It's time for the Seasonal Break, a pause before we think about our accomplishments this year and what we want to achieve next year.
Many students who read this blog have finished their journey to the MBA or MSc. Others are still struggling through the assignments, the exams and of course the dissertation. I see students slow down during this season every year. Students who intended to phone me put it off until January. Others put that assignment they were struggling with in the drawer until the holiday season is over.
This is, for me, a time for a yearly break, a reminder that life is about many more things than simply our jobs. It is a pause before going on to the new, big project. We can, when we pause and reflect, often make better choices about what we are going to do in the New Year. In the busyness of the year, we often forget to take this time to pause and reflect on our lives, and our life directions. Sometimes, dreams over the past year have seemed difficult. Perhaps, they have seemed unreachable but during this holiday season it is surely the time to believe that perhaps dreams might just come true.
For many students, the MBA is their dream. Sometimes, the work that is required to achieve this dream can turn many students back. Many fear that they are unworthy, that they do not have the adequate qualifications or stamina to get this diploma. At this holiday season, it is time to see that no one gets this qualification at this or any other good university without struggle and hard work. Whether you have just returned to school after a long absence or whether you are fresh from your BA, this qualification will not fall into your lap without hard work. At this holiday season, we can give ourselves the gift of believing that we can do it, that dreams can come true.
I have been privileged to work with many struggling students, many students who have gone on to get their degrees. For those you still struggling, please accept my seasonal wish. For those of you who read this blog regularly, accept my congratulations that you are still working toward your goal. And for everybody, have a happy holiday.
KB
Monday, December 21, 2009
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Important Words to Help Understand Questions
Today, in my second to last post before Christmas, I would like to go over some words that students see in their assignments or exam questions. Sometimes, we never examine what an instructor/tutor/professor means when they use these simple questions in assignments or exams. Many of us believe we understand what these words mean, but actually don't know precisely what is meant by these words. So, students can write around the question, hoping that they will hit the target somewhere in this process. Yet, these are common words that mean something quite specific in the context of assignment questions.
Let's start with "describe or outline." For example, a question that tells you: "to describe or outline the steps of problem-solving." To begin with, to know things we must name them. However, that is not enough, we must be able to apply our knowledge in order to offer explanations of the terms we use.
Thus, when we are asked to "to describe or outline the steps of problem-solving" or in fact anything, the tutor is being quite specific about what we must do. We need to name the steps, then we need to explain what they are, then we can give brief examples of these steps. So, we have used the steps of critical thinking by using knowledge, understanding and application. The Hierarchy of Knowledge, developed by Bloom, is specific about these steps and one of the objectives of the School of Management at the University of Leicester is to use critical thinking.
Objective, a word I used above, is an important word in learning. Teaching by objectives ensures that tutors have achievable, measurable goals. The definition of "objective" in the Oxford Concise Dictionary (10 ed. revised, 2002) defines "objective" (where objective is a noun) as: 1. a goal or aim. It also tells us that objective results are "2. Not dependent on the mind, actual". This tells us that we are looking for concrete facts, real data that illustrates our point. Thus, let's say a question asks: "Use any business or corporation to analyse whether its environmental policies reflect the objectives of Kyoto Protocol (1997)". Objective in this sentence is a noun, thus you will be looking for the aims or goals of the environmental policies of the company you are going to discuss. You will need to know (a) the intended results or objectives of the environmental policy of a specific business and (b) the intended results or objectives of the Kyoto Protocol. Both will require research on the environmental policies of a business you work at or one that you research through the databases at University of Leicester.
Your own business may not, in fact, be suitable if it really has no environmental impact and its policies will not provide a lively discussion of the Kyoto Protocol. To understand this, first you must be aware of the intended results, aim or goals of the Kyoto Protocol. Then you can judge what kind of business you should pick to make your points clearly. You need to be specific in showing how the Kyoto Protocol influences the business you are discussing.
Influence is an important word in many assignment questions. In the question above, we could reframe the question to ask the following question: "Use any business or corporation to illustrate how the Kyoto Protocol (1997) has influenced their environmental policy." This question has been very specific: the business or corporation you choose to discuss must directly have been influenced by the Kyoto Protocol. This influence must be shown to be direct. Thus, you must see direct and clear initiatives that the business has undertaken that are directly mentioned by the Kyoto Protocol. You must also take care to make sure that any environmental initiatives, such as increasingly lower emissions on the part of, for example, a Paper Company, a Metals Refining Company or a Chemical Company (see, for example, Abitibi (paper), Sherritt (nickel refining), or Dow Chemical) happened as a result of and after the Kyoto Protocol. If the business has stated their intention to use the Protocol and change their environmental policies, this will make that company a good company to discuss in your assignment.
Taking this question a step further, the question might also ask you to "analyse their environmental policies" or "evaluate" them. In the former example, you must demonstrate a thorough knowledge of environmental policies in a particular company and must explain or analyse how these policies and the Kyoto protocol initiatives are linked. This is where students often make crucial errors. They write general knowledge about the Kyoto protocol instead of actually examining the details of environmental policies in a specific business. The question is, in fact, quite specific. If you need to analyse or evaluate the environmental policies of a specific business, you must know how effective or ineffective they are.
You should be aware if the company has been sued or cited for an environmental emissions or some other problem such as dumping. You will only know about this by good research, research that examines what a company says (for example in their yearly corporate reports) versus what a company actually does (for example newspaper articles, press releases or other public documentation). They may not write about environmental problems in corporate reports but a thorough search on the databases at University of Leicester will uncover the realities of the situation. These facts will fuel the analysis or the evaluation that you are going to make in your assignment. Evaluation and analysis imply that you should be weigh factors out in a particular field. This will be the same whether you are discussing a company's environmental policy or its corporate culture.
The tutor wants you to use evidence, that is data about a particular company, to show or demonstrate what this company's environmental record actually is and demonstrate its policies in regard to the environment. The same thing would hold true if the question was, for example, "Using Porter's five forces model, analyse the business strategy of a company of your choice." You should use a company which will prove to be a good example of business strategy and an good demonstration of Porter's five forces, not simply a company that you know. A dynamic, interesting discussion that shows how the five forces work with excellent examples using relevant evidence to demonstrate the theory is what the tutor wants to see.
When you approach an assignment question, you shouldn't, as I pointed out above, think of this as a good opportunity to discuss the copmany you work in currently. Some students think this will make doing the assignment easier. As I pointed out above, in fact if your copmany really has no environmental impact then you should do research and find a good example of the question that has been posed. Tutors mark many assignments. Providing lively debate, interesting examples and thought provoking evaluations, make your assignment stand out. Bold choices tend to provide better assignments.
KB
Let's start with "describe or outline." For example, a question that tells you: "to describe or outline the steps of problem-solving." To begin with, to know things we must name them. However, that is not enough, we must be able to apply our knowledge in order to offer explanations of the terms we use.
Thus, when we are asked to "to describe or outline the steps of problem-solving" or in fact anything, the tutor is being quite specific about what we must do. We need to name the steps, then we need to explain what they are, then we can give brief examples of these steps. So, we have used the steps of critical thinking by using knowledge, understanding and application. The Hierarchy of Knowledge, developed by Bloom, is specific about these steps and one of the objectives of the School of Management at the University of Leicester is to use critical thinking.
Objective, a word I used above, is an important word in learning. Teaching by objectives ensures that tutors have achievable, measurable goals. The definition of "objective" in the Oxford Concise Dictionary (10 ed. revised, 2002) defines "objective" (where objective is a noun) as: 1. a goal or aim. It also tells us that objective results are "2. Not dependent on the mind, actual". This tells us that we are looking for concrete facts, real data that illustrates our point. Thus, let's say a question asks: "Use any business or corporation to analyse whether its environmental policies reflect the objectives of Kyoto Protocol (1997)". Objective in this sentence is a noun, thus you will be looking for the aims or goals of the environmental policies of the company you are going to discuss. You will need to know (a) the intended results or objectives of the environmental policy of a specific business and (b) the intended results or objectives of the Kyoto Protocol. Both will require research on the environmental policies of a business you work at or one that you research through the databases at University of Leicester.
Your own business may not, in fact, be suitable if it really has no environmental impact and its policies will not provide a lively discussion of the Kyoto Protocol. To understand this, first you must be aware of the intended results, aim or goals of the Kyoto Protocol. Then you can judge what kind of business you should pick to make your points clearly. You need to be specific in showing how the Kyoto Protocol influences the business you are discussing.
Influence is an important word in many assignment questions. In the question above, we could reframe the question to ask the following question: "Use any business or corporation to illustrate how the Kyoto Protocol (1997) has influenced their environmental policy." This question has been very specific: the business or corporation you choose to discuss must directly have been influenced by the Kyoto Protocol. This influence must be shown to be direct. Thus, you must see direct and clear initiatives that the business has undertaken that are directly mentioned by the Kyoto Protocol. You must also take care to make sure that any environmental initiatives, such as increasingly lower emissions on the part of, for example, a Paper Company, a Metals Refining Company or a Chemical Company (see, for example, Abitibi (paper), Sherritt (nickel refining), or Dow Chemical) happened as a result of and after the Kyoto Protocol. If the business has stated their intention to use the Protocol and change their environmental policies, this will make that company a good company to discuss in your assignment.
Taking this question a step further, the question might also ask you to "analyse their environmental policies" or "evaluate" them. In the former example, you must demonstrate a thorough knowledge of environmental policies in a particular company and must explain or analyse how these policies and the Kyoto protocol initiatives are linked. This is where students often make crucial errors. They write general knowledge about the Kyoto protocol instead of actually examining the details of environmental policies in a specific business. The question is, in fact, quite specific. If you need to analyse or evaluate the environmental policies of a specific business, you must know how effective or ineffective they are.
You should be aware if the company has been sued or cited for an environmental emissions or some other problem such as dumping. You will only know about this by good research, research that examines what a company says (for example in their yearly corporate reports) versus what a company actually does (for example newspaper articles, press releases or other public documentation). They may not write about environmental problems in corporate reports but a thorough search on the databases at University of Leicester will uncover the realities of the situation. These facts will fuel the analysis or the evaluation that you are going to make in your assignment. Evaluation and analysis imply that you should be weigh factors out in a particular field. This will be the same whether you are discussing a company's environmental policy or its corporate culture.
The tutor wants you to use evidence, that is data about a particular company, to show or demonstrate what this company's environmental record actually is and demonstrate its policies in regard to the environment. The same thing would hold true if the question was, for example, "Using Porter's five forces model, analyse the business strategy of a company of your choice." You should use a company which will prove to be a good example of business strategy and an good demonstration of Porter's five forces, not simply a company that you know. A dynamic, interesting discussion that shows how the five forces work with excellent examples using relevant evidence to demonstrate the theory is what the tutor wants to see.
When you approach an assignment question, you shouldn't, as I pointed out above, think of this as a good opportunity to discuss the copmany you work in currently. Some students think this will make doing the assignment easier. As I pointed out above, in fact if your copmany really has no environmental impact then you should do research and find a good example of the question that has been posed. Tutors mark many assignments. Providing lively debate, interesting examples and thought provoking evaluations, make your assignment stand out. Bold choices tend to provide better assignments.
