As a researcher, you must understand that the body of knowledge the world uses to reason and analyze phenomena is always changing. There are always places to improve upon, refine, and add to the knowledge in your discipline. Likewise, your own skills and knowledge follow the same pattern. The skills you have acquired through this course are only the foundation of a very complex field. Even an experienced qualitative researcher knows that being able to identify where one still needs improvement and how to obtain additional skills is an important step toward continuously becoming a well-rounded researcher.
To prepare for this Application:
- Assess your progress and skills with qualitative reasoning and analysis. Where do you still need to improve, and what is your plan for improving those skills?
- Consider what role this course has played in helping you determine a dissertation topic approach. Has your original topic and approach changed? Why? How?
- To what extent has using a software package informed your understanding of research in general? How has it informed you about how to read the findings of a research article?
- Think about how this course fits into your residency requirements. Are you on track? Have you registered for your next residency?
The assignment:
- Craft a 3 to 4-page paper in which you assess your progress in qualitative reasoning and analysis. Be sure you have addressed the questions above