Management - Class Reflection - Research Paper Example

? Reflection This is highly effective in making someone knowledgeable about the various aspects ofresearch. First of all, one gets in depth knowledge of various research forms, and in addition, one comes to know how various forms are different from each other, and how they can be used independently and in combination. The second major point is the important ethical consideration in doing and publishing a research. As the various ethical and legal complexities are analysed, the course makes one able to be cautious of such challenges. The next major part is the use of language. The last and the most important area is the way to write a flawless dissertation in a cohesive way. The Course Content and Outcome This course has provided me in depth knowledge into the various aspects of research process, and also various forms of research. Evidently, the course gives adequate knowledge about the various aspects of research according to American Psychological Association. It also teaches how to do literature review, various aspects of grammar, and also how to develop a good dissertation. The very first thing I learnt is the use of action research. Contrary to my view that research is something different from doing things practically, the course made me learn how it is possible to ‘learn while doing’ through action research. Also, for the first time, I realized that action research is different from other forms of research in the fact that it turns the people involved into active researchers too. Te researchers do things, observe changes, make modifications, and try again until a solution is reached. As Greenwood (1999, pp. 85-87) points out, the research takes place in real life situations and the solutions too come out in real life situations; not in just theory as it often happens with other forms of research. Also, I gained the idea how important it is to have the principles of reflexive critique. As Mike (2007) states, the term ‘reflexive critique’ means to reflect on issues and processes and to make explicit the interpretations, biases, assumptions, and concerns upon which judgments are reached. This is important to do because truth is relative to the teller. This helps developing theoretical considerations from practical accounts. In addition are the factors like dialectical critique and collaborative resources. Thus, I learnt the fact that action research is very useful in such real life situations like a workplace to solve real life problems. As Rehm and Cebula (1996, pp. 1-3) point out, another vital point is the use of the Search Conference tool which can be effectively utilized in various organizations. Two other research areas explained are qualitative research and quantitative research. Sukamolson (n.d) opines that while qualitative research is about counting and measuring things, producing averages and differences in numbers. Qualitative research stems from social science and hence, is more concerned about people’s knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, beliefs, and fears. In addition, the course made me understand how qualitative research is more useful in identifying a large number of hidden attitudes and values that will be missed in qualitative research. For example, while quantitative research will help in identifying a trend, qualitative research will be required to find the reason behind that trend (QSR International, 2011). In addition, the study gave an insight into various forms of data collection in qualitative research. They are focus groups, direct observation, and in depth interviews. Some other methods used in qualitative research are diary methods, role play, simulations, and case studies. Also the course helped me understand how difficult it is to conduct an extensive qualitative research as it is more labor intensive than other forms of research. Some other problems as connected to qualitative research are lack of generalizability, possibility of research bias influencing the observation, and poor reproducibility of the result. In addition, I got more knowledge about the factors to be taken into account while doing qualitative research. The first point is that as against the normal notion of lack of specific structure that makes it attractive to most people, it has become evident that in qualitative research, the research question should be clearly identified. And, in the opinion of Boeree (n.d), it is necessary to clearly define the research setting and sampling methods. Also, I learnt how beneficial it is to try to increase the reliability of collected information through repetition or such other ways. In addition, care should be taken to keep the research result away from the conclusion reached by the researcher. Lastly, it is beneficial to add quantitative methods as supplementary to qualitative research. Also, it becomes evident that when a researcher is just a passive observer in a quantitative research that does not influence the outcome, in qualitative research, the researcher is an active participant who is more likely to influence the result. A totally new thing in the study is the ethical considerations associated with research. The first thing is that necessary committee and authorities should be consulted and the methods employed should be accepted in advance. In the case of action research, it becomes necessary to keep the work visible to all, and the suggestions of all should be equally weighed. Lastly, observations of people and examination of documents should be made with prior permission, and description of others’ work and points of view must not come without their permissions (American Psychological Association, 2011). Admittedly, in the case of research ethics; the area which made the most significant influence on me, the work APA’s 2002 Ethics Code was very