KB
Thursday, December 10, 2009
The Cyber Road to Hell : The Scholastic Road to Wisdom
"The road to hell is paved with good intentions." We have all heard this statement, a statement which is loosely attributed to Samuel Johnson by his emanuensis, Boswell. We have also heard that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Why is this and what does this have to do with our MBA/MSc assignments?
The Cyber Highway is studded with little bits of knowledge. Are these gems, treasures or are they junk? If you are writing a paper on organizational behaviour and culture, for example, a simple search on Google, will find the University of San Francisco and a number of articles at their website at:
http://cps.usfca.edu/academics/obl/obresources.htm
There is an article on Maslow here and the application of his Hierarchy of Needs and another article on Elton Mayo. None of them have the kind of source materials you will need for an academic paper at the MBA level. This is why these aren't good places to get our thinking processes started for an assignment on organizational behaviour.
Notice that there aren't any sources given for most of this information although it comes from a university. A broad strokes version of Martin Luther and the work ethic is given on a page entitled "Ageless Search for Better Ways." It says: "With the Reformation, the Protestant 'work ethic' emerged based on Luther's glorification of work theory. Calvinism brought further consolidation to this principle and with it the virtues of thrift, frugality and the honorable acquisition of wealth." Sweeping statements - but where are the sources to back up these statements? All of this may be true but the information to back it up isn't here. You would need good resources on Calvinism, the reformation and the tie between religion and the 'work ethic'.
Obviously, University of San Francisco is reaching out to find potential students and attract them to their programme in business. This is good business practice but these pages are not intended to be scholarly material. You will find plenty of other similar sources on the internet. They look good but they aren't meant for use in scholarly papers. Students at institutions such as University of San Francisco, must also look for sources for their papers, not at their university's popular website, but in the books, journals, databases and other literature that is the scholastic backbone of the subject. There is no easy way out.
Many students begin their assignments by first surfing the web. As many of my regular blog readers know, this is the wrong way to scholastic achievement. What students should do is begin their work with a highlighter in hand, re-reading the module tutor's phrasing in the question to consider important words in the question such as analyze, apply or evaluate. These words signal what the module tutor is actually looking for in this assignment. Module textbooks and workbooks are a good second place to look to ensure you understand what all the words in the assignment actually mean. If you have trouble with meanings, you should invest in a good comprehensive Oxford Dictionary. Additionally, the library at Leicester has several copies of the Handbook of Organizational Studies by Stewart Clegg (pub. Sage) for more unfamiliar terminology in the field. Handbooks often have fuller discussions of terms, such as 'Organizational Culture' or 'Maslow', and these are sources you can cite in any paper. You can interlibrary loan materials from books such as this handbook, through the library. The business librarian, Andrew Dunn, may assist you if you need any help in this regard.
Next time we will talk about understand the meanings of some key words in assignment questions.
KB
The Cyber Highway is studded with little bits of knowledge. Are these gems, treasures or are they junk? If you are writing a paper on organizational behaviour and culture, for example, a simple search on Google, will find the University of San Francisco and a number of articles at their website at:
http://cps.usfca.edu/academics/obl/obresources.htm
There is an article on Maslow here and the application of his Hierarchy of Needs and another article on Elton Mayo. None of them have the kind of source materials you will need for an academic paper at the MBA level. This is why these aren't good places to get our thinking processes started for an assignment on organizational behaviour.
Notice that there aren't any sources given for most of this information although it comes from a university. A broad strokes version of Martin Luther and the work ethic is given on a page entitled "Ageless Search for Better Ways." It says: "With the Reformation, the Protestant 'work ethic' emerged based on Luther's glorification of work theory. Calvinism brought further consolidation to this principle and with it the virtues of thrift, frugality and the honorable acquisition of wealth." Sweeping statements - but where are the sources to back up these statements? All of this may be true but the information to back it up isn't here. You would need good resources on Calvinism, the reformation and the tie between religion and the 'work ethic'.
Obviously, University of San Francisco is reaching out to find potential students and attract them to their programme in business. This is good business practice but these pages are not intended to be scholarly material. You will find plenty of other similar sources on the internet. They look good but they aren't meant for use in scholarly papers. Students at institutions such as University of San Francisco, must also look for sources for their papers, not at their university's popular website, but in the books, journals, databases and other literature that is the scholastic backbone of the subject. There is no easy way out.
Many students begin their assignments by first surfing the web. As many of my regular blog readers know, this is the wrong way to scholastic achievement. What students should do is begin their work with a highlighter in hand, re-reading the module tutor's phrasing in the question to consider important words in the question such as analyze, apply or evaluate. These words signal what the module tutor is actually looking for in this assignment. Module textbooks and workbooks are a good second place to look to ensure you understand what all the words in the assignment actually mean. If you have trouble with meanings, you should invest in a good comprehensive Oxford Dictionary. Additionally, the library at Leicester has several copies of the Handbook of Organizational Studies by Stewart Clegg (pub. Sage) for more unfamiliar terminology in the field. Handbooks often have fuller discussions of terms, such as 'Organizational Culture' or 'Maslow', and these are sources you can cite in any paper. You can interlibrary loan materials from books such as this handbook, through the library. The business librarian, Andrew Dunn, may assist you if you need any help in this regard.
Next time we will talk about understand the meanings of some key words in assignment questions.
KB
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Reference Lists
Okay, last time we discussed organizing assignments. This week's post is about making references in your assignments, that is, using Harvard style which is the accepted style at University of Leicester.
There are two resources every student should know:
1. http://www.le.ac.uk/li/research/refworks.html
This is the page for Refworks, a bibliographic database available to all students at the University of Leicester. It is free. You simply create an account and log in from your computer. It will allow you to create different bibliographies for different assignments. It will also house all this information on the server at University of Leicester. When you make a bibliography, it will print out the information in the correct format and you can add it to your paper.
2. http://www.le.ac.uk/li/sources/subject3/harvard.html
This is a page at the University of Leicester showing you how to do citations using Harvard. You will still need to use this source for in-body citations in your assignments. What this means is that you need to follow Harvard style when you quote a source within a paper or use a paraphrase of another author's words. This source will show you how to handle a quotation of less than 20 words or one that is greater. The instructions should be followed to the letter. That is, quotations of more than 20 words in Harvard are treated like this according to the library page above:
There are two resources every student should know:
1. http://www.le.ac.uk/li/research/refworks.html
This is the page for Refworks, a bibliographic database available to all students at the University of Leicester. It is free. You simply create an account and log in from your computer. It will allow you to create different bibliographies for different assignments. It will also house all this information on the server at University of Leicester. When you make a bibliography, it will print out the information in the correct format and you can add it to your paper.
2. http://www.le.ac.uk/li/sources/subject3/harvard.html
This is a page at the University of Leicester showing you how to do citations using Harvard. You will still need to use this source for in-body citations in your assignments. What this means is that you need to follow Harvard style when you quote a source within a paper or use a paraphrase of another author's words. This source will show you how to handle a quotation of less than 20 words or one that is greater. The instructions should be followed to the letter. That is, quotations of more than 20 words in Harvard are treated like this according to the library page above:
Long quotations: more than 20-25 words. It is suggested that with long quotations you should leave a line's space above and below the quote, indent it from the left, and enclosing it in quotation marks.
"Most people would prefer to die in their own home and even when people die in a hospital or hospice most of their care will take place in their own homes with the help and unpaid work of their close family and friends ( lay carers). People who die at home will normally do so as the result of a long-term illness, often marked by persistent and distressing symptoms." (Taylor and Field 1997:17)
Note: Harvard is different from MLA or APA in several important ways. In the long quote above, the placement of the quotation marks is essential as is the spacing. Normally, of course, the document would be in Times New Roman 12 pt.The citation below in Harvard:
Gibaldi, J. 1995. MLA Handbook for writers of research papers. New York: The Modern Language Association of America.
would be different in that in APA round brackets are used around dates:
Gibaldi, J. (1995). MLA Handbook for writers of research papers. New York: The Modern Language Association of America.
while in MLA the date is at the end:
Gibaldi, J. MLA Handbook for writers of research papers. New York: The Modern Language Association of America, 1995.
I strongly recommend that students use Refworks for their bibliographies. I also tell students not to use Ibid. in their bibliographies. While it is accepted usage in APA style, Harvard is not APA. The placement of periods, commas, capitals and spaces is important. Do not vary in any regard from the accepted format. I am always open to questions about these issues.
KB
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Organizing Assignments : Learning for Excellence
Hi again. Many students are busy with assignments. As readers of this blog know, and newbies who are joining us will find out, I am a great believer in organization and time management to get assignments done properly the first time. This is because many students do not realize that organizing assignments into stages will clarify, for the students, exactly what they need to do in order to produce an excellent assignment.
Excellent assignments at the graduate level should have these qualities:
1. A clear understanding of what is being asked by the module tutor. Students use Blackboard to get clarification from their module tutor and other students in the programme module. Students look up words that define the question such as "corporate culture" in their module workbook or text and see if they understand what is being asked of them.
2. Students find good source materials (see the Digital Library at U of Leicester) to find reliable and recommended resources on their assignment if the assignment demands it. Some assignments at the early stages require more use of the module materials (workbook or texts). Later assignments will require research.
3. Students organize their assignment. When organizing an assignment, students should be aware of the assignment question itself. Some assignments are fundamentally, question and answer assignments. The module tutor or marker, in this case, will need to see that you have completed all the sections of this assignment.
Other assignments are broader in scope and do not have a question and answer format. Although you still need to answer do the assignment, keeping in mind the stated goals of the assignment, an outline is helpful to organize the material you intend to use when you answer an essay question of this type.
You should ensure that the journal articles you pick actually answer the question asked by the assignment. Quotations or ideas from those articles, similarly, need to be on point and actually demonstrate or back up the points that you are trying to make. You need to keep your 'evidence' for your arguments clear and organized. You shouldn't be using multiple quotes in every paragraph. Paragraphs should have a straight forward structure. The reader should be able to see clearly what your argument is, what the evidence to back it up is and how it leads into your next point.
When you have had difficulties in previous assignments, this is particularly important. Students who have been trained in Biology or the sciences may use another model for planning their assignments. This is great if it works for you. However, when you are unsure how to proceed it is important that you make a plan. I would suggest the model below. This plan should include all the quotations you are planning to use to back up your arguments. Your plan should look something like this example:
Example Main Argument, Thesis or Statement:
Where did domestic dogs come from? Common wisdom holds that dogs were actively domesticated by humans who found young baby wolves in the wild, brought them home and domesticated them over several generations. New evidence proposes that the process of dog domestication was brought about by individual wolves who came seeking human rubbish. Their behaviour altered radically over several generations. Throwing new fuel onto this debate, Dr. Sylvia Spudnick from the University of Upper Rubber Boot, working in conjunction with the Wild Wolves for Northern Guelph Project, has shown how wolf packs in her hometown of Northern Guelph Outback have changed in both their behaviour and appearance in just two generations after interaction with the town dump and the encroaching suburbs. Indeed, Spudnick's work suggests that these wolves could, within fifty years, represent a new kind of dog. This presents an interesting, new take on Darwin's observations on evolution in The Origin of the Species.
