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HowtoManageGroupProjectsOrganizingAcademicResearchPapersResearchGuidesatSacredHeartUniversity

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OrganizingAcademicResearch
Papers:HowtoManageGroup
Projects
PurposeofGuide

TypesofResearchDesigns

3.TheAbstract
7.TheResults

4.TheIntroduction
8.TheDiscussion

11.CitingSources

WritingaFieldReport

1.ChoosingaTopic

5.TheLiteratureReview
9.TheConclusion

AnnotatedBibliography

GradingSomeoneElse'sPaper

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2.PreparingtoWrite
6.TheMethodology

10.ProofreadingYourPaper

GivinganOralPresentation

HowtoManageGroupProjects

WritingaPolicyMemo

Search

WritingaBookReview

WritingaResearchProposal

Acknowledgements

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TheBenefitsofGroupWork

SurvivingtheSlacker

Aspainfulasgroupworkcanbeincollege,itcanactuallybebeneficialinthe

Formoststudents,thisisthegroupproject's

longrunbecausetheworkcloselyparallelsthegroupdynamicsofbeingona

worst nightmare. A group member who

committee,taskforce,orothergroupfoundinmostworkplaces.Whateverform

refuses to pull his or her weight can really

thegroupworktakesinyourcourse,theopportunitytoworkwithothers,rather

drag everyone down, and it's infuriating to

thanonyourown,canprovidedistinctbenefits.Theseinclude:

know that someone who didn't contribute will

1.Increased productivity and performancegroups that work well

togethercanachievemuchmorethanindividualsworkingontheirown.
A broader range of skills can be applied to practical activities and
sharinganddiscussingideascanplayapivotalroleindeepeningyour
understandingofaparticularsubjectarea.
2.Skillsdevelopmentbeing part of a team will help you develop your
interpersonal skills, such as, speaking and listening as well as team
working skills such as leadership, and working with and motivating
others. Some of these skills will be useful throughout your academic
careerandallarevaluedintheworkplace.
3.Knowing more about yourselfcollaborating with others will help
identifyyourownstrengthsandweaknesses[forexample,youmaybe
abetterleaderthanlistener,oryoumightbegoodatcomingupwith

benefit from your hard work. So what do you

do when you have a slacker? First, if a
pattern of slacking off appears, find out if
there's a real problem. Perhaps this student
isn't really a slacker, but simply someone
withanoverloadedschedule.Orperhapsthis
student is avoiding the group because of
shyness.Ifthere'sareasonwhythestudent
isn't

contributing,

try

to

offer

some

reasonable accommodations. For example, if

your "slacker" isn't contributing because she
has a huge paper due next week, allow her
tositoutforawhileuntilit'sfinished.

the'bigidea'butnotsogoodatdevelopingaspecificplanofaction].
Enhancedselfawarenesswillbothhelpyourapproachtolearningand
willbeinvaluablewhenyouentertheworkforce.

It's important to be firm with a slacker.

Confrontation is hard, but it might be
necessary. Inform the student politely that

the other group members are feeling

Collaborative Learning/Learning with Peers. Institute for Writing Rhetoric. Dartmouth

College Golde, Chris M. Tips for Successful Writing Groups. University of Wisconsin
Madison. Presented November, 1994 Updated November, 1996 at Association for the
Study of Higher Education Howard, Rebecca Moore. "Collaborative Pedagogy." In
CompositionPedagogies:ABibliographicGuide.GaryTate,AmyRupiper,andKurtSchick,
eds.(NewYork:OxfordUniversityPress,2000).5471.

overburdened and would like him or her to

pitchinmore.However,ifpersistentfirmness
doesn't work, consider getting the professor
involved.

Professors

should

only

be

consulted when there is a serious problem

because you need to learn how to deal with
group problems yourself [it's one of the
reasons group projects are assigned].
Nonetheless, a group member who blows off

StagesofGroupWork

I.GettingStarted

all the work is a serious problem, so if you

try to deal with the problem yourself and
nothinghappens,goaheadandgethelp.

Toensurethatyourgroupgetsofftoagoodstartitmaybebeneficialto:
1.Take time for all members to introduce themselves, including name,
background,specificstrengths.
2.Nominateorvotetohavesomeoneactasthegroupleader,eitherfor
thatprojectmeetingorforthegroupoftheproject.

Folger, Joseph P. et al. Working Through

Conflict:

Strategies

for

Relationships,

Groups, and Organizations. 6th ed. Boston,

MA:PearsonEducation,2009.

