Skype Session 18 recap! and the research paper email

The term began again last week, and may I just say, it began with a bang. The research paper was upon us! So last week’s Skype session Jonathan walked us through a document he would email later about what the research paper is and how to tackle it. I’m just adding the document here so I can access it easily later.

research paper EXTENDED briefing with examples

There was a lot of information, and I think I will digest it overtime. I like to think in steps because it helps me avoid getting overwhelmed by the magnitude of what is expected from us. So the first step towards the research paper is some major brainstorming. I need to really think about my practice and the questions that lead from it. What questions could be studied more in depth through the lens of other artists to lead to significant conclusions? I have some ideas which I will be brainstorming in the next post.

I’m just going to share screenshots of the important parts of the lecture here:

 

 

 

 

 

This is basically the timeline for the research paper *gulp* ’nuff said. Like I said I feel a bit daunted. I think that fear comes from the fact that I actually have NO idea how I am doing so far. Am I on the right track or will I suddenly discover I’ve been on the wrong track, so to speak, all along once I submit my Unit 1 Assessment.

We discussed how a research paper differs from an essay. The overall point we arrived at was that an essay is subjective and a research paper is objective. I also found this interesting article on google describing the differences that I thought was very useful.

http://webapps.national.edu/research_writing/docs/PDFs/ResearchvsEssay.pdf

Jonathan pointed out that while it is academic writing at a masters level, we don’t want to write flowery words or make things overly complicated. Clear, simple, and impactful.

The first thing we’ll need before we can write our research paper is a research question. Here’s what Jonathan said about formulating a research question:

 

 

 

 

 

 

So these are basically the things I have to brainstorm about to finalize a topic. It can be an artist or a concept that interests me. But the important thing to remember is that the research question needs to be focused and specific, or it will lead to a poorly organized and researched paper.

 

 

 

 

 

We then discussed some examples of research paper questions. Not all of them clicked with everyone, but they were a good way to get those thinking caps on.

Here’s a summary of what our research paper will basically need:

 

 

 

 

Jonathan also told us that we will be using the Harvard system of referencing for the bibliography and referred us to a software called Zotero.org. I checked it out and have downloaded the extension of Zotero on chrome since I will be doing my research online via the e-library.

So that was basically it. The session left us inspired and we’re ready to get writing! 😀

 

 

 

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