A brand new half-day workshop on how to construct a thesis statement is being offered at the Woodhill Park Research Retreat on Wednesday February 22nd. Picking up on a mogul of advice from the Dartmouth Writing Program in the US, Dr Jens Hansen who will be facilitating the workshop said “A good thesis sentence will make a claim, control the entire argument, provide a structure for that argument and clarify what the argument actually is. It’ll also shape how your data are gathered and reported and ultimately, how your argument will be presented”.
Dr Hansen noted that formulating a sound thesis sentence helps beginning candidates determine the kind of research methodology and methods they are likely to use. “Getting to grips with the crux of what is going to be investigated and learning to formulate a sound thesis statement at the outset can make the whole journey become smoother and much more enjoyable” said Dr Hansen.
To discover more about this half-day workshop which will be held on Wednesday 22 February from 9.00 a.m. - 1.00 p.m. click here.
On Saturday February 11, we’re going to facilitate another one-day workshop for beginning thesis candidates. That means we’re now open for registrations and, as per previous occasions, we’re happy for candidates to bring along their primary supervisor for free on the proviso that the candidate remains the main focus of interest.
In the nine year history of the Woodhill Park Research Retreat, a mainstay of our efforts has been to bolster the efforts of those who are beginning their thesis journey. Often for extended periods, we work with candidates one-on-one. But we’ve also created communities of scholars, that is, clusters of candidates who are exploring, toiling, writing and refining their thesis work more or less in synch. This is particularly useful when the time is ripe for gathering critical peer review; receiving and giving are, we’ve found, equally useful for candidates.
So to learn more about this workshop, please click here (doing so will take you to the blog we’ve uploaded). And please tell others about this workshop by forwarding the email to your colleagues and/or students.
» Read MoreOur overall goal at the Woodhill Park Research Retreat is to foster research and development by helping people to define and attain their goals. This year, in order to achieve this, we’re working closely with other people, including Patrick Baker of Mindlogik Ltd and Anna Jo Perry, a doctoral candidate who is nearing completion. Telling you about our plans is especially relevant at this time of year because that’s when academics, tertiary teachers and postgraduate candidates are especially prone to generating ideal output goals. And people from the business and the not-for-profit sectors also typically generate ideal goals at this time of the year as well. It seems that as the new year heralds, people enthusiastically draw up lists which nominate, for example, goals they want to attain or even scholarly presentations they wish to deliver. Frequently, yet-to-be-written, scholarly papers are listed.
At the Woodhill Park Research Retreat, we’re interested in helping people convert their wish lists into achieved outputs. To help accomplish this, we’ve scheduled a workshop series at the Woodhill Park Research Retreat (click here to see the blog that itemises the workshops). Many of the workshops traverse crucial aspects of scholarship, thesis preparation and research methods which will benefit postgraduate candidates as well as researchers wanting to learn more about their craft. There’s also a series of workshops for people from the business and the not-for-profit sector on how to become an expert user of MindManager 2012. To see the schedule of events, just click here.
A half-day workshop that introduces the 'bare bones' of NVivo 9.1 is to be facilitated by Dr Jens Hansen at the Woodhill Park Research Retreat on Saturday, September 17. Up to ten people will be able to register for this workshop which follows the outstandingly successful half-day format recently introduced on how to critique reviewed literature.
“The suggestion for the NVivo workshop actually emerged at the Literature Review workshop” said Dr Jens Hansen. “Some folk who had come to the literature workshop asked for a full day NVivo course but we figured that since the half-day configuration had worked so well, we’d offer NVivo in a half-day format as well.”
It’s the first time Retreat staff have offered an NVivo workshop in this way. “We know that QSR run two day workshops and we’ve traditionally offered one-day workshops. The one day workshops emphasise the mechanics as well as highlighting dimensions of qualitative research” noted Dr Hansen. “But” he added, “there’s no reason why we shouldn’t just get people started. The cost is cheaper and we know they can come back to see us if they want more. After all, that’s what the retreat is for.”
Dr Hansen noted that over a twenty year period, he has taught an estimated thousand or more people to use the software. “Things have certainly evolved over time and what we’ve found is that there’s a growing demand for instant gratification. That’s why we’re offering this in a half-day format. We think that after they’ve begun, researchers will probably want to learn more so they’re welcome to come back to see us for help.” To find out more about the workshop click here and to register for this half-day workshop, contact jens@woodillpark.com
A half-day workshop which focuses on how to ‘wow’ thesis examiners when they examine a literature review is to be held at the Woodhill Park Research Retreat on Saturday August 20th from 9.00 a.m. – 1.00 p.m. The goal of the workshop is to begin to set in place some effective but simple strategies for assembling and crafting a sound critique of reviewed literature. “The workshop will be very much hands on” said workshop facilitator, Dr Jens Hansen. “We want candidates to leave the workshop knowing more about the practicalities of assembling, managing and writing a narrative that blends selected theories from selected literature in an easy to understand way. If they can learn that, they will be better off than when they arrived."
Dr Hansen explained that when it comes to preparing a literature review, the goal of the candidate must be to impress the examiners. “Basically, a literature review targets that very important audience which is known as the thesis examiners. That audience is pivotal because they decide whether or not a thesis passes or fails. They examine the extent to which candidates have aligned selected literature and theory with their research. If they’re impressed, the candidate passes, if not, they can either fail or rework and resubmit.”
Dr Hansen said the half day workshop is a new format for the Woodhill Park Retreat. "We are confident we can fit a lot of quality work into a concentrated period of time. We know people are very busy and we also know they look for a quick-fix kick-start. They want to establish a useful set of strategies to help them to successfully complete their literature review by wowing the audience of two or sometimes three examiners. No-one else matters!”
The half-day workshop will cost $80.00 plus GST and will be limited to ten people but if numbers extend beyond that, a repeat workshop will be scheduled in the very near future. People interested in taking part should contact the Woodhill Park Research Retreat (09) 411 7703 or email jens@woodhillpark.com Further details about this half-day workshop can be downloaded by clicking here.