Hi, it's KB again with a discussion of good research practices. I've spoken in previous blogs about using peer-reviewed journals and the subject rooms provided at U of Leicester library, but today I'd like to talk about what a research log is and why you should use one.
A good research log affects your scholarship and what you write. This is important when you are doing assignments, but it becomes doubly important when you are writing your dissertation. Why is this the case? When we are working on assignments or longer projects such as dissertations, we do a lot of reading and thinking. Frequently, we come across ideas as we read and assimilate them into our understanding of the subject. Sometimes, these are concepts and ideas that form our understanding of what we believe or know about the subject on which we are writing. Still more frequently, they are ideas that are common to scholarship on this subject and are obviously not our own. When we don't have a research log, we forget or lose track of the origin of these ideas. It is even possible to remember whole swatches of information from other sources and put them into our work and believe that these are our own ideas.
When we keep an accurate record, that is the name of the books or journals that we have read in relation to the assignments that we are doing, then we have a trail of where we have gone and what we have read there. As I have encountered this problem more frequently, I have become convinced that this log should be detailed as possible. You should write down a few words about what you have read in these source journals or books, when you read them, and a complete bibliographic record of the journal.
For example, let's say I was writing a blog on passive verbs. Here is my research log.
Research Log - Passive Verbs
May 24, 2009 15:02 (GMT)
Hewings, Martin. Advanced Grammar in Use. 2nd ed. New York: Cambridge U Press, 2006.
I read pages 48-51 on the use of the passive verb in writing. An exercise was included for students.
May 25, 2009 1:02 (GMT)
Hacker, Diana. A Canadian Writer's Reference. 2nd. ed. Toronto: Nelson Press, 2001.
I read page 103 on how to simply sentence structures by not using passive verbs.
Later, when I decide to write my blog, I will find the sources in my research log. This log can exist on your computer, in a notebook or another database programme. Personally, I prefer to use a steno notepad which I label with a big sticky label with the assignment or project name. I include quotations from the appropriate sources. If you use a computer, you should always duplicate this log in a few places.
Some of you know how to do this and have heard this speech before. However, I am constantly made aware that students fail in this very crucial practice and pay the price of failure and, sadly, lost time and work. It is almost impossible to reconstruct an assignment or dissertation that has gone off the rails due to poor research practices and finding lost sources can prove more of a challenge than beginning afresh. There are free resources, such as Refworks, to help you keep track of your work on the server at U of Leicester. I am, as usual, always here to assist you with your research (as are the librarians). Good research practices spell success in the MBA programme.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Structure your paragraphs - Do yourself a favour on assignments and exams
Hi, here I am again. In this blog, I'd like to talk about academic writing style. In exams and assignments, this is a problem for a number of students. Sometimes, this can be a problem for distance learners for a variety of reasons. The biggest problem is that informal writing dominates our world in newspapers, office memos and our lives. We forget that (a) arguments take time to develop and (b) the one sentence paragraph does not develop arguments.
Read a newspaper column; how many of those sentences begin with and, but and or? Look again, how many one sentence paragraphs do you find? Now, think back, way back to the elementary/junior school years. Do you remember a teacher explaining to you that "one sentence paragraphs are for a special effect." The same thing applied to the use of "and, but and or" at the beginning of sentences. Moreover, the teacher was usually talking about 'creative compositions', that is compositions in which we wrote stories and descriptions. Think again, how effective is the strategy of the one sentence paragraph if that is all you do?
Another unfortunate problem, the opposite of the one sentence paragraph, is the terrifying one paragraph paper. This assignment is not divided into logical units or paragraphs. Everything is stuck together in a disorganized mess. The tutor (or the marker who should concern you all) must search through this disorganized material trying desperately to find points that relate to the assignment. Assignments should never be a challenge for the markers/tutors. Markers/tutors want to find relevant points on the topic quickly. This is particularly true of exams by the way. Structure your argument into paragraphs and make reading your assignments easier.
An academic argument is formal and should be presented in structured paragraphs within a format that defends the points of your argument. Academic paragraphs are structured like this:
1. The topic sentence. This sentence presents your main argument. It relates to the main argument of your assignment/essay question.
