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Walden University Writing Center

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Selecting Appropriate Capstone Sources

Monday, October 03, 2016 , , No comments
What is the best way to decide if you're finding the best research to include in your capstone document? Along with consulting your faculty members and the Walden University Library, take a look at these tips that will help you decide what stays in, and what should get cut from your references list. 
The title image for this post on selecting effective sources.

 In this Blog post, I want to share a few tips for selecting and using appropriate sources in scholarly writing, most especially doctoral capstone writing. Proper source selection and use is important for writers of every stripe. It is especially important, however, for capstone writers because of the rigorous expectations they must meet. As with your research design, source selection and use are a key means by which readers evaluate and interpret your work.

Effective source selection on your topic informs you of current developments and shifts in thinking in your field. It is also how you develop proficient knowledge and become versed in the language of your field. Source selection and use is also a key means of learning about research protocol and method. Keeping a keen eye on how others have designed their studies and approached data collection and analysis will give you confidence as you make these decisions yourself.

Today, I want to share some tips for selecting appropriate sources in your capstone document. These tips are based on my experience as a dissertation editor and as a former faculty member and instructor.

Tip 1: Understand the different types of sources. Literature varies in terms of its audience, purpose, authorship, publication process, and other factors. General categories include peer-reviewed, popular, trade, and governmental. Throughout your research and writing process, you need to be mindful of different types of literature.


Tip 2: Prioritize peer-reviewed sources in your study. Because of the rigor involved in this type of publication process, scholarly work that is peer-reviewed is generally more credible than other sources. Experts in the field have carefully evaluated all facets of a manuscript and, oftentimes, demanded multiple revisions before determining that it is worthy of publication. The breadth and depth of peer-reviewed studies will provide you with a richer basis for crafting your argument and designing your study than other types of literature. Additionally, reviewing peer-reviewed literature is key to developing your own scholarly acumen.

Tip 3: But, evaluate and incorporate a range of sources, as appropriate, in your writing. In your capstone writing, you need to develop expert knowledge on your topic and research methods. That means conducting an exhaustive literature review, in which you learn how others are negotiating, discussing, and deliberating your study topic and problem. You should be reviewing newspaper articles, white papers, program evaluations, and so on as part of this process. You may not incorporate all of this reading into your final document, but you will be more knowledgeable and well-versed on your topic if you do so.

Tip 4: Don’t forget about books. Journal articles will probably constitute most of the sources for your study, and with good reason. But, don’t neglect books, both peer-reviewed and popular ones, even if these may sometimes be more challenging to obtain.

Tip 5: Limit uses of secondary sources. As a capstone writer, you need to be fully in command of the content that you incorporate in your study. As you learn about your topic and become well-versed in key vocabulary, theories, concepts, and methods for your study, you will, no doubt, draw on writers’ interpretations of others’ work. You need this information. However, I recommend that you only use secondary sources when you cannot access primary ones. You need to read the source material yourself and clarify your understanding of it. Your writing will be more accurate and perceived as credible by readers if you do so, and it will convey more of your own voice.

Tip 6: Acknowledge the limits of your review of the literature. When discussing the rationale for your study, be careful to avoid saying that no research been conducted on a certain topic. Yes, you are expected to be exhaustive in your review of the literature, but you cannot say with 100 % assurance that you consulted every relevant source on your topic. That is why I recommend writing “based on my review of the literature” when making statements such as “researchers have not studied x” or “no studies have been conducted on y.” Adding such a clause acknowledges to readers that other work might exist. Taking care to do so, and, also, being as clear as possible when describing your search process makes things more transparent, which, again, reinforces your credibility.

Reviewing the literature on your topic can be a daunting task. But, hopefully, this list gives you some helpful guidance and reminders that make the process as smooth as possible.



Tara Kachgal  is a dissertation editor in the Walden University Writing Center. She has a Ph.D. in mass communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and teaches for the School of Government's online MPA@UNC program. She resides in Chapel Hill and, in her spare time, serves as a mentor for her local running store's training program.

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Thursday Thoughts: Do you remember?

Thursday, September 29, 2016 , , No comments

Dear Happy Readers. Do you remember the song, "September," by the band Earth, Wind, and Fire? This single was released in 1978. It reached number one on US R&B charts and number three on the UK singles chart. It's been featured in movies such as Night at the Museum, Dan in Real Life, and Soul Food. It is a default song in the library of many Apple iPhone products, and it's received gold record certification in the US, the UK, Mexico, and Italy. If you don't quite remember the song, we are sure you'll recall it after hitting play on the video below. 

