EDU-M 712A: Mentoring: Preparing for a Literature Review I

Overview

This course begins a four-term, 32-week, process during which you will research literature on your specific topic and write multiple iterations of a rough draft explanation of your findings.

During the first term, you will do your initial search and begin to use you EndNote® database on your topic as a mechanism for sorting resources.

The deliverables for this class include your sharing of your EndNote® library resources — which will contain at least 50 resources — with your mentor and colleagues, and writing an essay that outlines your beginning lit review strategy. This brief essay will comprise the major points covered in the literature you have read and the sorting mechanisms you have defined using keywords and notes. Your colleagues and mentor will measure and give feedback on your initial results, allowing you to revise your draft before grading in week 8.

Introduction

It is important to keep in mind that your review of the literature is more than a report on what others think. In this course, there are suggestions for a variety of approaches that may appeal. Try some as you research and be flexible to discard those that do not result in robust or interesting insights into your topic. The final goal is your expertise on your topic. Work closely with your mentor as you develop your ideas.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
• Search a variety of databases for information on their dissertation topics.
• Explore what experts say about their topic.
• Critically analyze with their mentor and cohort the value of the literature they find.
• Set up sorting mechanisms as they capture resources in EndNote libraries.

Required Texts
EDU-M 712A texts are available from the JIU/MBS bookstore