The Blogging Committment

Throughout my "Introduction to Research" course we have been required to keep a blog - an academic one at that. This is my sixth entry in 8 weeks - not a great start. In the beginning I didn't think it would be difficult to complete 2-3 entries per unit (10-15 in total), apparently I was wrong.

Since I have never had a blog before...or ever kept a journal/diary...something that one would do on a consistent basis, I found this to be a challenge. There were many interesting topics I came across while doing the readings and research for this course, but my instincts were not there to extend that interest into a blog topic...always an after thought. Perhaps with laying out more of a schedule it could become something I did more consistently, but that might take away the positive aspects of actually writing it. At this point, I would like to keep this blog going...hopefully I can create a plan and find the motivation to do so.

While searching through my favourite blog - The London School of Economics and Political Science - I happened across an article that discussed my feelings on the time commitment of a blog.  AND - it had a solution...I will let the author of the article, Alex Marsh, explain:

"It’s pretty difficult to miss the message that the engaged academic should be reaching beyond the academy to communicate with broader publics. And blogging and tweeting have attracted plenty of attention as powerful social media through which to foster public engagement.
...
The commitment of time and energy associated with an individual blog can be enough to deter some people. There is also an argument that the level of commitment required means individual blogs tend to be relatively short lived, and that the individual blog as a blogging format is on the wane. From this perspective the future lies in multi-authored blogs."

A multi-authored blog - yes, please! I think this would help me in two significant ways (and help anyone else out there who finds this whole blogging world a bit overwhelming!):

1. Connect with other social science academics - being able to network and learn from others is always a good idea.

2. Being held accountable - when others are reliant on me I am more motivated to be engaged in an activity. 

Marsh gives a few suggestions as to how one can enter the multi-authored blogging world:

1. Contribute to a blog at your institution (Searching RRU after this post)
2. Contribute to a blog such as the academic blog this idea came from (LSE)
3. Contribute to a non-academic blog of which you have a topic of interest

The multi-authored blog, "Digital Socilogy", also discusses this topic. They state that "the single-author blog model has already gone out of fashion, and is in rapid decline. A blog is only as good as its readership and without consistently strong posts, and an easy way of finding them, there will be no readership."

They go on to describe that multi-authored blogs are an untapped resource where academics are contributing vast amounts of knowledge surrounding all sorts of topics...and universities are functioning as "knowledge inventories". Everyone knows this is happening, but not everyone has access to it.

Multi-authored blogs are a form of academic communication that allows for immediate knowledge to be disseminated, reviewed, and utilized by other academics. They are the way of the future...and a future that I need to find a way to be a part of. 

References

1. http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2013/02/18/going-solo-or-joining-someone-elses-show/


2. http://digitalsociology.org.uk/?

Image Retrieved from:

http://www.convinceandconvert.com/social-media-strategy/3-tools-for-managing-a-killer-multi-author-blog/

Infographics

Even without knowing what the graphic to the left is about you have to appreciate its beauty, simplicity...and when one looks closer...its informative nature.

I am, for the first time, stating out loud (or at least in written form) that I have a new addiction....and I am telling myself it is a healthy one.

I love making infographics! (Acknowledgement is the first step)
And the program Piktochart makes it all too easy. Ridiculously easy, in fact.

The latest team assignment in this MALAT program asked us to explore three different journals (all related to learning in some way). We needed to summarize and compare/contrast them. My group did the usual APA formatted paper - the safe bet. It also allows us to get more practice writing in this form.

HOWEVER...

I just couldn't help myself....so while my three group members were doing some extra editing....
I created THIS!

I also did some digging and found some pretty amazing infographics...here are a few:

1. How to have an effect on student achievement
2. Technology in the classroom
3. Learning Theory (this is not the most beautiful of infographics, but very informative)

Digging a little further down the rabbit hole... I came across an article on the Edutopia blog. The author, a grade 9 English teacher in the U.S., discusses his view of student learning in an English context. His original belief of "encouraging students to improve their writing invariably involved encouraging greater depth, adding more detail, crafting more complex sentences" (Edutopia, 2015, para 1). In essence, he believed that in order to write better, students had to write longer. 