3.Exchange names and contact details, including email addresses and

cellphonenumbers.

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II.DiscussingGoalsandTasks
After you and the other members of the group begin to understand the task
theyneedtoundertake,taketimetomakesureeveryoneunderstandswhatit
istheywillneedtoachieve.Thinkabout:

SurvivingtheChatterbox
Let'sfaceit,somegroupmembersseegroup
project meetings as a great time to socialize
and gossip. To some degree, this is okay, it
can encourage good communication and a

1.What the assignment is to ensure that everyone has the same

groupofpeoplewholikeeachotherwillwork

understanding develop a shared understanding of the overall

well together. However, if a group member is

assignmentbybrainstorming.

steering everyone off task and wasting

2.Notewhentheassignmentisdue(orwheneachpartisdue)toensure
everyoneisonthesameschedule.

valuable meeting time, this is a problem.

Communicate with a chatty group member

3.Discussspecificallyhowyouaregoingtomeettherequirementsofthe

andpolitelytellthemthatthegroupneedsto

assignment? (For example, if the assignment is to write a sample

stay on task. It may be helpful to create

researchgrant,whatareyougoingtoresearchandwhatorganizations

strict meeting agendas to help facilitate

willyousolicit?)

efficiency. You also might suggest a fun

4.Ifyouareallowedconsiderableflexibility,itoftenhelpstobrainstorma

social outing after the group meeting or

number of ideas and then assess the merits of each one separately.

project is over, as in, "Let's concentrate and

Thingstoconsider:Howmuchdoyouknowaboutthistopicalready?

get this done, and then we'll go out for

How easy or hard would it be to get good information? (Remember:

pizza." Such things can be a great

Speak with a librarian before assuming finding information is too

motivationtogetworkdone.

difficult!).Isthetopicinterestingtoeveryone?(Ifitisnotinterestingto
some,theyaremaynotbemotivatedtoworkashardastheymighton
atopictheyfoundinteresting)Canyoudoagoodjobonthistopicin

Folger, Joseph P. et al. Working Through

the available time? With the available people? With the available

Conflict:

resources?

Groups, and Organizations. 6th ed. Boston,

Strategies

for

Relationships,

MA:PearsonEducation,2009.

III.PlanningandPreparation
Thisisthestagewhenyourgroupshouldplanexactlywhatneedstobedone,
how it needs to be done, and who should do what. Pay attention to the
following:
1.Work together to break the project up into separate tasks and decide
ontasksorsubtaskseachmemberisresponsiblefor.Makesurethat
workisequallydistributedamongthegroup.
2.Assignduedatesforeachtask.
3.Develop mechanisms for keeping in touch, meeting periodically, and
sharingprogress(and/orstumblingblocks).

IV.Implementation
Whileyourgroupcarriesoutitstasks,youwillneedtopreserveyourgroup's
sense of purpose. Effective communication is vital, particularly when your
group activity extends over time. Here are some tips to promote good
communication.
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1.Keepintouchwitheachotherfrequently,reportingprogressregularly.

SurvivingtheI'mJustTooBusy

2.If someone is having trouble completing his or her area of

Group projects pose special problems for

responsibility,workwithhimorhertotrytofigureouthowtosolvethe

students who are balancing school with full

problem.Besupportiveandhelpful,butdon'toffertodootherpeople's

time

work.

commitments. A good strategy is, when you

jobs,

family,

or

other

major

3.At the same time, make it clear that the group is depending on

first meet, share schedules among group

everyonedoingtheirpartitisnotokayforonepersontoshowupat

members, noting when there are particularly

thelastminutewithouthisorherpartdone.

busy times in each person's schedule [e.g.,

other papers due, internships, vacation,
etc.]. Nevertheless, things do come up. If a
member of your group is in this situation,

V.FinishingUp
Besuretoleaveenoughtimeattheendtoputallthepiecestogetherandto
makesureeverythinghasbeencompleted.Ifyouhaveapresentationatthe
end,gothroughthesameprocessdecidewhoisgoingtodowhat,andgive
everyone enough time to prepare and practice ahead of time [preferably
together].Atthispoint,itisvitaltoensurethatyoupayparticularattentionto
detail,tieupanylooseends,andreviewthewholeprojectratherthanjustyour
contributions.

your group will not be successful unless you

make accommodations. For example, you
can arrange to have as few meetings as
possible and instead communicate through
email. You can also assign these busy
students tasks that have flexible deadlines
and can be completed at times that are
convenient for them. Communicate with
group members about what they need, and
understand that reasonable accommodations
are expected when you are working with a

VI.WritingUpYourProject

group.

