Final Encounter with Manuscript

I feel as if I am writing this post too soon!  I am still working on the manuscript, and there are many ideas to connect and more research to review.  We have tried to gain access to some research which, according to the LU Library information, should be available to Liberty students, but there have been access issues.  I am hoping we will have this corrected this week so I can finalize the literature review.

In the meantime, I am moving into the research portion to review and revise/edit as necessary.  My current work involves reviewing the research, checking tables for APA format, making decisions about how to represent the data (narrative or table format), adding statistics to tables or narratives, and so forth.  Additionally, I must add to the discussion by reviewing the results in terms of the available research, study limitations, and areas of future study.  Working with the results and discussion is the most challenging part, I think, because there are so many statistics involved.  I believe working with a team on this portion would have been beneficial, but I feel blessed to be a part of this work.  Educators tend to have less than sterling reputations for representing research data.  As a contributor to the field of research and as a Follower of Christ, I feel a call to ensure our work is above reproach.  

This experience is growing me in many ways - as a student, researcher, educator, collaborator, and critical thinker, to name a few.  I am learning new ways to research and how to dig for information.  I am also becoming more critical of the available research by looking at the details of how the research was conducted and how it applies to other studies.  I am so glad to be involved in this project and to learn from the experience!  As I move into the doctoral program, I see this experience as a vital part of building skills which I will need for the next phase in my educational career.