Hello Friends,
This blog is my response to the task assigned to us by our Prof. Dr. Dilip Sir on the Research & Dissertation Writing Workshop organized by the Department of English, MKBU on 4th Jan 2022. In this workshop, the chief speakers, as well as the resource persons of the day, were Prof. Dr. Dilip Sir Barad and Dr. Clement Nodricimpa. It's a privilege to be a part of the department that gives us many opportunities to be a part of many seminars and workshops by special chief guests and experts in a particular field or area. So, read, understand and enjoy. Happy Learning!
Research and writing a dissertation
1. Introduction
When students are told to conduct research and write a dissertation, they sometimes do not know where to begin, what is involved in research, what steps they must follow, what structure a dissertation must have, what argumentation style they may adopt, etc. Indeed, doing research and writing may be daunting to students. This may be because of the complexity and the technicality involved in research and in writing a dissertation. Therefore, this workshop is intended to help students:
understand what is involved in research and the steps that are adopted in research;
identify an appropriate research topic;
select and define a research problem;
select appropriate research design and methods;
organize and write a dissertation;
understand the style of argumentation.
2. Concepts of research
2.1. Defining research
“Research” is an organized, scientific, and systematic investigation of truths about a particular subject or about things that no one else knew (Walliman, 2011). It simply means hunting for new knowledge. Research also means a scientific investigation to solve problems, test hypotheses, and develop new knowledge. Research is scientific because it uses scientific methods by making an integrated use of inductive-deductive reasoning. According to Walliman (2011), this inductive-deductive reasoning follows the process below:
identification or clarification of the problem;
developing a hypothesis (testable theory) inductively from observation;
charting their implications by deduction;
practical or theoretical testing of the hypothesis;
rejecting or redefining it in the light of the results.
Research is systematic because it follows certain steps that are logically connected. These steps are:
understanding the nature of the problem to be studied and identifying the related areas of knowledge;
reviewing the literature to understand how others have approached or dealt with the problem;
collecting data in an organized and controlled manner to arrive at a valid decision;
analyzing data appropriate to the problem;
Drawing conclusions and making generalizations.
2.2. Types of research
There are different types of research. I will state some of them.
Historical: This aims at a systematic and objective evaluation and synthesis of evidence to establish facts and draw conclusions about past events. It uses primary historical data, such as archaeological remains as well as documentary sources of the past.
Descriptive: This design relies on observation as a means of collecting data. It attempts to examine situations to establish what is the norm, e.g., what can be predicted to happen again under the same circumstances. Research instruments used in this type of research may include observation, questionnaire, interview, etc.
Correlation: This design is used to examine a relationship between two concepts. There are two broad classifications of relational statements: an association between two concepts- where there is some kind of influence of one on the other; and a causal relationship- where one causes changes to occur in the other. Causal statements describe what is sometimes called a cause-and-effect relationship. The cause is referred to as the independent variable, and the variable that is affected is referred to as the dependent variable. For example, the effect of the use of flipped learning on students’ motivation.
Cultural: Cultural research provides methodologies that allow a consistent analysis of cultural texts so that they can be compared, replicated, disproved, and generalized. Examples of approaches to the interpretation of cultural texts are content analysis, semiotics, and discourse analysis. These texts are analyzed within the theoretical framework of postmodernism, poststructuralism, etc.)
2.3. Characteristics of Research
Research has the following characteristics:
It is based on the works of others;
It can be replicated (duplicated)- reliability;
It is generalizable to other settings (external validity);
It is based on some logical rationale and tied to a particular theory (content validity);
It is doable;
It generates news questions;
It is important;
It advances the frontiers of knowledge.
3. Selection of a topic for research
Selecting a topic is the most important step in research. Many students consume a lot of time choosing an appropriate topic that meets their interests and satisfies their supervisor.
