Mike’s Doc Blog

A phone conversation with my mentor a few weeks ago highlighted a problem I am having with my dissertation that is compounded by working full time (and more so in the last few months) and trying to still be present with the family; dropping the ball. My dissertation proposal has stalled in this state of being unsure about the problem, the research, the everything. It was so confusing that I was allowing myself to dig into working insane hours and agreeing to bad projects at work. I was trying to do anything vs. trying to do something.

My mentor and I agreed to speak via phone and talk through what was going on and the feelings I was experiencing of uncertainty, confusion, frustration, and inadequacy. The good news is that these feelings were commonplace at this phase of the process and compounded by the work full time-study full time aspect of going to school as an adult.

I was thankful to hear that I was experiencing something normal and that this was the real point of proving my metal. I was so thankful that I inquired about how I can press on vs. step out. My mentor informed me that sometimes beginning with the end in mind is helpful (who would have thought Covey was right on this? ha). Her guidance was to understand the problem in general and select a sample population then work from there on the design. It seemed like cheating to do that but in the world of being a scholar, practitioner, leader, we need to find a process that is academically and business sound. This might work.

We discussed a few other ideas for my project like using only podcasts or linking blogs and podcasts through a literature search. We talked about sample size and the statistical analysis. All helpful conversations. I felt re-energized with the project again.

So I’ve set off to get some initial documentation completed and working a bit backwards to accomplish the while goal. Thanks Maureen!

As I delve into the proposal writing, I am finding numerous situations that come down to the chicken and egg argument. To determine the ful study, I need to know this thing, to know that thing I need to know another but to know the last I need to know the first. Frustrating? Kind of frustrating, to be sure.

I feel like I want a template that steps through the process and links to assistance so effective decisions can be made. UPX provides a dissertation checklist but it does not have the you need to know this first, then this. Rather, it gives you what should be included in each chapter.

For now, I need to make some decisions about the statisitical analysis and experiment design. I have a conversation this week with a colleague offering some advice on the study process, experiment population, and working student dissertation issues. I am looking forward to it.

Image Source: woodleywonderworks

I begin DOC/733 today, it is the second course with my mentor and one that I’ve been looking forward to completing for some time now. I had to delay the start due to some unexpected circumstances and bills. The purpose of the class is to prepare the proposal or Chapters 1, 2, and 3. This is a monumental undertaking for me. As most of you know, I stepped back on my research to focus solely on podcasted training and the learning impact of using podcasts.

This narrowing of focus should help my research but it does require me to get going and flesh out the research. I also need to get my research methods in order and secure an study group. Apart from that, I need to find a committee in the next few weeks so that my proposal can be thoroughly guided and built. There is a lot to do. Perhaps it is a good thing that I am being certified in FranklinCovey’s Focus Time Management series. I can use all the help I can get.

It feels like I am beginning again. It has been some time since my last class and the bad habits have snuck back in on me. I am breaking them now and it hurts. I know the road ahead is going to be a rough one but no doctoral program would be complete without these rites of passage. There are times that I wish I could be in a physical community of doctoral learners to keep the momentum. I realize, though, that would breed unhealthy competition for favor and attention from faculty. I also know that would mean being apart from my work and family; two things I am not willing to part with right now.

As I look ahead to the next 8, and likely 16, weeks I see clarification beginning to happen and a new sharpness and professionalism coming to this research. I know a lot of people are interested in the outcomes, so am I.

Image Source: LiveALittle.org

I got my newly revised problem statement, purpose statement, and research questions back from my mentor this weekend. I had also asked for some guidance on what elements to include in my new literature review.  Year 3 residency really set me back a bit with some small changes. Think of it like turning a ship only 1 degree from the course and figure out what that impact is 2,000 miles away; quite a different landing place.

I’ve selected some categories for the next evolution of my literature review:

• Constructivism
• Blended Learning
• Blogs, Wikis, and Podcasts
• Learning Evaluation

My mentor thought these areas will serve me well and likely aid in redrafting the problem statement, purpose statement, and research questions. What!?! Again!?! Yes, again. This process is iterative and continues to cycle back on the previous components at every turn. Frustrating to be sure but needed to validate and refine the project.

So the biggest piece of advice is keep reading. I will read. I need to read. First, I need to find some articles. So the remainder of the week is business travel and my regular class, so I will be in the academic frame of mind.

One nice about my research is that it fits my work well. If everything holds out, I will be able to use my work to do my research. That would be ideal.

Image Source: Swamibu

In revising my problem and purpose statement, along with fleshing out Chapter 1 of the dissertation, I got some sage words of wisdom from my mentor.

We want you to graduate

I liked the idea of measuring my dissertation to what Kirkpatrick would call the behavioral level or Level Three. However, as I know and my mentor pointed out to me again, this level of measurement is evasive and lengthy to determine. While I think understanding this is important, I also think graduation is important.

Even Kirkpatrick determined that Level Three is a difficult level to evaluate and can lead to false negatives. In the literature Kirkpatrick proffered that too many factors can mute a behavioral change and lead the researcher to issue a negative statement which might not be accurate. In fact, Kirkpatrick cautioned that influencers like a boss, workplace, personality, etc could give the impression that the training was ineffective when in fact learning took place, at Level Two.

