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Gian S. Pagnucci, Ph.D. Department of English Indiana University of Pennsylvania |
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English 808: Technology & Literacy
Paper Overview For this paper I want you to pick a topic that is of potential interest to you as a dissertation research topic. Writing a dissertation is a long, tough journey, so all the more reason to start preparing for that journey today. Let me stress that your goal is NOT to write the dissertation now. For this paper your goal is to explore how one analyzes data related to a dissertation topic. You may pick virtually any topic you want. Almost anything. Just make sure your topic relates in some way to literacy and/or technology issues, broadly defined. Paper Sections Once you've picked your topic, write a paper that is built around the following paper sections. Include these or similar headings in your paper. Do NOT write a paper that has no headings. While this paper structure is fairly formulaic, that formula is being used to help you learn the basic key elements of a standard dissertation. You don't have to write a dissertation like this, but it is highly important that you understand how most dissertations are structured. Every formula has limitations, so working with the formula will help you think about what those limitations are. But save any breaking of the formula for later. For now, just work to gain a sense of how to write within this form. This form is highly useful for publishing professionally as many journals and books are seeking this type of research write up. Lastly, don't let the formula mislead you. The formula is easy to understand. Saying something valuable using this formula is still a highly challenging task. Topic Overview Discuss your central paper focus. Explain why you personally are interested in the topic. Often a story or quote can help readers understand the motives for your research interest. Also discuss how this topic is an issue of importance for scholars exploring literacy and technology issues. Review of Research Literature (Background Research of the Topic) Discuss at least 5 scholarly works that provide insight on this topic. It is especially valuable to discuss scholars who have called for research in this area. As you read up on your topic, concentrate on newer scholarship, preferably materials published within the last 10 years. As a general rule, scholarship published more than 10 years ago is often viewed as outdated and therefore useful mostly only for providing a historical lens on a topic. In some cases, though, particular texts become seminal works that are routinely cited. In those cases, readers generally expect that a scholar will cite the seminal text before moving on to more recent scholarship. For example, any article about journal use will almost certainly include a reference to Toby Fulwiler's The Journal Book. Leaving out a seminal work makes it look like you don't know the field very well (though at this stage, you might have to learn, through your reading, which texts are seminal--I'll try to help you with that, and of course I don't expect you to be perfect...not yet!). Overall your reading of scholarship for this project should give you further insight about your research topic. Terminology Define any important terms you will use in your paper. Always provide references for your terms. Never use dictionary definitions. Instead, cite published scholars who have discussed how they use these terms. You can always modify other scholar's use of terms to help readers understand exactly what you mean by a term. Research Question Formulate a primary research question you are trying to answer. Explain why you feel this is an interesting question to answer. You may also wish to discuss sub-questions that might arise from this primary research question. Sample Data To answer your research question, I want you to select a specific data sample to analyze. You may decide on the type of data you want to analyze. Almost anything will work. This can be from one of these data source:
Your data sample should be fairly small. In other words, analyzing one or two short videos is fine. Analyzing five or ten videos is too many. You should NOT need to do any sort of major data collection for the project. Instead, it is preferable to find an already available data sample somewhere. If you feel you must collect data, keep this very limited. Doing an observation somewhere for an hour or two is fine; multiple observations is TOO MUCH. Interviewing one or two people for an hour is fine; interviewing lots of people is too much. Explain the source for your data. This should be a short explanation that does not require any detailed research methodology write-up. If you need a large research methodology write-up, you are doing to much data collection and not focusing enough on data analysis. Central Theoretical Framework/Epistemology Select a main theoretical framework/epistemology you will be working from as you do your data analysis. Discuss 3-5 sources that help explain this framework. Data Analysis Analyze your data using your interpretive framework. Use your analysis to help answer your primary research question. Implications Having worked to answer your primary research question, discuss how that answer might inform current teaching practice as well as theoretical knowledge in composition and TESOL. Discuss what your data analysis potentially adds to our understanding of your central theoretical framework. If you have been led in new directions by your analysis, then find 2-3 references that might shed light on these new issues. Future Research What sorts of new questions does your work on this research project raise? Discuss studies that would be useful follow-ups to the research you did. Conclusion Finally, discuss what you learned from doing this research analysis. How might you approach this type of research differently in the future? What were the most interesting aspects of this work? Citation Requirements As discussed above, the final version of your paper should include at least 8-10 citations from works outside the assigned course readings (5 sources for your topic overview and 3-5 sources on your central theoretical framework with additonal sources possible for your terminology and implications sections). Scholarly articles are fine as are books, book chapters, and academic web sites. It's also a great idea to read (at least part) of a dissertation study related to your topic. And note that if your topic is on computer-based writing instruction in Korea, a dissertation on computer-based writing instruction in Brazil could still be very useful to read! Your paper should follow standard APA or MLA citation guidelines. Be consistent and thorough when citing sources. Also note that when citing sources in the text of your paper, ALL author names need to be included for initial in text citations whether you are using APA or MLA citation style. The phrase "et al." is for second citations only! Many people get this wrong. Every author you cite, even an author from a large collaborative group of authors (unless there are more than 6), deserves to get their name mentioned at least twice, once in the bibliography and once in the main text. Paper Format Requirements Your paper should meet the following requirements:
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Dr. Gian S. Pagnucci -- Web Site Copyright Information
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