Transcript Lecture-14.pptx

Self Study Project
MGT 494
Lecture-14
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Recap
• Vision and Performance Ranges
• Write an Action Plan (Step 7)
• Evaluate Progress and Take Corrective Action
(Step 8)
• Self Study Project
– Problem Identification
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Today’s Lecture
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Problem definition
Steps in analyzing problem
Literature Review
Research Design/ Methods
Case study research
Action Research
Methodology
Findings
Report
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Self Study Project
• Problem Identification
– Differentiate fact from opinion
– Specify underlying causes
– Consult each faction involved for information
– State the problem specifically
– Identify what standard or expectation is violated
– Determine in which process the problem lies
– Avoid trying to solve the problem without data
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Some guidelines for selecting problems:
1. The problem should be such in which the researcher
may be deeply interested.
2. The problem should be related with the chain of
thinking. Stray problems can mislead the whole
research project.
3. The problem selected should not necessarily be new
one. It may be old problem or one on which work has
already been done i.e., verification of old problem
may be equally useful.
4. The problem should be within manageable limits i.e.
it should not be too comprehensive.
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Criteria of Good Problem are:
1. It should express a relation between two or
more variables.
2. It should be stated clearly and
unambiguously.
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Problem definition
1. Magnitude: What is the incidence and prevalence of the
problem?
2. Time Frame: When does it occur? Is it current?
3. Geographic area: Where does the problem generally
occur?
4. Population: Does the problem affect certain groups of
people? If so, what are their characteristics?
5. Why? What are the probable reasons for the problem? Is
there agreement or conflict over these reasons?
6. Solutions: What solutions have already been tried? How
successful have they been? What untried solutions might
there be?
7. Unanswered Questions: What parts of the problem need
further research?
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Justification for Research Problem
• Is the problem a current and timely one?
• Does the problem have life-threatening or serious
morbidity consequences?
• Does the problem affect or potentially affect, a large
number of people?
• Does the problem relate to on-going program activities?
• Does the problem have broad social, economic, political or
health implications?
• Is the problem viewed as a concern by many different
people?
• Have many studies already addressed the problem?
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Steps in analyzing the research problem
• Step 1 Clarify the viewpoints of managers in relation to the
problem
• Step 2 Further specify and describe the core problem
– Try to identify the core problem and quantity
– You should attempt to describe more elaborately:
• The nature of the problem; the discrepancy between “what is” and
what you prefer the situation to be, in terms of re-admissions and
/or complications;
• The distribution of the problem – who is effected, when, and where;
and
• The size and intensity of the problem – is it widespread, how server
is it, what are its consequences (such as disability, death, and waste
or resources).
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Steps in analyzing the research problem
• Step 3 Analyze the problem
– After identifying the core problem you should:
• Identify factors that may have contributed to the problem.
• Clarify the relationship between the problem and contributing factors.
• Analysis of the problem involves several sub-steps:
– Step 1 Write down the core problem(s) as defined in step 2 in the
center of a blackboard or flip chart.
– Step 2 Brainstorm on possible causes or factors contributing to the
problem.
– Step 3 Identify further contributing factors.
– Step 4 Attempt to organize related factors together into larger
categories, and develop your final draft of the diagram.
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Literature Review
The basic stages in a typical research project are:
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identify your topic of interest,
perform a literature review,
generate related questions,
state your unsolved problem or hypothesis,
find or develop a solution, and
document your results.
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Purpose of the literature review
1. To evaluate the current state of progress in
the study of a given topic
2. To identify, organise and evaluate published
material
3. To show that the reviewer knows what has
been done, what is being done, and what
needs to be done
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A literature review serves three
important functions
• Gives reader background information
regarding your own research,
• Demonstrates your familiarity with research in
your field,
• Shows how your work contributes one more
piece in expanding the knowledge base in
your field.
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Finding material
• Ask your subject librarian for help.
• Decide how far back you want to go –5 years?
10?
• Be selective – for short literature reviews,
ignore minor journals, books by unknown
publishers.
• Follow up references in standard works.
• Search databases, including those for journals.
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How to start?
• Begin by setting up a record-keeping system that will give
you an overview
• Date -Keep your record in chronological order so that you
can see how research develops, changes, challenges earlier
thinking etc.
• Bibliographical details –make sure you note everything you
need to avoid backtracking. Can be useful to note library
call number as well.
• Topic/focus – a brief note to help you remember, unless
you are doing an annotated bibliography, when you will
need to summarize in several sentences.
• Argument/thesis – what is the writer arguing? What is
their conclusion/the point of their research?
• Strengths/weaknesses – evaluation is difficult, but the
more you read about a subject, the easier it is to critique
the research as you make comparisons.
