9 Important Measures to Overcome the Barriers of

Communication
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In order to remove hindrances in the way of communication the following steps are worth
consideration:

(1) Clarify Ideas before Communication:

The person sending the communication should be very clear in his mind about what he wants to
say. He should know the objective of his message and, therefore, he should arrange his thoughts
in a proper order.
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(2) Communicate According to the Need of the Receiver:

The sender of the communication should prepare the structure of the message not according to
his own level or ability but he should keep in mind the level, understanding or the environment
of the receiver.

(3) Consult Others before Communication:

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At the time of planning the communication, suggestions should be invited from all the persons
concerned. Its main advantage will be that all those people who are consulted at the time of
preparing the communication plan will contribute to the success of the communication system.

(4) Be Aware of Language, Tone and Content of Message:

The sender should take care of the fact that the message should be framed in clear and beautiful
language. The tone of the message should not injure the feelings of the receiver. As far as
possible the contents of the message should be brief and excessive use of technical words
should be avoided.

(5) Convey Things of Help and Value to the Listener:

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The subject matter of the message should be helpful to the receiver. The need and interest of the
receiver should specially be kept in mind. Communication is more effective in such a situation.

(6) Ensure Proper Feedback:

The purpose of feedback is to find out whether the receiver has properly understood the
meaning of the information received. In the face-to- face communication, the reaction on the
face of the receiver can be understood.

But in case of written communication or some other sort of communications some proper
method of feedback should be adopted by the sender.

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(7) Consistency of Message:

The information sent to the receiver should not be self- contradictory. It should be in
accordance with the objectives, policies, programmes and techniques of the organisation. When
a new message has to be sent in place of the old one, it should always make a mention of the
change otherwise it can create some doubts.

(8) Follow up Communication:

In order to make communication effective the management should regularly try to know the
weaknesses of the communication system. In this context effort can be made to know whether
to lay more stress upon the formal or the informal communication would be appropriate.

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Similarly, suggestions can be invited in respect of the medium of communication (oral, written
and gestural) to know as to which medium would be more effective and appropriate.

(9) Be a Good Listener:

It is the essence of communication that both the sender and the receiver should be good
listeners. Both should listen to the each other’s point of view with attention, patience and
positive attitude. A sender can receive much relevant information by being a good listener.
Explain the media of the communication?
Posted in Communication | Email This Post
Communication plays an important role in the management of organizations and the achievement of their goals. A

manager passes information to employees working at different levels orally and in writing also. He receives the replies in

the same manner.

The different media of communication used in an organization are :

(i) Oral Communication

(ii) Written Communication

(iii) Visual Communication

(iv) Non-Verbal Communication.

What ever be the media of communication it should maintain the clarity of facts, opinion and information. It should

presented in a decent manner with proper wording and timing. The information must be clear without any confusion and

ambiguity. The communication of information must be well worded, properly timed and transmitted in decent manner. It

is also necessary that the message must be consistent i.e. the action must coincide with saying. It the supervisor makes a

lot of promises, but not fulfill them in such a case it would be called that consistency does not exit. Feedback of

information is necessary to adjust the action to desired objective.

Oral communication:

In most of the cases oral communication is more effective than any other method of communication. Managers,

supervisors and executives use oral communication with their subordinates. As it is more informal in nature it is like by

the employees. But oral communication can not be used in some cases; like for legal purposes and for maintaining

records.

Different forms of oral communication are discussed below:

(i) Talking: Talking is the most common form of communication. It is the easiest, quickest and the most economical way

of communication. A person can talk to another person or to a large number of a person. Talking is very helpful in

situations like when a supervisor is talking to the employees while resolving a dispute. Such disputes can be solved

through oral or verbal communication only and written communication can not provide speedy solution to such disputes.

(ii) Interview: An interview is also a form of oral communication. It serves three purposes. (i) to obtain information (ii)

to provide information and (iii) to motivate people. Interviews provide and appraisal of the training, educational

qualifications, working experience and personality of the interviewee. It helps in checking the responsiveness, alertness,

presence of mind and manners and poise of the persons being interview.
(iii) Tours: Business organization commonly send their representatives like salesmen, advertising agents, market

surveyors and research personnel to get quick information. During these tours the representatives discuss the matter,

provide information and also collect information for the organization. The dealers may ask several questions or certain

matters regarding their commission on sales or the acceptability of the products of the company are also discussed

during these tours.