2. Supporting documentation. Next, you present evidence from the academic articles/journal articles that you have read to support the point that you are trying to make. It is not enough to write: 'so and so [fill in the appropriate name] believes my argument above to be true'. This is unsubstantiated reasoning: I say it and John says it, therefore it must be true. The point is, why it is true? Make sure your data backs up the arguments you make. For example, if you say that the head of Apple has a charismatic leadership style, you must show from the journal articles you've researched what this actually means in terms of charismatic leadership and how it applies to the head of Apple.
3. Discuss the data. This part of the academic paragraph is crucial. Explain or analyse how the data you have just presented supports your argument in the first paragraph. You can also relate it to the main argument. This may take one or two sentences. However, if you do not analyse your argument you have not demonstrated that you can think critically. You can also link ideas together to come up with original concepts (synthesize ideas) or review your data and discuss their relevance to the subject (evaluation). Doing this demonstrates that you are thinking critically.
4. Link the argument to the next concept. Create order inside your assignment. Anticipate the next point and link it to the points you are making. The reader should be able to follow your argument. When you read all your topic sentences in your assignment or essay in order, they should form a coherent argument.
Returning to my first point, when you create order from the chaos of the material you present in assignment, you do yourself a favour. You do your tutors and markers a favour. This makes it easier for tutors and markers to give you better grades because they understand the logic behind your arguments. They can locate them in a structure because they are presented clearly so that your major points can be seen. When you do this, you will also see this order and develop your own 'evaluative' abilities. You will walk out of exams or hand in assignments knowing that you have achieved your goals.
Read a newspaper column; how many of those sentences begin with and, but and or? Look again, how many one sentence paragraphs do you find? Now, think back, way back to the elementary/junior school years. Do you remember a teacher explaining to you that "one sentence paragraphs are for a special effect." The same thing applied to the use of "and, but and or" at the beginning of sentences. Moreover, the teacher was usually talking about 'creative compositions', that is compositions in which we wrote stories and descriptions. Think again, how effective is the strategy of the one sentence paragraph if that is all you do?
Another unfortunate problem, the opposite of the one sentence paragraph, is the terrifying one paragraph paper. This assignment is not divided into logical units or paragraphs. Everything is stuck together in a disorganized mess. The tutor (or the marker who should concern you all) must search through this disorganized material trying desperately to find points that relate to the assignment. Assignments should never be a challenge for the markers/tutors. Markers/tutors want to find relevant points on the topic quickly. This is particularly true of exams by the way. Structure your argument into paragraphs and make reading your assignments easier.
An academic argument is formal and should be presented in structured paragraphs within a format that defends the points of your argument. Academic paragraphs are structured like this:
1. The topic sentence. This sentence presents your main argument. It relates to the main argument of your assignment/essay question.
2. Supporting documentation. Next, you present evidence from the academic articles/journal articles that you have read to support the point that you are trying to make. It is not enough to write: 'so and so [fill in the appropriate name] believes my argument above to be true'. This is unsubstantiated reasoning: I say it and John says it, therefore it must be true. The point is, why it is true? Make sure your data backs up the arguments you make. For example, if you say that the head of Apple has a charismatic leadership style, you must show from the journal articles you've researched what this actually means in terms of charismatic leadership and how it applies to the head of Apple.
3. Discuss the data. This part of the academic paragraph is crucial. Explain or analyse how the data you have just presented supports your argument in the first paragraph. You can also relate it to the main argument. This may take one or two sentences. However, if you do not analyse your argument you have not demonstrated that you can think critically. You can also link ideas together to come up with original concepts (synthesize ideas) or review your data and discuss their relevance to the subject (evaluation). Doing this demonstrates that you are thinking critically.
4. Link the argument to the next concept. Create order inside your assignment. Anticipate the next point and link it to the points you are making. The reader should be able to follow your argument. When you read all your topic sentences in your assignment or essay in order, they should form a coherent argument.
