It takes considerable time to figure out an appropriate conceptual framework for a study. The difficulty partly arises from a person’s unfamiliarity with the topic at hand. Hence, the following article on how to use the mind map can make the process of conceptual framework development easier.

One of the first things one should do when conducting meaningful research is to identify knowledge gaps in the selected topic. However, unless you make a thorough review of the literature, it is easier said than done. A comprehensive review of the literature is one where you can see clearly what aspects of the topic have not been studied yet.

How can you systematically undertake such a thorough review of the literature and identify where the gap exists?

Mind Map: A Literature Review Tool

Mind mapping the topic while reading the literature helps. Find a central issue, most sensibly the dependent variable, which is the focus of the research.

For example, a teacher may be interested in finding out why students in his or her class come to class late. Tardiness is not a unique phenomenon that the teacher can claim to be the first to identify. Some other teacher-researchers may have already looked into the problem in other places. Hence, a review of the literature of factors affecting tardiness can already be made.

It is possible, however, that the root cause of the problem in other places may not exist in the specific situation where the teacher carries out her tasks. Or, even after instituting new policies based on the review of factors affecting tardiness, the issue is not resolved. There may be a factor or set of factors that influence the students’ prompt arrival in class.

An example mind map may look like Figure 1 below where the central theme, tardiness, is the main topic. You may add the number of literature that supports particular predictor variables.

The mind map shows that many studies have been done on the effect of predictor variables on tardiness. Further, among the predictor variables studied, several independent variables have been identified as significant predictors of tardiness. As not all of the predictor variables are accounted for in one study, there may be other variables at play which may have been left unstudied.

Example Conceptual Framework

For example, during a parent-teacher meeting, several parents raised the problem of internet overuse among their children. As an insight from the meeting, the teacher thought that internet use might be one of the reasons why pupils come to class late. Students tend to sleep late at night or early in the morning, playing online games.

From the mind map given in Figure 1, note that one of the factors identified is internet use as a predictor of sleep quality which in turn affects tardiness. Thus, a conceptual framework emphasizing the use of the internet plus two other significant predictors of tardiness may serve as study guide. Figure 2 shows the paradigm of such study. Internet use is highlighted as one of the independent variables.

The e-book on conceptual framework development featured in this site provides more detailed examples focused on other research topics.

References

Gemmill, E. L. and M. Peterson (2006). Technology use among college students: implications for student affairs professionals. Retrieved on October 20, 2019 from https://tinyurl.com/y2cks6dk

Mizan, S. S. and D. G. Shendell (2011). Absence, extended absence, and repeat tardiness related to asthma status among elementary school children. Retrieved on October 20, 2019 from https://tinyurl.com/y6rfl5l6

Academic writing skills need time and effort to hone. But how would you develop your skills to write like a seasoned scientist? As a university professor, I found the following five tips useful in writing articles and long academic papers easy, fast, and professional looking. Read on to find out.

Ten Tips in Developing Academic Writing Skills

1. Use technological aids

The age of information brings with it lots of technological aids useful in writing academic papers. Just minding the underlined words in your paragraph and reading the suggestions offered by MS Word using its spelling and grammar function can help improve your academic writing skills. Take time to correct your spelling and grammar using the tips, and definitely, you will deliver a better paragraph.

While I am confident that I can write and express myself well in English, I once subscribed in Grammarly to improve my grammar. My once too busy schedule and a change in routine at home prevented me from writing regularly and making full use of the app. Hence, I stopped using it.

However, knowing that my blog, this website, gains more traffic with each blog I write and realizing that additional income significantly supplements my regular job, I resolved to post articles once again frequently. I re-subscribed in Grammarly to help me compose my articles better yet. Pieces that are virtually free of errors get ranked well and gain more views. I believe it is a good investment for a blogger like me.

2. Use Free Sources of Literature

Google Scholar is an excellent aid to help develop academic writing skills. It is an indispensable online, freely accessible search engine that lets you browse digital copies of articles related to your research interests.

Decades back, I have a hard time looking for related literature and judge whether a topic is worth pursuing. Google Scholar makes it easy as it archives articles from scientific journals. Just read the metadata and decide whether it suits your theme. You may read my previous post titled How to Start a Review of Literature and see how to make full use of the search engine.