As students are becoming more technology literate, the education system needs to adapt. Infographics allow for some work and play to come together and encourage student learning in a different way. Infographics allow students to still engage in a topic thoughtfully - even though on the surface it may look simple and very surface level. The skills involved in creating an infographic can include summarizing, synthesizing, organizing, identifying key ideas, paraphrasing... so many relevant skills in an English classroom.

I am definitely going to develop a lesson around the creation of an infographic in the next few weeks. I hope my students will be as excited as I am!  

References

Edutopia. (2015, July 24). Inventing infograpics: Visual Literacy Meets Written Content [Blog Post]. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/infographics-visual-literacy-written-content-brett-vogelsinger

Image retrieved from: https://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/advisor/post/121605726372/good-artists-copy-great-artists-steal-although

Digital Sociology: Big Data and Social Science

Eventually during this master's program I will need to solidify a research question and base it within a culture of inquiry and theoretical framework.

Right. *insert confused look here*

All of this means that I need to gain a better understanding of such cultures and frameworks and the next few posts will be dedicated to such discovery and learning.

Let's establish a little context before getting into the meat of the topic.

What is science? What makes it social science? What do we mean by digital? What is big data?

Bhattacherjee (2012) refers to science as "a systematic and organized body of knowledge in any area of inquiry that is acquired using 'the scientific method' (p. 1). He goes on to describe social science as "the science of people or collections of people, such as...societies or economies, and their individual or collective behaviours" (Bhattacherjee, 2012, p. 1).

By digital we are identifying the technologies that, over the past three decades, have permeated everyday life in developed countries (Lupton, 2015). Lupton (2015) adds that "for some theorists, the very ideas of 'culture' or 'society' cannot now be fully understood without the recognition that computer software and hardware devices not only underpin but actively constitute self-hood, embodiment, social life, social relations and social institutions" (p. 2).

I recently re-activated my Twitter account (@kristinjenna8) and on day three I was "followed" by @BigDataBlogs and messaged by @ApacheIngnite. Both of whom are all about #BigData...and although I had a good idea as to what the phrase means, I did a quick Google search (as you do) to make sure. So what is big data? I liked the definition of big data on Gartner Inc.'s website. It states that big data is "high-volume, high-velocity, and high-variety information assets that demand cost-effective, innovative forms of information processing for enhanced insight and decision making" (Gartner Inc., 2013).

What then is digital sociology exactly? Lupton (2012) discerns that it is "used to refer to conducting 'e-research' using digitalized data sets that may be shared collaboratively using digital platforms" (Analyzing Digital Data, para. 1).

Digital sociology researchers have a big job - pun intended. With the vast amounts of data available in the public domain it is finding out ways to harness, analyze, and utilize it. Technology is going to continue to allow us to gain information that was, up until a not too ago, impossible to even comprehend.

Researchers access to big data has it positives and negatives. Remember back in 2012 when Facebook manipulated content in 700,000 user's news feeds in order to collect evidence on emotions and the spreading of them (Newton, 2014).

There are, however, a lot of good that come out of the social sciences moving into the digital realm. Social science researchers "can offer a means by which the impact, development, and use of technologies and their impact upon and incorporation into social worlds and concepts of self-hood may be investigated, analyzed, and understood" (Lupton, 2012, The Importance of Critique, para. 2).

Qualitative or Quantitative?

When gathering evidence a researcher could use qualitative - ethnographic research, quantitative - surveys and content analysis, or mixed method (Lupton, 2011). With the addition of big data the sample groups can go from relatively small in number to mass numbers, allowing for more diversity. This, in turn, makes the results more relevant to society as a whole instead of a specific context/culture.

What types of topics are covered in digital sociology?

Research can cover many social issues including "the use of health-related websites for patient support and information sharing..., how people of ethnic minority groups represent themselves online, and the articulation and organization of online activism...on social networking sits such as Facebook just to name a few" (Lupton, 2011, How People use Digital Media, para. 2).

