Category: Unit 4

Unit 4: An Introduction to Research Reports

Thank you so much for sharing! I very much appreciated your  vulnerable and honest reflection of what you experienced this week. It is helpful to know that there are others who are also trying hard to balance family life, work and school. It can feel at times like I’m not doing any of them well because I’m pulled between too many things at any given time.  I am reminded of a reading from our LDRS500 course and Lillian Watson’s (1988)  Light From Many Lamps, where Sir William Osler shares advice about the secret of success. He shared his thoughts with students from Yale in an address he called “A Way of Life”.  He told them “to concentrate on the day’s work, to do what needed to be done to the best of their ability, shutting off the past and the future, living in day tight compartments” (Watson, 1988, p.215).  He went on to say,

The load of tomorrow, added to that of yesterday, carried today makes the strongest falter…. Waste of energy, mental distress, nervous worries dog the steps of a man who is anxious about the future. Shut close, then, the great fore and aft bulkheads, and prepare to cultivate the habit of a life in “day tight compartments!” (Watson, 1988, p. 216)

Dale Carnegie (1948)  refers to this same message in his book How To Stop Worrying and To Start Living and says that when things become overwhelming to place them in day tight compartments. I have found myself doing that a lot this week. My dog has been really ill after surgery and I have been concerned about her along with the enormous costs associated with her care. Between my dog, and all of my other responsibilities including this course, it all began to pile up  as a huge weight. I was reminded of this passage and decided that I was going to tackle one thing at a time by placing each item into day tight compartments. It is very comforting to me to know that we are all on this journey together and that we are present to encourage each other in both the good times and especially through our struggles.  I am grateful that you shared!

To answer the question that you posed…

My closing question is more practical and likely not going to generate much in the way of substantive responses from my fellow students, for which I apologize.  I would like to get an understanding of how my fellow students read and follow qualitative research reports.  I am from a clinical background – the vast majority of research I was exposed to in both of my baccalaureate degrees was quantitative.  I found some of the qualitative articles assigned in both LDRS 500 and LDRS 671 sent my head spinning.  Between trying to keep track of all the acronyms and the multiple hypotheses that kept coming up in the articles I had difficulties following the direction and understanding what I was reading.  Do you have a mental method, or another method of following all of the concepts and hypotheses being introduced?

Your comment made me smile as I am the complete opposite! I don’t enjoy reading the quantitative research reports and much prefer the qualitative ones. Perhaps it’s because of my background in Humanities instead of Science. I can appreciate however, that there are limitations for both kinds of reports and that if somehow they can be combined, they might better meet the needs of all audiences.

https://create.twu.ca/charliemable/2018/10/12/unit-4-research-reports/

After learning more about the structure of research papers, and demystifying the process does this entice anyone to want to investigate doing some hands-on research and even a PhD?

Like you, I too appreciated the breakdown and demystifying of some of the process by Plano Clark and Creswell (2015).  I am interested in doing some hands on research studies on high school female administrators, and was intrigued by the idea of one day conducting ethnographic research.

As far as PhD’s go, I’m still trying to get through only my second course of my Master’s while juggling and balancing parenthood, career and schoolwork! I tip my hat to those who have earned theirs!

https://create.twu.ca/edenguessi/2018/10/12/ldrs-591-flow-unit-4-blog/

Question: How important is the length of the introduction section in relation to its quality?

I appreciated your comment referencing the difficulty you were having discriminating between the topic and the statement of the problem.  I too find the introduction part to be challenging. I continually kept referencing Plano-Clark and Creswell (2015)  as I read through the articles. I especially like the image they have on page 82 that details the topic, the research problem and the purpose by asking specific questions that relate to each section.

Plano Clark & Creswell (2015, p.82)

References:

Plano-Clark, V. & Creswell, J. (2015). Understanding research: A consumer’s guide. (2nd Ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

Part A

There are two main types of research studies that are conducted; quantitative and qualitative.  According to Plano Clark and Creswell (2015), quantitative research “researchers analyze the data using mathematical procedures, including calculating statistics and plotting graphs” (p.66).  Whereas, in qualitative studies, the data consists “of words and pictures, not numbers” (Clark & Creswell, 2015, p. 66).

