To Pilot, or Not to Pilot; THAT is the question + 52 Answers

As I am preparing to begin my search for participants for my doctoral thesis research, I received a suggestion last week to consider a pilot. Not sure why I had not thought about this before, but that is what having active supervisors and a supportive community of doctoral colleagues is for–help point out things when we miss them ourselves. Seemed like a good idea, though I wanted to get some feedback as to the processes.

Let me be clear, it was suggested (and I agreed) to pilot my semi-structured interview questions, not my research purpose and research questions (I have research evidence from the past 2 years and some literature that suggests this is a real issue that we do not know much about). If I pilot my questions, it can help me determine if they are the right questions (they will give me answers to my research questions and link to my problem and purpose). Nothing like having the opportunity to ask the interview questions and then discuss / debrief them with some people. I think I wrote interview questions that will get me what I want to know, though piloting the interview questions may just be the best way to find out.

Yes, I do follow the suggestions and recommendations of my supervisors, but how about the larger community of doctoral learners (some of whom may even ultimately participate in my study!!) who may have some suggestions for piloting these questions? With this in mind I asked my online doctoral community, #phdchat:

I then received a number of responses, and followed up with one more direct request for thoughts and suggestions and help and support:

The result is there is general consensus that piloting my semi-structured interview questions is useful, though that is not the only thing I learned in this process. I learned that there is power in community, as my two initial posts, along with my individual responses to what others suggested, resulted in 52 responses to me from a number of my doctoral colleagues. They shared their stories, what worked, what did not, what they learned, who to read for more information, and so on. Overall, I am amazed at how generous this network of fellow doctoral colleagues, most of whom I have never met face-to-face though with whom I have established various levels of relationship with, is when there is a need and sharing with one another is just the support that is needed. Can this indeed be a component of a community of practice?

Yes, my supervisors are wonderful, though my fellow colleagues cannot be underestimated!

Doctoral Thesis (Dissertation) Research – Approved to Begin

I just received final ethical (institutional review board) approval to begin my thesis research!

After adding one sentence to address data encryption, I revised and resubmitted my Invitation to Participate  and Consent Form for my study, Navigating Liminality in Distance Education: The Experiences of Research and Professional Doctorate Learners. I am now ready to go, and expect to create a location for my research information here on my webpage, after which I will talk more specifically about what I hope to study and how I plan to do this.

If you are a doctoral student (or recently completed your doctorate), you just may be a potential participants for my research!  I may ask you to tell me about your experiences . . .

Research Ethics Update

I want to share some (initial) good news–my first-round of ethics review for my proposed doctoral thesis (dissertation), Navigating Liminality in Distance Education:The Experiences of Research and Professional Doctorate Learners, has now made it through the research ethics officer.

It came back to me last week with a request to provide more detail in 3 specific areas, and not wanting to sit on what was essentially minor re-wording, I turned it around and resubmitted the following day. I learned this morning that my proposal has now made its way to the Chair of UREC (University’s Research Ethics Committee) for consideration.

Let us hope the Chair is comfortable and enjoying the wonders of spring’s transition into summer and smiles kindly upon my work. In layman’s language — if this person gives me ethical approval, I can engage in my study. I don’t want to consider alternate responses . . .

My Page on the Lancaster University Website

My department at Lancaster University, Educational Research, requested that doctoral students consider having a presence on the Graduate School, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, website. Now that my doctoral thesis proposal was approved, I thought it was time to list my thesis working title, along with my areas of research interest.

Creating a page on the school’s website in some way shows my current connection to my studies and the university, though it also caused me to do something long-overdue, namely update my CV. Seems like an easy thing to do, but listing my areas of interest, along with the keywords to describe them, is a challenging thing at best, and an seemingly overwhelming excercise for somebody as interdisciplinary (and somewhat postmodern) as I am. I felt a bit paralyzed with something seemingly so simple, as I was concerned I would be specifying myself to the point that I would limit myself and in the process fail to capture how rich I believe my interests are.

Of course, this is in itself one of the challenges with doctoral studies, as that tiny little piece of original work we are expected to do will naturally have to be specific. Any surprise I am interested in threshold concepts as a focal point in my doctoral research itself?

Threshold Concepts Conference 2012: Call for Abstracts

I know that yesterday I mentioned I do not ordinarily mention calls for abstracts, but I think this conference is somewhat different in that it is so very specific and is not widely known about beyond the specific group that often attends (do I sense a trend here?!). As a matter of fact, I have never even attended this, though I hope to do so next year.

The 4th Biennial Threshold Concepts Symposium will be held 27-29 June 2012 at Trinity College, Dublin. The Call for Abstracts may be found here. The most comprehensive online repository of links to nearly everything related to Threshold Concepts is maintained by Mick Flanagan here, and it is a great place to begin for those who want to learn more about them.

Threshold concepts are a-ha moments that are central for learners to grasp or understand when working through some discipline or academic process in order for them to be able to progress or grow in that area. These thresholds are often transformative, troublesome, irreversible, integrative, bounded, discursive, reconstitutive, and linked to a liminal experience.

Threshold concepts are one of the frames I am using in my doctoral thesis, and while it stems from the 2003 work of Jan Meyer and Ray Land that focused around undergraduate education, Threshold Concepts and Troublesome Knowledge: Linkages to Ways of Thinking and Practising within the Disciplines, I am following these insights and application in the area of doctoral research and identity development itself.  

I really hope to attend this conference, as everything I have heard about it makes it seem central to my studies.