Time for an update

This blog has been quiet - but my thesis work has been anything but. I am now in the routine of reading/writing (the current emphasis is the latter). I am working on a comprehensive literature review draft to consolidate my thinking and to provide a framework for the assimilation of new ideas as I read further.

And, it's tough work.

Some news, though:

• The CSPP survey is underway. I so far have 31 responses out of a possible 146... not glowing. A reminder on Monday will hopefully bring that number well up. Initial responses indicate that my hunch was right - distance students do appear to be better assimilated in their church contexts and more actively involved in local church ministry... actually the findings so far are a little more exciting than this, but I don't want to be too descriptive at this stage!
• Zotero is working wonderfully.
  
• I found an open source statistics application, PSPPire - which seems to be a promising (and free!) alternative to SPSS.
  
• My thinking is now very mature (at least I think so)... I have a far clearer perspectve of the literature review as a coherent whole.

The weeks ahead will see more reading/writing, though once the survey closes on 21 April I will prepare the respondents' own CSPP profiles and begin some data analysis.
So, to sum for now, I'm well into the game - making good progress, all systems go.