Article Evaluation:

Link to article: Principles of Servant-Leadership in Community Health Nursing

Evaluation of the Statement of the Problem:

Table Evaluation System (Plano Clark & Creswell, 2015, p. 94)

Part B: Evaluation of the Literature Review

Table for Evaluation of the Literature Review (Plano Clark & Creswell, 2015, p. 144)

Part C – Evaluation of the Purpose Statement or Research Question

Table for Evaluation of the Purpose Statement (Plano Clark & Creswell, 2015, p.186)

Part D:

As a consumer of research reports, the most important aspects I need to consider in the introduction section of a high-quality research report are:

• Is the problem easily identifiable?
• Is it a real world issue?
• Is the topic clearly identified?
• What does the researcher want to do with the data?

This was a great exercise for me, as I can immediately apply it to helping students write simple thesis statements and to helping my students with their own proper citing and paraphrasing (the more I’m learning, the more I can bring back and share).  I have found Plano Clark and Creswell (2015) to be an excellent reference source due to their detailed rubrics.

Question for the group:

Did anyone else find it extremely difficult to provide an actual grade of between 0 and 3? At times, I felt like I was the least qualified person to rate someone else’s scholarly paper when I know so little about writing them.  I’m sure you’re not supposed give half marks, but I couldn’t help it! I felt at times like I was either being too generous or too harsh and found myself second guessing my original assessment. This was the complete opposite of how I am in my career. I am very confident in grading my own student’s work and helping them grade their work as well. It might sound weird, but it really becomes a reciprocal event where we learn from each other.

Please note that all of the evaluation tables in this blog post were referenced from Plano Clark and Creswell (2015).

References:

Plano-Clark, V. & Creswell, J. (2015). Understanding research: A consumer’s guide. (2nd Ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

Sturm, B. A. (2009). Principles of servant-leadership in community health nursing: Management issues and behaviors discovered in ethnographic research. Home Health Care Management & Practice, 21(2), 82–89. https://ezproxy.student.twu.ca:2420/10.1177/1084822308318187

Servant Leadership: The Ultimate Leadership Goal

“Do you as a leader serve others? Do those you serve grow as persons; do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants?” (Greenleaf, 1970, p. 15 as quoted by Northouse, 2019, p.228)

Dirk van Dierendonck in his article “Servant Leadership: A Review and Synthesis” (2011), states that servant leadership is exactly what the name implies, an act of  both serving and leading . Travis Serle and John Barbuto Jr, in their article “Servant Leadership, Hope, and Organizational Virtuousness: A Framework Exploring Positive Micro and Macro Behaviours and Performance Impact” (2011), state that servant leadership is  one of the most positive styles of leadership because it emphasizes service towards others over self-interest and focuses on optimizing individuals strengths in order to build follower development. Smith, Montagno and  Kuzmenko  reiterate this as well in their article “Transformational and Servant Leadership: Content and Contextual Comparisons” (2004), sharing that, “servant leadership views a leader as a servant of his/her followers. It places the interest of followers before the self-interest of a leader, emphasizes personal development and empowerment of followers. The servant leaders is a facilitator for followers to achieve a shared vision”.  They also state that “servant leadership promotes the valuing and development of people, the building of community, the practice of authenticity, the providing of leadership for the good of those led and the sharing of power and status for the common good of each individual, the total organization and those served by the organization”. D. van Dierendonck (2011) quotes Robert Greenleaf, who coined the term servant leadership in 1977, revealing that first and foremost, a “servant leader is genuinely concerned with serving followers.”  John Maxwell in his YouTube video “The 5 Levels of Leadership” (2013), shares that leadership is a verb and not a noun meaning it requires action on the part of the leader.  This is a good reminder, that   intentional action on the part of a leader is required in order to serve others.