There are some other forms of oral communication: These are group discussion, seminars and telephone.

Group discussion: A group of trainees is assigned a problem much in advance together with necessary reference of books

to be consulted. The group prepares a paper for discussion. The leader of the groups discussion the problem and the rest

of the trainees can contribute come ideas during the course of discussion which is controlled by the leader of the class.

Group discussion is possible along persons of equal status. In that case the chairman of the group shall act as group

leader. Most of the time the attitude of the leader is passive and most of the discussion is made by group members.

Seminars: Oral discussions are a main part of seminars also. The seminars are used to collect information to deal with a

problem. Usually the research scholars are informed in advance about the research methodology. The familiarity with

the proper methodology of research helps in dealing with the problem in hand quickly and accurately. The names of the

participants and their assignments are announced well in advance.

Telephone: Telephone is the quickest and easiest method of conveying information to persons within the organization

and outside also. The organization has to pay to the service provider for the use of external telephone service.

Other than these oral communication can also take place through a public address system, radio telephone, speaker

tubes, tele-printer and messengers.

Written Communication:

In a business organization written communication is sent to following persons, organizations or agencies. These could be

the employees, consumers, management, labor, suppliers, distributors or the stock holders of the company. Written

communication is also sent to government departments, bankers, insurance companies and security agencies. The

different forms of written communication are:-

(i) Reports: Reports are prepared to show the working results of the organization, department, factory, plant or any

other institution. These are also prepared to show the result of an enquiry. Many institutions like banks, insurance

companies, educational institutions and other business enterprises prepare annual reports which show their

achievements in the past year an also the obstacles, the impact of economic conditions, working results and the plans for

the future. Some reports are of confidential nature also. A report must be based on facts and cover a specific period of

time. It must serve an objective and suggests the future course of action.

(ii) Business Letters: The business letters are also an important form of written communication. A business letter should

be written in a formal way and in simple language without any scope for confusion. It should be polite and courteous but

should also convey and idea impressively. Usually business letters are written on printed paper containing the name and

address of the company along with the date and reference number. As business letters can be used for legal purposes

also, these should be written with grate care.

(iii) News letters: Business houses often use business letters to inform their customers about new products, change in

channel of distribution, enhancement of commission for distributors, improvement in the quality of the produce,

reduction in price, improvement in packaging, increase in weight and a new use of their product etc. News letters are

used for promotional activity. They must be lucid, impressive, forceful simple convincing and precise.

(iv) Advertisements : Advertisements are meant to inform the people, of company products and service ; The more a

company carries on advertising campaign, the more it succeeds in increasing its sales Advertisements are made in

newspapers, magazines, periodicals, evening issues, radio commercials, T.V. programmes, cinema slides and sales

demonstrations. All advertisements must be appealing, attractive, convincing and should succeed in achieving the

objectives of the company i.e., increase in sales. Advertising is not a waste of money but it helps both the company as well

as the customers. By advertising the sales of the products and services of the company increase, providing the company

with economies of large scale production consequently the profits increase, cost of production falls down and the

company enjoys ability to complete.

(v) Manuals : Job manuals are a form of written communication and help in defining duties and responsibilities of the

employees. All big companies have job manuals. In the absence, they follow standard job manuals. The specific duties of

an executives or high officials of the company can be ascertained, through job manual. A job manual denotes exactly what

are the powers and duties of the person. How many people would work under him? What would be the reporting

relations and who would be responsible to whom ? Job manuals also mention the levels of structure of wage and salaries.

(vi) Signs : Signs are also used to communicate information. If a van with ‘+’ sign in red colour passes on the road it

indicates that it belongs to hospital or Red Cross. A signal over the railway track also indicates the arrival or non-arrival

of the train. If the signal is down passengers shall get ready and wait anxiously for the arrival of the train.

(vii) Annual Reports:Usually all the companies publish their annual reports for the consumption of their shareholders,

employees, public and government agencies. These reports consist of working results, information about public liking

and admiration of company products and services. Annual reports also mention the economic problems faced by the

company and efforts of the directions to solve them. What company’s plans are for future action?