Point 1
Physical changes in the wolves of Backwater
A quotation to illustrate the point above
What the writer believe the significance of this is
Point 2
What the wolves of Backwater used to look like before
A quotation/a paraphrase to illustrate this point/evidence
The significance of this
Point 3
What Darwin observed about the change in finches in Galapagos Islands
A quotation/paraphrase to illustrate this point
What Darwin saw as the significance of this
Point 4
Measuring the relative brain sizes of dogs and wolves
Measuring the changing brain size of the wolves of Northern Guelph Outback
A quotation on actual observations
Significance/How this affects how we saw evolutionary theory & dogs
Point 5
How this provides us with a unique opportunity to understand (a) Darwin's theory and (b) the wolves
A quotation on Darwin's theory
How we can now see this theory, significance
Point 6
How we can understand how domestic dogs changed into wolves in a different context
A quotation to summarize what we have seen
Significance
Point 7 - Summary paragraph
How we know can understand the evolution of one animal in a particular context
Suggestions for work that still needs to be done to understand Dr. Spudnick's research
Suggestions for how we can now understand the relationship between dogs and people
Suggestions for how we can see Darwin's theory in a new context
This, of course, is not a real paper. It does, however, show how the planning process can help you to make an essay that (a) uses critical thinking (b) ensures that it answers the question that the module tutor has asked (c) makes sure you plan to make your paper the right length and (d) ensures that you plan to use the right evidence to back up your points.
Some students like to use complex number systems to organize their assignments. Of course, I believe if it works for you, do it. However, any organizational plan can be as simple or as complex as you make it. The more organized your work is, particularly if you have had difficulties, the easier it is to make your assignments work for you. Clearly, the model above is intended to be an essay but if your module tutor has asked for a sample business report, you should write out your assignment according to the tutor's specifications. Not all assignments are essays. However, all assignments should use clear critical thinking and good evidence to back up any arguments.
When you are finished every assignment, it should always be spell checked and grammar checked as well. Use Refworks or the page on Harvard style at the University of Leicester to make your bibliography and references in text.
That's all for today.
KB
Excellent assignments at the graduate level should have these qualities:
1. A clear understanding of what is being asked by the module tutor. Students use Blackboard to get clarification from their module tutor and other students in the programme module. Students look up words that define the question such as "corporate culture" in their module workbook or text and see if they understand what is being asked of them.
2. Students find good source materials (see the Digital Library at U of Leicester) to find reliable and recommended resources on their assignment if the assignment demands it. Some assignments at the early stages require more use of the module materials (workbook or texts). Later assignments will require research.
3. Students organize their assignment. When organizing an assignment, students should be aware of the assignment question itself. Some assignments are fundamentally, question and answer assignments. The module tutor or marker, in this case, will need to see that you have completed all the sections of this assignment.
Other assignments are broader in scope and do not have a question and answer format. Although you still need to answer do the assignment, keeping in mind the stated goals of the assignment, an outline is helpful to organize the material you intend to use when you answer an essay question of this type.
You should ensure that the journal articles you pick actually answer the question asked by the assignment. Quotations or ideas from those articles, similarly, need to be on point and actually demonstrate or back up the points that you are trying to make. You need to keep your 'evidence' for your arguments clear and organized. You shouldn't be using multiple quotes in every paragraph. Paragraphs should have a straight forward structure. The reader should be able to see clearly what your argument is, what the evidence to back it up is and how it leads into your next point.
When you have had difficulties in previous assignments, this is particularly important. Students who have been trained in Biology or the sciences may use another model for planning their assignments. This is great if it works for you. However, when you are unsure how to proceed it is important that you make a plan. I would suggest the model below. This plan should include all the quotations you are planning to use to back up your arguments. Your plan should look something like this example:
Example Main Argument, Thesis or Statement:
Where did domestic dogs come from? Common wisdom holds that dogs were actively domesticated by humans who found young baby wolves in the wild, brought them home and domesticated them over several generations. New evidence proposes that the process of dog domestication was brought about by individual wolves who came seeking human rubbish. Their behaviour altered radically over several generations. Throwing new fuel onto this debate, Dr. Sylvia Spudnick from the University of Upper Rubber Boot, working in conjunction with the Wild Wolves for Northern Guelph Project, has shown how wolf packs in her hometown of Northern Guelph Outback have changed in both their behaviour and appearance in just two generations after interaction with the town dump and the encroaching suburbs. Indeed, Spudnick's work suggests that these wolves could, within fifty years, represent a new kind of dog. This presents an interesting, new take on Darwin's observations on evolution in The Origin of the Species.
Point 1
Physical changes in the wolves of Backwater
A quotation to illustrate the point above
What the writer believe the significance of this is
Point 2
What the wolves of Backwater used to look like before
A quotation/a paraphrase to illustrate this point/evidence
The significance of this
Point 3
What Darwin observed about the change in finches in Galapagos Islands
A quotation/paraphrase to illustrate this point
What Darwin saw as the significance of this
Point 4
Measuring the relative brain sizes of dogs and wolves
Measuring the changing brain size of the wolves of Northern Guelph Outback
A quotation on actual observations
Significance/How this affects how we saw evolutionary theory & dogs
Point 5
How this provides us with a unique opportunity to understand (a) Darwin's theory and (b) the wolves
A quotation on Darwin's theory
How we can now see this theory, significance
Point 6
How we can understand how domestic dogs changed into wolves in a different context
A quotation to summarize what we have seen
Significance
Point 7 - Summary paragraph
How we know can understand the evolution of one animal in a particular context
Suggestions for work that still needs to be done to understand Dr. Spudnick's research
Suggestions for how we can now understand the relationship between dogs and people
Suggestions for how we can see Darwin's theory in a new context
This, of course, is not a real paper. It does, however, show how the planning process can help you to make an essay that (a) uses critical thinking (b) ensures that it answers the question that the module tutor has asked (c) makes sure you plan to make your paper the right length and (d) ensures that you plan to use the right evidence to back up your points.
Some students like to use complex number systems to organize their assignments. Of course, I believe if it works for you, do it. However, any organizational plan can be as simple or as complex as you make it. The more organized your work is, particularly if you have had difficulties, the easier it is to make your assignments work for you. Clearly, the model above is intended to be an essay but if your module tutor has asked for a sample business report, you should write out your assignment according to the tutor's specifications. Not all assignments are essays. However, all assignments should use clear critical thinking and good evidence to back up any arguments.
When you are finished every assignment, it should always be spell checked and grammar checked as well. Use Refworks or the page on Harvard style at the University of Leicester to make your bibliography and references in text.
That's all for today.
KB
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Anxiety and Performance: You and Your MBA
Anxiety is a problem for many students during the MBA process. Not only do you have to juggle your life and your job, you now have responsibility for your programme module assignments, exams and a dissertation. All this can seem overwhelming for many students. So, how do we deal with anxiety and what do we do about it?
A certain level of anxiety is a good thing. It is what motivates us to study and keep on top of our work. However, at a certain point anxiety can become a serious problem that stops students from achieving peak performance. Anxiety and depression can also serious concerns that disable lives. If this is the case for you, I strongly suggest that you speak to a counseling professional or physician about your concerns. This blog cannot substitute for individuals who are suffering from serious mental health problems. If you lose your appetite, the world seems black, you feel hopeless and/or you stop getting out of bed in the morning, please help yourself by talking to a competent professional such as a doctor.
Nevertheless, performance anxiety can still be somewhat unsettling. So what do you do? First and foremost, you need to be realistic with yourself about what you can achieve in a given time. If you can't get an assignment done on time because some part of your life is out-of-control, you need to speak as soon as possible to your module tutor about this problem. If the problem is going to be ongoing, you should also contact the administrators at ulsmdladmin@le.ac.uk. You can still complete your degree in spite of temporary set-backs.
If you face serious time challenges getting assignments done on time, you should think about time planning to work on the stages of the assignment one part at a time. For example, when you are working on your dissertation you should allow time for:
1. Doing research to discover your area of interest
2. Reading widely to find out how you can tie your specific interest to the existing theory on a given subject.
3. Writing up the dissertation proposal.
4. Speaking to a dissertation tutor about the proposal.
Okay, let's examine all of these things. You should know it may take you a number of weeks to get an appointment to speak to a dissertation tutor. Therefore, before beginning this process you should have already made the appointment with the dissertation tutor. When you phone the tutor, the appointment is 20 minutes long. Therefore, you need to do all of the other things I mentioned on this list before the appointment. If you don't know what you are going to write and if you waste the appointment time wandering aimlessly from topic to topic instead of discussing research interests that you have discovered in your readings and how you are planning to narrow down you research, you will cause yourself needless upset and anxiety.
When we plan adequately for our needs as students, we relieve ourselves greatly from the burden of anxiety. How else can we make ourselves feel better about our work? An answer, greatly neglected by students, is positive messaging. As we complete the activities in our time planner, we need to write down the items we have completed and give ourselves credit for those achievements. In most students' busy lives, this is never considered. We take our achievements for granted, never seeing how each step leads inevitably to a final goal. When we are working on a degree, this acknowledgment is necessary.
We can also use meditation. Note, I have suggested a breathing mediation on YouTube below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-j5Z4E2wkh4
Books on relaxation and mindful meditation such as "Wherever you go, there you are" by Jon Kabat-Zinn (Piakus, 1994) are also helpful aids to understanding better ways to achieve relaxation. Of course, students should also keep in mind that balanced lives include time for friends, partners and general fun. Enjoying a concert, going to a play, spending a night with mates at the pub or contemplating the beauties of nature are all ways of relaxing as well. Whatever your choice, you need to have a life with balance and enjoyment while you are getting your MBA/MSc.
Until my next post, have a relaxing time.
KB
A certain level of anxiety is a good thing. It is what motivates us to study and keep on top of our work. However, at a certain point anxiety can become a serious problem that stops students from achieving peak performance. Anxiety and depression can also serious concerns that disable lives. If this is the case for you, I strongly suggest that you speak to a counseling professional or physician about your concerns. This blog cannot substitute for individuals who are suffering from serious mental health problems. If you lose your appetite, the world seems black, you feel hopeless and/or you stop getting out of bed in the morning, please help yourself by talking to a competent professional such as a doctor.
Nevertheless, performance anxiety can still be somewhat unsettling. So what do you do? First and foremost, you need to be realistic with yourself about what you can achieve in a given time. If you can't get an assignment done on time because some part of your life is out-of-control, you need to speak as soon as possible to your module tutor about this problem. If the problem is going to be ongoing, you should also contact the administrators at ulsmdladmin@le.ac.uk. You can still complete your degree in spite of temporary set-backs.
If you face serious time challenges getting assignments done on time, you should think about time planning to work on the stages of the assignment one part at a time. For example, when you are working on your dissertation you should allow time for:
1. Doing research to discover your area of interest
2. Reading widely to find out how you can tie your specific interest to the existing theory on a given subject.
3. Writing up the dissertation proposal.
4. Speaking to a dissertation tutor about the proposal.
Okay, let's examine all of these things. You should know it may take you a number of weeks to get an appointment to speak to a dissertation tutor. Therefore, before beginning this process you should have already made the appointment with the dissertation tutor. When you phone the tutor, the appointment is 20 minutes long. Therefore, you need to do all of the other things I mentioned on this list before the appointment. If you don't know what you are going to write and if you waste the appointment time wandering aimlessly from topic to topic instead of discussing research interests that you have discovered in your readings and how you are planning to narrow down you research, you will cause yourself needless upset and anxiety.
