What I learned in school today
I should be reading not for fun but for profit.
I don't mean that in a monetary sense, but rather that I should be reading critically rather than for pleasure. At least when it comes to materials for my doctoral studies. The goal of a literature review is to conduct an analytical evaluation of the research that has been previously conducted on a topic. In my case, this will require a review of the literature in services marketing, consumer behaviour, interpersonal psychology, and relationship marketing (the first three for certain, the latter a possibility).
A critical review of any article or book will require an initial skimming, some time for thoughts to percolate, and then a detailed reading to verify (or refute) my initial thoughts. So reading with pen and paper to hand will be critical. Which means that I will be sitting at my desk, iPod on, far more often than I am doing now.
This strikes me as a good way to read more generally, non-fiction anyway. For example, I am currently reading Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat, which examines the impact of technology on how countries, companies, and individuals collaborate and compete, and what implications that has for developed, developing, and undeveloped societies. A book like this requires a thorough reading if one is to grasp the substance of the argument. I will likely re-read this one, so my initial read is probably analagous to skimming.
Interestingly, much of what Friedman discusses has some application to my own research. So being a more critical reader of general non-fiction could possibly help shape my thinking on my research. Though this is probably not true of other authors I read regularly, like Lee Child, James Patterson, and Jeffrey Deaver. But then again, I read those guys for pleasure. They profit.
I don't mean that in a monetary sense, but rather that I should be reading critically rather than for pleasure. At least when it comes to materials for my doctoral studies. The goal of a literature review is to conduct an analytical evaluation of the research that has been previously conducted on a topic. In my case, this will require a review of the literature in services marketing, consumer behaviour, interpersonal psychology, and relationship marketing (the first three for certain, the latter a possibility).
A critical review of any article or book will require an initial skimming, some time for thoughts to percolate, and then a detailed reading to verify (or refute) my initial thoughts. So reading with pen and paper to hand will be critical. Which means that I will be sitting at my desk, iPod on, far more often than I am doing now.
This strikes me as a good way to read more generally, non-fiction anyway. For example, I am currently reading Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat, which examines the impact of technology on how countries, companies, and individuals collaborate and compete, and what implications that has for developed, developing, and undeveloped societies. A book like this requires a thorough reading if one is to grasp the substance of the argument. I will likely re-read this one, so my initial read is probably analagous to skimming.
Interestingly, much of what Friedman discusses has some application to my own research. So being a more critical reader of general non-fiction could possibly help shape my thinking on my research. Though this is probably not true of other authors I read regularly, like Lee Child, James Patterson, and Jeffrey Deaver. But then again, I read those guys for pleasure. They profit.
Comments
I would be interested in reading your analyses of his main points.