(i) Bulletins :

Some companies publish their bulletins informing people about the products and services provided by the company, the

standard of workmanship and technical know-how, place of the company in reaction to share of the market, future plans

and efforts of the company to fulfill its obligations towards social responsibility. Universities also publish bulletins

mentioning their educational progrmames, areas of specialization, names of degrees, diplomas, tuition fee for each

programme, other charges, hostel facilities provided, scholarships and fellow-ships offered and mode of admissions.

(ii) Charts, Graphs and Diagrams

Charts, graphs and diagrams are also used for written communication. Doctors use graphs to indicate the changing

temperatures of the patient in morning, noon and evening. Statisticians use graphs to show the results over a period of

few years like India’s exports and imports as compared to those of last year. Banks use charts for public consumption and

to invite more bank deposits. Banks provide charts showing the amount invested, duration covered and the amount of

interest to be earned etc.

Memoranda:

Memoranda are of a great use to the executives. These are sent to the concern executives so that they are well informed

and their decisions may be appropriate under the circumstances. The memoranda also called memo could contain

information concerning the industry or the industrial enterprise, employees, laour productivity, cost of production and

such other matters. Other than the technical information the memo’s could also contain information about the

employees. This could be regarding a fring benefit or a revision in wages or any other matter concerning the employees.

The memos supply upto date information to the executives and also make them aware of the on going trends in the

business. This is a low cost of method of keeping the executives well informed.

Circulars or fliers are a highly effective way to communicate with employees or customers. Many companies use circulars as notices in business

communication to enforce dress codes and policies or invite employees to meetings or luncheons. Circulars can also be used as an advertising tool.

There are a number of benefits to using circulars, but a circular must include certain features to be most effective. Additionally, distribution is

important for circulars in business communication.

Benefits of a Circular

Circulars are an inexpensive and fast way to distribute information. Managers can create a circular on their computer and print out multiple copies in

30 minutes or less. Circulars are also highly informative, depending on the level of information needed. For example, a company needs only a few lines

of copy to inform employees about a seminar.

Circulars can also be informal and non-obtrusive-people are free to read or ignore them, although if a notice is particularly important you may want to

label it as such.

Identification of an Audience

Circulars in business communication must target a specific audience. For example, a circular inviting company employees to learn database

management is geared toward marketing research managers and computer programmers. A company that distributes circulars for its newspaper is

targeting people who do not have a subscription. Writers who keep their target audience in mind will usually produce more effective circulars.

Features of Effective Circulars

The most effective circulars usually have several key features. The most important feature is the heading, which targets a specific audience. "Need To

Lose 10 Pounds This Month?" may be an effective circular heading for a company selling diet products, targeting people who need to lose weight. The

heading leads readers into the body of the circular, which describes a particular offer, product or service in a bullet-point format.

If people are interested, they will then look at the "contact information" or time and place of the sale, for example.

Design of a Circular

The circular should be designed to attract attention with a strong heading or images. It must then hold the reader's interest and ultimately compel her

to buy a particular product or service. Companies can enhance a reader's desire for a product by making the circular believable. Giving the reader a

reason to buy immediately will also increase her desire.

You may wish to have a circular being sent to the public professionally designed if you don't have a skilled designer within your business. Many

freelance graphic designers and graphic design firms can put together templates you can use for circulars you'll send out to current and potential

circulars.

Distribution of Circulars to Consumers

Business owners can post circulars on grocery store bulletin boards or include them with the daily newspaper. Some business owners place circulars

on people's car windshields. There are also companies that distribute circulars door-to-door along with other offers. Businesses may include a circular

in a direct mail package. All of these methods can be highly effective in reaching the consumer.

Electronic Notices in Business Communication

Nowadays, many businesses send internal and external notices electronically rather than through printed documents. Companies generally have
email addresses for their customers, and they can advertise to consumers on popular websites such as Google and Facebook. Plenty of tools exist to

help businesses design effective online ads, email newsletters and websites to draw consumers in.

When it comes to internal messages, email is often a more efficient way to reach employees than sending a physical document to each employee's

desk or mailbox. Company intranets have to some extent replaced physical bulletin boards. Many businesses also use internal instant messaging

platforms such as Slack or Microsoft Teams that can quickly notify employees of events or policy updates.

Difference Between Notice and Memo

An internal circular, or notice, is sometimes slightly different from a company memo. A memo is often sent to a smaller group and meant to schedule

an event, confirm the results of a meeting or remind people that something is taking place.A notice often goes to a broader group to announce

something affecting the company or a company division at large.

