Master Plan
Part 1 - Literature Review
Revise and Arrange
I feel like I’ve gotten enough time/distance that I can dive in with my editor’s cap on and revise my Literature Review. Once I’ve cleaned that up, I can take the introduction and slide it up to the first page. After I correct the References page, I can slide that to the back of my outline.
Part 2 - Outline
Make Choices and Commit
I’ve been working on the Outline in-class when time was set aside for it. I’ve created a page for the Cover and a blank page for the Abstract. The bare bones of the draft are there. I have “something” in all of the slots—sometimes as bullets, or simple sentences, or possibilities.
I have to make a big decision for Part III. Research Design and Methods: “Describe the Sample.” Right now, I have two routes I can take.
If I go with Option 1, I do a sample of convenience using people from our university. However, that means I won’t be using a randomized representative pool of participants (and it’s a polytechnic institution so most people there are likely pro-technology which is a bias). There won’t be a margin of error (MOE). I also won’t get to do much statistical calculating. So, my findings will be very conservative in what they can relay. There are lots of disadvantages to this possibility because the tone/theme of my project has revolved around getting real people’s candid feedback. So, this route could undermine that. The one big advantage is that it would just be easier to recruit people at the university during campus events or via mass emails (or both).
If I go with Option 2, I aim for a more randomized sample using adults in the local community which will be more representative of the population as a whole (there could be a range of opinions about QR codes). If my sample size is large enough, my level of confidence could translate into stronger claims. If I was willing to do the footwork/fundraising to set up at local events in the community, I could get some great data. Plus, I’m fairly sociable so I can get myself out there. I would just need another peer researcher to come onboard and help me man the table. There could also be an opportunity for survey variety: paper version, digital version via tablet, and a QR code version. Tracking the preferences there could be an interesting side quest that could feed back into the project.
Once I decide on this, the remaining portions of the Outline will get easier to write.
Adding On and Fleshing Out
Right now, the current Outline has portions of the unrevised Literature Review being used as place markers for content. I need to swap those out with the revised version of the Literature Review.
Then, I can start fleshing out the draft as a whole. My Literature Review was 8.5 pages so I’m not too worried about hitting the minimum page amount. I may need to add an Appendix section once I start drafting up Survey Instructions, Scripts, and Survey Questions.
Main Goal
I aim to have the first half of the Outline fleshed out for when we meet on Tuesday. The second half can be more scraggly. I tend to hold off on writing the Conclusion until the Introduction and Body Paragraphs are more stable, otherwise, it can turn stale very quickly. Lots of revisions tend to be made at the front first and don’t always carry along to the end. So, I’ll probably just have a place marker there. Then, once everything is better set, the Conclusion can be made fresh.
I love how organized and well-thought out your blog post is. There are so many things to think of and you have touched on so many of them. I like that you have given yourself options to evaluate how you should approach your research design and methods. There isn't one right way to do things and I think both approaches will yield interesting information for you to evaluate. You are very thorough in your thought process and it shows in your papers. I'm excited to see what you decide to do.
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