When we plan adequately for our needs as students, we relieve ourselves greatly from the burden of anxiety. How else can we make ourselves feel better about our work? An answer, greatly neglected by students, is positive messaging. As we complete the activities in our time planner, we need to write down the items we have completed and give ourselves credit for those achievements. In most students' busy lives, this is never considered. We take our achievements for granted, never seeing how each step leads inevitably to a final goal. When we are working on a degree, this acknowledgment is necessary.
We can also use meditation. Note, I have suggested a breathing mediation on YouTube below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-j5Z4E2wkh4
Books on relaxation and mindful meditation such as "Wherever you go, there you are" by Jon Kabat-Zinn (Piakus, 1994) are also helpful aids to understanding better ways to achieve relaxation. Of course, students should also keep in mind that balanced lives include time for friends, partners and general fun. Enjoying a concert, going to a play, spending a night with mates at the pub or contemplating the beauties of nature are all ways of relaxing as well. Whatever your choice, you need to have a life with balance and enjoyment while you are getting your MBA/MSc.
Until my next post, have a relaxing time.
KB
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Finding meaninful ways to look at assignments and exams
Students often have difficulty understanding how to answer a particular question on an exam or assignment. Let's look at particular phrases and examine how they can give us clues about how we should answer a given question.
Today, the key words we will look at in exams and papers are: discuss, explain, illustrate, describe, demonstrate and outline. A question might ask you, for instance, to outline the key concepts on a particular subject in marketing or organizational behaviour. Conversely, another question might ask you to illustrate the central concepts in a particular subject with examples from your own organizational practices. How do you answer these questions?
In the first example, you will be pleased to know that key concepts, central ideas or central concepts all boil down to the same thing. The tutor wants you to pick out the important contributions from the theorists a subject such as Organizational Behaviour or Strategy. After you find these key ideas, you should describe each one briefly. Usually, questions like this also involve outlining examples of these key concepts. Moreover, you need to be clear and describe all of these major theories so that each one is clearly differentiated from the other theories. If examples are required, you need to explain how each one is an example of the theory. If you don't explain the relevance of your examples, the tutor cannot see that you know how to use critical thinking. Critical thinking, as I've explained in other blogs, is key to the educational process at University of Leicester.
You may also asked to provide illustrations, these are the same as examples. Illustrations show the module tutor that you know how to apply the theory you are discussing to real examples from journal articles or real life. You can combine ideas to synthesize new concepts and to evaluate each concept. Evaluation shows the module tutor/marker that you have considered the importance of the ideas that you are discussing relative to the discipline itself.
Let us consider the meaning of these other words:
Outline - Describe an idea briefly, showing each of its component parts or ideas
Discuss - Analyse an idea, show the reader that you understand an idea and its importance and how it works with example, this implies critical analytic thinking
Demonstrate - This assumes that you are going to provide examples. These examples must be analysed to show that you understand how they are relevant to the ideas you are discussing.
Module tutors use different words to give variety and depth to their questions. In turn, they expect that you will provide more than the facts. Facts are just the starting point for understanding and critical thinking. You need to show tutors that these goals are within your reach. If you have problems with English vocabulary, you need to get a good Oxford Dictionary. If you have problems with writing, you need to consider some of the grammar books I have cited previously in other blogs. Most of all, however, you need to maintain a positive attitude. Remember too, that there is a Skills Tutor to help you along the road.
KB
Today, the key words we will look at in exams and papers are: discuss, explain, illustrate, describe, demonstrate and outline. A question might ask you, for instance, to outline the key concepts on a particular subject in marketing or organizational behaviour. Conversely, another question might ask you to illustrate the central concepts in a particular subject with examples from your own organizational practices. How do you answer these questions?
In the first example, you will be pleased to know that key concepts, central ideas or central concepts all boil down to the same thing. The tutor wants you to pick out the important contributions from the theorists a subject such as Organizational Behaviour or Strategy. After you find these key ideas, you should describe each one briefly. Usually, questions like this also involve outlining examples of these key concepts. Moreover, you need to be clear and describe all of these major theories so that each one is clearly differentiated from the other theories. If examples are required, you need to explain how each one is an example of the theory. If you don't explain the relevance of your examples, the tutor cannot see that you know how to use critical thinking. Critical thinking, as I've explained in other blogs, is key to the educational process at University of Leicester.
You may also asked to provide illustrations, these are the same as examples. Illustrations show the module tutor that you know how to apply the theory you are discussing to real examples from journal articles or real life. You can combine ideas to synthesize new concepts and to evaluate each concept. Evaluation shows the module tutor/marker that you have considered the importance of the ideas that you are discussing relative to the discipline itself.
Let us consider the meaning of these other words:
Outline - Describe an idea briefly, showing each of its component parts or ideas
Discuss - Analyse an idea, show the reader that you understand an idea and its importance and how it works with example, this implies critical analytic thinking
Demonstrate - This assumes that you are going to provide examples. These examples must be analysed to show that you understand how they are relevant to the ideas you are discussing.
Module tutors use different words to give variety and depth to their questions. In turn, they expect that you will provide more than the facts. Facts are just the starting point for understanding and critical thinking. You need to show tutors that these goals are within your reach. If you have problems with English vocabulary, you need to get a good Oxford Dictionary. If you have problems with writing, you need to consider some of the grammar books I have cited previously in other blogs. Most of all, however, you need to maintain a positive attitude. Remember too, that there is a Skills Tutor to help you along the road.
KB
Monday, October 5, 2009
Poor Scholarship: What's the problem?
Hi, I'm back with some new tips. This time, I'd like to discuss the issues attached to referencing and poor scholarship. These are serious problems noted by tutors on AGC forms. When a student receives a failing grade on an assignment or dissertation with this notation, what does this mean?
First, you should understand this problem cannot be solved by a simple re-do of your bibliography or your in-text bibliographic references. These may indeed be a problem, but bad referencing suggests that you have failed to account for all the source materials you have used in your work. This, as I have pointed out in earlier postings, is easy to do if you haven't created a research log of all the materials you read, used or even perused during your work. This insures you can follow the thread of your research in your assignments or your longer work, the dissertation.
Even obscure, unindexed academic work that you dig up and fail to cite will look out of place in your dissertation. Often, the worried student slips in these references because they haven't developed a clear argument or direction for the assignment or dissertation. In fact, to help you with a dissertation, an AGC form that tells you that you have poor referencing or poor scholarship is an opportunity to find books that will help you out of your dilemma and refocus your work. They are mentioned in this blog in the posting "Dissertation Tutor vs. Skills Tutor" or on Blackboard under "My courses", where a number of books are mentioned that tell you more about how your dissertation should be structured. In the case of an assignment, you should refocus on the assignment topic itself.
While you refocus, consider these points:
1. Did you take the time to gather good scholarly materials for your work? This means, did you use articles from the University of Leicester databases?
2. If you experienced difficulty here, did you speak to a skills tutor (I'd be happy to help with this part of any work) or the U of Leicester Business Librarian?
3. Once you got these articles, did you spend an adequate amount of time thinking about how they will tie back into your assignment or dissertation. Time to think is an important consideration.
4. If you had issues with writing, did you speak to the skills tutor? Did you try and get the writing resources that can help you here?
5. If you need to do all this work, have you used Refworks to help you with your bibliography at the end. This is available free through University of Leicester.
6. Okay, now that you have failed an assignment or a disseration, it is time for a fresh focus. If you said you were going to write about the banking system of Malawi, was this a doable project with a clear focus? Think about how to make your project doable. Remember this is not "War and Peace", you can expect to have it done within a reasonable amount of time. This is something that I'm sure a dissertation would be happy to discuss.
7. When re-working a project, get it focused with an outline of what you intend to do using clear points.
There is a difference between outright plagiarism and not having a clue what you need to do next. Most students are aware that outright plagiarism will result in trouble. Dissertations or assignments with these problems cannot be salvaged. Foggy thinking, that often starts with keeping poor track of your references in research and ends up with a mish-mash of misty thoughts that are not backed up by clear citations from good business literature, is often because students are misdirected. They don't know what they are trying to do whether it is a dissertation or an assignment. A great deal of work here will need to be redone.
Understanding your topic will come by diligent research, time to think and a strong understanding of the philosophical issues underpinning your topic. Even writing problems can be helped by the right texts, as many students have found. A student who gets an AGC form that says they have 'poor scholarship' and 'poor referencing' ends up on the right track with good scholarly habits, an understanding of the nature of their assignment (or dissertation), good writing skills and grammar and the will to work. Good writing for this week.
KB
First, you should understand this problem cannot be solved by a simple re-do of your bibliography or your in-text bibliographic references. These may indeed be a problem, but bad referencing suggests that you have failed to account for all the source materials you have used in your work. This, as I have pointed out in earlier postings, is easy to do if you haven't created a research log of all the materials you read, used or even perused during your work. This insures you can follow the thread of your research in your assignments or your longer work, the dissertation.
Even obscure, unindexed academic work that you dig up and fail to cite will look out of place in your dissertation. Often, the worried student slips in these references because they haven't developed a clear argument or direction for the assignment or dissertation. In fact, to help you with a dissertation, an AGC form that tells you that you have poor referencing or poor scholarship is an opportunity to find books that will help you out of your dilemma and refocus your work. They are mentioned in this blog in the posting "Dissertation Tutor vs. Skills Tutor" or on Blackboard under "My courses", where a number of books are mentioned that tell you more about how your dissertation should be structured. In the case of an assignment, you should refocus on the assignment topic itself.
While you refocus, consider these points:
1. Did you take the time to gather good scholarly materials for your work? This means, did you use articles from the University of Leicester databases?
2. If you experienced difficulty here, did you speak to a skills tutor (I'd be happy to help with this part of any work) or the U of Leicester Business Librarian?
3. Once you got these articles, did you spend an adequate amount of time thinking about how they will tie back into your assignment or dissertation. Time to think is an important consideration.
4. If you had issues with writing, did you speak to the skills tutor? Did you try and get the writing resources that can help you here?
5. If you need to do all this work, have you used Refworks to help you with your bibliography at the end. This is available free through University of Leicester.
6. Okay, now that you have failed an assignment or a disseration, it is time for a fresh focus. If you said you were going to write about the banking system of Malawi, was this a doable project with a clear focus? Think about how to make your project doable. Remember this is not "War and Peace", you can expect to have it done within a reasonable amount of time. This is something that I'm sure a dissertation would be happy to discuss.
7. When re-working a project, get it focused with an outline of what you intend to do using clear points.
There is a difference between outright plagiarism and not having a clue what you need to do next. Most students are aware that outright plagiarism will result in trouble. Dissertations or assignments with these problems cannot be salvaged. Foggy thinking, that often starts with keeping poor track of your references in research and ends up with a mish-mash of misty thoughts that are not backed up by clear citations from good business literature, is often because students are misdirected. They don't know what they are trying to do whether it is a dissertation or an assignment. A great deal of work here will need to be redone.
