This presentation was presented at the Research Apprenticeship Course Meeting for Dr. Jacob’s Doctoral Students Wednesday, 8 October 2014, 2:30 – 3:30 p.m. (EDT) Room 4321 Wesley W. Posvar Hall University of Pittsburgh

1. My Experience of Writing
the Comprehensive Exam
Che-Wei Lee
PhD Student
Social and Comparative Analysis
in Education Program
CHL138@pitt.edu
www.iise.pitt.edu/lee
Research Apprenticeship Course Meeting for Dr. Jacob’s Doctoral Students
Wednesday, 8 October 2014, 2:30 – 3:30 p.m. (EDT)
Room 4321 Wesley W. Posvar Hall
University of Pittsburgh
Copyright © 2014 by Che-Wei Lee 1

2. About the Author
• Paljaljim Rusagasag (Che-Wei Lee)
• Tribal Affiliation: Paiwan Tribe of Taiwan
• PhD Student, SCAE
• IISE Project Associate
• Research Interests:
– Comparative Education
– Indigenous Higher Education
– Indigenous Academic Identity
– Faculty Diversity and Development
A Recent Publication
W. James Jacob, Jing Liu, and Che-Wei Lee. 2014. “Policy Debates and Indigenous
Education: The Trialectic of Language, Culture, and Identity.” In Indigenous
Education: Language, Culture, and Identity, edited by W. James Jacob, Sheng Yao
Cheng, and Maureen K. Porter. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer.
Copyright © 2014 by Che-Wei Lee 2

3. Preamble
• My personal experience – might differ from
yours
• Qualitative study on faculty, using
ethnographic methods
• Find something that works for you
Copyright © 2014 by Che-Wei Lee 3

4. Comprehensive Exams
• A necessary, meaningful, and helpful process to demonstrate
your comprehensive knowledge of your research topic
• Proof that you are ready for scholarly dialogue in your specific
area
• Committee members validate your professional knowledge
and competence.
Goals:
1. Train you to become an expert in your topic
2. Find a knowledge gap around which to orient
your dissertation research
Copyright © 2014 by Che-Wei Lee 4

5. Lessons Learned
1. Know yourself; grit is the key to success
2. Make relevant to your dissertation topic
3. Adhere to the rules
4. Choose manageable questions that fill a gap in the research
5. Content-expert learning
6. Build ideas from the literature, your previous research, and your
experience
7. Read the journals in your field regularly
8. Read efficiently (Screen or paper? Notes or annotated bibliography?)
9. Find partners or mentors for meaningful dialogue
10. Create a clear framework and avoid plagiarism
11. Learn and use EndNote (or similar)
12. Use tables and figures, as appropriate
13. Become an expert
14. Know when to stop reading and start writing!
Copyright © 2014 by Che-Wei Lee 5

6. In Hindsight…
• Efficiently and accurately identify the seminal
works in your field
• But how?
– Engage in scholarly conversations with senior
colleagues and mentors
– Review reference books
– Snowball literature search
Copyright © 2014 by Che-Wei Lee 6

7. Helpful Questions for Doing a
Literature Review
When facing a large amount of information:
1. Who were cited most in your field?
2. What were the relatively popular topics in recent
years?
3. Which articles were highly cited in relevant journals?
4. Trends in research topics?
5. What are the prospects and needs in the current
literature?
 Bibliometrics
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8. Definition of Content Expert
• Credentialed in a specific area
• “Decides what knowledge will be taught”
(Morre and Shattuck 1996, 8)
• Helps shape the field
Other terms: Subject-matter expert (SME), domain
expert
Source:Morre, Michael G., and Kay Shattuck. 1996. Distance
Education: A Systems View. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Copyright © 2014 by Che-Wei Lee 8

9. Content-Expert Learning Model
Central Content Experts
(dominant,
independent)
Peripheral Novice
(subordinate,
dependent)
= Direct and Indirect Effects
• Standardizing
• Institutionalizing
• Socializing to academic disciplines
Figure 1. Content-Expert Learning Model
Source: Created by the Author
Special Interest Group (SIG)
Copyright © 2014 by Che-Wei Lee 9
The “I,” with my inquires

10. Search Strategy and Process
• Refer to previous reviews, if any, in your field.
• Electronic Search
– Databases, e.g., ERIC, EBSCOhost, Academic Search
Premier, PsycINFO, etc.
– Limit search to a specific period
– Identify keywords
• Manual Search
– Search journals excluded from databases but widely
cited by scholars
• Snowball Literature Search
– Snowball from other articles’ references
Copyright © 2014 by Che-Wei Lee 10

11. Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria
• Include:
– Peer-reviewed empirical articles in academic
journals
• Exclude:
– Non-empirical papers
• Conceptual/theoretical papers
• Book reviews
• Conference papers
• Editorials
– Non-peer-reviewed papers
Copyright © 2014 by Che-Wei Lee 11

12. Coding the Sources
I input the following information on the first page of my
source. The sources are arranged in [e.g., the
publication date] order.
1. Paper: Question No. 2
2. Type: Empirical
3. Relevance: High
4. Theme: Persistence
5. Section: Result
6. Note: Refer to the [relevant] section – good for
shaping my dissertation research questions
Copyright © 2014 by Che-Wei Lee 12

13. Helpful References
• Booth, Wayne C., Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams. 2008. The
Craft of Research. 3rd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
• Galvan, Jose L. 2013. Writing Literature Reviews: A Guide for Students of
the Social and Behavioral Sciences. 5th ed. Glendale, CA: Pyrczak
Publishing.
• Harris, Robert A. 2011. Using Sources Effectively. 3rd ed. Glendale, CA:
Pyrczak Publishing.
• Hart, Chris. 1998. Doing a Literature Review: Releasing the Social Science
Research Imagination. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
• Hart, Chris. 1998. Doing a Literature Search: A Comprehensive Guide for
the Social Sciences. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
• Machi, Lawrence A., and Brenda T. McEvoy. 2012. The Literature Review:
Six Steps to Success. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
• Ridley, Diana. 2012. The Literature Review: A Step-by-Step Guide for
Students. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Copyright © 2014 by Che-Wei Lee 13

14. Useful Writing Samples
• Jacob, W. James, Jennifer Crandall, Jason Hilton, and Laura
Northrop. 2011. “Emerging Theories in Comparative, International,
and Development Education.” In Beyond the Comparative:
Advancing Theory and Its Application to Practice, edited by John C.
Weidman and W. James Jacob, 69–91. Rotterdam, The Netherlands:
Sense.
• Lee, Moosung, and Tom Friedrich. 2011. “Citation Network Analysis
of Comparative Education Texts: A Methodological Consideration
for Micro Social Cartography.” In Beyond the Comparative:
Advancing Theory and Its Application to Practice, edited by John C.
Weidman and W. James Jacob, 113–44. Rotterdam, The
Netherlands: Sense.
• Rust, Val D., Aminata Soumaré, Octavio Pescador, and Megumi
Shibuya. 1999. “Research Strategies in Comparative Education.”
Comparative Education Review 43 (1): 86–109.
Copyright © 2014 by Che-Wei Lee 14

15. Other Helpful Resources
• Journal: Review of Educational Research
• Course: ADMPS 3001 – Disciplined Inquiry
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