slideshare.net

Colleen Barrett from Southwest Airlines, confirmed all of the above points while being interviewed on the topic of Servant Leadership in a 2008 Youtube video.  She shared that she thinks that one of the reasons why she was most successful as a servant leader, was because she is as good a follower as she is a leader. Van Dierendonck (2011) shares that, “Serving and leading become almost exchangeable. Being a servant allows a person to lead; being a leader implies a person serves” (p. 1231). Colleen’s primary goal was the satisfaction of her employees because she believed that if they were happy and fulfilled, they would go the extra mile to ensure that Southwest Airline passengers also felt happy and fulfilled. She addressed the need to bring people together, to try to turn perceived problems into optimistic solutions and the need to treat everyone equally without rank or tiers on a ladder.  She provided hope to not just her employees but also to Southwest customers. Searle and Barbuto (2011) address the power of hope as a mediator of servant leadership and performance stating that, “hope embraces success rather than failure, adaptation rather than becoming obsolete and optimism rather than pessimism. It shifts obstacles to challenges and even when faced with seemingly insurmountable barriers, alternate routes are embraced” (p.113).  Southwest Airlines focused on creating an atmosphere that enabled employees to become the very best that they can.  Colleen throughout her tenure at Southwest Airlines, displayed the ten characteristics of a servant leader as outlined by Northouse in his book  Leadership:Theory and Practice (2019) in that she intentionally listened, displayed empathy, helped heal others, was aware, persuaded others, conceptualized, displayed foresight, showed stewardship, was committed to the growth of people and building Southwest’s community (pp. 229 – 230).

https://www.biography.com/people/mother-teresa-9504160

The ultimate example of servant leadership (besides Jesus) that I can think of, is Mother Teresa. She encompassed all of Northouse’s 10 characteristics listed above and was a true role model of what putting others ahead of self looks like. She dedicated her entire life to serving others, especially those who were less fortunate and through her example inspired others to also make a difference.

Servant leadership differs from emotional intelligence or self awareness in that the focus of servant leadership is on the growth of others, whereas, emotional intelligence and self-awareness focus on the growth of oneself. Servant leadership recognizes the strengths of others and just like John Maxwell (2013) shares, servant leaders know that people are the most appreciable asset of any organization.  Maxwell states that by recognizing people’s strengths and placing them in positions that enable their strengths to be best utilized, servant leaders equip their followers to be better leaders themselves.

Dan Cable (2018) in his article “How Humble Leadership Really Works” published in  Harvard Business Review, states that the best way to help people feel “purposeful, motivated and energized so that they can bring their best selves to work” is to become a servant leader. He states that, “servant leaders view their key role as serving employees as they explore and grow, providing tangible and emotional support as they do so” and that by actively seeking input from others, servant leaders can create a “culture of learning, and an atmosphere that encourages followers to become the very best they can”.

Van Dierendonck (2011) refers to six characteristics of servant leaders:

1. They empower and develop people
2. They demonstrate humility
3. They are authentic and are true to themselves
4. They understand where people are coming from through interpersonal acceptance
5. They provide direction  based on “work that is dynamic and tailor made” [similar to Maxwell’s (2013) point about recognizing strengths and acknowledging that “no matter how talented you are, if you are out of position, you ‘ll never reach your true potential”]
6. They demonstrate stewardship by acting as caretakers and role models for others [Maxwell (2013) also refers to this when he shares that who you are as a leader is who you will attract on your team. It  is important to model what you want because we “attract who we are, not what we want.”]

I especially loved Maxwell’s (2013) question of “What step are you at in your leadership journey?” and where would the people you work with perceive you to be?

Is it…

1. Level 1 – Positional – Key Word: Rights
2. Level 2 – Permission – Key Word: Relationships
3. Level 3 – Production – Key Word: Results
4. Level 4 – People Development – Key Word: Strengths
5. Level 5 – Pinnacle – Key Word: Respect

What did you discover about yourself and your servant leadership journey?

References:

Barbuto, J.E. and Gottfredson, R.K., (2016, October). Human Capital, The Millennial’s Reign and the Need for Servant Leadership. Journal of Leadership Studies, 59-64.

Barrett, C. (2008). Southwest Airlines’ Colleen Barrett on Servant Leadership. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TgR95vnM0c

Cable, D. (2018) How Humble Leadership Really Works. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from   https://hbr.org/2018/04/how-humble-leadership-really-works

Maxwell, J. (2013). The 5 Levels of Leadership. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPwXeg8ThWI

Northouse, P.G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Sage Publications.

Searle, T.P. and Barbuto, J.E. (2011). Servant Leadership, Hope, and Organizational Virtuousness: A Framework Exploring Positive Micro and Macro Behaviors and Performance Impact. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies 18(1), 107-117.

Smith, B.N., Montagno, R.V. and Kuzmenko, T.N. (2004). Transformational and servant leadership: Content and contextual comparisons. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies 10(4), 80-92.

Van Dierendonck, D. (2011). Servant leadership: A review and synthesis. Journal of Management 37(4), 1228-1261