"There is an old woman who lives in a hidden place that everyone knows, but few have ever see . . .The sole work of La Loba is the collecting of bones. Her cave is filled with the bones of all manner of creatures. . .and when she has assembled an entire skeleton, she lays out the bones carefully on the ground. When the last bone is in place and the beautiful white sculpture of the creature is laid out before her, she sits by the fire and thinks about what song she will sing. . . .And when she is sure, she stands over the 'criaturea' raises her arms over it, and sings out. That is when the rib bones and leg bones begin to flesh out and the creature becomes furred. La Loba sings more, and more of the creature begins to breathe. It finally opens its eyes, leaps up and runs down the canyon." Clarissa Estes in Women Who Run with the Wolves. pg 27.

Week Nine PW9 - Write methods section, peer review methods section

Rationale - This week you may feel like La Loba in the myth above - you may feel you have collected a lot of bones - and now it is time for your research project to "run"! Well, before you get too excited, you'll have one last opportunity to check in with your support network - and we are hopeful that by now you have come to appreciate each other and will continue to connect long after the bulletin board and chat rooms of this course are closed!

**Required Readings and Activities

A. Reading:

**Creswell, Chap 7, 8; Fitzgerald, Chap 7.

B. Web and Other Links:

Review complete dissertations - you need a vision of the end product - the end is in sight once you have completed your proposal!
Andrews dissertations online - since 1997 - Mixed methods dissertations - Rita Van Horn and Peggy Ncube - both excellent examples of how qualitative data can be quantified- be sure to scroll down.
Other online dissertations - Bobbi's place - be sure to scroll down; Electronic Dissertations at other schools and news

C. Experiences/Activities:

** Self-evaluate your proposal using the checklist in Fitzpatrick, Appendix B

** Download your partner's proposal and give feedback

 

D. Discussion Starters/Reflective Journal Topics: (Choose one topic and start or continue a discussion thread.)

1) Use the bulletin board or chat rooms to encourage each other - share links, give helpful suggestions to the group. Ask for help.