Research Unit Introduction (10 minutes)

Why did I want you to start with a research question rather than a thesis statement?

 

Research Question and Academic Discipline (15-20 min)

There are different kinds of intellectual work that gets done at a university. And there are definitely a few different ways of categorizing them, but here is one way we are going to test out:

• Humanities: using methods of criticism or interpretive analysis as well as historical research that thinks about questions of human activity and culture. The humanities make room for questions that are deeply reliant on contextual circumstances that are difficult to observe on a grand scale. E.g., English, History, Philosophy, Cultural Studies.
• Natural Sciences: using observation and experimentation in quantitative and qualitative ways to measure and attempt to understand things that happen naturally like the ways bees pollinate vegetation or how matter changes state. E.g., Biology, Chemistry, Physics.
• Social Sciences: using quantitative and qualitative methods (e.g., experimental, observational) that resemble methods in natural sciences to study human activity and culture. E.g., Economics, Political Science, Sociology, Psychology.
• Technology and Formal Sciences: Disciplines that focus on abstract systems or heavily technical stuff (admittedly, this is kind of a mish-mash of stuff). Logic, mathematics, computer science, etc. all focus on high abstraction for systems to think with. E.g., Engineering, Computer Science, Logic, Mathematics.
• Arts: Art makes knowledge! Writing a play, using graffiti, making a film, etc. Any arts can also be a way of thinking in the university. E.g., Graphic Design, Photography, Fiction or Nonfiction Writing, Filmmaking)

I’m curious about the spread of research questions that we have for class. On this Google doc, post your research question in the category of academic disciplines that you think best fits your research question.

You can draw from multiple areas! Interdisciplinarity is good! But it is also nice to think about where your “home” is for a given research question you have. Will help ground what secondary sources you uncover or even any primary sources you analyze (and how you analyze them).

 

Documentation Style (30 min)

Different kinds of academic disciplines have different kinds of values and priorities. And we see this even with how information is cited! That’s why there are several different kinds of documentation styles.

In this activity, we are going to figure out what those values might be based on the requirements in certain documentation styles.

In groups, you will be assigned one of four possible documentation styles (there are more, but here are 4 of the big ones–IEEE is another big one, for instance):

• APA
• Chicago
• CSE
• MLA

For your group, note the following on this webpage from the UW-Madison Writing Center page on the right menu bar:

• Tense of verbs introducing source information for in-text citation: past or present? (e.g., “Foucault argues that…” or “Haraway theorized that…”)
• What information is prioritized in in-text citation? (e.g., year, page number, paraphrase of information, summary, direct quote)
• What is the method for in-text citation (when the source is mentioned when writing)? (e.g., parentheses when source is mentioned in sentence, parentheses at end of sentence, footnote, endnote)
• What information is prioritized in reference list? Think about what comes in the first three to four positions in most reference list entries (e.g., name of author or authors, year, title of work, journal, pages, publisher)
• Think about how the information is formatted in the reference list (e.g., first name included or just initials for author in reference list? how is the reference ordered–alphabetical, order in which source appears in text, chronological, etc.?)
• Is there any flexibility involved in how you can cite things, format the reference list, etc.? If so, what?
• What other formatting is required? (e.g., title page structure and information included, where and how page numbers appear, headings, tables, figures)
• Note any “tips” that stood out to you from the handout you clicked on for in-text citations or for the reference list (or for anything else).

As you hunt for this information as a group, make sure a group member is writing down what you notice about your documentation style in this Google Doc! Take about 10 minutes to work this out.

Okay, let’s look at what each group wrote up. After comparing your documentation style to the notes the other three groups took on their documentation style, take about 2-3 minutes to do some individual writing to respond to the following questions:

• Why does your documentation style have this verb tense, or this information prioritized, or this method of expressing a citation? What advantages or disadvantages are there to this?
• Which disciplines (e.g., humanities, physical sciences, social sciences, history, English, engineering) do you think would benefit from your documentation style? Why?

After you had some time to think about this, we will take 5-10 minutes to discuss your thoughts.

Think more about your research question, the kinds of scholars you are going to engage, and the right documentation style that would work best for you and your research.

 

FINALLY: Do we want to vote now for the documentation style we will use or should we do that outside of class? Do you need time to think (or are we just out of time today?

 

Finding Sources (20-30 minutes)

Maria will be leading an activity on finding sources and data in research. Here is a link to her handout: How to Conduct Effective Research – Google Docs

 

Evaluating Sources + Bias (10 minutes)

The reading due for next Tuesday (October 12) will talk a lot more about methods for evaluating sources and you will get some practice with that next week, as well.

But here is a quick list of things you want to do to “read laterally” rather than just vertically (i.e., see who else has taken the time to vet the source itself or related elements and what a variety of perspectives can contribute to your own evaluation efforts):

1. Has the main argument or topic been invalidated? Check sites like PolitiFact, FactCheck.org, Snopes, or just a general Google search to see if anything comes up (scan to see if multiple sources make similar claims about how the argument is invalidated or put into question). Make sure you consult several sources. Leave the website you are on to read elsewhere
2. Who is the author? Are they an expert on this subject? What else have they written about? Is the author affiliated with any organizations or groups? Leave the website you are on to read elsewhere
3. What can you find out about the website or publisher that published the source you are evaluating? Who sponsors or funds the website or publisher? What seems to be the purpose of the website? Are they selling anything? Who is the audience do you think? If anything is being sold, would that conflict with the information it provides? Leave the website you are on to read elsewhere

Other considerations:

1. Does the source reveal its methods for making the claims it makes? Do these methods seem professionally sound? Do other people who do similar work use the same methods?
2. Does it cite other sources and are those sources legitimate?
3. Does anything seem suspiciously left out? Like something obvious that should be included but isn’t?
4. Have other sources reached similar conclusions and are those sources legitimate?
5. ALWAYS REMEMBER: what is your research question or general interest? Make sure you spend time evaluating sources that you will eventually use to complete your invsetigation.

 

 

Assignments Coming Up: Reflective Annotated Bibliography + Midterm Reflection (10-15 minutes)

Let’s go through these 2 assignments and get on the same page about what is expected.

 

 

Close out (2-5 minutes)

We did a lot today! We opened up the research unit, had Maria show us some things about finding sources, thought more about research questions, and tied this to documentation style.

For labor assignments due October 9, make sure you read Labor Instructions carefully as the Labor Journal is different this week (it will help you prepare for the Midterm Reflection due October 16).

For October 12, we will be getting more practice with evaluating sources with the reading and the Reading/Listening Post. You’ll also have a chance to reflect again where you are at in your writing process.

On October 14, you will turn in your Reflective Annotated Bibliography.

On October 16, the brief Midterm Reflection will take the place of the Labor Journal Entry that week.