Evaluate Skills Related to Research and Scholarly Writing

The correspondence reveals two major issues for my research and scholarly writing skills: developing a dissertation topic and finding the appropriate literature for the review. In short, I found the two issues as those that make research writing or scholarly writing challenging. I understand that these kinds of writing utilize large volumes of data and critical analysis and interpretation. Thus, as a Doctorate student, I am required to develop a dissertation question that will be practical to answer and maintain value for the conclusion. Perneger (2004) found that writing the paper becomes considerably straightforward when a research question is clearly defined. However, it may become challenging since some data keep on changing, which threatens the accuracy of conclusions. Also, there are very many sources of information concerning a particular topic. It requires one to select the literature sources which are relevant and appropriate for review. The discussion board correspondence has labeled assistance and practice as a critical tool in improving research and scholarly writing skills.

There is an old saying that ” practice makes someone better.” This saying has become apparent in this discussion, and especially the feedback from the instructor. For instance, finding the appropriate literature is something that one learns over time through practice. It seems there is no precise formula to profile the relevant literature for a given topic. As a doctorate student, I will have to interact with as many papers as possible, noticing the trends in their conclusions, and learn which sources are likely to aid my writing. This means even after using search tools like Roadrunner Search Engine and EBSCOhost Discovery Search; I will have to improve my analytical skills, which will help in ruling in or out the use of former papers. Pautasso (2013) has detailed steps for finding and reviewing literature sources, including reading and taking notes. That is a practicing opportunity, where a writer interacts with various sources, noting those which are consistently relevant and those which are not.

Similarly, finding the best dissertation question takes significant writing practice.  Perneger (2004) contends that a good question makes the paper easy to write. Thus, through practice, I will profile the types of questions that complicate my writing process and those that make it easy. Perneger (2004) also adds that a good research question is specific, original, and relevant to the scientific community. However, it would take practice to learn the questions that bear these attributes through corrections and instructors’ suggestions.

In that approach, instructors are a critical part of successful research and scholarly writing since they offer assistance where needed. For instance, the instructor in the previous correspondence has assisted by suggesting ways to improve my writing. The suggestion has included engagement with relevant instructors during dissertation writing, where suggestions about a topic or improvements of an existing topic can be offered. Besides, I think no one person can know everything, and as humans, we are prone to forgetting. I will therefore take the deliberate initiative to improve my research and scholarly writing through these methods.

I will make sure to write as many articles as possible regarding my area of interest. This will help in reading many literature sources and review them to build my analytical skills. It will make work easier when sorting information that is appropriate for a particular topic. I will engage many peers and instructors in reading the papers and taking their recommendations concerning topics written and the general writings. I will inquire from both individuals and library resources to ensure assistance is at my disposal.

References

Pautasso, M. (2013). Ten Simple Rules for Writing a Literature Review. Plos Computational Biology, 9(7), e1003149. doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003149

Perneger, T. (2004). Writing a research article: advice to beginners. International Journal For Quality In Health Care, 16(3), 191-192. doi: 10.1093/intqhc/mzh053