This song is still played during celebrations across the world. Maurice White, who was one of the co-writers of the song, dubbed it "the happiest-sounding song in the world," and it is easy to see why. Earth, Wind, and Fire sings of a joyous September, with dancing and golden dreams and shiny days. 

With all this said, the Writing Center would like to wish you - as we say farewell to September - a joyous beginning of October. As you work on new writing assignments, from annotated bibliographies to your premise, remember that we are here! The Writing Center staff would love to assist you in your writing endeavors with our 1:1 appointment service. 

If you instead just have a quick question and do not require a 1:1 appointment, feel free to email us at writingsupport@waldenu.edu. 

Wishing you a joyous October!





The Walden Writing Center offers to Walden students 1:1 writing support and offers to students and non-students alike all the writing expertise, tips, and information a writer could want.


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A Good Text is Hard to Find: Beware of Emulating Models of Academic Writing

Monday, September 26, 2016 , , No comments
We’ve learned to write, over time, based on what and how much we’ve been taught, heard, spoken, and read. The higher the quality, the greater the learning. By now you’ve read hundreds of articles in your discipline and learned much—both about your subject and the mechanics of writing. Chances are good that your writing now imitates that of published writers. This makes sense and it’s basically a good thing.

However, just because a research study gets published—even when written by a respected researcher and published in a peer-reviewed journal—don’t presume that it represents a high level of academic writing and thus bears emulation. Even peer-reviewed articles can have writing issues.

Stacks of cones indicating 'Beware'!

To avoid these issues, pay close attention to what you're reading; be aware of, and cautious about, what you emulate; and actively seek critiques of what you’ve written. All writers need friendly, supportive readers who can respectfully point to errors that we’re just too close to see. We need this type of support, perhaps, even more than we need models to emulate.


As you know, writing is not easy and errors are natural. This is why some writers claim that the nature of writing is rewriting. But despite an author’s careful revisions, there are several reasons why writing errors persist into print (whether paper or online).
  • Social scientists are trained to be scientists, not writers. It’s just assumed that writing skills will develop. (This is a big assumption. Should academic writing be taught in any social science curriculum?)
  • Even for those who have published, writing may not come easily.
  • All writers can be blind to their errors at times.
  • The academic publishing process has limitations. For example, time (deadlines), money, and editorial priorities factor into publication decisions. And the author, significance, and timeliness of a piece of scholarship under review can also influence what gets published by whom. 

Therefore, it’s important to recognize strong writing from weak writing. Otherwise, you may unknowingly perpetuate errors. Here’s a short list of writing issues that can show up in academic writing. Now that you see them here, perhaps you’ll see them more readily in your reading and, of course, in your own writing.

  • Excessive use of the passive voice (leaving readers wondering just who did what)
  • Long and/or complex sentences (forcing readers to re-read them out of confusion)
  • Excessive use of nouns or prepositional phrases (causing the narrative to become abstract, confusing, and perhaps too dense)
  • Limited variation in sentence length (causing readers to lose attention )
  • Overuse of jargon, beyond what is necessary in a discipline (creating inaccessible prose)
  • Bureaucratic phrasings, e.g., regarding, involving, concerning, related to, with respect to, in the area of, with regard to (yielding verbose, overblown sentences)

To avoid these issues, you might have a look at this handful of journals whose articles you can emulate. Each of these set very high editorial standards. The quality of the prose is not second to the quality of the research:

No matter the field—psychology, nursing, business, or education—good writing is critical to the transmission of knowledge. Isn't this the purpose of scholarly writing after all? 


Tim McIndoo is a Senior Dissertation Editor in the Walden Writing Center. He came to Walden University in 2007 with over 30 years of editorial experience, including work as translator and photographer. He lives in Minneapolis with four cats.


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Writecast Episode 30: A Philosophical (and Practical) Look at Self-Plagiarism

Thursday, September 22, 2016 , , 1 comment
Hey writers! We hope you're enjoying your first month of the quarter. This week, we were thinking about all of the great ideas you've included in past papers, and what you need to do when/if you'd like to include those same ideas in future papers. Beth and Brittany, in the 30th episode of WriteCast, discuss this very topic. 

 Citing yourself should happen for good reason, and there are a number of tips and tricks that you need to keep in mind to avoid self-plagiarism. Yes! Self-plagiarism is a thing, and the consequences of self-plagiarism can be just as serious as plagiarism itself. To make sure you're on track, hit play below.  



To download the episode, press the share button on the player above, then press the download button. Visit the Writing Center's WriteCast page for our episode archive and transcripts. Happy listening, WriteCasters!


