Simarjit Shergill

Just another TWU Digital Learning Commons site

Category: Unit 2

Internet searches

January 13, 2018 / / 1 Comment

Internet search activity- https://create.twu.ca/ldrs591-sp18/unit-2-learning-activities/

So far my use of research has been based on articles that I read in a few peer-reviewed journals that I subscribe to. These have been articles that I read to update myself on the current advances in my field.  While one would think that an internet search for scholarly articles would be ‘easy’ , and intuitive, clearly that is not the case! I learnt some strategies from watching the videos and reading the text, that would help me in the future in my scholarly inquiries. I plan to start using ‘Google scholar’ and try out ‘Microsoft Academic’., as well as Google advance search.

Out of all the strategies I learnt about in these resources, I think the one I would be using is ‘combining search histories’, as explained in the video, ‘managing search histories..’ .This was an entirely new concept to me, and I think knowing this could make researching articles easier.

One very useful strategy I learnt was how to manage your references , by using a reference manager, like Endnote or Refworks.

From the video ‘formatting book references for bibliography’, I learnt the use of ‘Worldcat’  that I think could be very a useful strategy to help me with formatting my citations.

I found that the short videos were were very helpful in introducing these strategies, much more than the textbook. It might have mostly been due to the fact that visual of the process is much easier to get across than explain it in text. I also realized that I need to explore the library website to practice what I learnt in these videos.

References

Managing search histories  in EBSCOhost databse- https://vimeo.com/161577650/cb97cb9821

Formatting book references for bibliography – https://vimeo.com/162601583/f1d2217489

eBooks

January 10, 2018 / / 1 Comment

Activity 2.4: https://create.twu.ca/ldrs591-sp18/unit-2-learning-activities/

This activity was more challenging that the previous, but also more fun and rewarding. Keeping in mind the questions I had posed to myself in the first assignment, I set out to research the connection between health and happiness. I started with keywords first, using ‘happiness and ‘satisfaction’ interchangeably. I abbreviated as mentioned in the video, adding a $ sign in the end. These searches yielded too many results, in excess of 200. Also , also a quick perusal of the first few titles of my research, did not seem relevant to my question either. I then decided to search using both keywords and subject. I used the keywords ‘healt$’ and ‘happ$’, and the subject ‘psych$’, to cover both psychology and psychiatry. This resulted in a list of 25 books.  One of them was this book- ‘Positive psychology in racial and ethnic minority groups : theory, research, and practice.’

The author is Edward Chin-Ho Chang, and it was published in 2016.

Some excerpts from the summary of the book, “research in areas relevant to positive psychology, such as happiness, subjective well-being, and emotional intelligence, has been based on findings from largely White samples and has rarely taken the concerns of the ethnic community into consideration.”, “focuses on four main ethnic groups: Asian Americans, Latin Americans, African Americans, and American Indians”. The intended audience of this book could be vast- psychology, psychiatry, research, spirituality. Without having read the book, I am unable to comment if this could possibly be  self help book intended for the general public. Looking at the contents, I believe it is meant more as an academic read.

The last chapter, ‘Challenges and Prospects for Positive Psychology Research, Theory, Assessment, and Practice in a Multiracial and Multiethnic World’,  seems to be a call for further research. I hope it addresses weakness in their research or biases if any.

For this activity I found that the video tutorials were very helpful. After completing the activity i kept browsing and found some other books that I did not realise the library had. I am looking forward to reading them (someday!)

References

Video-‘Searching for e-books in the classic catalogue’, https://vimeo.com/164163119/b24ecb42e6

Chang, E. C. (2016). Positive psychology in racial and ethnic minority groups: theory, research, and practice.’ American Psychological Association. e-book.

Research

January 8, 2018 / / 1 Comment

Activity https://create.twu.ca/ldrs591-sp18/unit-2-learning-activities/

I chose this article for my research activity- https://ezproxy.student.twu.ca:3734/content/pdf/10.1023%2FA%3A1004647517069.pdf.

This article was excerpted from a peer reviewed journal- Social Indicators Research.

The authors are: Dong Yul Lee ( University of Western Ontario, London), Sung Hee Park (National College of education, Chung-joo, Korea), Max R. Uhlemann (University of Victoria, B.C.), Philip Patsula (University of Ottawa, Ontario)

I m afraid to admit that this article is not very current (2000), but I still picked it for discussion because it was the closest article I could find to my question in the assignment.

“The key to genuine research is a good question that addresses a problem calling for analysis” (Badke, 2017 , p.47). In assignment 1, I had expressed that I would like to research further if there were “..cultural differences in the importance given to individual components of the formula to happiness?” The authors in their study asked, “Is the criteria for being happy in collectivistic cultures (such as Asian countries) different from that of individualistic cultures (such as North American and European countries)? ” They collected data from university students in teacher-training programs from a Canadian and a Korean university to examined if there were differences in the criteria for happiness in a ‘collectivistic’ culture (Korea) and an ‘individualistic’ culture (Canada) . They studies for similarities (or differences) in the “relative frequencies or rated importance of the 14 categories in relation to avowed happiness?” . The authors (seemingly to their surprise) found that their findings did not support their predictions. They were not able to find a statistical difference in the criteria the 2 study groups applied in expressing their happiness, even though their overall perception of happiness was different.

The intended audience could be in the fields of social sciences, psychology/psychiatry, education.

The authors did not disclose any biases or special interests, neither were any obvious. Nevertheless, the source of funding of this study is not clear.They did list the weaknesses in their study admitting that there might have been selection bias, the LGS ( Life goals survey) was constructed based on the Canadian sample only, and they did not control for definition of ‘family’ – nuclear or extended? 

