Progression

I feel like I have progressed immensely since the time of my last goal post. Last month, I was still trying to pull myself together in a way. I didn’t really have a focus, just a topic. I decided to focus on testing Frank Sulloway’s Theory (from here on out referred to as Frank’s Theory) which will be explained further in my next post. Essentially, Frank stated that connection between personality and birth order can be compared with Darwin’s theory on finches; there is competition between siblings to find their own niche in their family hence birth order influences personality.

Based upon Frank’s Theory, I have written the first copy of my introduction. This copy has already been submitted to my committee and I have received feedback on it. During this weekend, I would like to analyze their feedback and make revisions to my introduction. I especially want to work on clarification since I did get some comments on providing more details on certain aspects of my project. These edits will be sent back out to my committee for reevaluation.

Monday is my first thesis committee meeting where we will be looking at my work. During this meeting, I hope to focus on specifics and clarification. Not only do I want to make sure that the introduction is comprehensive for them but I want feedback from a science standpoint. In one of our “super secret” thesis meetings earlier this month, my peers brought up the topic of nurture. We discussed the influence of factors, such as culture, religion and socioeconomic status, on one’s personality. While I had been focusing so much on the science part of the topic, I realized that I hadn’t been looking at the influential part of personality. I want to get my committee’s feedback about how I can address these factors in my study in an effective yet efficient method.

I also have been developing my first official SDA of the year. My idea at this point is to have Frank tell his story behind the theory he proposed. Since I am confined to only a few minutes with the software I have access to, I have to make this information concise while building upon it in someway. At this point, I am in the brainstorming and writing phase of this project. As always, there will be more information on my progress soon.