19th November, 2007
Everything coming together
I can’t believe how everything is coming together. Last Sunday I met with Alan Mason of the Educational Media Foundation. Alan was in town for the weekend conducting auditorium research with WLFJ, a local CCM radio station he consults for. Augie and I met with him and found that he was very eager to work with me and was willing for me to survey the entire population of their audience listing which includes more than 500,000 listeners. He was very encouraging and excited about my research project. I’m now waiting to hear back about a systematic sampling (nth) of that listing.
After the proposal defense I went to work on the religiosity measures and conversion literature. I could never have imagined that there would be so much literature on religious conversion. I have a single item measure for conversion and am close to deciding between two measures of religiosity.
So far things are looking good for my survey instrument to go into the field the Monday after Thanksgiving and will remain in the field for two weeks.
Posted at 3:05 pm | Comment (0)
26th August, 2007
Everything I need…
The only thing God didn’t do to Job
was give him a computer.
- I. F. Stone
Well, if my computer has to die this semester, I’m glad it’s doing it now. My screen is failing and my power connector is not taking a charge unless the universe is lined up and there is a thunder cloud overhead. So, I am ordering a new one but am backing up my current files just to play it safe. Isn’t it funny how something that is seemingly so simple ends up being a big pain in the rear? I have been through three external drives, and I guess three is a charm because the third one was the only one that actually worked.
So, I have a cell phone, computer, printer, Internet connection, coffee, and hand grenade — everything I need to finish my thesis!
Posted at 2:33 am | Comment (0)
24th August, 2007
I can see clearer now…
I can see clearly now, the rain is gone,
I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind
It’s gonna be a bright, bright, Sun-Shiny day.
Jimmy Cliff - I Can See Clearly Now Lyrics
It’s funny how professors don’t realize how much they know and how little their students know. I think professors assume that students are “getting it” and students are too lost to understand that they don’t “get it.” For example, I never quite “got” the importance of the lit review. Oh, sure, I knew it was important and part of the research process. I even knew that it would help lead the researcher and the reader to brilliant new thoughts about the given research topic. But it’s more than that! It’s the coca cola recipe for research and I am one step closer to complete realization! My “aha” moment is coming!
Posted at 2:51 pm | Comment (0)
22nd August, 2007
The Chinese and their proverbs…
“I hear and I forget.
I see and I remember.
and I understand.”
An old Chinese proverb
I prefer the “Aha!” moments of learning over the evolutionary ones, but I will take whatever I can get. I’m just thrilled that the dots are starting to connect. I still believe I will experience a breakthrough moment at some point. I just hope it comes soon.
Posted at 6:51 pm | Comment (0)
15th August, 2007
Barna Research Group
I recently ran across some statistics I had lost track of. These numbers are staggering and will be used to show cause for my research on religious radio.
In January of 2005, The Barna Group conducted 1,003 telephone interviews with a nationwide random sample. The study found that nearly half of all adults listen to a Christian radio broadcast in a given month. Approximately 1 out of every 6 adults listens to Christian radio on a regular basis which is more than double the percentage of adults who use any other Christian medium that regularly.
I’m still amazed at significance of these numbers and the lack of realization of the significance by my colleagues. It’s things like this that spur me on!
This was taken from the article More People Use Christian Media Than Attend Church. By The Barna Group
Posted at 3:59 am | Comment (0)