 
 WriteCast is a monthly podcast written, produced, and published by staff in the Walden University Writing Center.  WriteCast: A Casual Conversation for Serious Writers offers listeners the chance to sit in on a dialogue between two experienced and trained writing instructors. Possible episode topics will always be considered from listeners--share your ideas and suggestions in the comments. 


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Writing as Scholar, Writing as Practitioner: Nursing as a Case Study in Flexibility

Monday, September 19, 2016 , , 3 comments
This post is dedicated to all the Walden DNP students who are heading to Dallas, TX for their Capstone Intensive retreat this week. You can learn much more by checking out the Walden Capstone Intensive homepage by following this link.
Title picture for this blog post. A nurse entering medical records

An old adage states, “Practice makes perfect.” The concept is simple: If you perform an action many times, you get better at it. If you do an exercise many times, you get stronger at it. If you frequently write in a specific way, you get better at writing in that specific way.

Most people practice writing the same way that they practice walking: They just do it without thinking about it. Do you write a lot of emails? That’s practice writing. Text messages? Same thing. Reports? Poems? Medical charts? When you do a type of writing regularly, you get a lot of practice writing in that specific genre and in that specific style. If you start writing in a different genre, like academic writing, it’s very important to understand how your writing style might need to change based on the needs of your reader.

Let’s take nurses as an example. No other profession exemplifies Walden's mission of creating scholar/practitioners quite like this one. In the Writing Center, we see lots of nurses working on advanced degrees like the MSN and the DNP, and many times these students have years of experience writing as a nursing professional. Hospital nurses write a lot: Each patient has a chart that’s updated with information such as
  • observations,
  • diagnoses,
  • measurements,
  • test results,
  • medications that have prescribed (including dosage), and
  • medications that have been given to the patient (also including dosage).

Hospital nurses write in this form with a specific audience in mind: the future nurse assigned to this patient. To make the future audience's job easier, medical charts are usually written in a special shorthand with lots of short statements like 
  • “No fever.” Translation: “The patient did not have a fever.”
  • “Sipped juice” Translation: “The patient drank a small amount of juice.”
  • “330 sleeping” Translation: “The patient was asleep when I checked on them at 3:30 AM.”
  • “Pain 3 out of 10” Translation: “The patient rated their pain as a ‘3’ on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being highest.”

These abbreviations may be confusing to an outside reader, but they make perfect sense to the other medical professionals who read them because they’re familiar with the abbreviations, the style, and how to fill in the gaps.

Writing in Academic American English using APA style can seem very different from writing in a medical chart. The basic idea, however, is the same: You want to tell the reader exactly what they need to know without confusing them.

Here are some of the key differences when writing in APA vs. writing as a nurse on the job. In APA, you need to

Just like writing in a medical chart, however, you shouldn’t include information that’s not relevant. For example, the color of a patient’s shirt isn’t relevant while they’re in the hospital – so that kind of detail shouldn’t be written in their chart or described in a paper where you’re discussing the patient’s health. The thickness of a patient’s shirt might be important if they report being hot or cold, but it should always be clear why you’re mentioning the information that you do.

Here’s an example of text in a medical chart:

Alert, awake, oriented to person and situation. Confused as to time and place. Stated name and asked to go home. Was reoriented to time and place. Skin warm, dry, pale but without pallor or cyanosis. Asked again about time and place. Applied skin lotion.

When you switch to writing this information in a scholarly way, you must make different choices about your writing. Depending on what you want your reader to focus on – the purpose of your writing – some of these details should stay and some should be commented on. For example:

[Paragraph focusing on mental state] Patient X was alert and awake, and recognized their own name and that they were ill. However, they did not know what day it was or recognize that they were in a hospital. After being reoriented, they did not retain memories of the time or place. These symptoms are associated with mild neurocognitive disorder (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).

[Paragraph focusing on skin condition] Patient X’s skin was pale but without showing an ill pallor or cyanosis. I applied a skin lotion due to the dryness of their skin, as recommended by Smith (2015).


As you can see, the details that are transferred to the academic paper version depend on the purpose of that specific paragraph. There will always be more information that you could write about, but what you should do is focus on describing, explaining, and supporting the argument that you are making in an appropriate way for your reader.

So as you are filling out your charts, remember, practice makes perfect. Many of the skills you develop on the job can transfer over into your coursework here at Walden U. Your responsibility as the skillful writer is to understand your new audience and make choices depending on its needs. 



Basil Considine is a Dissertation Editor and Contributing Faculty in the Walden University Academic Skills Center and School of Management. Outside of Walden, Basil is the artistic director of Really Spicy Opera, a chamber opera company specializing in new musical works for the theatrical stage.


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