The first part is the establishment of the research question. Establishing research questions as soon as possible has always been one of the most important links in writing doctoral thesis. 2065438+September 2008, at the beginning of doctoral study, I was "trapped" in the strict learning management atmosphere of teachers. In retrospect, at that time, I not only had to complete many courses prescribed by the first grade, but also attended seminars every week and submitted literature reading reports. The teacher has been asking me to report what research questions I have raised. At the seminar, I raised-revised-raised-revised the research question again and again, discussed it again and again, and was overthrown again and again. In the pain and struggle, I kept reading the literature and looking for the research results of my predecessors. I firmly believe that the research problems must come from the shortcomings of previous studies, such as theoretical perspective, research methods, research objects and so on. Finally, before the end of the first academic year, I basically drafted my own research questions, and made a pre-opening report at the seminar under the guidance of my teacher, which was a key step in my doctoral career. This has laid a solid foundation for the later research and the application of the post-graduation project, that is, the research problem is not the result of a day.
Secondly, the second part: the development of the research process
From the second school year in September, 20 19, I have devoted myself to the second part of my research, namely the actual classroom research. In this process, I am constantly worried and anxious about determining the experimental object. In order to establish a good trust relationship with the research object, a lot of preparations have been made. For example, there is a research object who likes learning very much. I provided her with learning information and opportunities, participated in her activities, and helped her revise her thesis, thus establishing a trust relationship and facilitating further data collection in June of 5438+00. From June 65438+ 10 to February 65438+2, I basically went to the field and collected the preliminary data of the research. At the end of February, I completed the official opening report of the school. Although the literature of the opening report is not solid enough, it is no longer a castle in the air, but is supported by data. At the suggestion of the teacher of the opening Committee, the direction and space for improvement were further clarified. In retrospect, although I am still on the road, I have already had the experience of doing qualitative classroom research, and the process is arduous. Among them, there are three key steps: walking on the spot, entering the classroom and writing reflections.
Take a walk in the field
There are gatekeepers in every field, and the identity of gatekeepers will be very different under different circumstances. When doing classroom research in middle schools, the gatekeepers can be school leaders, teaching and research researchers, influential famous teachers or special-grade teachers. In order to get the recommendation opportunity, and finally get the consent and support of the principal. But even so, there is a second-level gatekeeper, which is the specific research object. If you are the research object arranged by the school leaders, whether you really support you is also an important issue. Support and cooperation are the basis of obtaining real data, otherwise all we see are superficial phenomena and untrue data. Even sometimes, subjects will withdraw from the study for other reasons. Because of this, there should be more schools and research objects than the original research objects. Because of this possible change, I contacted two research projects and schools. The reason for doing this is also to enable researchers to compare the characteristics of the research objects and choose the most suitable research object according to the maximum objective sampling of the research.
Into the classroom
Before entering the classroom, we must focus on observation and establish an observation scale according to research questions and literature reading. In this way, you can walk into the classroom in an orderly way and the data will not be lost. But this is not enough, because the focus of observation needs to focus on the teacher's classroom procedures and steps, students' interactive reactions, the record of classroom events, and their own evaluation at that time. In this way, interviews that stimulate memories can be targeted at the research questions. The most difficult thing is to complete daily observation and interview and write a reflection diary. I am very tired, but I still have to read the literature, especially the first case, and there are still some unclear places. Write down the data you need to supplement further, so that you can collect as much data as possible when you are studying.
Write reflection
There are audio or video recordings of class records and after-class interviews. You can listen to them and transcribe them later, but it doesn't mean that everything should be transcribed and analyzed after the study. Because I had a deep memory at that time, I had to write down my thoughts and opinions in time to lay the foundation for subsequent qualitative research and analysis, and it was easy to trace back to the records at that time. Facts have proved that in the months since writing the doctoral thesis, the paper-and-pencil records and daily reflections at that time strongly supported the analysis and discussion of all levels of the research object. Writing a reflective diary also includes some informal conversations with subjects on the road, in the office and in the restaurant every day. Because it is daily contact, it is not convenient to record. But sometimes the subjects will say something meaningful to the research. At this time, they need to go back and record immediately. Over time, this part of data will be lost. For example, a research object took me to the school canteen for dinner after class, met the principal and colleagues, and then discussed some teaching problems together. It was meaningful data for the research, but it was not recorded in time and it was not convenient to interrupt, so it was put in the daily reflection log.
The third part: the writing of the thesis.
From June 65438 +2020 10, I started the longest third part-doctoral thesis writing. It is not easy to finish the first three chapters of the paper. Sitting in front of the computer for 8- 10 hours every day, you need to consult, read, comprehend and write a large number of documents by yourself, including the chapter on research methods, to make clear the rationality and shortcomings of your research methods. Therefore, the number of words in the paper is slowly advancing, with no sense of accomplishment and sometimes a little discouraged. But tell yourself that you can achieve a small goal every day and keep a regular schedule.
After the teacher gave me the first node in the first three chapters, I began to adapt to the rhythm of writing papers, but soon I entered the work of data transmission and coding analysis, which took a lot of time. I didn't add a word to the paper for several days until my thoughts were clear. In this way, while writing, reading, staying at home every day, no distractions.
Through writing the first draft, I deeply realized that the chapters of literature review, research method design, data presentation and discussion are by no means isolated, but an organic whole, which requires strong logic and theory, rather than generalities. On the occasion of May Day, I have basically completed my set goal according to my writing plan.
Due to the epidemic situation, it is impossible to communicate face to face with the tutor, but online video can also solve the problem. Thanks to the strict management of the tutor, constantly reminding me of the time node when I finished writing chapters. In the process of my writing, my tutor can guide me in time and put forward suggestions for revision. In short, the teacher's guiding style is strict management, early planning, diligent writing, diligent reporting, diligent feedback and repeated correction. After the above study, I deeply realized that writing a thesis must be focused and inseparable.