So, I pulled back from work performance to get a faster and more accurate evaluation for the research. Is it cheating? Not at all. In fact, because the literature doesn’t have any determinations of effectiveness, this is a most appropriate level to evaluate. Future studies could include behavioral evaluation. In fact, that would make a nice second book for me…so don’t take my idea

I sent my revisions into my mentor and am looking forward to her feedback on the matter. This does add another component to my literature review but that isn’t going to be too bad. I jsut need to read more.

I’ve spent the Summer revising and revising my literature review in hopes of getting it to the point I feel it is worth my mentor’s time to review and comment. I understand the function of the mentor is to guide and offer coaching as needed. Perhaps I should have taken her up on this function. In fact, I know I should have.

Still, the revision process takes some time. I spend most of it writing something, then reading it to make sure it sounds accurate, understandable, and scholarly. This is no easy task.

What I have found in my reflection is an evolution of writing style from the Master’s level to this dissertation level. In my MAED program it was appropriate to conclude something based on cited evidence and support from a peer-reviewed author. In the beginning of the EdD program it was appropriate to cite evidence and conclusions that were cited elsewhere adding some transitional text that agreed with the preceding work. At the dissertation level, it is appropriate to academically report the findings and conclusions of others (at least for the lit. review).

My thesaurus and the online thesaurus tools are getting a work out. How many synonyms for report, conclude, said wrote, offer, etc. do you think there are?

Some good news on this front. I am learning to be a better critical thinker and writer. I am also learning more about journalism that I thought I should know. Journalism in the theoretical sense, not the practioner sense.

I am happy with the lit. review so far. The long process should conclude this month with another submission to my mentor and then onto planning the proposal (chapters 1, 2, & 3).

Side note: my APA PERRLA/StyleEase posts have gotten some notice from APA PERRLA. Here is hoping for a speedy release so I can return to my favorite APA tool.

Image source: quartermane

Jessica Hagy at Indexed had a brillant representation of the changing workplace and the impact that has on our economy.

The index card shows a graph with a direct relationship between boomers increasing in management positions and the X’ers starting up businesses. The message here is one of generation differences and the potential ripple effects in both businesses and the larger economy.

Each generation has a different style and the importance of them working together was highlighted in a post earlier on the Doc Blog; Millennials Are Not Alone. My mentor and I engaged in a discourse to study the impact of a new training intervention on the entire workforce population and not isolate the research to one subset or subgroup of the workforce, Millennials. Here is an excerpt of my Literature Review – 2nd Draft - that highlights the interrelationship of Millennials and other generations.

The current workplace is experiencing the presence of four generations that actively participate in organizational operations (Wagner, 2007). Each of these generations exhibit different working styles that result in conflict, change, and organizational growth (Wagner). Bridgers and Johnson (2006) describe the workforce makeup as 10% Traditionalist generation members, 44% Baby Boomers, 34% Generation X members, and 12% Millennials making for a workforce in flux from the employees beginning careers to those exiting into retirement.

What this shows is that a difference exists and the demographics of the varying populations. Hagy’s graph adds to the discourse by suggesting that potential conflict between 2 generations (boomers and X’ers in her case) can lead to an exodus from existing companies and the expansion of smaller startups (for good or bad).

How does this relate to my dissertation? If a solution is not found to satisfy the the bulk of the workforce, meet the expectations of senior generations, and bridge generational gaps through knowledge sharing there might be further exits of junior generations.

However, I would be curious about the X’ers exodus from Boomer managed companies and if these X’er startups appeal more to Millennials than the Boomer-run companies. Alas, this is a research topic for another time or someone else.

I’ve been reading, re-reading, writing, re-writing my literature review based on the comments from my mentor and others. It has been a frustrating process bouncing between copies of my paper trying to make the right change in the right places. This is often a problem with a lot of comments (trying to track those little lines is a pain).

That was until this morning. This morning my frustration turned to inspiration and I clicked the accept all changes button in MS Word. Following that, I chose Save As… from the file menu and saved the document as a new file. Miracle cure? Kind of, sort of, maybe.

What I need to do now is read through the paper and decide if I like the change or not. It did clear up a lot of the deleted, changed, added, stuff leaving only the comments in there. I like that. It is a new day in revision mode and I am hopeful for quicker turn around.

Image Source: Luke Edgar Seeley

Discourse this week with my mentor might be changing my dissertation slightly. I’ve been laser focused on Millennials because I feel this is a big concern in the learning and performance industry. This has been supported by recent traffic and comments on the Doc Blog.

My mentor and I discussed the possibility to broaden the discussion about generations prior to Millennials. Her advice was that whatever the Millennial population workforce count, they are not alone in the workplace. Her discussion continued to say that businesses are not likely to adopt new processes unless the processes can be applied to everyone.

This is something that seems so obvious to me but I still missed in my own thought process.

Taking this into advisement, and still wanting to know the impact on Millennials, I responded with an idea to broaden the topic to be ‘Constructivist Learning and Worker Performance using Blogs, Wikis, and Podcasts in Workplace Training’. The research questions would include inquiries about the impact on different generations.

Is this a more important problem? Is this change more in line with industry concerns?

I think it might be but what do you think?

Thanks for being patient as I completed other projects (my literature review draft). In this episode I discuss the literature review project:

• Writer’s Block
  • Sage advice from Dan
    
  • Keep writing advice from Foley
• How I did it.
• Slight changes to topic
• Draft
  • Seeking feedback
• Thanks to everyone for visiting the draft section. The sheer volume of views helps validate the topic as important.

 

 Episode #12 - I've Been Drafted [7:23m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download