“Make haste slowly” were words of advice given to me by the principal in the first school that I taught in many years ago. Terry, as he was known to teachers and staff, had many years of teaching and administration experience. His office appeared somewhat disorganized, with stacks of papers piled on his desk. Yet, … Continue reading Make haste slowly…the value of pausing in doing qualitative research
Category: Writing up qualitative research
Beginning a New Year…
Since January is the beginning of a new year, it is as good a time as any for reflecting on the previous year and planning for the next one. Here are a few things that I try to do (with variable degrees of success!) in order to get off to a good start. Working out … Continue reading Beginning a New Year…
Common failings in first (and sometimes later) drafts
Sometimes you come across some good advice that stands the test of time. Such is the case of a chapter I came across many years ago written by British educational researcher, Peter Woods. In this chapter, Woods (1985) talks about the “false solutions” that we sometimes use to counter the pain of writing up our … Continue reading Common failings in first (and sometimes later) drafts
Tips for getting started (and finishing) a new writing project
So you have a new writing project that you need to complete. While you have the assigned topic, you just can’t seem to get started. This is certainly something I encounter. After I have completed any combination of the following procrastinatory activities: Get my favorite beverage accompanied by a snack; Tidy my desk-top and office … Continue reading Tips for getting started (and finishing) a new writing project
Useful texts on reading and writing
There is a huge array of literature on both reading and writing. Rather than provide pages of references, here are some texts that I’ve found helpful. Writing literature reviews Boote, D. N., & Beile, P. (2005). Scholars before researchers: On the centrality of the dissertation literature review in research preparation. Educational Researcher, 34(6), 3-15. Wallace, … Continue reading Useful texts on reading and writing
Writing as a social practice
Writing is a task that is usually thought of as a solitary practice. One need only go to a coffee shop in a university town to see individuals hunched over laptops reading and writing to observe some of the work that goes into completion of the numerous term papers, theses and dissertations completed each year … Continue reading Writing as a social practice
Working on writing
One might mistakenly assume that writing as an academic activity gets easier with more experience. I have not found that to be the case. In fact, with time, I’ve struggled with the tendency to let other responsibilities crowd writing out of my calendar. When the unexpected happens – such as the death of a loved … Continue reading Working on writing
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