Reflective Project Guide for IBCP 2024: Planning

1. What am I interested in and why?
2. What are my motivations for undertaking research in this area?
3. How will I begin the research process?
4. Do I have sufficient knowledge of this issue?
5. What possible questions might I research?
6. How might I go about undertaking this research?
7. Do I have access to appropriate resources?
8. Are my chosen research methods appropriate for the subject I have chosen to complete it in?
9. Are there any ethical issues I need to consider before pursuing this area of research?
10. Is there sufficient focus to my research area?

These questions will help you refine your research area, and help you to focus more narrowly on a certain topic. In turn, this will guide you to a perfect research question :)

Reflective Writing - adapted from work by Jenny Moon  (1999) Reflection in learning and professional development, Kogan Page, London

We will start from what reflective writing is not.  It is not:

• conveyance of information, instruction or argument in a report, essay or ‘recipe’;
• straight-forward description, though there may be descriptive elements;
• a straight-forward decision eg about whether something is right or wrong, good or bad etc.
• simple problem solving like recalling how to get to the nearest station.

In the context of your higher education programme, reflective writing will usually have a purpose (e.g. you will be writing reflectively about something that you have to do or have done).  It will usually involve the sorting out of bits of knowledge, ideas, feelings, awareness of how you are behaving and so on.  It could be seen as a melting pot into which you put a number of thoughts, feelings, other forms of awareness, and perhaps new information.  In the process of sorting it out in your head, and representing the sortings out on paper, you may either recognise that you have learnt something new or that you need to reflect more with, perhaps further input.  Your reflections need to come to some sort of end point, even if that is a statement of what you need to consider next.

It can be useful to prompt the description of the subject matter of reflection in terms of a question such as:

• What is the issue / event / topic / plan /project / task / period of time etc that is to be the subject matter of the reflection?

 

Questions to facilitate reflection

• Out of the description, what is the issue / are the issues that could be addressed in reflective writing?  These issues can be raised within the description or separately.  They are like bits of velcro to which you can attach the reflective writing.

• Is there anything else you need to consider at the moment in terms of the context?

• What is the nature of the significance of this issue to you?

• How do you feel about it? 

• How do your feelings relate to any action?

• Was it good / bad – and what are the implications?

• What do you need to do?

• What other information do you need (ideas, knowledge, opinion etc)?

• Are there previous instances of this event, issue arising that will help you to think more/ differently about it?

• Are there others, or the views of others who are relevant to this matter – and in what way?

 

Questions that are likely to be helpful in prompting more profound reflection

• Has the nature of your description of the issue / event (etc) influenced the manner in which you have gone about the reflective writing?

• Is there relevant formal theory that you need to apply?

• How do your motives for and the context of the reflective writing affect the manner in which you have gone about the task? 

• In what way might have you tackled the task differently if the context was not one of formal education (perhaps with assessment)?

• Is there another point of view that you could explore – are there alternative interpretations to consider?

• Are others seeing this issue from different points of view that may be helpful to you to explore?

• Does this issue relate to other contexts – reflection on which may be helpful?

• If you ‘step back’ from this issue, how does it look different?

• How do you judge your ability to reflect on this matter ?

• Do you notice that your feelings about it have changed over time – or in the course of writing this – suggesting that your own frame of reference has changed?

• Are there ethical / moral / wider social issues that you would want to explore?

Material developed by Jenny Moon

1. Choose a topic
2. Select information source(s)
3. Determine your search strategy
4. Execute your search— just do it!
5. Evaluate the information you gather
6. Start the process over again (if necessary)
7.  Write (and revise!) your essay

 

1. Choose a topic

• Gather background information and try to get a “sense” of what your topic is about
• Identify concepts and terminology central to your topic (use reference sources such as dictionaries, glossaries, encyclopedias, and Internet sources)
• Develop a research question or thesis statement
   

2. Select information source(s)

• Based on your findings in step 1, identify sources that will provide you with the kind of information you need
• Do you need current or retrospective information?  Focused or broad scope?  Statistics?  Opinions?
• Search the library catalog for books, reference books, journals, and documentaries that the library owns
• Search the subscription databases to find articles and reports
•  Internet sources are often good for statistics and very current information (look for reliable organizations, government, and university websites)

 

 3. Determine your search strategy

• Brainstorm for synonyms, keywords, and terminology you can use as search terms for your topic
• Map out different search strategies:  search for authors who are experts in the field, try subject searches AND keyword searches, try general and subject specific databases.

4.   Execute your search—just do it!

• Gather print and non‐print resources
• To find books, look in the library catalogue - Destiny Discover.
• Consider finding one relevant book, find it on the shelf, and then examine the other books that are beside it
• To find articles, scholarly and otherwise, use the subscription databases—start with general/all‐purpose databases, but also try subject specific ones in your subject area
• Look at subject/topic terms and links, as they may lead you to more related articles
• To access databases from off‐campus, use the list of user‐names and passwords (you can e‐mail the library for a copy of these)
• For internet sources, use different search engines, subject guides (ie. Librarian’s Internet Index www.lii.org) and remember to evaluate all websites carefully
• Keep a record of all sources you use for your bibliography/works cited/reference list
• Ask library staff for help if you need it!

 

5.   Evaluate the information you gather

• Investigate author’s credentials, and use current sources  
• Is the information you found relevant to your topic?
• Did you find too many articles/books that are not relevant to your topic?
• Did you find too few articles to adequately cover all aspects of your topic?
• Can you think of any aspect of the topic that is not covered in your search results?

 

6.   Start the process over again (if necessary)

• If you found too few results, consider a broader, more general view of the topic
• If you have too many citations, consider narrowing the topic

 

7.   Write (and revise) your essay

• Write your essay or prepare presentation
• Use Harvard style guides for your citations (reference list)
• Proof read your work, and have someone else proof read it
• Revise!

A mind map is a graphical way to represent ideas and concepts. It is a visual thinking tool that helps structuring information, helping you to better analyze, comprehend, synthesize, recall and generate new ideas. Just as in every great idea, its power lies in its simplicity. Check for more great ideas here!

Here are some great online Mind Mapping websites:

• MindMup

• Note taking that literally maps out your ideas

• Go to the MindMeister.