Self-Directing Researcher - for Master’s Thesis and Doctoral Dissertation  (Paperback, Elias M. Sampa)

The Self-Directing Researcher is a 4-book Researcher’s Guide Series is addressed to students belonging to three academic levels and one to research mentors across levels. The purpose of the series is to guide potential readers on how to approach research from an outcomes-impacts orientation and carry it out in a self-directing manner. With the guidance provided, students can find opportunities to engage and direct themselves successfully through - proposal planning, writing stage, implementation, and completion stage. Although students are encouraged to use Self-Directing Researcher in ways, they see fit, the series is meant to accomplish two main goals. 1. First, is to help students take responsibility for their research rather than fault the quality of mentoring provided or not provided. It encourages them to assert their independence and autonomy in pursuit of original ideas. 2. Second, is to turn students away from ‘inputs-outputs’ research orientation to an ‘outcomes-impacts’ one by looking beyond pursuit of research ‘in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the diploma’, publication, salary increase, or promotion. Embracing outcomes-impacts orientation leads students to engage in meaningful research with a predisposition and determination to harness the power of evidence and develop ideas to confront our human and societal challenges, take inventive steps, find solutions, open new possibilities, and create change. Research mentors, new or experienced, will find essential guideposts and powerful insights in mentoring Self-Directing Researchers appropriately and effectively.