1. How to select a topic?
First, it is recommended to select a topic that is closely connected to your intellectual interests, personal experiences, and favorite research areas. Second, you have to answer the following questions before selecting a topic for research:
Do I have the necessary skills to accomplish this study?
Are research tools and participants accessible to complete this study?
Am I financially capable to accomplish my work? Is the allotted time sufficient to finalize all the steps of research?
Do I have the resources and documents necessary to obtain data?
Is there an availability of professionals in my research who are ready to advise and assist me in the course of my research?
2. Steps in the selection of topic
Tent (2008) identify the following steps in the selection of topic for research:
Establish your field and research works in it;
Identify a practical problem or a gap/deficiency in the existing research;
Define your proposed research and how it relates to the problem, gap, or deficiency;
Consider and explain how your proposed research and its contributions to the field will be evaluated;
Structure a topic that is as informative and precise as possible.
3. Characteristic of a topic for research
A good topic should be:
Descriptive and informative (explanatory): a good title is well-constructed and concise so that each word carries meaning. It also informs the readers about the variables you want to examine and the adopted research methodology. It explains in the fewest words the context, the theory, and the methodology.
Accurate and precise: being precise does not necessarily mean short. Titles need to be written in simple and clear lexis with good word order and common word combinations. Titles are not ambiguous and general, they are specific. Consider for example Symbolism in modern fiction. This title is general. To make it specific, it should be structured as follows: Brutality and justice: an analysis of symbolism in the works of George Orwell.
Internally consistent: Consistency means that titles reflect the content. Many titles are informative and precise but fail to be internally consistent due to the little attention paid to the language and concepts written in the dissertation. Confusing and interchangeable terms should be cautiously used in order not to puzzle the reader. For example: “Novelists as cultural historians: A comparative study of selected works of Amitav Ghosh and Manubhai Pancholi”. To be internally consistent, the content should be as the title suggests. For this example, it should be about the selected authors and their works, it should be comparative and it should follow the methods of cultural studies.
4. Research process
The research process is as follows:
1. Defining Research Problem
Research problem refers to some difficulties which a researcher identifies in the context of either a theoretical or a practical situation and wants to find a solution or explanation for the difficulties. A research problem is based on a question, curiosity, uncertainty, unresolved controversy in the mind of the research regarding some current issues, for example, why do some people in tribal communities prefer not to send their daughters to college? what do novelists, playwrights, and poets say about it? It is also based on a gap in existing knowledge. An awareness of current issues in the subject and an inquisitive and questioning mind and an ability to express clearly are required to find and formulate a problem that is suitable for a research project.
There are several forms in which the research problem can be expressed to indicate the method of investigation. The simplest way to formulate a research problem is to ask a question. This might be quite abstract in nature, so will require to be broken down into sub-questions that can be practically investigated.
For example: Are school exam results a true test of a students’ intelligence?
This question can be broken down into:
What constitutes intelligence? (Investigating the concept of intelligence)
What ways of testing intelligence are there? (Exploring different perspectives- i.e. other intelligence tests)
What sort of school exams are there and how are they marked? (Investigating another concept- exams)
How do school exam criteria match those of the criteria of other intelligence tests? (Split into aspects- criteria of exams and other intelligence tests.
Another example: Are novelists considered cultural historians?
This question can be broken down into:
What constitutes cultural historiography? (Investigating the concept of cultural historiography?)
What methods of investigating cultural historiography are there? (Exploring different perspectives on cultural historiography- i.e. methods and results from other studies on cultural historiography)
What historical message do selected novels convey? How is this message conveyed? (Investigating the structure and the historical message conveyed in selected novels)
How do the structure and the message in selected novels match up with the concepts and the methods of investigating cultural historiography?
2. Research objectives, questions/hypotheses
The formulation of research objectives helps the researcher narrow the study down to essential. It helps him/her avoid the collection of data that are not necessary for understanding and solving the problem they have identified. It also helps the researcher organize the study into clearly defined parts.
