Dissertation Online Timeline 2009/2010

CONVERSATION ONE - Welcome!
This is a very important stage – in order to share our work and support each other, we need to know who we are!  Come in and introduce yourself!                              Online submission due: Friday 22.05.09

CONVERSATION TWO - Introduction, focus and overview   
Plan your enquiry
Part One - Write a brief page outlining the following:
•    What is the focus of your enquiry?
•    What questions do you want to answer?
•    What are your hypotheses or hunches?
•    Why are these questions important to you and your institution?
•    What contextual information is important to bear in mind?
(Discuss with your work-based advocate)
Part Two - Create an initial outline, plan and timeline of your enquiry based on the information above.
Share and discuss in the online community            Online submission due: Friday 12.06.09

CONVERSATION THREE - Needs analysis and justification
Why is your enquiry important?
For this task you need to:
•    Brainstorm the likely sources you will need to consult in order to complete a needs analysis (eg school plans, government policy etc)
•    Analyse school, local and national needs
Share and discuss in the online community            Online submission due: Friday 26.06.09

CONVERSATION FOUR - A critical review of the literature
What do others in the field think and how do you synthesise this information?
•    Brainstorm key literature in your field
•    Publish and discuss this list
•    Draft literature review
Share and discuss in the online community             Online submission due: Friday 10.07.09

CONVERSATION FIVE - Your professional autobiography
What beliefs and values do you bring to this research?
Write a brief page outlining the following:
•    Outline the details of your professional life that have informed your interest in this enquiry
•    Describe any critical or significant incidents that have informed your thinking about this enquiry
•    What beliefs and values are revealed by these stories?
Share and discuss in the online community             Online submission due: Friday 18.09.09

CONVERSATION SIX - The methodology and justification   
What methodology best suits your research focus and why?
Write an outline of your chosen methodology in relation to the following headings:
•    What socially constructed ideas are apparent in your research?
•    What methodology best fits the context and scale of your research?
•    How much control do you have over variables in this research?
•    How much can you generalise this research to other cases?
•    The tests for truthfulness, reliability and validity that may be applied
•    The involvement and relationships between researcher and subjects
(You will need to do some reading to support your methodological approach – there is a lot of guidance for you in the handbook and in the online space)
Share and discuss in the online community    Online submission due: Friday 18.09.09

CONVERSATION SEVEN - The methods of data collection, analysis and justification   
What data do you need, how will you collect it and how will you analyse it?
For this task you need to:
•    Choose your research methods 
•    Discuss with the group why these methods are suitable for your research and what limitations will be created
•    Discuss how you will analyse the data you have collected – how will it best answer your research question(s)?
                                                                      Online submission due: Friday 9.10.09

CONVERSATION EIGHT - The evidence   
How will you best display your results?
For this task you need to:
•    Discuss the way in which you might display your results
•    Consider carefully the amount and organisation of appendices                                                                                     Online submission due: Friday 22.1.10

CONVERSATION NINE - Impact of the research project  
How valuable are the things you have found out?
Consider the following:
•    How strong is your research?
•    What strategies do you have for change and improvement based on what you have found out?
•    How has this research contributed to your school’s improvement?
Share and discuss in the online community         Online submission due: Friday 12.03.10

CONVERSATION TEN - Learning outcomes evaluation   
What new insights have you gained?
What do you now know compared with:
•    The experience outlined in your professional autobiography?
•    What you discovered in your literature review?
Consider:
•    What new perspectives have you gained?
•    How has or will your practice change?
•    Your insights about the process of change and improvement
Share and discuss in the online community    Online submission due: Friday 2.04.10

CONVERSATION ELEVEN - Conclusion and ways forward
Sum it all up!
Construct a high quality conclusion which:
•    Outlines what you have done and achieved
•    Indicates where the work has met the MA level criteria
Share and discuss in the online community    Online submission due: Friday 2.04.10

CONVERSATION TWELVE - Wind-up and Goodbyes!   
The end is nigh!

Depending on how you have all progressed up until now we will look at:
•    Bringing your work together into an assignment 
•    Assessing yourself against the MA criteria
•    Details of submission, including admin needs, ethics declaration and abstract
•    Saying not ‘goodbye’ but ‘au revoir’!     Online submission due: Friday 06.05.10