Understanding your topic will come by diligent research, time to think and a strong understanding of the philosophical issues underpinning your topic. Even writing problems can be helped by the right texts, as many students have found. A student who gets an AGC form that says they have 'poor scholarship' and 'poor referencing' ends up on the right track with good scholarly habits, an understanding of the nature of their assignment (or dissertation), good writing skills and grammar and the will to work. Good writing for this week.
KB
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Scoring Points on Assignments
Hi, glad to be back again. Last blog, we discussed what it means when you get back an AGC form telling you that your assignment is too descriptive and how you can fix this.
Today, I'd like to discuss how to score points with tutors and getting better grades. So, this blog will cover the basics of how to deal with an assignment. By the way, when you get into very specific issues, for example a problem with definitions in a financial assignment, you really should be following module discussions on Blackboard and communicating with your module tutor and classmates. You would be surprised how many helpful hints you can find there. So, let's talk about assignments.
The first problem many students have is "talking around the question". A large number of students think that they need to give the tutor a lot of general information on the subject before they actually get down to answering the question. This is a mistake. The marker/tutor is looking for you to answer the question clearly and concisely. They don't need a mini-history of "organizational behaviour" before you begin writing. In fact, when you do this you force the tutor to go searching through your assignment for the actual answer to the question. This annoys and irritates markers. You don't want to do this.
Sometimes, the student will embed the answer deep inside a long and convoluted introductory paragraph of the type I describe above. This makes it hard for the marker to find the actual topic of your assignment. The student may then go on to put their supporting details and information into more long paragraphs, or perhaps the same paragraph, making it still harder to find the information that the frustrated marker is seeking.
Keep in mind, the marker is on your side. They, and I, have marked many assignments and want to give you the marks you deserve. You should learn to write your assignments using a clear introductory paragraph with your thesis statement. This needs to answer the assignment question directly. You might even use a teaser/attention-grabber in the first sentence, in the form of an interesting quotation, a question or controversial argument. After you have clearly outlined the topic or thesis in the first (hopefully no more than 4 sentence) paragraph, you should be ready to score points by displaying your knowledge in the body of your assignment.
Here, you use the academic articles that you have read on your assignment topic. The pattern of the paragraphs is:
1. Topic sentence that introduces the main point.
2. The next sentence that brings in supporting evidence.
3. The third and possibly fourth sentences that analyse and describe why this supporting evidence backs up your arguments.
4. The last sentence that anticipates the next point.
The purpose of all of this is to answer the assignment question. Sometimes, this format may not work because the assignment is clearly meant to be question and answer. I would reiterate here that if that is the assignment, don't tax the marker by beating around the bush, just answer the questions in the sequence that they have been given. The marker will not thank you for trying to find question 1 in the place where question 10 should be. Clearly, the demands of the assignment dictate whether you can use the first approach I have suggested.
What is never in debate, however, is that you must use and show that you have used good academic articles on the topic to answer the assignment. This "supporting data" shows that you have done your work for your assignment. Label and number points: "first, second, third, next, last" not "firstly, secondly, thirdly and lastly". This keeps your arguments in order and lets the marker see that you have made your points.
Next week, we'll discuss another problem with academic papers reflected on AGC forms...poor scholarship. Until then, have a good week.
Today, I'd like to discuss how to score points with tutors and getting better grades. So, this blog will cover the basics of how to deal with an assignment. By the way, when you get into very specific issues, for example a problem with definitions in a financial assignment, you really should be following module discussions on Blackboard and communicating with your module tutor and classmates. You would be surprised how many helpful hints you can find there. So, let's talk about assignments.
The first problem many students have is "talking around the question". A large number of students think that they need to give the tutor a lot of general information on the subject before they actually get down to answering the question. This is a mistake. The marker/tutor is looking for you to answer the question clearly and concisely. They don't need a mini-history of "organizational behaviour" before you begin writing. In fact, when you do this you force the tutor to go searching through your assignment for the actual answer to the question. This annoys and irritates markers. You don't want to do this.
Sometimes, the student will embed the answer deep inside a long and convoluted introductory paragraph of the type I describe above. This makes it hard for the marker to find the actual topic of your assignment. The student may then go on to put their supporting details and information into more long paragraphs, or perhaps the same paragraph, making it still harder to find the information that the frustrated marker is seeking.
Keep in mind, the marker is on your side. They, and I, have marked many assignments and want to give you the marks you deserve. You should learn to write your assignments using a clear introductory paragraph with your thesis statement. This needs to answer the assignment question directly. You might even use a teaser/attention-grabber in the first sentence, in the form of an interesting quotation, a question or controversial argument. After you have clearly outlined the topic or thesis in the first (hopefully no more than 4 sentence) paragraph, you should be ready to score points by displaying your knowledge in the body of your assignment.
Here, you use the academic articles that you have read on your assignment topic. The pattern of the paragraphs is:
1. Topic sentence that introduces the main point.
2. The next sentence that brings in supporting evidence.
3. The third and possibly fourth sentences that analyse and describe why this supporting evidence backs up your arguments.
4. The last sentence that anticipates the next point.
The purpose of all of this is to answer the assignment question. Sometimes, this format may not work because the assignment is clearly meant to be question and answer. I would reiterate here that if that is the assignment, don't tax the marker by beating around the bush, just answer the questions in the sequence that they have been given. The marker will not thank you for trying to find question 1 in the place where question 10 should be. Clearly, the demands of the assignment dictate whether you can use the first approach I have suggested.
What is never in debate, however, is that you must use and show that you have used good academic articles on the topic to answer the assignment. This "supporting data" shows that you have done your work for your assignment. Label and number points: "first, second, third, next, last" not "firstly, secondly, thirdly and lastly". This keeps your arguments in order and lets the marker see that you have made your points.
Next week, we'll discuss another problem with academic papers reflected on AGC forms...poor scholarship. Until then, have a good week.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Reviewing commentaries on AGC forms : Part 1
Hi, I took a little more time in getting back to you but I'm back. As a very brief word of explanation, I'd like to mention that I had an operation but am now recuperating. In fact, I'm sure to feel much better as I heal. My timing could have been better. I'd just moved back to Canada and there were lots of things to take care of as part of that move. I now live in a geographic region of Canada known as the 'boreal forest'. In practical terms, the boreal forest is a band of forest with a mixture of deciduous trees, many small animals and even some larger ones. My father once sighted a wild lynx on the way to an archaeological dig by the side of the road; and there are also some packs of wolves in parks like Algonquin. However, in more poetic terms this area is famed for its large percentage of maple trees, the symbol of Canada. Very soon now, Ontarians like to take their long fall drive through small Ontario valleys where they will find the maples ablaze not simply with gold and green leaves, but many shades of red and golden-orange that are the pride of this region. If you are lucky enough to get maple syrup from an Ontario erabliere or sugar bush, you will know that Ontario's maple syrup is excellent. Try it on waffles, ice cream, Scottish pancakes - I think you will find it less sweet than hot golden syrup with butter and an interesting taste change.
In practical terms, my move will mean very little change for most of you. I will not be physically near Leicester but my phone line will always be open to those who need it and we can still see one another via webcam if you want a face-to-face appointment. Really, nothing will change, I'm just physically in a different place. I still hope to see all of you who didn't make it this year at next year's summer school.
Now, down to business. Today, we're going to discuss what a marker/tutor means when they tell you that your assignment is "too descriptive." This is a commentary many, many students receive on their AGC forms. What does this mean? After all, the student often reasons, what is wrong with describing things, isn't that supposed to be the job of their assignment?
In an earlier blog, I discussed the importance of answering the question that you were asked and understanding it. A student who has handed in an assignment that is too descriptive has probably provided the tutor with lots of definitions related to the assignment question. Although these definitions fill out the word requirements of the module tutor, who has perhaps asked you for an assignment of 2,500-3,500 words, they have failed to deal with the substance of the question that was assigned. Other space fillers include lots of headings, summaries of the assignment and often repeated attempts to dissect the terminology of the question. I usually tell students that there is nothing wrong with headings if they are used to guide you through the assignment. After all, you can remove them later if they are unnecessary in terms of the assignment. Summaries are another story. In such a small assignment, a summary eats up unnecessary space that you should be using for making your points.
At the University of Leicester, in fact throughout university education, learning is more than simply reciting back facts and memorizing them. It is important to place facts in their context. Therefore, if an assignment has asked you to discuss Porter's Five Forces, you should spend no more than a sentence or two providing the necessary definition to do the assignment. The rest of the assignment should be devoted to finding examples of which force you are discussing, providing an application and probably a paraphrase or quotation about this example. Critical thinking, which is something we emphasize at University of Leicester, requires you to take your quotations and examples (which you have cited using Harvard style or using Refworks to help you with your bibliography) and explain or analyze them. Why are they a good or bad example of the force you are discussing? What is important about this force in terms of the example you have provided? You should also attempt to use the example to evaluate the weaknesses or strengths of the theory about which you are writing. You may even see parallels with another idea and try and combine the ideas to synthesize a new concept.
I don't want to go into too much detail here. It is enough for you to understand that learning has a hierarchy. This learning hierarchy is called Bloom's Taxonomy. If you want to read more about Bloom and his taxonomy, I would refer you to Dalhousie University's teaching tips at:
http://learningandteaching.dal.ca/bloom.html
This will provide you with more information on the taxonomy. What you need to know is that analysis, synthesis and evaluation are higher functions of learning that go beyond simple memorization and understanding. Professors at University of Leicester say that a work is descriptive when they mean that it lacks analysis, synthesis or evaluation. It is not enough to learn a theory, for example Porter's Five Forces, it is important to understand its strengths and weaknesses. When you evaluate and analyse theories, you place them in a historical context along with other theories of business strategy. Placing ideas in context also makes them easier to remember for your exams or to use in your business practices. This means that you can use the ideas you learn at University of Leicester to become a better business leader and hopefully to make your businesses more successful.
Next time, we will discuss some of the other problems you may encounter in your AGC forms and what they mean.
KB
In practical terms, my move will mean very little change for most of you. I will not be physically near Leicester but my phone line will always be open to those who need it and we can still see one another via webcam if you want a face-to-face appointment. Really, nothing will change, I'm just physically in a different place. I still hope to see all of you who didn't make it this year at next year's summer school.
Now, down to business. Today, we're going to discuss what a marker/tutor means when they tell you that your assignment is "too descriptive." This is a commentary many, many students receive on their AGC forms. What does this mean? After all, the student often reasons, what is wrong with describing things, isn't that supposed to be the job of their assignment?
In an earlier blog, I discussed the importance of answering the question that you were asked and understanding it. A student who has handed in an assignment that is too descriptive has probably provided the tutor with lots of definitions related to the assignment question. Although these definitions fill out the word requirements of the module tutor, who has perhaps asked you for an assignment of 2,500-3,500 words, they have failed to deal with the substance of the question that was assigned. Other space fillers include lots of headings, summaries of the assignment and often repeated attempts to dissect the terminology of the question. I usually tell students that there is nothing wrong with headings if they are used to guide you through the assignment. After all, you can remove them later if they are unnecessary in terms of the assignment. Summaries are another story. In such a small assignment, a summary eats up unnecessary space that you should be using for making your points.