Example of research objective: The objective of the study is to examine various perspectives on cultural historiography. The objective of the study is to compare selected novels and explore whether the authors of these selected novels can be classified as cultural historians.
Research questions are connected to the research objectives. They are more specific than the research problem, which is abstract. Examples of research questions are found above.
Research hypotheses are statements that need to be tested. They are also connected to the research objectives and research problem. For example, School exams are a true test of students’ intelligence. Novelists are considered cultural historians.
3. Literature Review (Review of the concepts and of previous studies)
The review of the concepts helps the researcher understand the theories that underpin his/her study. It helps the researcher understand how the theories are connected to the research problem. In other words, reviewing theoretical concepts provides the researcher a framework from which the results of the study are interpreted.
The review of previous studies is important as it helps the researchers understand the methods and the findings in them. Therefore, the review of previous studies should be analytical and critical. It should not be a summary of previous studies.
An example of an analytical literature review:
The body of academic criticism about Self’s book focuses, from a more theoretical angle, on the question of gender. Katherine Sender’s ‘To Have and to Be: Sex, Gender, and the Paradox of Change’ (1997) locates Self within the discourse of contemporary gender studies, noting how his stories echo the deconstruction of gender binaries undertaken by such feminist critics as Judith Butler, Margery Garber, and Elizabeth Grosz. Emma Parker provides a more in-depth reading in ‘Kicks Against the Pricks: Gender, Sex, and Satire in Will Self’s Cock and Bull’ (2011), extending Sender’s reading by noting that the satirical elements of Self’s book should be understood within the broader cultural discussion about gender that was occurring in the 1980s and 1990s, including the rise of a Men’s Movement spearheaded by Robert Bly’s Iron John: A Book About Men (1990) […]. The most recent intervention in this critical discourse is Graham Matthews’s Will Self and Contemporary British Society (2016), which devotes a chapter to exploring how Self challenges conventional ideas about sexual essentialism to enact a more ‘performative’ notion of gender, including an in-depth discussion of how these themes are realized in Cock and Bull. Matthews’s understanding of gender and sexuality as primarily discursive practices in Cock and Bull provides an important prelude to my own focus on how Self’s treatment of these issues is grounded in a subtle critique of power (Mathews, 2017).
4. Research Design
The research design is the blueprint for meeting the objectives and answering the research questions. It involves asking questions such as: what type of research will it be? Quantitative? Or Qualitative? Survey? Exploratory? Comparative? Experimental? Correlative? Etc.
Considering these questions will guide the researcher to the types of data s/he will collect, the participants and sampling techniques (probability sampling and non-probability sampling) and the methods s/he will follow in the analysis of the data.
5. Data collection
Different instruments are used to collect data. These instruments include questionnaires, interviews, observations, documents, etc.
6. Data analysis
Data analysis includes qualitative which involves content analysis, quantitative which involves statistics (SPSS).
7. Interpretation and discussion of the findings
Interpretation and discussion of the findings involve answering the research questions formulated for the study, explaining variations in the findings, comparing research findings to previous studies, explaining the findings on basis of some theories. This triggers new questions which lead to further study.
5. Writing a dissertation
1. The structure of a dissertation
Introduction
Literature review
Research methods/theoretical framework for literary studies.
Interpretation and discussion of the findings
Conclusion.
a. Introduction
The purpose of the introduction is to attract the attention of the reader. The introduction tends to follow a particular pattern of organization. It comprises three stages:
Report of the object of the study/established territory. In this stage, the writer describes the topic of the study as important and as requiring investigation.
Describing previous studies/establishing a niche. In this stage, the writer briefly reviews previous studies to identify gaps. In other words, the writer describes the problem to be investigated.