It seems as though the opportunities to utilize social science research in our digital world are endless. Gaining insight into human behviour both on an individual and group level gives a vast amount of insight which, when analyzed properly, can lead to deeper understandings. Understandings that can help to not only help to influence decisions, but as well as effect meaningful change.

References

Bhattacherjee, A. (2012). Social science research: Principles, methods. Scholar Commons. Retrieved from http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/oa_textbooks/3

Gartner. (2013). Big data. IT Glossary. Retrieved from http://www.gartner.com/it-glossary/big-data

Lupton, D. (2011). Examination of digital technologies must become central to social science research [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2012/07/31/digital-technologies-social-science-research/

Lupton, D. (2012). Digital Sociology [Web log post]. Retrieved from https://storify.com/DALupton/digital-sociology-2

Lupton, D. (2015). Digital Sociology. New York: Routledge.

Newton, J. (2014, July 3). Facebook finally apoligises. The Daily Mail. Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2679115/Facebook-finally-apologises-secretly-manipulating-nearly-1m-peoples-accounts-huge-psychology-experiment.html



Image retrieved from: http://www.ekantipur.com/the-kathmandu-post/2012/12/22/free-the-words/collegium-of-fellows/243204.html

Image retrieved from: http://olap.com/big-data/

Academic Blogger - Me?

Since the intent with this blog is to deliver it in a more academic style, I thought it might be a good idea to find out what, exactly, an academic blog entails.

According to Lohnes (as cited in Aselin, 2011), an academic blog should include the following aspects:

• "Quality of posts: blog posts should be original, well-crafted, well-informed
•  An authentic purpose for maintaining the blog
•  Point of view: a blog should offer a window into the author's identity and community
•  A blog should take advantage of the medium to offer a sense of immediacy and intimacy" (p. 12)

An academic blog allows for interaction to occur between an individual and the public - to anyone who has access to an Internet connection. This means that what, at one time, might have only been read by other intellectuals in a given field is now open to the public domain. In this context it can be read, reviewed, criticized, admired...really anything goes. Goodacre (2007) recognizes the potential of the 'immediacy' aspect that blogging inherits which allows researchers to get feedback and support with both their polished and unpolished work. This in turn, eliminates the long peer review process as being the only means of feedback.

Blogging also allows for a network of both academics and non-academics to connect in a shared space - creating a context in which researchers gain access to a more diverse audience (Asselin, 2011).

It is also interesting to note that a blogger's identity can shift depending on what they are writing, and the role they assume influences their tone of voice, objectiveness, style etc... (Estes, 2012). This allows an individual to have control over what is said, how it is said, and, in a way, how it is interpreted. Having a venue where an individual can share with a large audience their innermost thoughts and feelings - whether it be in academic form or not - creates a network of 'thinkers' and 'reflectors'. Basic skills in life of an informed and engaged society.

Nackerud (2008) states that "academics view blogs as a form of academic production or a vehicle for scholars to become public intellectuals" (71). Although this sounds a little pompous to me...academic blogs are an important tool by which the intellectuals of the world can share their ideas as a means of contributing to society's knowledge democracy. Pompous or not - that seems like a great idea to me.

                                                  
Here is a link to an academic blog that gives 30 tips on academic research and writing.                 

Here is a link to a blog that is all about coaching someone on how to write an academic blog.

...and apparently, this is a link to a list of the "Top 100 Best  Blogs and Websites for Innovative Academics"


References

Asselin, K. (2008). Blogging: The remediation of academic and business 

         communications (Master's Thesis). Retrieved from ProQuest. (1452706)

Estes, H. (2012), Blogging and Academic Identity. Literature Compass, 9: 974–982. 

         doi: 10.1111/lic3.12017

Goodacre, Mark. (2007, April 10). Blogging and Tenure 2. [Web log post]. Retrieved 
         from http://ntweblog.blogspot.com/2007_04_01_archive.html 

Nackerud, S. and Scaletta, K. (2008), Blogging in the academy. New Directions for Student 

         Services, 2008: 71–87. doi: 10.1002/ss.296

Images retrieved from:

http://justpublics365.commons.gc.cuny.edu/2013/09/11/illustrated-blogging-advice-for-researchers/


http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/tag/academic-blogging/

Knowledge Democracies

In the brief amount of time that I have been reading up on research methods and culture's of inquiry, I already have an affinity towards action research. I think it has to do with key words that pop up frequently when I am reading about it: participation, empowerment, enabling, facilitation. These words speak to me as a teacher.

