Post 9
Post 9
THESIS RESEARCH AND WRITING/ METHODOLOGY OF RESEARCH
Lecture on Approach or Scope of the Study
I.Opening Comments
This is the lecture everyone loves to hear! This is where the student gets to tell the instructor, “This far I have come and I will go no further!” It is sort of a line in the sand!
Apart from the humor, it is as important for the student to have limits for the paper/presentation as it is for a person to have them. Knowing how much to write and how much to leave out will be helpful, in much the same was as knowing how long to stay at the office and when to turn off the lights and head home.
This presentation should help the student do both!
II.Review of Work Submitted from Last Post
Students, by now you should have done your literature review, your thesis statement, the statement on the background of the study, and the statement on the problem. With the exception of the literature review, each of these statements should be between one and three paragraphs long. All of this comes together to form a great foundation to your paper/presentation. Now it is time to look at the framework for the rest of your paper. This framework is called the “Scope of the Study.”
III.A Look at Scope of the Study
A.Scope is another way to say “limit” of the study
B. Analogous to the Project Statement when doing a home improvement project- aka “Anti-Superman Statement.” The instructor finds himself needing to do these because he sometimes overestimates his own abilities. Examples of recent blunders would be superhuman project statements such as the following:
i.”I will construct a wooden two-sided fence around my entire backyard utilizing only one additional helper within a week.”
ii.”I will paint the kitchen before the dinner guests arrive.”
C.Many factors will set the boundaries to as how one does a study
i.Audience
a)Knowledgeable base
b)Age
c)Education Level
ii.Word Limitation- length of the project will only allow for certain amount of development of the topic.
iii.Availability of materials- If one is dealing with Gospel of Thomas as a guide for ministry development, the student going to be limited in writing because there just isn't very much out there (thus, students are made to do a lit review early!)
iv.Amount of time for preparation and submission- “All things being equal, the student who has six months to prepare a paper is expected to do a more intensive and extensive job than the one with six weeks.” (Teitelbaum, 4)
v.Writer's General Knowledge of the Topic
D. Some factors may have to be adjusted-
i.Limitations cannot be haphazard and artificial- The Rights of Homosexuals to Advance to the Level of Ministry of A Bishop (needs to be set against a backdrop of the whole of ministry and with the broader scope of gender awareness and sexual/moral conduct)
ii.Limitations have to be fluid and open to adjustment-
a)Set up a trial limitation and do research only to find there are not enough works on that area to provide material for writing-- Reset
b)Set up a trial limitation and find a work in the library that says exactly what you wanted to cover.- “at best, you would be presenting no more than a critical review of the text.” (Teitelbaum, p 5)
c)Even if there isn't one word for word book if there is too much material to be adequately studied, may have to resize your scope/limits.
IV. Additional Insights:
A. Since all projects are, by their very nature, limited in their scope, an essential part of fully utilizing your work is to understand its limits. So think about the robustness of what you have done: if you had collected your materials or data differently, could you still expect to replicate your findings? Could you have approached your project in a different way? Did your assumptions lead you to a certain bias that has implications for your conclusions? The ability to view one's own work critically and objectively is essential for all fields of scholarly research, and a thorough discussion of your findings demonstrates your potential as a scholar. http://www.wsu.edu/~honors/thesis/Writing_paper.html
B. Has the writer chosen an appropriate scope (not too large, not too small)? Can the student effectively demonstrate an argument in the allotted space the assignment gives? http://writing.umn.edu/sws/quicktips/process/thesis.htm
C. View the Scope statement in Sherre Bishop's Project:
The focus of this examination is limited to the seemingly random evil and suffering that Christians encounter; and not necessarily that which one encounters because of some sinful action on their part. My [sic] desire is to generate a balanced work of theological and scriptural insight for future use by me [sic], and others, when battling crisis. For this examination, I [sic] hope to increase my [sic] knowledge and that of others on the following: (1) God’s presence when Christians face evil and suffering, (2) the value of suffering, and (3) the tools for battling threats to one’s faith. (from Bishop, Sherre: “The Life of the Troubled Christian: Where is God?” Unpublished thesis from American Baptist College, May 2001)
D. Compare to the Scope statement in Vincent Windrow’s Project:
The realm of church leadership models is expansive. The Bible does not clearly state a preferred or exclusive approach to church governance, although it does provide a few historical examples. Consequently, over the course of the past two thousand years, a few more popular models have developed and sustained their prominence. Nonetheless, there is even a diversity of versions with each of those more popular models that speak to the specific cultural needs of the distinct faith community. Thus, the research will only deal with certain ecclesiological aspects of church governance. For example, although Catholicism and Presbyterianism will be cited, only Congregationalism and its many forms will be extensively presented.
This research will also be limited to African-American church leadership. Moreover, due to the resent explosion of “start-up” churches, this research will take into consideration the specific needs of that phenomenon, as well. (from Windrow, Vincent: “Working Together Works” Unpublished thesis from American Baptist College, May 2005)
E. The next assignment will be titled “Outline” and will give even further dimensions, and limitations, to the paper/project being produced.
V. Assignment: Submit a scope statement. This needs to be at least one paragraph long and may be as long as two pages.
A. Post one copy on the class website
B. E-mail on copy to Dr. Martin.
C. Leave comments on the class website!
THESIS RESEARCH AND WRITING/ METHODOLOGY OF RESEARCH
Lecture on Approach or Scope of the Study
I.Opening Comments
This is the lecture everyone loves to hear! This is where the student gets to tell the instructor, “This far I have come and I will go no further!” It is sort of a line in the sand!