The term circular is sometimes used exclusively to refer to an external advertising document. Nowadays, all three types of documents are often digital,

not printed.

Educated unemployment

Introduction
In India, the educated unemployment become the biggest problem and it also faces many challenges in the life of educated people, those
people are not getting the jobs for better livelihood.

The educated youth faces the challenges of the unemployment and they do the hard work to get the job for better life, but after many
problems, they remain unemployed.

It is huge problem in our country in the today modern life and it is one of the grimmest problems of our country.

In the today’s life, the students must go for the college degree to get a good job in the
future, but rarely, some of the students get the job as per their requirement.

Those students get the graduation from the colleges for find that their investments, but
they become inefficient to get the best job for them.

It is truth and fact of the life, that young person with a bachelor’s degrees are more likely to
find a job than their less-educated today suffer from many stages for example
 High unemployment rates

Declining wages day by day

Lower quality of jobs

Few opportunities for advancement

Educated unemployment is the very critical situation in India because many of the educated people are not getting the job as per their
eligibility.

The people get the education but not gets the educated employment in India. It is the very dangerous problem in the country

Problems in the Formulation of Useful Hypothesis

In the formulation of useful hypothesis, there are three difficulties :

1. Absence of clear theoretical Framework :
Generally, theoretical knowledge is found as unclean and ambiguous which presents difficulty in
understanding, therefore, useful hypotheses cannot be derived from these.

2. Lack of ability to utilize theoretical framework :

There is a need of intelligence and observation ability to avail the theoretical knowledge so that through
deduction, the formulation of hypothesis be done from theoretical knowledge but because of lack of
this ability theoretical knowledge cannot be availed and there is difficulty in meeting useful hypotheses.

3. Lack of Acquaintance with available research techniques :

Scientific research procedure is so complicated and vast that complete knowledge and its correct use is
difficult and to formulate useful hypothesis, there is a hesitation and Worry in the minds that how to
test them.
Challenge: Choosing the Right Topic
Your research topic is the foundation on which everything else rests, so it’s crucial to choose carefully. “You can’t do anything else until
you figure out the basic focus of your topic,” says Dr. Susann V. Getsch ’08, who earned her PhD in Psychology from Walden. The topic
of her dissertation, Educating Students With Pervasive Developmental Disorders: An Exploration of Government Mandates and
Teachers’ Perspectives, was close to her heart—Getsch has a child on the autism spectrum. After first attempting to “take on the entire
world” with her research, Getsch chose to focus on how special education teachers select the protocols for classrooms with students with
autism in the context of No Child Left Behind and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. She shares her recommendations for
choosing an effective research topic.

 Develop a doable topic.Determine what resources you have available—time, money, people—and choose a topic that you can do
justice. Getsch scrapped an initial study idea of replicating another researcher’s study because it would be too resource-intensive.
 Read everything you can on the topic. Getsch “stumbled across” systems theory, an interdisciplinary framework for understanding
systems in science and society. The topic was outside her required class reading, but ultimately provided Getsch’s theoretical
framework.
 Find a theoretical basis to support your topic. The key is having an overarching theoretical context for your results. “I was really
thrilled when I found these theories that fit my study like a glove,” Getsch says.
 Make sure the topic will hold your interest. You’ll be spending at least a year on a dissertation or any large research project, so it has
to be compelling enough that you’ll go the distance.
 Look for a niche in which you can make a difference … My view is that you really should be offering something new to the field,” says
Getsch.
 … but remember you can’t change the world with one dissertation. Getsch’s dissertation committee chair, Dr. Stephanie Cawthon,
helped her focus on the crux of what she wanted to explore. “She gently pointed out that I couldn’t change the whole world with my
dissertation, but I could add to the body of knowledge,” says Getsch.
 Let yourself shift gears. Getsch admits that the topic she started out with was “in no way” what she ended up with.
 Fine-tune your topic based on input from others. “Take every opportunity you can to pick the brains” of experts, Getsch recommends.
“I went across disciplines. I drove people crazy. And each time, I would revise slightly based on what the last person taught me.”