In doing some extra reading on action research I came across the phrase knowledge democracy. I was immediately intrigued by this phrase.  Knowledge democracy is defined as: "...an emerging concept that addresses the relationships between knowledge production and dissemination, as well as the functions of the media and democratic institutions" (Jacobi et al, 2010, p. 87). Right...okay, what? It took me a bit to really let that definition settle into something tangible that I could understand and in reading the rest of the chapter on the topic, it became more clear. 

I watch a sitcom called "Veep". It shows the inner workings of the Vice President's office in the United States, but in a very satirical manner. Knowledge truly is a production in such a context, and the way it is disseminated is done very carefully and with intention. This show came to my mind when I was reading about the purpose and importance of this so called "knowledge democracy". How important it is to realize where knowledge is coming from? Who is creating it? Who is delivering it?  (All very ethical questions)

So how does this relate to research? I am getting there...

Jacobi, Kluver and Rask (2010) discuss how in society today there is an "on-going and increasing demand for research and development of science and technology. Therefore defining of research agendas becomes of great importance for the societal development" (p. 87). In keeping with the democracy theme there would need to be an involvement of the citizens - what are their concerns and expectations? "The need for high political credibility and for counteracting the risk of lobbying taking over the search for new research agendas is prominent" (Jacobi et al, 2010, p. 87). Citizens have a collective voice. It speaks to the inner workings of their lives and it needs to be heard. "With the right facilitating methods, such concerns...can be collected and transformed into relevant research agendas" (Jacobi et al, 2010, p. 87).

Let the knowledge democracy movement spread far and wide - let it empower, inform and engage!

References:
Jacobi, A., Kluver, L., & Rask, M. (2010). Relevant Research in a Knowledge Democracy. In R. J. Veld (Ed.), Knowledge Democracy: Consequences for Science, Politics, and Media (pp. 87-98). Berlin: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-11381-9_8

Image taken from: https://meetville.com/quotes/tag/democracy/page12

                     

Well I have to start somewhere and this seems like a good of place as any. I just completed my first assignment for my LRNT502 class - Introduction to Research. If I am being completely honest...research scares me. At least at the depth I know I am going to have to get into. I have never participated in an in depth research based project before...and although I know it is going to be all engrossing, I am ready for the challenge. My goal is to, some day, make an impact in the realm of education that extends beyond my immediate environment...and I know that research is a critical part of such a process.  

With that said...the vast amounts of information now available is daunting. Even just barely scratching the surface of this class is bring to the surface all sorts of questions: 

• How to research? 
• Where to research? 
• Why to research? 
• Who am I as a researcher? 
• How does where I live and what I believe in affect my research?

Mindful inquiry appears, on the surface, to be common sense. Why wouldn't you take into account your own views, context, personality etc...? Harder said than done. There are so many variables to take into account when taking on a research project and I think that often one would look outside of themselves to the issue and neglect how they own biases, filters, culture, values would be affecting what they are seeing and how they are seeing something. 

Mindful inquiry puts the researcher right in the middle of the research at the very start - it asks them to find out why they are doing the research in the first place? (Bent and Shapiro, 1998) The answer to this question can affect one's research in a variety of ways and it allows the researcher become more conscious of their choices and decisions.

The text for this course, Mindful Inquiry in Social Research,  introduces many different cultures of inquiry and research traditions and methods. I am already overwhelmed by the choices. I know that each method has its strengths and weaknesses and is already rooted in various fields of study - sifting through them and understanding them is going to be a process for sure.

After completing a mind map on four different cultures of inquiry (see it here: Mind Map), I am already intrigued by hermeneutic inquiry for personal interest and evaluative and action research on a more professional level.

References:
Bent,V.M., & Shapiro, J. J. (1998). Mindful Inquiry in Social Research. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage.

Image retrieved from: http://www.joiningthedots.org.uk/5.html