Apart from the humor, it is as important for the student to have limits for the paper/presentation as it is for a person to have them. Knowing how much to write and how much to leave out will be helpful, in much the same was as knowing how long to stay at the office and when to turn off the lights and head home.
This presentation should help the student do both!
II.Review of Work Submitted from Last Post
Students, by now you should have done your literature review, your thesis statement, the statement on the background of the study, and the statement on the problem. With the exception of the literature review, each of these statements should be between one and three paragraphs long. All of this comes together to form a great foundation to your paper/presentation. Now it is time to look at the framework for the rest of your paper. This framework is called the “Scope of the Study.”
III.A Look at Scope of the Study
A.Scope is another way to say “limit” of the study
B. Analogous to the Project Statement when doing a home improvement project- aka “Anti-Superman Statement.” The instructor finds himself needing to do these because he sometimes overestimates his own abilities. Examples of recent blunders would be superhuman project statements such as the following:
i.”I will construct a wooden two-sided fence around my entire backyard utilizing only one additional helper within a week.”
ii.”I will paint the kitchen before the dinner guests arrive.”
C.Many factors will set the boundaries to as how one does a study
i.Audience
a)Knowledgeable base
b)Age
c)Education Level
ii.Word Limitation- length of the project will only allow for certain amount of development of the topic.
iii.Availability of materials- If one is dealing with Gospel of Thomas as a guide for ministry development, the student going to be limited in writing because there just isn't very much out there (thus, students are made to do a lit review early!)
iv.Amount of time for preparation and submission- “All things being equal, the student who has six months to prepare a paper is expected to do a more intensive and extensive job than the one with six weeks.” (Teitelbaum, 4)
v.Writer's General Knowledge of the Topic
D. Some factors may have to be adjusted-
i.Limitations cannot be haphazard and artificial- The Rights of Homosexuals to Advance to the Level of Ministry of A Bishop (needs to be set against a backdrop of the whole of ministry and with the broader scope of gender awareness and sexual/moral conduct)
ii.Limitations have to be fluid and open to adjustment-
a)Set up a trial limitation and do research only to find there are not enough works on that area to provide material for writing-- Reset
b)Set up a trial limitation and find a work in the library that says exactly what you wanted to cover.- “at best, you would be presenting no more than a critical review of the text.” (Teitelbaum, p 5)
c)Even if there isn't one word for word book if there is too much material to be adequately studied, may have to resize your scope/limits.
IV. Additional Insights:
A. Since all projects are, by their very nature, limited in their scope, an essential part of fully utilizing your work is to understand its limits. So think about the robustness of what you have done: if you had collected your materials or data differently, could you still expect to replicate your findings? Could you have approached your project in a different way? Did your assumptions lead you to a certain bias that has implications for your conclusions? The ability to view one's own work critically and objectively is essential for all fields of scholarly research, and a thorough discussion of your findings demonstrates your potential as a scholar. http://www.wsu.edu/~honors/thesis/Writing_paper.html
B. Has the writer chosen an appropriate scope (not too large, not too small)? Can the student effectively demonstrate an argument in the allotted space the assignment gives? http://writing.umn.edu/sws/quicktips/process/thesis.htm
C. View the Scope statement in Sherre Bishop's Project:
The focus of this examination is limited to the seemingly random evil and suffering that Christians encounter; and not necessarily that which one encounters because of some sinful action on their part. My [sic] desire is to generate a balanced work of theological and scriptural insight for future use by me [sic], and others, when battling crisis. For this examination, I [sic] hope to increase my [sic] knowledge and that of others on the following: (1) God’s presence when Christians face evil and suffering, (2) the value of suffering, and (3) the tools for battling threats to one’s faith. (from Bishop, Sherre: “The Life of the Troubled Christian: Where is God?” Unpublished thesis from American Baptist College, May 2001)
D. Compare to the Scope statement in Vincent Windrow’s Project:
The realm of church leadership models is expansive. The Bible does not clearly state a preferred or exclusive approach to church governance, although it does provide a few historical examples. Consequently, over the course of the past two thousand years, a few more popular models have developed and sustained their prominence. Nonetheless, there is even a diversity of versions with each of those more popular models that speak to the specific cultural needs of the distinct faith community. Thus, the research will only deal with certain ecclesiological aspects of church governance. For example, although Catholicism and Presbyterianism will be cited, only Congregationalism and its many forms will be extensively presented.
This research will also be limited to African-American church leadership. Moreover, due to the resent explosion of “start-up” churches, this research will take into consideration the specific needs of that phenomenon, as well. (from Windrow, Vincent: “Working Together Works” Unpublished thesis from American Baptist College, May 2005)
E. The next assignment will be titled “Outline” and will give even further dimensions, and limitations, to the paper/project being produced.
V. Assignment: Submit a scope statement. This needs to be at least one paragraph long and may be as long as two pages.
A. Post one copy on the class website
B. E-mail on copy to Dr. Martin.
C. Leave comments on the class website!
posted by Doc | 9:00 PM
1 Comments:
Scope Statement:
The purpose of my research is to provide parishioners and ministers with a little more information regarding a subect matter that they may not be as knowledgeable about as they initially thought prior to discussion.
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