If I were to describe myself in terms of a researcher I would say that I enjoy the research process, in that I am beginning to put the puzzle together. And the PhD with regards to the literature review is very much like a puzzle. What started off as a broad topic has suddenly become a number of small topics, all interlinked, but leading to the same point. I have collected most of the side pieces of the puzzle (see my Research page if you don’t believe me!), and am now putting together the middle pieces with their myriads of colours and patterns – to put the project in a metaphor.
Needless to say that Google is my friend, and by using more focused search patterns through Google and Google Scholar I have found that even the obscure is available – to a certain extent. Case in point would be one of the more recent references I have found:
Goldman, H., & Lowis, M. J. (2007). An Investigation into the Respective Influences of Nature and Nurture on Musical Ability. Korean Journal of Thinking and Problem Solving, 17(2), 43-56.
…as a side point it just goes to show there is a journal for just about every field of human endeavor you could possibly think of!
This particular article is obviously useful as the sub-topic I am looking at at the moment is on nature/nurture with regards to music learning with emphasis on motivation of students to learn music – me being me thought I had hit the jackpot finding this article however finding it and getting it are two different matters altogether.
To cut the story short, normally I would have used my universities very extensive database of journal links and eventually downloaded them. With this one, after initially finding that the home site it was based on was written in Korean and therefore I couldn’t find an obvious way to download it, I went to The British Library website where I had to buy the article and download it – it’s just one of the things you have to do sometimes.
Still, it is just one piece of a very extensive puzzle which is gradually coming together, even at this early stage. Focusing the finding of articles is a skill I have to practice, as with the writing up of content, which is a process I also enjoy. I hope to post a little more regularly on PhD progress.
six months in
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009It’s now December, six months in from when I started the PhD in July, and (most probably) another five years until I finish. It has been an interesting academic road so far. For myself I have been buoyed by my supervisor’s comments regarding the work that I have done, but, I am not resting on these comments. My writing is still far from academically perfect however it is getting better. The referencing can be tightened up…
Resource collection and collating is ongoing as I work through separate topics and need extension on what I have already collected. All this will contribute to the Literature Review which will serve as the basis for introducing the new area of research that I will be covering – this will be done in about six months time. I’m thinking of the areas that I need to explore next. Obviously motivation of students is a major area of focus as is the inclusive “community” basis of participation in brass and concert bands. Topics have expanded to include psychology areas and other factors determining the learning of music.
In terms of research focus I have made the decision to bring my website (which surrounds “the blog”) into more of an overall research area so that all pages are focused on my research question. I realize this will be a big job to do over the holidays but since the basic structure of the website is easy to manage it shouldn’t be to hard to do.
Aside from this I can safely say that I am enjoying the research process, the first six months hasn’t daunted me that much, and I feel I am on the right track with this PhD.
There will be more to follow…
Tags: general comments, learning, research
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