At the University of Leicester, in fact throughout university education, learning is more than simply reciting back facts and memorizing them. It is important to place facts in their context. Therefore, if an assignment has asked you to discuss Porter's Five Forces, you should spend no more than a sentence or two providing the necessary definition to do the assignment. The rest of the assignment should be devoted to finding examples of which force you are discussing, providing an application and probably a paraphrase or quotation about this example. Critical thinking, which is something we emphasize at University of Leicester, requires you to take your quotations and examples (which you have cited using Harvard style or using Refworks to help you with your bibliography) and explain or analyze them. Why are they a good or bad example of the force you are discussing? What is important about this force in terms of the example you have provided? You should also attempt to use the example to evaluate the weaknesses or strengths of the theory about which you are writing. You may even see parallels with another idea and try and combine the ideas to synthesize a new concept.
I don't want to go into too much detail here. It is enough for you to understand that learning has a hierarchy. This learning hierarchy is called Bloom's Taxonomy. If you want to read more about Bloom and his taxonomy, I would refer you to Dalhousie University's teaching tips at:
http://learningandteaching.dal.ca/bloom.html
This will provide you with more information on the taxonomy. What you need to know is that analysis, synthesis and evaluation are higher functions of learning that go beyond simple memorization and understanding. Professors at University of Leicester say that a work is descriptive when they mean that it lacks analysis, synthesis or evaluation. It is not enough to learn a theory, for example Porter's Five Forces, it is important to understand its strengths and weaknesses. When you evaluate and analyse theories, you place them in a historical context along with other theories of business strategy. Placing ideas in context also makes them easier to remember for your exams or to use in your business practices. This means that you can use the ideas you learn at University of Leicester to become a better business leader and hopefully to make your businesses more successful.
Next time, we will discuss some of the other problems you may encounter in your AGC forms and what they mean.
KB
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Articles - Grammar Hints for ESL students and others
Articles, that is, use of the words "the", "a" or "an" are "troublesome" for "speakers whose first language is not English" (Hacker 169). Let's discuss this trouble area in more detail in today's blog.
Articles are used mainly to mark nouns. Consider the following phrases:
the Speaker of the House
a lovely sunset
the best Merlot of the year
a Rolls-Royce
an apple
the pear on the table
a better way of doing business
1. Use "the" if the identity of the subject is known the speaker. As in:
Colonel John Sheppard flew the Puddlejumper directly into the Wraith ship.
Spock went to the planet Vulcan to save his mother.
The fourth contestant had to eat worms.
This is the town where I grew up.
2. Use "a" or "an" with singular non-count nouns whose identity is not known to the writer. Count nouns refer to objects which can be counted such as three girls, five cities, two general strikes, two World Wars, five dogs and so forth. Abstracts concepts, such as love, harmony, knowledge cannot be quantified in this way. Therefore, we cannot say:
He has a knowledge. Instead we would generally say, "He has knowledge." However, we could say: He arrived at our house in a car.
3. Therefore, we can say generally that with abstract concepts we do not use the words "an" or "a" or "the" with non countable nouns. So, we can say:
Honour is a concept well understood in the military. I feel love.
However, if a non-countable noun such as "sugar" is quantified you can say the following:
He needs a kilogram of sugar to make that cake.
We are going to buy two Victorian end tables.
4. Do not use "the" in a sentence when you use a plural or non-count noun meaning "all" or "in general".
Fountains distinguish a fine perennial garden.
Flour is required to make bread.
If you have any further questions regarding this post, please email me at:
ulsmdltutor@le.ac.uk
Have a good weekend until next time.
KB
Articles are used mainly to mark nouns. Consider the following phrases:
the Speaker of the House
a lovely sunset
the best Merlot of the year
a Rolls-Royce
an apple
the pear on the table
a better way of doing business
1. Use "the" if the identity of the subject is known the speaker. As in:
Colonel John Sheppard flew the Puddlejumper directly into the Wraith ship.
Spock went to the planet Vulcan to save his mother.
The fourth contestant had to eat worms.
This is the town where I grew up.
2. Use "a" or "an" with singular non-count nouns whose identity is not known to the writer. Count nouns refer to objects which can be counted such as three girls, five cities, two general strikes, two World Wars, five dogs and so forth. Abstracts concepts, such as love, harmony, knowledge cannot be quantified in this way. Therefore, we cannot say:
He has a knowledge. Instead we would generally say, "He has knowledge." However, we could say: He arrived at our house in a car.
3. Therefore, we can say generally that with abstract concepts we do not use the words "an" or "a" or "the" with non countable nouns. So, we can say:
Honour is a concept well understood in the military. I feel love.
However, if a non-countable noun such as "sugar" is quantified you can say the following:
He needs a kilogram of sugar to make that cake.
We are going to buy two Victorian end tables.
4. Do not use "the" in a sentence when you use a plural or non-count noun meaning "all" or "in general".
Fountains distinguish a fine perennial garden.
Flour is required to make bread.
If you have any further questions regarding this post, please email me at:
ulsmdltutor@le.ac.uk
Have a good weekend until next time.
KB
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Time Management and Exams
Many of you have asked about planning for an exam. What do you do? In earlier blogs, I discussed a number of studying strategies. Today, we will discuss how to create a realistic schedule that utilizes your available time.
Your time management schedule for your exams should:
1. Update you daily on your progress toward your goal - the exam.
2. Be amended when you find that your progress is slower because the subject matter is more challenging or faster because you covered the material in less time than you expected.
3. Ensure that you have made daily achievable goals.
When you begin planning for your exam, it is likely some subjects will take more time to cover than others. You should not make assumptions about what questions will be on the exam and you should therefore ensure you provide comprehensive coverage of all the module materials. As you read through the materials, you will realize that your retention of some subject materials is greater than others, and you should revise your schedule accordingly. Use chapter titles to see overall themes in the module materials. You should try and see the connections between different parts of the modules materials. For example, you should understand how they are important to the subject as a whole and how they are connected to other ideas that came earlier or later. Evaluation or critical assessment of the material you study is important as the exams at U of Leicester are meant to test your ability to think critically.
You will need to plan the use of each available study day. Many students have jobs and families and you must plan realistically to allow yourself at least one uninterrupted hour of work, followed by a 15 minute break. As stated above, goals are important. With the achievement of a goal, for example the review of an entire section of a subject module, you need to acknowledge your progress in a daily log. Daily logs give students the feeling that they are reaching their goals and will complete their task.
Additionally, students need to recognize that some modules will be more difficult than others. This calls for the reassessment of your time requirements for a particular module. When you have broken down what you are going to do, day by day and week by week, you have a good idea of how you are going to manage your time. As stated earlier, this time management schedule will be changed as you moved through the material you need to cover for the exam. Remember shorter periods of study, accompanied by self testing of your material and further review has been found to be most effective for the retention of module materials before exams.
For this reason, you should use short periods of time just as wisely as a longer days of study. Repetition and revision is the key to success in managing time through a study schedule before your exam. Good studying.
KB
Your time management schedule for your exams should:
1. Update you daily on your progress toward your goal - the exam.
2. Be amended when you find that your progress is slower because the subject matter is more challenging or faster because you covered the material in less time than you expected.
3. Ensure that you have made daily achievable goals.
When you begin planning for your exam, it is likely some subjects will take more time to cover than others. You should not make assumptions about what questions will be on the exam and you should therefore ensure you provide comprehensive coverage of all the module materials. As you read through the materials, you will realize that your retention of some subject materials is greater than others, and you should revise your schedule accordingly. Use chapter titles to see overall themes in the module materials. You should try and see the connections between different parts of the modules materials. For example, you should understand how they are important to the subject as a whole and how they are connected to other ideas that came earlier or later. Evaluation or critical assessment of the material you study is important as the exams at U of Leicester are meant to test your ability to think critically.
You will need to plan the use of each available study day. Many students have jobs and families and you must plan realistically to allow yourself at least one uninterrupted hour of work, followed by a 15 minute break. As stated above, goals are important. With the achievement of a goal, for example the review of an entire section of a subject module, you need to acknowledge your progress in a daily log. Daily logs give students the feeling that they are reaching their goals and will complete their task.
Additionally, students need to recognize that some modules will be more difficult than others. This calls for the reassessment of your time requirements for a particular module. When you have broken down what you are going to do, day by day and week by week, you have a good idea of how you are going to manage your time. As stated earlier, this time management schedule will be changed as you moved through the material you need to cover for the exam. Remember shorter periods of study, accompanied by self testing of your material and further review has been found to be most effective for the retention of module materials before exams.
For this reason, you should use short periods of time just as wisely as a longer days of study. Repetition and revision is the key to success in managing time through a study schedule before your exam. Good studying.
KB
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Research Skills : Finding Articles for Assignments and Dissertations, Part 2
Last blog, we discussed how to find specific articles at the University of Leicester Library. In this blog, we will look at how to find further articles on any given subject for your assignments or other work. If you go here:
http://rooms1.library.le.ac.uk/rooms/portal/media-type/html/user/anon/page/Leic_BusinessManagement
You will find the Subject Room for Business Management and a reference to Andrew Dunn, the subject librarian.
Clicking the blue bar at the top of page will take you to subjects such as "Finance" or "Management". These are pre-prepared resources that the subject librarian has listed for your help through the library.
One of the most important resources you can use is the Digital Library where you will be offered an A-Z list of databases at:
http://www.le.ac.uk/library/digital/j.html
As a graduate student at the Leicester Business School, you should know about how to use databases such as "Business Source Premier", "Emerald Fulltext " and "JSTOR". Let's say that we are looking for an article on deconstructing theory by Michele Bowring. When we go into Business Source Premier, we will find a number of articles by Bowring including "De/constructing theory" in the Journal of Management Inquiry. Below you will find the subject terms and the abstract.
However, when you actually click on the article in Business Source Premier, the database allows you to use Leicester e-link to find more information. At this point, you can get this article full text. You can also look at the reference sources in the bibliography of the article. It looks like this:
The sources provided by the author of this paper provide a 'brick wall' of ideas with which she constructed her ideas. The ideas of new researchers, such as Bowring, rely on the ideas of older and important work by people such as Burrell & Morgan or Berger & Luckmann. In fact, business research is really a tributary of a larger river from which the subject of Sociology flows. It is part of the study of people, society and its institutions such as business institutions.
The works of Derrida, Foucault in the twentieth century - and the works of Marx and Durkheim in the nineteenth century, are all part of this larger river. Skilled researchers, such as Burrell and Morgan, have navigated this river for their entire academic careers. Newer researchers, such as Brewis (last week) and Bowring (above), are following this same river today. You too will follow the river to its smaller streams and larger branches in footsteps of those who came before, and can use bibliographies such as the one above to help you find your way.
