Archive for Research Journey

Research – getting started

April 10, 2014 Research Journey No comments

So now my research journey truly begins. My coursework has started, actually we are almost half-way in, I’ve had my first couple of meetings with my supervisors, and I’ve started the researching process.

After the push from the supervisors I looked into EndNote. I had previously used it in undergraduate with small collections (for essays), but found the interface quite ugly, and not very user-friendly. Thus far I have been using Mendeley to log all of the papers and items I had been collecting. Which had been suggested to my by a Colleague. Mendeley has the extra bonus of a free iPad App. This has meant I have convenient access to my whole collection of research while I’m on the go. I’ll be honest that iPad goes with me pretty much everywhere. I cracked open EndNote and started plugging in all of the references I had used in my submitted Masters Research Proposal. Looking at both programs, they both meet my needs – they store reference information, can store actual PDF items, output to something close to Harvard Reference style, and has some integration with MS word for in-text referencing. So now I’m stuck. I have a Mendeley library which is now very full having provided a dumping ground for collected items for the past 6 – 8 months, yet EndNote is nice a clean and has quality detailed references in it.

Mendeley_lib

My Mendeley Library

EndNote_lib

My EndNote Library

Now I guess it’s down to a choice. I’m quite attached to the library I have built up in Mendeley, which it is available to me on my iPad. Though I also really value the quality notes I’ve been adding to the entries in EndNote. UOW currently only supports EndNote, so naturally I’m leaning towards EndNote. I think long term when I’m stressing about submission the relieved pressure if I need it may come in handy.

Naturally, the Thesis Whisperer has written about her experiences with reference software. She concludes that its  personal choice. I guess the next few months as I read more and more about the Gamaification field I can really test out both, and hopefully come to a final decision.

Back on the MOOC

March 6, 2014 Education, Online Resources, Research Journey No comments

I did feel a little disheartened after giving up on my last MOOC. I became a statistic, I dropped out. Though I feel like it was far less of a conscious decision to drop out, and more of a gradual lack of time in which to watch the video lectures and complete the online content.

I’m back! A couple of weeks ago I started a MOOC on Gamification. I actually started whilst I was away, so the initial time commitment to get through the first few modules increased the barrier to entry slightly. I got through it. We are now in week 7, which marks the halfway point. I am keeping up… just. There are quizzes most weeks, expect for those weeks that have a written piece of work due. Thus far I have completed 4 quizzes and one written piece, with the next written assignment due in five days.

Overall the experience has been pleasant. The peer assessment for the first written piece went well, with only one technical difficulty. I feel like I’m much more engaged this MOOC around. I find the content more engaging and the opportunity to see some of the other students work through peer assessment was interesting.

We have covered a number of topics:

  • Intro to Gamification
  • Games (and why they are important)
  • Game thinking
  • Game elements
  • Psychology and Motivation
  • Gamification Design Framework

With topics such as design choices, enterprise gamification and behaviour change still on the menu I’m very much keen to see this one through. I am slightly disappointed that they haven’t taken the opportunity to practice what they preach, by gamifying the course. A badge or leaderboard here and there may not be a bad thing. Though I have a feeling that the restriction may be less about their desires to , and more about the system limitations of the Coursera platform.

My journey to Mastery begins

March 5, 2014 Research Journey No comments

I got accepted to a Masters of Philosophy (Research), yay! I’m very excited. I was a little concerned, with some hurdles in my application process, in particular making it to the right people for review, I did have my doubts. I did however receive my letter of offer the Friday before orientation week. Nothing like cutting it fine UOW.

So I bounce along to the first part of truely being a postgraduate student… orientation. Orientation turned out to be a very lame affair indeed. While most of the morning was meant to be quick presentations, the morning dragged on. It wasn’t until speaker 5 or 6, that we actually saw someone with good presentation skills that was engaging. I did get some things from the day, including Planning you PhD and a free (bright orange) USB drive. So the morning wasn’t all bad. I had to skip out early to get back to work.

My first lecture for the require Research Methods subject is this Friday. I’m excited, but more so I’m keen to find out all the unknowns about the subject. I really do hope that I don’t have to cut down work too much. A girls gotta eat.

In preparation of my new lifestyle, because lets face it postgraduate study really is a lifestyle, I’ve been reading up about what to expect and such. A few colleagues have raved about The Thesis Whisperer, so naturally I’ve had a look. There are so many interesting posts, which I’m sure will become increasingly relevant. Much of the advice says to write lots, and read lots. So here we are, this is my attempt at writing lots.

Now, I’ll leave you with this. A gold nugget of the orientation day, and a light on the perspective of postgraduate students.

Update: Application Submitted!

January 10, 2014 Research Journey One comment

As was the intention when I started out with this blog I have applied to do a Masters Degree with the University of Wollongong.

Thank you for your application to study at the University of Wollongong (UOW). You have made the first step towards a research career at a vibrant, world-class university that thrives on excellence!

I am both excited and impatient. So naturally the next “four to six weeks” in which the faculty will take to process the application will seem so much longer.

 

I forgot to water the flowers!

 

 

My Research Journey Levels Up

September 17, 2013 Research Journey No comments

Last week I made the decision to embark upon the process of doing a Masters degree with the University of Wollongong. I emailed a potential supervisor, hoping for a positive response. He agreed to meet with me to discuss my topic. On Friday I spent an hour polishing the long list of notes and dot points I had been accumulating whilst mulling over the idea of a research degree. I was reasonably happy with the first draft of what looked like an ok research proposal. No doubt if the potential supervisor likes it, then it will be ripped to shreds with the editing and refining process.

« Older Entries