Challenge: Choosing the Right Methodology

Once you’ve chosen a topic, you’ll need a methodology—a procedure for conducting your research—in order to move forward.
Dr. Linda Crawford, a faculty member in Walden’s PhD program, has received the Bernard L. Turner award two times for chairing
outstanding dissertation recipients. She offers several techniques for getting on the right path when it comes to choosing the appropriate
methodology for your study.
“The best way to choose it is not to choose.”In other words, Crawford says, “the methodology that’s used comes from the research
question, not from your personal preferences for one design or another.” She recommends refraining from choosing between a qualitative
or quantitative methodology until you:

 Complete the sentence: “The problem is …”

Complete the sentence: “The purpose of this study is …”
Formulate your research questions.
 Let your answers guide you.
 Determine what kind of design and methodology can best answer your research questions. If your questions include words such as
“explore,” “understand,” and “generate,” it’s an indication that your study is qualitative. Whereas words such as “compare,” “relate,”
or “correlate” indicate a quantitative study. The design comes out of the study, rather than being imposed on the study.
 Hone your study design. Once you become clear whether you’re going in a quantitative or qualitative direction, you can begin to look
in more detail at the methodology. This will be determined by figuring out “from whom you’re going to collect data, how you’re going
to collect the data, and how you’re going to analyze it once you collect it,” says Crawford.
 Be crystal clear. For a qualitative study, you might use focus groups and interviews, for example, to collect data, whereas a quantitative
study may use test scores or survey results. Either way, the methodology should be so clear that any other trained researcher should
be able to pick it up and do it exactly the same way.
 Be honest about your abilities. Ask yourself, “This is what the study demands—do I have the skills to do it?” says Crawford. If not,
determine if you can develop the skills or bring together a research team.
 Take your time with the planning process. “It’s worth consulting other researchers, doing a pilot study to test it, before you go out
spending the time, money, and energy to do the big study,” Crawford says. “Because once you begin the study, you can’t stop.”

image: https://www.waldenu.edu/-/media/Walden/general-media/newsroom/alumni-
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 Challenge: Assembling a Research Team
Research is never done in a vacuum. Once your topic and methodology are in place, you will need a research team to support you, as
well as study participants.

Dr. Lynette Savage ’09, PhD in Applied Management and Decision Sciences, recommends assembling a network of advisors before
starting your research:

 Solicit useful feedback.Savage suggests that you “cultivate friendships with people who are going to help you think critically” about
your topic. These people are invaluable for helping you consider your idea from a different angle or perspective.

 Vet your committee. If you need a formal committee, choose your chairperson carefully, Savage says, “because you’re going to work
closely with him or her for a while.” She recommends interviewing your potential chair and committee members to make sure there’s a
match and discussing upfront what each party needs in order to go through the process. This includes asking whom your chairperson is
comfortable working with—“The chair helps negotiate things if the committee can’t come to agreement, so he or she needs to get
along with everyone else,” Savage explains.

 Be clear about your needs.Similarly, when it comes to finding mentors, or getting help for tasks such as creating a survey tool or
writing your research question, Savage suggests being very clear about what you need from them. “People are very willing to help
when you come structured and prepared,” she says.

Challenge: Finding Study Participants

Once you have your team together, it’s time to conduct your study, and that means finding participants.
Dr. Rodney Lemery ’08, PhD in Public Health, managed to overcome a big challenge to recruiting participants for his study: “Like a lot
of epidemiology researchers, I was trying to target a ‘hidden population’—men who have sex with men,” he explains. Lemery shares
how, through trial and error, he recruited 125 participants for his study.

 Don’t waste your money.Lemery first tried hiring a third-party email marketing group to send his survey to 50,000 self-identified men
who fit his criteria. While email marketing might work in some cases, it’s a costly risk—Lemery spent $2,500 and got just four subjects.
 Leverage the power of a network. Lemery’s next attempt to reach his target group was more successful. He used what are called
“snowball” sampling techniques—“targeting a particular group, locating advocates within that social network,” and then asking them
to recommend others who might be willing to participate in the study. “You almost get a domino effect, if it works,” Lemery explains.
 Don’t be afraid to reach out. Lemery also approached established researchers in his field for guidance and networking. “I was very
nervous, but I went ahead anyway and contacted two very well-known researchers, and one of them turned out to be a very key
advocate in my research and recruitment,” he explains. “If I had listened to my fear, I never would have gotten 45 of my participants.”
His advice to others looking for mentors: “Just go for it—the worst thing that can happen is that people can say no.”