Introducing your own study/occupying the niche. In this stage, the writer states the objectives of the study and formulate research questions or hypotheses.
b. Literature review
The review of previous studies is important. In this stage, the writer critically evaluates previous studies. An example of an evaluative literature review is provided above.
c. Research methods/theoretical framework for literary studies
Research methods state the methods employed in the collection and analysis of the data, while theoretical framework explains the theory within which a literary text is interpreted.
d. Interpretation and discussion of the findings
Read what was discussed earlier
e. Conclusion
The conclusion discusses key findings, states the implications of the study, and raises questions for further research.
2. Argumentation strategies in dissertation
There are different argumentation strategies that can be employed in a dissertation to convince other people that your conclusions have some validity and that the new knowledge that has been created is soundly based. These argumentation strategies include referential strategies, prediction strategies, and legitimization strategies.
1. Referential and prediction strategies
Referential and predicational strategies are employed to describe the object of the study and to show how the study is important- work investigating. Referential strategies are marked by descriptive vocabulary while predication strategies are marked by the vocabulary that assigns qualities to the object of the study, other studies, people, etc.
Example: Moving between politics and aesthetics in Zadie smith’s shorter forms
General description: Writers sometimes comment on their use of literary forms as if caught in a strange symbiosis. Margaret Atwood, for example, was asked early in her career by Joyce Carol Oates if different forms evoked a different personality or consciousness in her as an author. Atwood is emphatic in her response. She thinks of writing ‘as expressing “itself” rather than “the writer”’[……].
Specific description: If Oates was to ask Zadie Smith the same question, Smith would have, like Atwood, a number of forms on which to draw for her answer. Though best known for her five acclaimed and award-winning novels – White Teeth (2000), The Autograph Man (2002), On Beauty (2005), NW (2012), Swing Time (2016) – she has been publishing short stories since her time as an undergraduate at Cambridge in the 1990s, […..]
Another example: The surprisingly thin body of academic criticism about Self’s book also focuses, from a more theoretical angle, on the question of gender. […]
2. Legitimization strategies
Legitimization strategies are employed to convince other people (readers) your conclusions have some validity, and that the new knowledge that has been created is soundly based. These strategies are marked by:
Modality and evidential. E.g., This appears to be the use of indirect speech because of the vague description of' night of the first ages.
Finally expressing herself without concern regarding how she will be perceived, in her mind, the narrator has escaped and is victorious. But, the reader is painfully conscious that doing so will probably result in her institutionalization
The overwhelming paranoia that drives the protagonist to madness, may be indicative of the guilt of a nation haunted by its wrongs and fortifies the legitimacy of Walker's previously cited statement.
Proclaim resources. E.g., Will Self’s Cock and Bull (1992) is a dual set of satirical novellas that, in grotesquely overlapping stories about a woman who grows something and a man who discovers another thing in the back of his knee, would seem most obviously to be about sexuality and gender in contemporary society. Certainly, that is how the book’s reviewers understood it (Mathews, 2017).
In truth, Smith’s writing is characterized more by a similar fluidity between modes rather than any demarcations (Eagleton, 2020).
Other terms which can be used are: clearly, indeed, undoubtedly, because, etc.
Disclaim options: E.g., However, this theme is again stronger in Virginia Woolf than it is in Ford Madox Ford, due to the fact that 'Virginia's preference for her own sex had been a fact of her life since childhood
While these debates consider the degree of individual and communal consolation attained by the silent circulation of grief, my study focuses more on the role silence plays in the sympathetic process of remembering and reintegration (Lo, 2020).
Smith has described herself as ‘in a protected position’ when writing criticism, whereas, when writing fiction, she feels defenseless. However, when one pursues Smith’s comments across her work, distinctions become less clear (Eagleton, 2020).
6. Conclusion
Hopefully, this workshop will help students bridge between what is expected in researching and writing a dissertation and their understanding of what is involved in researching and writing an excellent dissertation.
References
Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2007). Research methods in education (6th ed.).
London and New York: Routledge.
Dörnyei, Z. (2007). Research methods in applied linguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Williman, N. (2011). Research Methods: The Basics. London & New York: Routledge.