4TH QUARTER

• Analysis


  The process of breaking a complex topic or substance into smaller parts in order to gain a better understanding of it
• All phenomena have both qualities and quantities - numbers and words are both representations of phenomena
• All data are based on qualitative foundation, interpreted, and then 'selectively rendered'

  
• Donald Campbell (1974: 30): '"If we are to be truly scientific, we must re-establish the qualitative grounding of the quantitative."'
• David Howell (2014: xi): '"Statistics is not really about numbers; it is about understanding our world."'
• Analysis


  A process of deconstructing and reconstructing evidence that involves interrogation of and critical thinking about data and the questions they are designed to answer in order to produce a useful and/or meaningful result
• Phases of analysis


  1. Preparatory work

  2. Explore the data

  3. Manage, reduce, sort and code the data

  4. Describe what is being revealed

  5. Undertake comparative analyses

  6. Investigate patterns of association

  7. Build toward interrelated thematic or explanatory/predictive statements

  8. Explore and test alternative explanations

  9. Report results, inferences, interpretations

  
• Integration


  • Using more than one approach, method, source of data and/or strategy for data analysis
  • Having a common purpose or goal
  • Interdependence of these different elements in reaching the goal
  • Having a sum greater than the parts
  • Integration occurs primarily through data management and analysis
• Approaching mixed methods analysis


  See analysis as a continuation of a "conversation" between methods that began when the foundations of the study were laid
• To start mixed methods analysis

  1. What are the questions you want to answer (they might be different from those you started with)?

  2. What data you have for answering these? Think about data (not qual or quant)
• Theory of change for integrative mixed methods analysis

  • Effectively combining more than one source or type of data/or more than one approach to analysis will deliver a gain over using a single source, type of data, or approach to analysis
  • Effective integration of sources and analyses will also deliver a gain over separate analyses of different sources
• Major integrative strategies


  • Sorting and coding
  • Combining (weaving, merging) - complement, converge, complete
  • Linking and comparing - juxtapose, corroborate, contrast
  • Iterative guiding - Next steps (corroborate, contrasts)
  • Counting and transforming - Count, convert, consolidate, blend
• Bringing it all together into a 'negotiated account'

  1. Review purpose and questions

  2. Review concepts, context, and processes - Draw on key points and clarification developed in earlier analyses, Identify / document the range of evidence available

  3. Search for patterns - Compare observations to expectations, Check hunches and interim findings against evidence, Use cross-case synthesis to build meta-knowledge, Explore negative and extreme cases
• Getting motivated to write is often very difficult, therefore, writing something you have very little passion for does not make it any easier
• Planning for your journal article

  • Isolate a manageable size
  • Create a coherent story/argument
  • Make the argument self-standing
  • Target the journal readership
  • Change the writing conventions from that used in your thesis
• Choosing a target journal

  Think about audience, purposes, what to write about and why. Decide the kind of article to write. Is it a report, position paper, critique or review? What makes your argument or research interesting? How might the paper add value to the field?
• The title of your article is one of the first indicators readers will get of your research and concepts. It should be concise, accurate, and informative. You should include your most relevant keywords in your title, but avoid including abbreviations and formulae.
• Keywords help potential readers to discover your article when conducting research using search engines
• Abstract


  A short paragraph (around 150 words) that summarizes the findings of your journal article. Ordinarily an abstract will be comprised of: What your research is about, What methods have been used, What your main findings are
• Acknowledgements


  Where you acknowledge the individuals who do not qualify for co-authorship, but contributed to your article intellectually, financially, or in some other manner
• Introduction


  Introduces your topic and your stance on the topic, and also (situates/contextualizes) your argument in the broader academic field
• Main body


  Where your main arguments and your evidence are located. Each paragraph will encapsulate a different notion and there will be clear linking between each paragraph
• Conclusion


  An interpretation of your results, where you summarize all of the concepts that you introduced in the main body of the text in order of most to least important. No new concepts are to be introduced in this section
• References and citations


  Should be well balanced, current and relevant. Although every field is different, you should aim to cite references that are not more than 10 years old if possible. The studies you cite should be strongly related to your research question
• Make your writing accessible by using clear language. Writing that is easy to read, is easier to understand too.
• You may want to write for a global audience – to have your research reach the widest readership. Make sure you write in a way that will be understood by any reader regardless of their field or whether English is their first language.
• Write your journal article with confidence, to give your reader certainty in your research. Make sure that you've described your methodology and approach; whilst it may seem obvious to you, it may not to your reader. And don't forget to explain acronyms when they first appear.
• When you reference something, fully understand its relevance to your research so you can make it clear for your reader. Keep in mind that recent references highlight awareness of all the current developments in the literature that you are building on. This doesn't mean you can't include older references, just make sure it is clear why you've chosen to.
• Delete the whole section of REVIEW AND RELATED LITERATURES.
• RESULTS & DISCUSSION as one
• Create a GDrive link or any data storage for the DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT.
• Oral presentation


  1. Be well prepared; write a detailed outline

  2. Introduce the subject

  3. Talk about the sources and the method

  4. Indicate if there are conflicting views about the subject (conflicting views trigger discussion)

  5. Make a statement about your new results (if this is your research paper)

  6. Use visual aids or handouts if appropriate
• Compiling a PowerPoint - Do's

  • Be brief and concise
  • Focus on the subject
  • Attract attention; indicate interesting details
  • If possible, use relevant visual illustrations (pictures, maps, charts graphs, etc.)
  • Use bullet points or numbers to structure the text
  • Make clear statements about the essence/results of the topic/research
• Compiling a PowerPoint - Don'ts


  • Don't write down the whole outline of your paper and nothing else
  • Don't write long full sentences on the slides
  • Don't use distracting colors, patterns, pictures, decorations on the slides
  • Don't use too complicated charts, graphs; only those that are relatively easy to understand