Challenge: Getting Institutions to Participate

Sometimes recruiting study participants requires going through institutions, which may put up barriers, particularly if your research is
controversial or sensitive, and this presents an additional challenge.
Dr. Eileen Berg ’09, Doctor of Education (EdD), conducted her doctoral study on the relationship between teachers’ unions and
educators throughout schools and districts in Ontario, Canada, and came up against strong resistance due to the political nature of her
topic. And Dr. Christopher Plum ’09, PhD in Education, needed to observe Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings—in which
a plan is developed to help students with disabilities—in order to conduct his research. These meetings are often very difficult for parents
and students, and getting access required permission from school districts, as well as the parents, student, and school psychologists
attending each meeting. Berg and Plum offer suggestions for getting institutional buy-in:

 Don’t stop at the first rejection.“I went to one of the superintendents, and she said, ‘That’s interesting, but you’re not going to get any
support from this school district,’” says Berg. “So I started to apply to different districts and got all these rejections—the influence of
the unions in Ontario was so strong that nobody wanted to participate.
 Pursue alternate avenues. After extensive research online and networking, Berg eventually found an organization that would promote
the study to principals and another organization that agreed to publish a notice about the study in its bulletin for teachers.
 Persevere. “If it’s an extremely hot topic, you’re going to have the doors blocked,” Berg says. “You need to persevere, you need to
make contacts, you need to network with people and make phone calls and ask, ‘How can you help me?’ ... Just sending emails won’t
work.”
 Build relationships. Plum agrees that when going through institutions to find study participants, the key “is trying to form relationships
with the people who will help you gain access.”

 Learn to sell yourself. “You’ve got to do a lot of selling of yourself and what you’re trying to do,” Plum says. But, he warns, there’s a
fine line between being persistent and not turning people off. “That’s the art,” he says. “You have to finesse it and understand the
importance of building that comfort level. The people who are the gatekeepers have to believe that you’re coming in objectively and
that what your research yields will potentially positively impact the institution in some way. How does this add value?”
 Be prepared. Plum also stresses the importance of having all of your forms and information—such as a copy of your abstract and a
thumb drive with supporting documents—on hand at all times, in case someone wants more information.
 The importance of image. Finally, Plum says, “presentation is important—it all paints a picture in terms of how you’re going to come
across.”

Challenge: Staying Motivated and Working Your Plan

Sometimes, in the course of a large research project, the biggest challenge can be internal—maintaining the motivation to keep going
despite obstacles in your research and the pressures of work and personal commitments.
Dr. Latrice Y. Walker ’08 completed her PhD in Education in just eight quarters (while also working “non-stop” on her business). She
shares her strategies for maintaining an upbeat, confident attitude and staying the course with any large-scale research project.

 Follow your passion and your purpose. “The first component of motivation is working on something you’re passionate about, that you
believe in,” Walker explains. “It’s cyclical—if you’re passionate about what you’re researching, the research will increase your passion
to complete your research.” Passion, she says, comes from the belief that your work will have some kind of social impact, that an
injustice in the world could be improved “even just 10 percent.”
 Monitor your attitude. “When there’s so much to do, attitude does make a difference,” Walker says. “There can be no doubt in your
mind that you can do this. You must believe that you can make it through this process.” To stay positive, she suggests thinking of the
mind like a garden: “We have to pluck out the negative thoughts like weeds and constantly plant positive thoughts.”
 Reward yourself. “Make rewards part of your work plan, and then give yourself those rewards,” Walker says. “It could be going to the
movies, going out to lunch, spending time with your family—whatever it is, make it something meaningful to you.”
 Ask for help. Walker credits her family—especially her husband—with helping her handle all her commitments. “If you share your
goals with those individuals you care about, they will get to buy in and help you achieve those goals,” she says. “But only share your
greatest dreams and goals with people who are going to be positive and supportive.”
 Challenge: Dealing With Your Data
When you’ve completed your study, the final challenge is knowing how to make sense of the data you’ve collected.
Dr. Ronald Paige ’07, PhD in Education, was faced with 900-plus pages of transcribed stories from the interviews he conducted. And Dr.
Paula Dawidowicz, a faculty member in The Richard W. Riley College of Education and Leadership, is the author of Literature Reviews
Made Easy: A Quick Guide to Success. Paige and Dawidowicz offer tips for working with your data.

