Strength and Weakness in The Research Process Essay

Explain at least one strength and one weakness you have with regard to the research process.

One strength I possess in the research process is organization. Throughout my doctoral journey thus far, I have paid attention to what works as far as an organizing system and each class allows me to learn another way to organize and search for information. Stadtlander (2015) suggests a way to organize sources and other resources throughout this course have given examples of labeling and sorting the literature. Stadtlander (2015) emphasizes the need for an organizational system that works for you before even beginning. Because the amount of literature to be reviewed will be substantial, knowing how and where to classify it for reference later is paramount. I feel another strength of mine that has increased while in this class is the ability to conduct a fruitful keyword search in the databases. Before this class I was discouraged that I could not find up to date literature within five years. After learning some of the search techniques and getting tips from peers, I was able to locate several studies from this year. I now know how to identify key authors in the field that I can follow and keep abreast of their research.

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One weakness I have identified is struggling to organize the literature in a way that points back to the research question. It is easy to get lost in the literature and forget how it relates, or where it fits into the larger picture. As Stadtlander (2015) writes, “One of the toughest parts of doing research is keeping track of the many pieces of information you will collect. You not only want to find things the first time, but also be able to find them months later. You will want to be able to recall your rationale for making the decisions you made along the way…” (p. 10). I am a detail-oriented person so I can get lost there and lose sight of how the smaller things fit into the larger puzzle. I noticed this when I completed the outline and found it was challenging to remember why I chose the studies I did and where to fit them into categories. This will require a system of classifying the literature possibly from the beginning and not waiting to go back and find where it fits.

Explain the steps you might take to address areas of weakness and which Walden resources you might use to help you.

Walden has fantastic resources to help in every part of the research process. There are so many resources, it can be overwhelming at times to identify where to start. The most helpful resources for me so far have been the library, the Academic Skills Center, and the Center for Research Quality. Tutorials, access to templates, and other Walden graduate dissertations can help me refine my skills. This writing process takes practice and Walden provides many ways to practice in different forms. If I come across a resource I find particularly helpful, I make sure to bookmark it to access later. Also, if I cannot decide exactly what I need, I have found that the assistance of a librarian always points me in the right direction. Along the way I have been collecting and building my resource system where I save the places I may need to go back to later and identify what resources help me with certain tasks. To practice organizing my literature accurately and effectively, I want to start using a literature review matrix that facilitates categorizing the information in a way that includes what the resource relates to, the rationale, and where it aligns with the research question.

References

Stadtlander, L. M. (2015). Finding your way to a Ph.D.: Advice from the dissertation mentor. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.