Writingthegroupreportcanbechallengingitiscriticalthatyouleaveenough
time for this final stage. If your group decided to divide responsibility for

Folger, Joseph P. et al. Working Through

draftingsections,youwillneedtonominate[ifnotalreadydoneso]amember

Conflict:

topullthefinalpiecetogether.Makeittheirassignmentratherthanassigning

Groups, and Organizations. 6th ed. Boston,

thatpersontoalsowriteasectionofthereport.Itisbesttochoosewhomever

MA:PearsonEducation,2009.

Strategies

for

Relationships,

in your group is the best writer because careful copyediting at this stage is
essential to ensure that the final document is well organized and logically
structured.Focusonthefollowing:
1.Have all the writers in your group used the same writing style
[tense/voice/person]?
2.Aretheresmoothtransitionsbetweenindividualsections?
3.Are the citations to sources, abbreviations, and nontextual elements
[charts,graphs,tables,etc.]consistent?

Collaborative Learning/Learning with Peers. Institute for Writing Rhetoric. Dartmouth

College Howard, Rebecca Moore. "Collaborative Pedagogy." In Composition Pedagogies:
A Bibliographic Guide. Gary Tate, Amy Rupiper, and Kurt Schick, eds. (New York: Oxford
University Press, 2000). 5471 INDOT Group Work and Report Planning Handout. The
Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University Working in Groups. Academic Skills Centre.
UniversityofCanberraWorkinginGroups. Writing@CSU. Colorado State University Group
Writing.TheWritingCenter.UniversityofNorthCarolinaGolde,ChrisM.TipsforSuccessful
Writing Groups. University of WisconsinMadison. Presented November, 1994 Updated
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Writing Groups. University of WisconsinMadison. Presented November, 1994 Updated

SurvivingtheBoss

November,1996atAssociationfortheStudyofHigherEducation.
Does a group member insist on always
having it his or her way? Unfortunately,
learning how to work with someone who
doesn't want to collaborate is an important
skill. So what do you do? First, try some
friendly but direct negotiation. Let the group
member know what the rest of the group
doesn't

agree

with,

and

offer

some

compromises that allow everyone to have

some of what they want. Keep in mind that
some people who come across as bossy
usually don't realize it, and that this person
may be easier to work with than you realize.
However, if you have someone who refuses
to negotiate, you may have a problem. One
strategy is to accept the differences of
opinion and report them in the final paper or
presentation. Although you should take the
higher ground and be polite, stand up for
yourself and do not let the bossy member
filibuster the debate. If worse comes to
worse,gettheprofessorinvolved.

Folger, Joseph P. et al. Working Through

Conflict:

Strategies

for

Relationships,

Groups, and Organizations. 6th ed. Boston,

MA:PearsonEducation,2009.

http://library.sacredheart.edu/c.php?g=29803&p=185948

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SurvivingtheNatteringNabobof
Negatism
AChineseproverbsaysthat,whenthewinds
of change begin to blow, some people
choose to only build shelters while others
build windmills. Most opportunities to learn in
college are based upon what level of time
and energy you put into it. Unfortunately,
some people choose to "build shelters"
around their learning opportunities by being
perpetually negative or simply saying no to
everythingwithoutvolunteeringanalternative
solution [e.g., "that'll never work," "we can't
do that," "that's a dumb idea," etc.]. Such
behavior can also include things like heavy,
repeated sighing, rolling the eyes, frowning,
looking exasperated, and so on. This
negativity can spread and undermine the
group's ability to focus on the task at hand.
One way to manage a negative group
member is to acknowledge the issue that's
driving their negativity but to ask what they
find positive and build upon that to move
everyone forward. If the answer is "nothing,"
though, remain positive and enthusiastic.
Hopefully,overtime,yourpositiveenergywill
rub off on the other group members rather
than allowing the negative nabob from
sapping the group's energy and focus. If the
negative behavior persists, ignore it and tell
the person youd prefer to move on to more
productive

subjects

and/or

consider

encouraging them to seek assistance from

theprofessor.

Folger, Joseph P. et al. Working Through

Conflict:

Strategies

for

Relationships,

Groups, and Organizations. 6th ed. Boston,

MA:PearsonEducation,2009.

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