Observations

Demographics of Thomasville, Ga (context of the doctors office within the community)

Make sure that they information is very rich in detail, make sure to add numbers (Census data);
make sure to cite whatever the information is
1:30 on a Friday
Must assume the audience doesnt know anything about it - describe as if someone from
another country was reading the paper
Where: Doctors Office Waiting Room
What did it look like: rectangle, lots of chairs, two receptionists, playroom, bland colors (only
colors came from the child area), there was no TV, no music, just silence, temperature was cold
People: (5 patients in waiting room, 3 came out)
Waiting room: One White Older man, One Black Man w/ daughter (around mid 30s), One white
mom with toddler, One black woman (40ish)
Come out: One male (common patient), older woman comes out, another older male comes out
Verbal Behavior: no speech, except for the toddler - the toddler was smiled at and spoken to or
about, head nods, the receptionists said same cues with each patient, nurses said same cues
come on back once the person got close after their name was called, people who were coming
out of the office did not speak either, while only one surveyed the waiting room. I tried to break
the silence by talking to the woman with the child, and everyone turned to listen to our
conversation. White man, black man - no phone use. Both black ladies and mom had their
phones out. Black ladies focused on their phones, regardless of the sign in the waiting area
asking for no phone use. White mom used her phone, while simultaneously watching her child.
Men watched the child. One lady used her phone and gave up her right to privacy - did not talk
in hushed tones, but rather everyone could hear her conversation (talking about her child and
his performance in school - I was interested naturally - she was discussing setting up a
conference - didnt talk very kindly about her son - score for teachers everywhere).
Receptionists did not address the cell phone policy - not enforced.
Physical behavior: receptionists rarely smiled at patients (no smiles), patients walked with
hunkered down or hurried appearance, unless they were a common patient and a relationship
had developed, there was more interaction between the receptionist and the patient
The receptionists had very professional banter with each other. There was no conversation
among them either.

-no one sat next to one another, at least two chairs separated each individual or group of people
no one talked to each other, only head nods - the only bright spot appeared to be the toddler
Cultural phenomenon? Everyone ends up at the doctors office at some point, so what does the
interaction actually look like?
What did I expect to see? I knew that there wouldnt be much interaction, but I didnt expect so
much limit in relational emotion with each other. Patients were not given any direction once they
walked in the door. There was no hospitality towards people coming in - the expectation was
just people know what to do. Surprised the power of the toddler. Surprised that the common
patient had more power, better treatment. More patient power, more interaction between the
people in the waiting room, more hospitality, and an increase among the receptionist staff.
Thought there would be more traffic, perhaps it was the time period (1:30)
Sign saying more than 10 minutes late, appointment is subject to cancellation
Would be interesting to ask: how many of the appointments time was honored?
Interview: Should focus on getting answers to the questions that I have.
Any limitations to my study?
Make sure to read Maxwell and focus on 4, 5, and 6 to help with the writing
Findings should be confirmed in the literature - once I get to my dissertation
Doctors Office: I am going to catch an illness
BIAS: dont ever go so I expect great service, usually have to wait extensive periods of time, so I
get very angry.
NOTES

General Questions
Is my study doable? Time and difficulty?
Does it have the sophistication needed to meet Dissertation Standards, but simple enough to be
done in a reasonable amount of time with reasonable amount of effort
Basically, spans over one year time period - no longer than that, gets miserable
Does what I want to do actually matter?
Will my study make the world a better place?
KISS - keep it short and simple
Aligned
Dont talk about too many different things going on in one problem
Use the same terms, definitions, and keep on the same topic
Problem, purpose, research questions, and significance must be aligned
Say same thing, same way - use same terminology throughout, stay constant

Chapters, 1, 2, 3 - no opinion - all we need are the facts

No one cares for opinion, especially committee members
JUST THE FACTS for chapter 1, 2, & 3
Problem
This is the elephant in the room - a very large overarching isue Ex: world hunger, clean drinking
water, prisoner population
Introduction comes after the problem
Sample - Problem Statement
At great cost and effort school reform efforts over the past 50 years have resulted in many
unintended, negative consequences. Increasing numbers of teachers have become
disenchanted with their careers resulting in low teachers satisfaction

After problem comes the purpose

Which part of the problem are you going to try and solve?
Purpose Statement
To examine how the quality of work life of elementary school teachers and the relationships
between elementary teachers and their administrators are affected when an elementary school
identified as needs improvement implements the Covey Leader in Me Program as a vehicle for
reform and school improvement
KISS principle
Research questions - two, maybe three questions, questions must align
Research questions
How is the quality of work life of elementary school teachers impacted when a selected needs
improvement elementary school throughout implements the Covey Leader in Me Program as a
vehicle for reform and school improvement?
How are the relationships affected when a selected needs improvement elementary school
thoroughly implements the Covey Leader in Me Program as a vehicle for reform and school
improvement?

Significance
3 things - needs to reflect the problem and purpose statements and the benefits of the study how can it make the world a better place - Identify groups/organizations that could benefit from
the results of the study and how they may use them
1. Problem
2. Purpose
3. Identify
Has to reflect the big elephant, the purpose, identify benefits from my study
The problem needs to be very simple - it should be obvious and relatable to everyone

Should be able to see easily and understood

Problem is OBVIOUS - easy to understand
Purpose is related to the problem (what is the point of my study)
Who benefits? (how will the study help fix the purpose and the problem) - this helps make it
relevant, usable.
If my issue is field trips, then what is my problem? What is my purpose? Who benefits?
The elephant is field trips - what bite am I going to take out of it?

Problem needs to be supported by evidence(facts) - citations should be in problem statement

(especially if you put it numbers and percentages)
Final Class: Well-developed draft of the research design