HEAD(hed), (n.) 1. the top part of the human body or the front part of an animal where the eyes, nose, east and mouth are. "Your brain is in your head." DIBS(dibz), (n.) 2. a thick, sweet syrup made in countries of the East, especially the Middle East, from grape juice or dates. [Arabic "debs"]--World Book Dictionary, 1976.
One probably wonders what I’m working on. As an Independent Scholar, as I am not attached to a University, I am writing a commentary on the first book of a personal journal written by a 2nd Century Roman Emperor. In that book he lists 16 names and describes what each person contributed to his life. That’s the short version. I’ve covered the first 8 so far and hit a wall. Now I’ve gone back and am editing Chapters 1-3 to keep my mojo going. Not sure when I’ll be done but hopefully by years’ end. I already have another project lined up.
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Finding The Gaps in Doctoral Research
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Here is actual footage of what identifying gaps in the literature have been like so far.
The process has taken us through gathering resources, annotating and organizing but there are too many questions, too many gaps, too many choices to make and right now, they all seem legitimate. But which is most important? It might be too early to say that any of them might be “that one question”, the Holy Grail of research. I must choose wisely.
“A literature review should demonstrate that it represents the latest work done in the subject area” (Galvin and Galvin, P. 62). As one considers which part of the outline constitutes background material that builds the case for the topic, those gaps are more easily, more readily addressed. Some are simply identified and filled by this or that book from the shelf. Other gaps are filled by looking into unpublished work. Regardless, following the map of the outline toward the application of the topic, textbook instruction becomes more weighty and some areas that seemed to be well supported suddenly reveal weaknesses, gaps. Perhaps another way to look at it is that many resources gathered thus far were for the exercise of learning to gather and record material. Now after some sifting and filtering, the less important is discarded and more meaningful material is needed. Regardless, when one weighs the latest work on the subject and the direction of intent, the “deep gap” is becoming more evident.
Considering that some connection must be made between Marcus Aurelius’ personal writings in his Meditations and the ministry of Christian leadership, the journey is becoming deep and arduous, in a manner of speaking. There is plenty of research on the man and his writing, and there is bountiful material in the subject area of leadership. There is also enough information on philosophy and theology and the harmony of the two. What is not being seen at present is a direct connection of Meditations to Christian leadership. So one will venture that direction to see what he finds.
“Mind the gap” as they say!
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Galvan, Jose L. and Melisa C. Galvan. 2017. Writing Literature Reviews: A Guide for Students of the Social and Behavioral Sciences. 7th ed. New York: Routledge
One probably wonders what I’m working on. As an Independent Scholar, as I am not attached to a University, I am writing a commentary on the first book of a personal journal written by a 2nd Century Roman Emperor. In that book he lists 16 names and describes what each person contributed to his life. That’s the short version. I’ve covered the first 8 so far and hit a wall. Now I’ve gone back and am editing Chapters 1-3 to keep my mojo going. Not sure when I’ll be done but hopefully by years’ end. I already have another project lined up.
I'm nearly finished reading Joan Didion's collection of essays, Slouching Towards Bethlehem. The book was discovered through another book I was reading, Jon Krakauer's Eiger Dreams . If Jon felt this book was good enough to pack along on a mountain climbing expedition, then I'm interested. Took me three tries, but I finally found my copy on Amazon. One of the best book buys I've made. Joan selected the title of this book from William Butler Yeats' classic poem, Second Coming . The book title is shared with one of her larger essays, a record of encounters with people in the 1960's drug culture. Didion's book is divided into three distinct parts: "Life Styles In The Golden Land," a collection of articles capturing the California experience of the 1960's; "Personals," a few of essays of the first-hand nature; and "Seven Places Of The Mind", some thoughts about those parts of California that are now long gone. One essay...
