Heading toward the end

Can you believe you are turning in your very last journal entry?! We're getting close to the end of the research process. Yet, you do have a few weeks and I hope it is feeling manageable. Given all of the writing you've accomplished to this point, your papers are already substantial. As you begin to work on the last sections of the paper, it can be helpful to cut and paste all of your relevant journal entries into one document. Just the act of looking at all of those completed pages adding up can provide a boost of motivation.

I will be sending you some slides in the next day or so about paper "logistics"--organization, headings/sub-headings, etc. We can talk more about those issues next week during our session.

I will also send you some follow-up slides about presenting your findings in the paper. I also, though, want to share some thoughts on that section here. The findings can be organized in the way that makes most sense given your analysis. This will often mean that the section is organized by the themes you've identified. If you used the matrix as a tool for your analysis, it also provides a very effective organizational tool for writing up your findings (theme: example from data, example from data, example from data; next theme: example from data, example from data, example from data; and so on for the third theme). Some people find that their analysis lends itself to a different organization, for instance, around their data sources. In that case, the section might look like:
Data Source--theme within data source, theme within data source;
Next data source--theme within data source, theme within data source;
and so on

As a rule of thumb, you should provide at least three examples from your data that illustrate each theme. If you're organizing by data source, provide at least two themes/ideas that arose from each source of data. I think there are two primary areas of feedback that I often find myself providing on drafts of findings sections. First, is the use of headings and subheadings; those headings are a wonderful way to guide the readers through your findings. Second, is the suggestion to "be more specific". When you find yourself writing about something you found in your study, always follow up with a "for instance" that provides illustrative quotes from surveys or interviews, a story from the classroom that helps the reader to "see" what you observed, a description of student work (whatever data was relevant to the claim you're making). When in doubt, provide an example, tell a story, quote your kids or your own notes.

As always, we're fortunate that others have gone through this process before us. The online examples of findings sections are excellent sources of information and inspiration.

I'll be in touch again soon and look forward to seeing you all on the 24th!