This river, as I explained to a group of students earlier this week, is part of the larger history of intellectual thought in Western Society. In a metaphoric sense, the river is both part of us and surrounds us - we cannot be independent of it. Like Huck Finn, we can drift along with the river, look at the night stars and see our position in relation to the world but we cannot leave. We can rebel in small and meaningful ways. Huck Finn in Twain's book did not know this. He went the wrong way on the huge Mississippi - a river that Twain knew was very tricky to navigate from his own time as a riverboat captain. On our intellectual voyage, we will have to use the moon, stars and the river current on our small raft to make sure we do go the right way in our intellectual voyage. For the diligent student, checking your reference sources will make your intellectual destination certain and your path clear.
http://rooms1.library.le.ac.uk/rooms/portal/media-type/html/user/anon/page/Leic_BusinessManagement
You will find the Subject Room for Business Management and a reference to Andrew Dunn, the subject librarian.
Clicking the blue bar at the top of page will take you to subjects such as "Finance" or "Management". These are pre-prepared resources that the subject librarian has listed for your help through the library.
One of the most important resources you can use is the Digital Library where you will be offered an A-Z list of databases at:
http://www.le.ac.uk/library/digital/j.html
As a graduate student at the Leicester Business School, you should know about how to use databases such as "Business Source Premier", "Emerald Fulltext " and "JSTOR". Let's say that we are looking for an article on deconstructing theory by Michele Bowring. When we go into Business Source Premier, we will find a number of articles by Bowring including "De/constructing theory" in the Journal of Management Inquiry. Below you will find the subject terms and the abstract.
- Subject Terms:
- SOCIAL sciences -- Philosophy
LOGICAL positivism - Abstract:
- The purpose of this article is to understand and illustrate how the development of theories is influenced in part through dominant paradigms, in part through citation patterns, and in part through the norms of scientific writing. An example that is developed is the use of deconstruction to illustrate how institutional theory, with its interpretive beginnings, has become a structuralist positivist vehicle. This is examined in the context of the flourishing recent debate in the field of organizational studies with regard to the relevance of this field and the consensus, or lack thereof, that exists within it. After developing the deconstructive reading of a classic article in institutional theory, the author discusses the implications for the field of organizational studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
However, when you actually click on the article in Business Source Premier, the database allows you to use Leicester e-link to find more information. At this point, you can get this article full text. You can also look at the reference sources in the bibliography of the article. It looks like this:
References
- Agger, B. (1991). Critical theory, poststructuralism, postmodernism: Their sociological relevance. Annual Review of Sociology, 17, 105-132.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Find it on University of Leicester E-Link]
- Berger, P. L., & Luckmann, T. (1967). The social construction of reality. Garden City, NJ: Doubleday Anchor.
- Burrell, G., & Morgan, G. (1979). Sociological paradigms and organisational analysis. London: Heinemann.
- Calás, M. B., & Smircich, L. (1991). Voicing seduction to silence leadership. Organization Studies12(4), 567-602.
- D'Aunno, T., Sutton, R. I., & Price, R. H. (1991). Isomorphism and external support in conflicting institutional environments: A study of drug abuse treatment units. Academy of Management Journal34(3), 636-661.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve][Find it on University of Leicester E-Link]
- Daft, R., & Lewin, A. (1990). Editorial. Organization Science, 1(1), 1-9.
- Derrida, J. (1976). Of grammatology. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
- Derrida, J. (1988). Limited Inc.Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press.
- DiMaggio, P. J., & Powell, W. W. (1983). The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields. American Sociological Review, 48, 147-160.
- Evered, R., & Louis, M. R. (1981). Alternative perspectives in the organizational sciences: Inquiry from the inside and inquiry from the outside, Academy of Management Review, 6(3), 385-395.[CrossRef][Find it on University of Leicester E-Link]
- Gephart, R. P., Jr. (1986). Deconstructing the defense for quantification in social science: A content analysis of journal articles on parametric strategy. Qualitative Sociology, 9(2), 126-144.[CrossRef][Find it on University of Leicester E-Link]
- Gioia, D. A., & Pitre, E. (1990). Multiparadigm perspectives on theory building. Academy of Management Review, 15(4), 584-602.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Find it on University of Leicester E-Link]
- Hamilton, D. P. (1990). Publishing by- and for?-the numbers. Science, 250, 1331-1332.
[Free Full Text] - Hamilton, D. P. (1991). Research papers: Who's uncited now?Science, 251, 25.
[Free Full Text] - Kilduff, M. (1993). Deconstructing organizations. Academy of Management Review, 18(1),13-31.
- Kuhn, T. S. (1970). The structure of scientific revolutions. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
- Lee, A. S. (1991). Integrating positivist and interpretive approaches to organizational research. Organization Science, 2(4), 342-365.
[Abstract/Free Full Text] - Luthans, F., & Davis, T.R.V. (1982). An idiographic approach to organizational behaviour research: The use of single-case experimental designs and direct measures. Academy of Management Review, 7(3), 380-391.[CrossRef][Find it on University of Leicester E-Link]
- Martin, J. (1990). Deconstructing organizational taboos: The suppression of gender conflict in organizations. Organization Science, 1(4), 339-359.
- Meyer, J. W., & Rowan, B. (1977). Institutionalized organizations: Formal structure as myth and ceremony. American Journal of Sociology, 83(2), 340-363.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Find it on University of Leicester E-Link]
- Meyer, J. W., Scott, R. W., & Deal, T. E. (1981). Institutional and technical sources of organizational structure: Explaining the structure of educational organizations. In J. W. Meyer & W. R. Scott (Eds.), Organizational environments: Ritual and rationality (pp. 45-70). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
- Meyer, J. W., Scott, W. R., & Strang, D. (1987). Centralization, fragmentation, and school district complexity. Administrative Science Quarterly, 32, 186-201.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Find it on University of Leicester E-Link]
- Morgan, G., & Smircich, L. (1980). The case for qualitative research. Academy of Management Review, 5(4), 491-500.[CrossRef][Find it on University of Leicester E-Link]
- Mumby, D. K., & Putnam, L. L. (1992). The politics of emotion: A feminist reading of bounded rationality. Academy of Management Review, 17(3), 465-486.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Find it on University of Leicester E-Link]
- Oliver, C. (1991). Strategic responses to institutional processes. Academy of Management Review, 16(1), 145-179.
- Pfeffer, J. (1993). Barriers to the advance of organizational science: Paradigm development as a dependent variable. Academy of Management Review, 18(4), 599-620.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Find it on University of Leicester E-Link]
- Ritzer, G. (1975). Sociology: A multiple paradigm science. American Sociologist, 10.
- Schutz, A. (1962). Common-sense and scientific interpretation of human action; and Concept and theory formation in the social sciences. In M. Natanson (Ed.), Collected papers I: The problem of social reality (pp. 1-65). The Hague: M. Nijhoff.
- Scott, W. R. (1987). The adolescence of institutional theory. Administrative Science Quarterly, 32, 493-511.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Find it on University of Leicester E-Link]
- Selznick, P. (1949). TVA and the grass roots. Berkeley: University of California Press.
- Social Sciences Citation Index. (1976-1993). Philadelphia: Institute for Scientific Information.
- Tolbert, P. S., & Zucker, L. G. (1983). Institutional sources of change in the formal structure of organizations: The diffusion of civil service reforms, 1880-1935. Administrative Science Quarterly, 23, 22-39.[CrossRef][Find it on University of Leicester E-Link]
- Zucker, L. G. (1977). The role of institutionalization in cultural persistence. American Sociological Review, 42, 726-743.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Find it on University of Leicester E-Link]
- Zucker, L. G. (1983). Organizations as institutions. Research in the Sociology of Organizations2, 1-47.
- Zucker, L. G. (1987). Institutional theories of organizations. Annual Review of Sociology, 13, 443-464.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Find it on University of Leicester E-Link]
The sources provided by the author of this paper provide a 'brick wall' of ideas with which she constructed her ideas. The ideas of new researchers, such as Bowring, rely on the ideas of older and important work by people such as Burrell & Morgan or Berger & Luckmann. In fact, business research is really a tributary of a larger river from which the subject of Sociology flows. It is part of the study of people, society and its institutions such as business institutions.
The works of Derrida, Foucault in the twentieth century - and the works of Marx and Durkheim in the nineteenth century, are all part of this larger river. Skilled researchers, such as Burrell and Morgan, have navigated this river for their entire academic careers. Newer researchers, such as Brewis (last week) and Bowring (above), are following this same river today. You too will follow the river to its smaller streams and larger branches in footsteps of those who came before, and can use bibliographies such as the one above to help you find your way.
This river, as I explained to a group of students earlier this week, is part of the larger history of intellectual thought in Western Society. In a metaphoric sense, the river is both part of us and surrounds us - we cannot be independent of it. Like Huck Finn, we can drift along with the river, look at the night stars and see our position in relation to the world but we cannot leave. We can rebel in small and meaningful ways. Huck Finn in Twain's book did not know this. He went the wrong way on the huge Mississippi - a river that Twain knew was very tricky to navigate from his own time as a riverboat captain. On our intellectual voyage, we will have to use the moon, stars and the river current on our small raft to make sure we do go the right way in our intellectual voyage. For the diligent student, checking your reference sources will make your intellectual destination certain and your path clear.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Research Skills; Find Articles for Assignments & Dissertations
Looking at the above list, there are similarities between the needs of all these students. Let's talk about the first group of students, the ones who need a very specific article that they don't have with their module package and that is part of a specific assignment. Why has the tutor done this and not provided all the articles that you need with your module materials? Is this some kind of test? The obvious answer is 'yes'. However, the less obvious realization is that the tutor wants you to begin using the resources available through U of Leicester Library as part of your educational experience at U of Leicester.
Today, I'd like to go a little deeper. I've received emails on my email address at U of Leicester from students who need:
A quick perusal of the Internet reveals why this is the case.Wikipedia, a common source of material, is not vetted by experts in their field and is often inaccurate. Newspapers, which are now often available online, do not usually have the kind of critical readings that you need for good scholarly work. Please note - that there may be exceptions to this rule in The Sunday Times, The New York Sunday Times, The Guardian or The Washington Post. This comment, of course, has implications for group 3 above, the students doing 'wide readings' on their subject of choice. Obviously, you won't want to present a dissertation project with a bibliography that consists of newspaper articles that are not scholarly. If you are doing this, you need to go back to the drawing board and build a better bibliography.
However, getting back to the student who is searching for an article, what do they do? They can go onto Google Scholar to look for their article. This is a good choice to begin. Let's say, for argument's sake, that you are asked to find the article: "Re-Eroticizing the organization: An Exegesis and Critique" from the journal "Gender, Work and Organization" by Joanna Brewis & Christopher Grey, Volume 1, Issue 2, 1994.
You will write a critical summary of this article. This will include an examination of the main thesis or argument in Brewis & Grey's article, a summary of their arguments and an examination of their use of evidence for their arguments and findings, an examination of their conclusion and how it is linked to the main thesis and finally an examination of the bibliography and what other research you might use should you care to conduct further research.
Google Scholar at:
http://scholar.google.com/
will enable you to find Joanna Brewis's publications. I would suggest that the most direct route to finding this article is to use the 'Advanced Search' option, and enter the author's name and the first part of the title. You will then be offered several publications by Brewis and Grey. When you pick the appropriate article, you will automatically go a page for publications from Wiley-Interscience. They publish "Gender, Work and Organization". They will take you here:
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/119282867/abstract
They will show you sample articles, if you wish to examine them, and a short abstract of the article. If you wish to purchase the article, you can choose to do so at this point. Indeed, given limited time and resources you may do this at this point but you should be aware of another other option.