 Ground yourself in the research. Paige realized that, to address his large volume of research, he had to connect his own research to
the existing research. Grounded in a “huge survey of the literature,” he had the parameters to organize his research. Dawidowicz adds
that your data should be presented in a way that demonstrates how your research adds to the body of knowledge.
 Get back to your methodology. Paige credits a course in research methodologies taught by his mentor and committee chair, Dr. Linda
Crawford, with preparing him to deal with his data. “The books we had to read were excellent,” he says, “and we compared
methodologies in class—that was very helpful.”
 Listen to the data. “When you have that kind of qualitative data, and you’re looking at it cold, the biggest challenge is not to look at it
with any preconceived ideas—you literally have to step back and wait for the data to come alive and start speaking,” Paige says.
 Take advantage of technology. “The key thing in qualitative research is looking for patterns, and that’s where having a software
program—I used one called HyperRESEARCH—was invaluable,” Paige says. “I couldn’t have done it without that.”
 Stay focused. Dawidowicz cautions against being distracted by irrelevant data as you do your analysis. She suggests “keeping a really
close eye” on your research questions and your hypothesis, “because sometimes the data you collect will take you away from that.”
 Account for biases. Dawidowicz explains that, in a quantitative study, the researcher needs to address the biases of the individuals
completing the survey before the results can be generalized to a larger population. Whereas qualitative work requires researchers to
discuss “how their bias or interpretation may have played into their conclusions.”
 Let the data drive your presentation. Dawidowicz says, “The data should drive how you present what you’re doing. It’s your job to
organize it around the research questions.”
 Draw on the details. “A good quote or a good point pulled from a quantitative survey—that information can always give us a greater
sense of what actually occurred,” Dawidowicz says.

Research Support:
The Walden Advantage
Because Walden is dedicated to creating scholar-practitioners who will make a difference in their fields, students in Walden graduate
programs have an exceptional level of support for conducting research that can effect social change. In addition to the support provided
by faculty members, mentors, and dissertation committee members, Walden graduate students have access to the targeted resources of
the Center for Research Support and the Center for Student Success.
The Center for Research Support can assist students with many of the specific research challenges outlined in this article. For instance,
when it comes to choosing a topic and a methodology, the center regularly updates its Web site with new resources about different
content areas and offers poster sessions at the January and July residencies.
“These are good opportunities to see the research being done by Walden students and faculty and to talk to the presenters,” explains Dr.
George Smeaton, former executive director of the center. Students can also discuss their research projects through the center’s
Communities of Scholarship in Practice—an online forum for groups of people interested in the same topic to meet electronically.
Smeaton says that other valuable resources for conducting research include access to a large number of data sets through the Inter-
University Consortium for Political and Social Research and access to a participant pool of Walden students, alumni, and faculty for
Web-based surveys. In addition, the center offers a statistics course for students who need to improve their skills to conduct research and
provides guidelines and rubrics for developing theses and dissertations.
The Center for Research Support also offers graduate students assistance in pursuing funding for research projects, help with publishing
research, and access to the Institutional Review Board (IRB), which ensures that Walden research complies with the university’s ethical
standards and federal regulations.
More support is available through the Center for Student Success (CSS), which provides the following student-centered resources:

 Career Services: Practical online tools for complete career planning, management, and advancement cycle, as well as individual
consultations.
 Academic Residencies: Opportunities for doctoral and some master’s students to meet with faculty, network with other students, and
build research skills.
 Walden Library: Extensive digital resources, as well as dedicated staff who will help students identify, evaluate, and obtain the
materials they need for their research.
 Writing Center: Comprehensive support for academic writing, including tutoring, writing courses, one-on-one consultations, and
samples and templates.
 Student Success Courses: Supplemental courses for students who would like to enhance or refresh their skills in a particular area.

Dr. Lorraine Williams, executive director of the CSS, explains that the individual units of the CSS “work in a synergistic way to support
students in their research.” For example, the Writing Center will work with students one-on-one—as well as in group skill sessions at
residencies—and will also direct students to appropriate graduate writing courses, if necessary, and work collaboratively with the library
to help students create a literature review. “We all work closely together as a team and strategize as to how we can best support our
students,” Williams says.

Read more at https://www.waldenu.edu/connect/newsroom/publications/articles/2010/01-research-

challenges#KLSBHDQbQquDFAbu.99