a large, overarching structure of ideas that the researcher can then draw from in beginning to analyze a phenomenon or a text” (Zamboni, n.d.); not all components of the framework are necessarily examined. The conceptual framework is a “set of specific ideas that can be used within the larger theoretical framework” (Zamboni, n.d.). It is much narrower in scope and provides detail and direction to the research variables.

So how does someone go about deciding which framework to use? There is no shortcut to doing this. In all the articles I read around this topic, the process was consistent as being part of the literature review. In order to determine a suitable framework, the researcher must immerse themselves in the existing research and discover what has been used to guide previous research and the circumstances around that research. Some frameworks are specific to a certain field while others may be interdisciplinary. The bottom line is: read, read, and read some more in order to become familiar with your chosen topic of interest.

Reference:

Zamboni, J. (n.d.). Difference between conceptual and theoretical framework. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/info_8769890_difference-between-conceptual-theoretical-framework.html

Wikis for Scholarly Communication

In Lisa Sporo’s book review of Scholarship in the Digital Age: Information, Infrastructure, and the Internet by Christine L. Borgman, she brings attention to scholarly communication among professionals and researchers through wikis. OpenWetWare is the example that is provided, and although the content isn’t from my field, its purpose really makes sense to me. “OpenWetWare is an effort to promote the sharing of information, know-how, and wisdom among researchers and groups who are working in biology and biology engineering” (OpenWetWare, n.d., para. 1). The wiki has categories such as reference materials, organisms, courses, protocols, and contributing authors that individuals or groups can access. I think this is an excellent way for scholars to easily share their research and for those in the field to utilize as a resource and to stay abreast of the abundance of research.

Resources:

Main Page. (2014, June 20). OpenWetWare, . Retrieved 05:02, July 27, 2015 from http://openwetware.org/index.php?title=Main_Page&oldid=798279.

Spiro, L. (2009). Review of the book:  Scholarship in the Digital Age: Information, infrastructure, and the Internet, by C. Borgman (2009).  Literary and Linguistic Computing, 24 (2): 243-245. doi:10.1093/llc/fqn041