I had to apply a lot of the research strategies I learnt in the tutorials as well as the text ( Badke) . I used the advance search function, used ‘limiters’ and ‘subject terms’. I am very excited to have learnt these strategies and look forward to reading the rest of BAdke’s text

 

References

Dong Yul, L., & Sung Hee, P, Uhlemann, M.R., Patsula, P. (2000). What makes you happy?: A comparison of self reported criteria of happiness between two cultures. Social Indicators Research, 50(3), 351.

Badke,W. (2017). Research Strategies: Finding your way through the information fog. (6th ed.). Bloomington, IN. iUniverse.

Concept Map

January 6, 2018 / / 1 Comment

I often wonder how can I optimize my time to get the most out of my day? How can I find time for the activities I like doing for myself , while balancing my family and work responsibilities?  As per Trochim (2001), concept mapping is “general method that can be used to help any individual or group to describe their ideas about some topic in a pictorial form”. In this assignment our topic was ‘Me’. I found that talking about myself in concrete terms was not easy. I know the vague ‘me’, but putting myself down in the form of a ‘concept map’, and then formulating questions about things that are important to me, was a totally new concept.

 

Research questions is curved lines

The following questions arose , in no particular sequence of importance:

  1. What is the optimal time one should spend working from home , if at all ? What proportion of one’s work day is reasonable to be spent commuting to and from work? Of course, the ideal would be to live next to work, but we all know what is more often than not impossible.
  2. For me time spent with family is important for my emotional well being. Some days, there is a conflict between my desire to do some activities that are centered around me, and not the family. What is the optimum ‘me’ time that a person requires per day. Does it have to be everyday, or is a big chunk of time at the end of the week an adequate substitute ?
  3. Balanced diet and exercise are universally accepted to be the 2 most important factors in helping one maintain their health. I have recently been wondering if there is a possible change in the relative importance of these 2 as one grows older ? I have definitely noticed that I need to exercise more to keep my weight in check.
  4. How does one factor in mental health in the overall personal satisfaction/happiness scale ?

The one prominent question to me out of these is the one about mental health and happiness. We may call it satisfaction.  I wonder if there are any validated and researched tools out there that can objectively measure one’s happiness/ satisfaction, and the factors that contribute to it ? Or if this idea of happiness is purely subjective, and immeasurable? What is the impact of happiness/satisfaction on one’s overall health? Are there cultural differences in the importance given to individual components of the formula to happiness?To find answers to this question I would be looking at literature in the fields of psychology, psychiatry, health and fitness, and maybe spirituality.

References

Trochim, 2001. http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/conmap.php.

Response to comment

October 8, 2017 / / 0 Comments

I am writing this in response to Riggisonilap’s comment on my post about the questionnaires-

Thanks for picking up on my relationship with my co-workers. I sincerely believe I am a very friendly and outgoing person .  Im still curious about this co workers response . This is someone who works at the front desk in our clinic, we don’t interact very much, just crossing paths occasionally . Her response was the outlier on my surveys. I would like to discuss it further with her, but don’t know what the best approach is. I am still working on how to bring it up with her, without offending her or sounding defensive.

Response to survey

October 8, 2017 / / 0 Comments

I am writing this in response to MrWilliamsPE

While working on the skills questionnaire , made me wonder if we subconsciously choose our profession ( or the profession chooses us ) depending or our awareness of our skills  . Do some of us end up choosing a profession that is not best suited to our skills because of lack of our awareness of our skills ? Should teaching of this awareness be part of the school curricula ?

 

Response to post

October 8, 2017 / / 0 Comments

I am writing this in response to Riggisonilap post about Admiral Richard E Byrd

 

Throughout the centuries people have looked to a higher power for strength or solace in moments of distress . I am a religious person myself , and looks like so is Riggisonilap ” Prayer and contemplation has given answers to many of life’s questions and solutions to many concerns ” . But we should also not forget that this might not be the case for everyone, especially for non believers.

Response to Leadership survey

October 8, 2017 / / 0 Comments

I am writing this is in response to Rob Tegelberg’s analysis of his survey results

I think him and I both agree that some of the response on the survey ( ours and our respondents’ ) differed on different days in different contexts. I also agree we use different leadership techniques in different contexts . I think, for me it also varies depending on where in the organizational hierarchy I am in that situation . During our further studies I hope to learn more about this variability. Is it inherent to me? Or does everybody has a different style of leadership in different situations? Is it preferable to have one consistent style , or is the situational approach better ?

Survey

October 5, 2017 / / 2 Comments

Do they align with your self-conception or not?

-On the Style Questionnaire , my survey respondents have consistently rated me higher on the relationship behaviors than the task behaviors.  This is in alignment with my self score .

-On the LTQ though, there are some discrepancies between what I think of myself and how others perceive me . I have been rated considerably higher on the the ‘self assured’ and ‘self confident ‘ traits . I scored myself way lower on these 2 traits than the respondents on my survey. I attribute this to my coming across highly on the ‘articulate’ and ‘outgoing’ traits as well .

Did you have any revelations or new information to consider?

One of the respondents to my questionnaire rated me very low on the task oriented behaviors, while at the same time rating me higher on the relationship behaviors . I am quite intrigued by this . I am aware that comparatively I do tend to lean more towards relationship oriented , but I would definitely like to follow up with this co-worker and learn more about their perspective of my deficient tasks orientation .

Did anything challenge you with respect to the results?

I took the skills questionnaire twice on 2 different days . My scores on the technical and conceptual skills were similar on both days , but my score on the human skill was very different on the 2 days ! This was very surprising to me and made me reflect . The one possible explanation I came up with was that it might have something to do with how my interactions with other people during the day had been. This has also made me think that I need to be more aware of my sub conscious feelings or emotions manifesting as my behavior towards others.

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