Let's go to U of Leicester library after having examined option 1: buy the article from Wiley-Interscience. If you go to the Leicester Library at:
http://www.le.ac.uk/library/
At the top of the page, a gray bank includes a link to E-link. Clicking on this takes you here:
http://resolver1.sirsi.co.uk/
When you enter, the title "Gender, Work and Organizations", you then are given several options. Using 'Brewis, Joanna' and making sure you enter 'author' to limit your search to only those publications with Joanna Brewis as the author, you will be given three options. Only the first under 'Blackwell', indicates that you can find articles from as far back as 1994. When you try to get this article, you find that you are given only the abstract even when you click on the PDF file. If we look down the list of other publications in "Gender, Work and Organizations" under Joanna Brewis's name, you will also find the journal article "Foucault, Politics and Organizations: (Re)-Constructing Sexual Harassment, 2001, Volume 8: Issue 1. When you click on PDF, you can get a complete copy of this other article free of charge (you still need your Athens name & password). It is likely that the earlier copies are simply not available online at this time. You will need another option.
Unfortunately, the article we want will need to be interlibrary loaned. Go to:
http://www.le.ac.uk/li/services/interlibrary.html
Under the policies regarding interlibrary loans, you will find that a distance learner at U of Leicester can obtain 15 interlibrary loans free-of-charge. This clearly is what you would have to do if you wanted this article. In some cases, which we will discuss in next week's blog on Research Skills: Finding Articles for Assignments and Dissertations, Pt. 2, you might find a good source of articles one of the databases online at U of Leicester. We will discuss how to use these databases in more length in this posting.
In the meantime, I'd like to leave you with several ideas:
KB
Today, I'd like to go a little deeper. I've received emails on my email address at U of Leicester from students who need:
- A specific article for their module assignment and can't find them
- To get more information on a given subject to help them while doing their assignments
- To do 'wide reading' before booking an appointment with a dissertation tutor to discuss their dissertation topic
A quick perusal of the Internet reveals why this is the case.Wikipedia, a common source of material, is not vetted by experts in their field and is often inaccurate. Newspapers, which are now often available online, do not usually have the kind of critical readings that you need for good scholarly work. Please note - that there may be exceptions to this rule in The Sunday Times, The New York Sunday Times, The Guardian or The Washington Post. This comment, of course, has implications for group 3 above, the students doing 'wide readings' on their subject of choice. Obviously, you won't want to present a dissertation project with a bibliography that consists of newspaper articles that are not scholarly. If you are doing this, you need to go back to the drawing board and build a better bibliography.
However, getting back to the student who is searching for an article, what do they do? They can go onto Google Scholar to look for their article. This is a good choice to begin. Let's say, for argument's sake, that you are asked to find the article: "Re-Eroticizing the organization: An Exegesis and Critique" from the journal "Gender, Work and Organization" by Joanna Brewis & Christopher Grey, Volume 1, Issue 2, 1994.
You will write a critical summary of this article. This will include an examination of the main thesis or argument in Brewis & Grey's article, a summary of their arguments and an examination of their use of evidence for their arguments and findings, an examination of their conclusion and how it is linked to the main thesis and finally an examination of the bibliography and what other research you might use should you care to conduct further research.
Google Scholar at:
http://scholar.google.com/
will enable you to find Joanna Brewis's publications. I would suggest that the most direct route to finding this article is to use the 'Advanced Search' option, and enter the author's name and the first part of the title. You will then be offered several publications by Brewis and Grey. When you pick the appropriate article, you will automatically go a page for publications from Wiley-Interscience. They publish "Gender, Work and Organization". They will take you here:
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/119282867/abstract
They will show you sample articles, if you wish to examine them, and a short abstract of the article. If you wish to purchase the article, you can choose to do so at this point. Indeed, given limited time and resources you may do this at this point but you should be aware of another other option.
Let's go to U of Leicester library after having examined option 1: buy the article from Wiley-Interscience. If you go to the Leicester Library at:
http://www.le.ac.uk/library/
At the top of the page, a gray bank includes a link to E-link. Clicking on this takes you here:
http://resolver1.sirsi.co.uk/
When you enter, the title "Gender, Work and Organizations", you then are given several options. Using 'Brewis, Joanna' and making sure you enter 'author' to limit your search to only those publications with Joanna Brewis as the author, you will be given three options. Only the first under 'Blackwell', indicates that you can find articles from as far back as 1994. When you try to get this article, you find that you are given only the abstract even when you click on the PDF file. If we look down the list of other publications in "Gender, Work and Organizations" under Joanna Brewis's name, you will also find the journal article "Foucault, Politics and Organizations: (Re)-Constructing Sexual Harassment, 2001, Volume 8: Issue 1. When you click on PDF, you can get a complete copy of this other article free of charge (you still need your Athens name & password). It is likely that the earlier copies are simply not available online at this time. You will need another option.
Unfortunately, the article we want will need to be interlibrary loaned. Go to:
http://www.le.ac.uk/li/services/interlibrary.html
Under the policies regarding interlibrary loans, you will find that a distance learner at U of Leicester can obtain 15 interlibrary loans free-of-charge. This clearly is what you would have to do if you wanted this article. In some cases, which we will discuss in next week's blog on Research Skills: Finding Articles for Assignments and Dissertations, Pt. 2, you might find a good source of articles one of the databases online at U of Leicester. We will discuss how to use these databases in more length in this posting.
In the meantime, I'd like to leave you with several ideas:
- Spend time getting to know how to use E-link through the University of Leicester.
- Take the time to interlibrary loan articles if you need to do so.
- Make sure you know your Athens ID & password.
- Use Google scholar when necessary but do not make it your only resource.
- Find out what University of Leicester has available free before buying articles online.
KB
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Dissertation Tutors versus Skills Tutor
Hi, this week's blog is about the Dissertation Tutor and what they can do for you versus me, the Skills Tutor. Let's be clear, when you have done a lot of reading and thought over your topic carefully and are ready to submit your proposal you should talk to a dissertation tutor in your area of interest. You can find them on Blackboard under "My courses". You should click on dissertation support.
However, there are a lot of students with whom I've spoken who need to spend some time reflecting and reading before they make an appointment to speak to the Dissertation Tutor. The tutor has only got twenty minutes for an appointment.You may need to wait to get your appointment with the dissertation tutor. So, the more focused you are before you speak to her or him, the more you can get out of your interview time. The following is a list of ideas I strongly urge you to consider before you speak to the Dissertation Tutor:
Needless to say, you can't ask the Dissertation Tutor to pick your topic for you. That isn't their role! However, if you have some ideas and have done extensive reading, they can help you work through what will work for you as a dissertation topic. All my postings in this blog about critical thinking are of relevance here. You will need to think for yourself to find your own dissertation topic. Additionally, every year the University of Leicester School of Management runs a session on dissertations at summer school. If you can go, this may assist you as well.
List of Resources
Bryman, A & E Bell. (2007). Business Research Methods. (2nd ed.) Oxford:Oxford University Press. (Note: This is a hefty volume with numerous chapters. It is useful as a reference for specific issues when you are doing your project.)
Blaxter, Loraine, C Hughes and M Tight. (2006) How to Research. (3rd ed.) Maidenhead: Open University Press.
A good introduction to the research process.
Maylor, Harvey and K Blackmon. (2005). Researching Business and Management. Houndsmills: Palgrave Macmillan.
This is a good source of material on the dissertation process from start to finish, with exercises and ideas on how to get through the process.
Bell, Judith. (2005) Doing your Research Project: A Guide for first-time researchers in education, health and social science. (4th ed.) Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Another good overview of the process.
However, there are a lot of students with whom I've spoken who need to spend some time reflecting and reading before they make an appointment to speak to the Dissertation Tutor. The tutor has only got twenty minutes for an appointment.You may need to wait to get your appointment with the dissertation tutor. So, the more focused you are before you speak to her or him, the more you can get out of your interview time. The following is a list of ideas I strongly urge you to consider before you speak to the Dissertation Tutor:
- Please read the guidelines on Blackboard about the purpose of the dissertation carefully.
- I compare writing a dissertation to building a brick wall. You are adding a brick to a wall that is already under construction. Your brick helps to fill a gap in the wall. Essentially, you need to find unexplored areas in management literature to find the topic of your choice. Here is an analogy from the field I know best, literature.If, for example, you told me you wanted to write a 100 page MA dissertation on Moby Dick or the works of Charles Dickens, I'd have to ask you to narrow your focus radically. Similarly, if you tell the Dissertation Tutor that you want to write a dissertation on Motivation, you will find that your topic is much too large. Keep reading to find a piece of this topic that works for dissertation proposal.
- Spend time reading, lots of reading. Use the resources available at the University of Leicester online digital library. If you need help, get in touch with the librarians. They love to help people and are very informed about their subject areas. Andrew Dunn is the Management Librarian. Look him up at the University of Leicester library. You can email or phone him.
- Keep track of your journal articles, books, internet resources and other relevant information in a research log from day one. Record every reference. Remember that ideas, not just words, are the intellectual property of the writer who created them. (See other entries in this blog for my guidance on research logs & the university publications on plagiarism.)
- Mine journal articles, books and other source materials to find the underlying theories in their research. In other words, read bibliographies to find 'literature streams'. These may lead to crucial source readings.
- Give yourself time to get the resources you need from U of Leicester Library. Try not to begin this work at the last minute.
- Remember a dissertation is not a 'project', as in a consulting project. It is a piece of research, located within a theoretical framework. It has a specific content and addresses a specific research question. It will have sections that will cover the following areas: your theoretical framework, your literature review, your methodology, your data analysis and your conclusions. At the end of this post, I will suggest a few books for guidance. Just so you know, I asked a tutor who is versed in management literature to help put together this bibliography for you.
- Please don't begin to write your dissertation until your dissertation proposal has been approved.
Needless to say, you can't ask the Dissertation Tutor to pick your topic for you. That isn't their role! However, if you have some ideas and have done extensive reading, they can help you work through what will work for you as a dissertation topic. All my postings in this blog about critical thinking are of relevance here. You will need to think for yourself to find your own dissertation topic. Additionally, every year the University of Leicester School of Management runs a session on dissertations at summer school. If you can go, this may assist you as well.
List of Resources
Bryman, A & E Bell. (2007). Business Research Methods. (2nd ed.) Oxford:Oxford University Press. (Note: This is a hefty volume with numerous chapters. It is useful as a reference for specific issues when you are doing your project.)
Blaxter, Loraine, C Hughes and M Tight. (2006) How to Research. (3rd ed.) Maidenhead: Open University Press.
A good introduction to the research process.
Maylor, Harvey and K Blackmon. (2005). Researching Business and Management. Houndsmills: Palgrave Macmillan.
This is a good source of material on the dissertation process from start to finish, with exercises and ideas on how to get through the process.
Bell, Judith. (2005) Doing your Research Project: A Guide for first-time researchers in education, health and social science. (4th ed.) Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Another good overview of the process.
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