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Generate alternative solutions
• Postpone evaluating alternatives initially
• Include all involved individuals in the
generating of alternatives
• Specify alternatives consistent with
organizational goals
• Specify short- and long-term alternatives
• Brainstorm on others' ideas
• Seek alternatives that may solve the problem
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Evaluate and select an alternative
• Evaluate alternatives relative to a target
standard
• Evaluate all alternatives without bias
• Evaluate alternatives relative to established
goals
• Evaluate both proven and possible outcomes
• State the selected alternative explicitly
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Implement and follow up on the solution
• Plan and implement a pilot test of the chosen
alternative
• Gather feedback from all affected parties
• Seek acceptance or consensus by all those
affected
• Establish ongoing measures and monitoring
• Evaluate long-term results based on final
solution
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Understanding Self-Study Research
• Can design a study driven from research questions
situated in my particular context.
• Can study practice through employing a transparent,
open, reflective, and systematic research process.
• Can hold a disposition of openness to outside views,
questions, and critique.
• Can use various self-study methods to study research
problems.
• Can contribute to the body of knowledge
• Can generate and share knowledge that can be useful
to researchers and practitioners
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Self-study is a personal situated inquiry
• Self-study gives you the opportunity to examine your lived practice
and whether or not there is a living contradiction, or a
contradiction between what you say you believe and what you
actually do in practice (Whitehead, 1989).
• Examining the realities created by this gap leads to new
understandings of personal theory making. The questions you pose
can also be positive ones (LaBoskey, 2004a).
• You can choose from various self-study methods to inquire into
beliefs and action in practice, explore who you are as a researcher,
and self-assess your observations.
• You have the opportunity to consider the role culture and history
play in your theories and practices to assess its impact on your
teaching.
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Case Study
• Purpose and rationale for case study
– Significance of the phenomena of interest
– Research questions
• Design based on the unit of analysis and research
purpose
• Data collection and management techniques
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Field methods
Transcribed notes and interviews
Mapping of major concepts
Building typologies
Member checking
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What is action research about?
• Action research is a practical approach to professional inquiry
in any social situation. The context for professional inquiry
might change, but the principles and processes involved in
action research are the same, regardless of the nature of the
practice.
• As its name suggests, action research concerns actors – those
people carrying out their professional actions from day to day
- and its purpose is to understand and to improve those
actions. It is about trying to understand professional action
from the inside; as a result, it is research that is carried out by
practitioners on their own practice, not (as in other forms of
research), done by someone on somebody else’s practice
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Action Research
Carr and Kemmis (1986) describe action
research as being about:
– the improvement of practice;
– the improvement of the understanding of
practice;
– the improvement of the situation in which the
practice takes place.
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Action Research
1 Why should I use action research?
Because you want to change your practice. You may be concerned
that things might not be going as you wish, or you may need to
implement a new initiative but are unsure how to do it effectively.
What you want is a way of sorting out these concerns that offers
practical solutions, but that derives from the specific circumstances
of your practice
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How does this qualify as research?
Because the act of finding your solution makes you understand
your practice better – not only what you are doing, but also the
factors that affect what you do. Action research therefore has two
aspects. The starting point is to sort out a problem or issue in
practice; to this extent an action researcher seeks a solution. But
the process can also be used as a deliberate attempt to understand
practice better – a traditional research attitude. What is most
important in both approaches is that you are open, honest and
rigorous.
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Methodology
• Introduce the overall methodological approach for investigating your
research problem.
• Indicate how the approach fits the overall research design
• Describe the specific methods of data collection you are going to use
• Explain how you intend to analyze your results
• Provide background and rationale for methodologies that are unfamiliar
for your readers
• Provide a rationale for subject selection and sampling procedure.
• Address potential limitations
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Findings
• When formulating the results section, it's important to remember that
the results of a study do not prove anything. Research results can only
confirm or reject the research problem underpinning your study. However,
the act of articulating the results helps you to understand the problem
from within, to break it into pieces, and to view the research problem
from various perspectives.
• Avoid providing data that is not critical to answering the research
question
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Prepare the Report
• The outline of the report includes thanking all
of the participants, stating the problem, listing
the research questions, describing the
methods used to conduct the research and
any potential flaws in the method used,
explaining the data gathering and analysis
techniques used, and concluding with the
answers to the questions and suggestions for
further research.
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Prepare the Report
• Key features of the report include a retelling of
specific stories related to the successes or
disappointments
experienced
by
the
organizations that were conveyed during data
collection, and answers or comments illuminating
issues directly related to the research questions.
• The researcher develops each issue using
quotations or other details from the data
collected, and points out the triangulation of data
where applicable.
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Prepare the Report
• The report also includes confirming and
conflicting findings from literature reviews.
The report conclusion makes assertions and
suggestions for further research activity, so
that another researcher may apply these
techniques to another electronic community
network and its participants to determine
whether similar findings are identifiable in
other communities.
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THANK YOU
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