This week we delved into the topic of literature reviews, which specifically pertains to our upcoming assignment in about one month. There were several bits of relevant and important information I gleaned from the multimedia presentations. The slideshare was particularly useful, explaining that first and foremost a literature review is not simply a review of every piece of literature regarding the topic at hand, rather a compilation of the most vital ones. One technique that I found very useful in defining a topic was the concept that a researcher should read the relevant information, search for inconsistencies in the articles, and then organize the material and information gleaned into something logical. Lastly, the slideshare presented some fantastic methods in which a researcher can go about identifying a great research question: First, the question should sustain the interest of the researcher. Second, the question should stay in the range of the researchers competence. Third, the question should be manageable in size. Fourth, the question should have some sort of basis in a theory.
The video had some great ideas for me to keep in mind as well. In regards to a good research question, it's important to note that it's more about the 'how' and 'why', and not so much about the 'what'. A good question will not have an obvious and quick answer, rather it will demand data analysis. Lastly, a researcher should be careful that their question is not too broad of a topic, in other words, it should be a one-part question. These pieces of advice will be helpful when reading research articles and when writing my literature review. Additionally, it will assist in my later research proposal.
The written lecture for this week contained some great survey advice to keep in mind, specifically in relation to youth. Firstly, interviewing children will produce better data, as opposed to a written survey where a child may need outside assistance which skews the results. Surveys would be better conducted in an informal or semi-structured setting, which will put children more at ease. Personally speaking, when discussing something important with my own kids, they seem to fidget a lot more when I sit them down and 'have a talk', instead of just casually telling them what's important. Lastly, in order to really get children to give over information for a study, the researcher must build up some trust first with the child. This is similar to greeting new dogs that one meets out on the street. My mother always taught me to put out my hand first and let the dog sniff it in order to gain it's trust. Obviously, children are a far cry from dogs, but a similar concept can be learned here.
A few days ago the CDC sent us a random survey, asking us to participate in their data collection of United States children's immunizations. Although I thought it was actually pretty cool to receive this survey from the CDC itself, I'm not sure I'm going to have the time to participate. There certainly was no incentive. However, I'd like to be a part of it, and perhaps analyze their method of asking phone interview questions.
J. Ellis wrote an amazing article that really pinpoints great methods of understanding a child holistically, which will eventually lead to a better study with those youth. Similar to the lecture, Ellis discusses the benefits of a pre-interview, essentially a method that builds a vital trust between the child and the researcher. One piece of advice she mentions that I thought was very clever, was the idea that a seasoned interviewer goes into the interview with a vague sense of what they know they would like to ask and accomplish, and improvises. However, newer interviewers should start with practicing with actual questions. This reminded me of the interview I conducted for my 204 class. I wrote down a list of specific questions, and although was told to kind of improvise, I found myself struggling at certain points. At those times, I would look down again at my paper to reposition my interview. Another point that Ellis talks about is the idea that interview questions should be open-ended. This idea is not new to me, as I learned about in my reference class when learning about the reference interview process. Again this concept reared it's head in my archives class I'm taking currently, this time when a researcher comes in and the archivist must conduct a type of reference interview. I'm always fascinated when this type of overlap between classes occur.
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