Returning to my first point, when you create order from the chaos of the material you present in assignment, you do yourself a favour. You do your tutors and markers a favour. This makes it easier for tutors and markers to give you better grades because they understand the logic behind your arguments. They can locate them in a structure because they are presented clearly so that your major points can be seen. When you do this, you will also see this order and develop your own 'evaluative' abilities. You will walk out of exams or hand in assignments knowing that you have achieved your goals.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Word of the Week - Non-standard plurals
Non standard plurals, that is, plurals that do not follow the pattern of adding either 'es' (tomatoes, potatoes) or simply 's' (boys, girls), often follow a similar pattern. Words such as woman (plural - women) or man (men) come originally from Anglo-Saxon words.
Although English culture combines a rich social/cultural tradition from Celtic/Roman/Anglo-Saxon/Norman-French/ and Viking-Norse, it is an interesting fact almost the only words in English, that originate from the Celtic languages of pre-Roman Britain are river names such as The Thames or The Avon. It is believed that, in the 7th century when the Anglo-Saxon invaders pushed into Britain after the departure of the occupying Roman armies, the remaining Celtics were pushed into Cornwall, Wales, Ireland and Northern Britain. Their disparate languages, therefore, did not make a considerable impact on the English language. In fact, Latin words probably came to England during the medieval period when Latin was the universal language of the church, rather than the earlier Roman occupation. Thus, English as a whole, is a mish-mash of languages beginning with the Anglo Saxon invasions and ending with the influence of the church.
So, where do non standard English plurals come from? Like our first example (man/woman), non standard plurals are linguistic survivors from Latin, French and Anglo-Saxon and even on occasion Norse.
The non standard English plurals below tend to cause difficulties because of their obscure linguistic origins. These origins mean that these words do not follow the standard s and es pattern and makes them tricky to use.
Some of these Words and their Plurals
chateau chateaux (French)
The chateau was famous for its wine.
The chateaux were famous for their wines.
phenomenon phenomena
A phenomenon called a quantum singularity was formed.
The phenomena were called black holes.
medium media
The medium is the message.
The media reported that they were shocked by the discoveries in Somalia.
criterion criteria
The only criterion was that the candidate had to be a woman.
The criteria stated that the candidate had to be a female and single.
datum data (Latin)
A datum, recorded by Gildas, recorded that a battle was won Badon Hill in 665 AD.
The historical data in the Doomesday Book were gathered over more than a hundred years.
Give these non standard plurals some thought. You will find they are frequently found in postgraduate assignments, essays and dissertations. A comprehensive Oxford Dictionary is the only way to ensure that you have used the correct plurals in your assignments.
Although English culture combines a rich social/cultural tradition from Celtic/Roman/Anglo-Saxon/Norman-French/ and Viking-Norse, it is an interesting fact almost the only words in English, that originate from the Celtic languages of pre-Roman Britain are river names such as The Thames or The Avon. It is believed that, in the 7th century when the Anglo-Saxon invaders pushed into Britain after the departure of the occupying Roman armies, the remaining Celtics were pushed into Cornwall, Wales, Ireland and Northern Britain. Their disparate languages, therefore, did not make a considerable impact on the English language. In fact, Latin words probably came to England during the medieval period when Latin was the universal language of the church, rather than the earlier Roman occupation. Thus, English as a whole, is a mish-mash of languages beginning with the Anglo Saxon invasions and ending with the influence of the church.
So, where do non standard English plurals come from? Like our first example (man/woman), non standard plurals are linguistic survivors from Latin, French and Anglo-Saxon and even on occasion Norse.
The non standard English plurals below tend to cause difficulties because of their obscure linguistic origins. These origins mean that these words do not follow the standard s and es pattern and makes them tricky to use.
Some of these Words and their Plurals
chateau chateaux (French)
The chateau was famous for its wine.
The chateaux were famous for their wines.
phenomenon phenomena
A phenomenon called a quantum singularity was formed.
The phenomena were called black holes.
medium media
The medium is the message.
The media reported that they were shocked by the discoveries in Somalia.
criterion criteria
The only criterion was that the candidate had to be a woman.
The criteria stated that the candidate had to be a female and single.
datum data (Latin)
A datum, recorded by Gildas, recorded that a battle was won Badon Hill in 665 AD.
The historical data in the Doomesday Book were gathered over more than a hundred years.
Give these non standard plurals some thought. You will find they are frequently found in postgraduate assignments, essays and dissertations. A comprehensive Oxford Dictionary is the only way to ensure that you have used the correct plurals in your assignments.
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