If you cannot afford the price of the article you are interested in, you may use free online sources like the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), CORE, Science Open, and Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), among others. Open access articles allow you to read the essential contents of the scientific paper like the methodology. Hence, you can improve your academic writing skills by citing relevant scientific articles.

3. Use Statistics in Your Write-up

The use of numbers in your write-up makes it more interesting. Summarizing them in the form of tables, graphs, or infographic even make information much more enjoyable. According to an infographic by MDG Advertising, articles with relevant images get 94% more views (Fig. 1).

4. Look for Mentors to Hone Your Academic Writing Skills

Finding a good mentor to give you feedback on your write-ups helps a lot. Have constant interaction with a colleague who has a keen eye in spotting spelling, grammatical problems, or even your logic.

Asking people to comment on your paper makes peer review a critical process in developing your academic writing skills. Even small but significant punctuation errors reflect on the accuracy and reliability of your article. Common mistakes like the use of colons, semi-colons, and the correct written form of “et al.” say a lot about you as an academic writer.

5. Maintain a Habit of Writing

Practice makes perfect. You cannot perfect your trade with just a few essays here and there. Develop your writing style and establish a habit of writing.

Allocate specific time frames to write, and do it whether you are inspired to write or not. It will help if you know when is the best time to write. I usually allocate two hours to write an article. But I noticed an article written in 30 minutes gained a lot of views!

Are you a morning person or a night person? Knowing your writing preference relieves you of mental blocks. Make sure that you can do your writing without interruption on those times to avoid breaking your flow of thought.

Recognizing the time when you can best compose an article makes the task easy to do. For sure, with constant practice, your academic writing skills will gradually improve through time.

To summarize everything and I recap, remember the five tips I have just described. I know these tips helped me write high traffic articles in Simplyeducate.me. The tips also enabled me to write books which took a lot of time to produce.

Do you have more tips in mind that works for you? Please share in the comments below.

© 2019 May 25 P. A. Regoniel

A literature review related to the topic chosen by researchers occupies an entire section of a thesis. Why undertake a thorough literature review? This article explains why.

The conduct of research requires a literature review. The review enables you, as a researcher, to get a good grasp of the topic at hand. Hence, to make the review useful in building up the conceptual framework of the thesis,  visiting libraries would be a good idea. Read the latest scientific journals relevant to the academic discipline where you belong. You may also surf the internet to read full scientific articles for free, especially with the preponderance of open access journals. You may also find Google Scholar very useful in finding related literature. Further, useful sources of information include government websites, particularly those that offer statistical data.

Reinventing the Wheel

Reviewing the literature prevents the duplication of previous work done on the topic identified.  Thus, literature review saves money, time and effort. It prevents the “reinvention of the wheel.” This idiomatic expression means that doing something that others have already done is a waste of time.

Landmark Papers: Most Cited

Researchers consider some research publications with high regard. These publications are referred to as landmark papers. Landmark, must-read, papers have become popular among researchers as sensible sources of information. Usually well-known authority figures in the field author these publications.

However, the popularity of a paper does not necessarily mean that the arguments, hypothesis or theories presented by that author eludes correction. Contemporary researchers, armed with new insights from evidences gathered through meticulous research or experimentation, can debunk the philosophies advanced by an authority figure and render them as myth.

Theories from well-known personalities can always be challenged as new information comes in. For example, Aristotle, one of the greatest intellectual figures of western history, proclaimed that women have fewer teeth than men. Of course, he missed counting the teeth to verify his statement.  Until… somebody challenged the idea by just suggesting “Let’s count.” A simple experiment ended the idea from a well-known figure.

Point of Saturation of the Literature Review

Familiarity with the research or investigation made by other researchers enables you to understand the issue at hand better. Upon reading a substantial number of research studies, there comes a point where no further new information could be gained. If you have experienced this, you have reached the point of saturation. Thus, you can confidently say that you have read enough scientific papers related to the topic.

In conclusion, the literature review sheds light on what has been done so far about the research topic. It reveals “gaps” that warrant further investigation. Good research practice presents this “gap” in knowledge in the introduction of the study. Statement of objectives or statements of the problem to address that gap follow. Hence, a follow-up study produces new information.

© 2018 August 19 P. A. Regoniel