"Sequencing is only important when there is a strong relationship among the topics of the course" (p. 431) "Theoretical analysis shows principles that elaborate on other principles (which provide more complexity and/or guidance on the same phenomena)" (p. 441-2) Elaboration can occur by answering several different kinds of questions, such as: What else happens? or What else can cause this? When does this cause have this effect? Which way (direction) do things change? Why do they change? How much do they change? (p. 442) For heuristic tasks, the focus is on principles, guidelines, and/or causal models that experts use to decide what to do when (rather than using a set of steps) (p. 444) Epitomizing utilizes: a whole version of the task rather than a simpler component skill; a simple version of the task; a real-world version of the task (usually); and a fairly representative (typical or common) version of the task. (p. 444) subsequent elaboration shou...
The funnel shape of an introduction to a dissertation or research proposal represents a broad statement about a topic that then becomes increasingly focussed toward the final question of interest in the particular research proposal. Here is a possible funnel to my question of interest: Americans seem to have embedded in their collective conscience the image of the rugged individual rising to the top through sheer force of will and on their own merits or because of their lone genius. But current research suggests that lasting innovation and successful businesses result from effective collaboration of many people together rather than from solitary contributions of brilliant individuals. As a result, many organizations espouse a growing need for people in the modern workplace to be able to work in teams in order to innovate solutions to rapidly changing problems in myriad disciplines. Research from the last decade or so has shed new light on the attributes of group creativity an...
Here's something I struggle with: Skimming. Most people I have heard talk about literature review advocate a plan of skimming and diving deep -- gloss over some literature and delve into other literature with more depth. I struggle with this because I feel that if I cite an article that I haven't read in its entirety, it is tantamount to cheating. In high school, a teacher could tell if you didn't read the material -- you would draw false conclusions, give inaccurate descriptions. You'd get a talking to. I got accused of watching the movie of a book rather than reading it for one of my undergrad courses and had to meet with the professor after class. (It turned out the professor had not read the book in a decade, so he was mistaken in his memory of certain things.) I understand it's pretty accepted practice to skim articles. It just doesn't feel right. Most of the time in graduate school, we only manage to get the cliff notes version of so much we read because...
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