helpful. It points out how important it is to reflect the relative contribution of various people in the research publication. Here, I got the new idea that even if a new idea is collected through an informal conversation with a person, it is only ethical to give credit to the creator of that idea. Another point that deserves attention is the fact that researchers hold the ethical responsibly to make corrections even if errors are found after publication. The corrections can be made through corrections, retraction, erratum or any other possible means (APA Ethics code, 2002, pp. 1-12). The general suggestion is that researcher should go deep into and collect primary data and accompanying records of at least past five years so that they become able to answer questions of authenticity. The next point of consideration is the dangers involved in entering into multiple roles. Also, another vital revelation comes in the form of informed consent rules. These rules refer to informing participants about the purpose of research, its duration and procedures. In addition, they should be informed about their right to withdraw any time, the possible side effects, any possible benefits, incentives, and the persons to approach in case of queries. There is a lot of valuable information in the APA 2002 about the factors in respecting confidentiality and privacy. Another area is the knowledge I gained on how to do a good dissertation by arranging information properly so that the readers retain the interest in the work until conclusion is reached. It involves providing the background of research, describing the ways adopted to check the rationality of hypothesis and ideas, the results obtained, and the conclusions reached. Thus, it becomes evident that all the chapters should be arranged in such a way that the readers do not lose interest. Here, I gained a lot of idea about the use of references, citations, literature review, and appendix. Thus, adequate knowledge is gained regarding the total structure of dissertation ranging from title page to appendix (Thesistown. Com, 2010). Also, the way literature review area is explored and explained deserves appreciation. Contrary to my belief that literature review is merely a description of others’ work, I leant that it can also be in the form of a critical assessment that identifies the weaknesses and gaps in the existing works. In addition, it is necessary to evaluate and find relationships among various materials so that the key themes become evident. According to Fink (2005, pp.9-12), one gains the insight that literature review is of two important purposes; to provide a selected bibliography of relevant sources, and to identify the main contributors in the field with their views. Also, information regarding the format; the way margins, font size, line space, and punctuation are to be arranged, has also became a part of my repertoire. Another point is the proper use of language as provided by William Strunk (1918) in The Elements of Style. It involves the use of commas, conjunctions, breaking sentences, and breaking words. Also, there is valuable information about composition, use of active voice, use of positive form and so on (pp. 5-15). Admittedly, the area that most advanced my knowledge is the part on effectively writing a dissertation. This part gave me adequate knowledge about writing an effective dissertation in an attractive way. I can be proud of the fact that I know how to do various researches, how to select the best form of research in a given situation, and how to use a combination of various forms of research. Admittedly, the course changed my concept of learning. It taught me how various aspects of the same issue can be brought together and learned in a cohesive way. In fact, the course acted as an eye opener. It surprised me by showing how wrong my perception was on research and dissertation. The habits and techniques I admire in my classmates are their readiness to discus the points where doubts arise, and the enthusiasm they show in absorbing newer and newer ideas. Admittedly, their influence makes me more eager to engage in active discussion and learn more about the factors that requires clarification. References American Psychological Association. (2011). Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct: 2010 amendments. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/index.aspx (APA Official website) APA Ethics code. (2002). Introduction and Applicability, 1-13. Retrieved from http://www2.fapse.ulg.ac.be/documents/code2002.pdf Boeree, C. G. (n.d). Quantitative methods workbook. Retrieved from http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/qualmeth.html (e-text) Fink, A. (2005). Conducting Research Literature Reviews: From the Internet to Paper. London: SAGE Publications. (Book, print.) Greenwood, D. J. (1999). Action Research: From Practice to Writing in an International Action Research Development Program. Netherlands: John Benjamins Publishing Company. Mike, D. (2007). A reflexive critique of learner-managed learning: an emerging curriculum model for a foundation degree. Reflexive Practice. 8 (2): 193-207(15). (Journal article) QSR International. (2011). What is quantitative research?. Retrieved from http://www.qsrinternational.com/what-is-qualitative-research.aspx Rehm, R & Cebula, N. (1996). The search conference method for participative planning. The Search Conference: State of Art, 1-12. Retrieved from http://www.elementsuk.com/libraryofarticles/searchconference.pdf Strunk, W. (1918). The elements of style, 1-45. Retrieved from http://www.cs.vu.nl/~jms/doc/elos.pdf Sukamolson, S. (n.d). Fundamentals of quantitative research. Retrieved from http://www.culi.chula.ac.th/e-Journal/bod/Suphat%20Sukamolson.pdf Thesistown. Com. (2010). Basics of APA thesis style. 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