Academic Writing Digital Media, Culture and Politics MKAD01 Autumn - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Academic Writing 1 Jochen Hoffmann MKAD01

Academic Writing

Jochen Hoffmann Karlstad University Department of Media and Communication Studies Digital Media, Culture and Politics MKAD01 Autumn 2010 September 14th, 10:15–12:00 12C350

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The Purpose of a Research Paper

Research does not tell its own tale!

You have to use rhetorical devices in order to get attention and to persuade your audience. a) Document what you have done. b) Offer a stored reference where future research can build on. c) Convince your audience that you offer a useful reference.

My research is important! My research is credible! I found out something new!

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A Research Paper is not an Essay.

Research Paper Essay

Argues on the basis of consistent scientific theories and reliable empirical findings Expresses subjective thoughts,

• pinions and feelings about a topic

”I” is hidden behind a ”neutral” language. ”I” is a main actor on stage. Critical Rationalism: We can never reach the objective truth, but we can approach it. Postmodernism: There is no truth. Instead, there are just different interpretations of reality. Works usually as paradigm for Social Sciences Works usually as paradigm for Cultural Studies

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What makes the Writing Process Less Painful?

 Develop writing routines and rituals (e.g. fixed working and break times, pack up work in the evening by emptying desk).  Define milestones as interim goals and set deadlines for them.  Reward yourself after your have reached a milestone (e.g. one day off for a trip).  Take up a lower workload than you actually feel able to achieve.  Ask for feedback at different stages of the writing process (first of all from your supervisor, but also from classmates, practitioners, friends).  Don’t feel discouraged by critical feedback. Treat it as an additional perspective on your topic which might or might not be of use.  Start to write up early in the research process!

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Writing is a Creative Process.

Writing it up is not the last step of the research process!

Doing research and writing it up is a circular process! Own (empirical) analysis Literature review Writing it up Writing is not an ex-post technical storing of thoughts developed at the outset. Writing is a creative process. It constantly enables the thinking, the rethinking and the organization of thoughts on your topic. Own (empirical) analysis Literature review Writing it up

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Create and Highlight a Structure!

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Structurizing your Research Paper

 What needs to come first, what second, what last? Do chapters build on each other?  Are your key terms well-defined? Do you use them in a consistent way according to your definitions?  Are relations between theoretical and empirical key elements explicated?  Cause-Effect, Condition  Mean-End  Positive, Negative  Part-Whole  New-Old  Compatibility, Contradiction  Interdependence, Dominance-Dependence  Win-Win, Win-Lose, Lose-Lose  Cooperation, Conflict etc.  Is there a THREAD in your paper?

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The Thread as your Guideline

Chapter Con- clusion Chapter Chapter Intro- duction

It is your… Issue Theme Idea Leitmotif Perspective

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Typical Parts of Research Papers

A. Title Page B. List of Contents C. Acknowledgements D. Abstract E. Introduction F. Literature Review

• G. Methods

H. Findings and Discussion I. Conclusion J. Appendices K. References

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Modifications

 Journal articles do not include a List of Contents nor Acknowledgements.  Student papers do not need to include Acknowledgements.  Reports based on third-party funded applied research add a chapter including Recommendations for the client.  In case of a significant own theoretical contribution the literature review is followed by a chapter on theory.  Theoretical papers and student papers without own empirical research do not include Methods and Findings.  Depending on size, the Literature Review, the Methods, and the Findings and Discussion consist of sub-chapters.  Journal articles and student papers may assign separate chapters to Findings and Discussion. Overall, this is about standardized structures which turned out to be useful for academic writing in many cases. However, depending on the research topic variations might be reasonable and are allowed.

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Typical Parts of Research Papers

A. Title Page B. List of Contents C. Acknowledgements D. Abstract E. Introduction F. Literature Review

• G. Methods

H. Findings and Discussion I. Conclusion J. Appendices K. References

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Title Page

 Formal requirements are set by the department. Please download the title page from the web.  Choice of title:  Make is both as meaningful and as short as possible.  The function of the main title is to arouse curiosity. Use strange and inspiring analogies, metaphors, wordings from everyday life, which put your overall argument in a nutshell.  The function of the subtitle is to inform in rather neutral academic terms what your paper is about. For example: Putnam Robert 1995: Bowling alone. America's declining social capital, Journal of Democracy 6 (1), 65-78.

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Typical Parts of Research Papers

A. Title Page B. List of Contents C. Acknowledgements D. Abstract E. Introduction F. Literature Review

• G. Methods

H. Findings and Discussion I. Conclusion J. Appendices K. References

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List of Contents

Acknowledgements..........................3 Abstract……………..........................5 1. Introduction..............................7 2. Literature Review.................. .11 2.1 BlaBla...............................11 2.2 BlaBla...............................15 3. Methods..................................21 4. Findings and Discussion.........25 4.1 BlaBla...............................25 4.2 BlaBla...............................29 4.3 BlaBla...............................35 5. Conclusion.......................... ...43 6. Appendices.............................47 7. References.............................55 Choose meaningful sub-titles referring to content (e.g. not just „Hypothesis 1“). A sub-title cannot stand

• alone. You need at least a

second one. Acknowledgements and the abstract do not get a number. The list of references is put in alphabetical order.

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Typical Parts of Research Papers

A. Title Page B. List of Contents C. Acknowledgements D. Abstract E. Introduction F. Literature Review

• G. Methods

H. Findings and Discussion I. Conclusion J. Appendices K. References

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Acknowledgements

Say THA HANK YO YOU to all the great people who helped you with your research. And don‘t forget your supervisor!

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Typical Parts of Research Papers

A. Title Page B. List of Contents C. Acknowledgements D. Abstract E. Introduction F. Literature Review

• G. Methods

H. Findings and Discussion I. Conclusion J. Appendices K. References

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Abstract

 The abstract is the most important Shortcut when selecting and extracting literature for the own work. Usually the abstracts decides, whether somebody will refer to your research, quote your work and maybe even read it. Therefore it is the most important Marketing Tool for the author.  Get to the heart of your paper by summarizing…  the relevance of your work,  the problem you approach,  the academic discourse you refer to,  your results and solution,  your basic argument as the Take-Away-Message.

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Typical Parts of Research Papers

A. Title Page B. List of Contents C. Acknowledgements D. Abstract E. Introduction F. Literature Review

• G. Methods

H. Findings and Discussion I. Conclusion J. Appendices K. References

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Introduction

Provide information about:  Topic  Research question  Relevance  Theoretical approach and paradigms  Methodological approach and research design  Overall structure clarifying the purpose of each chapter Step in with strong, rather ”essayistic” opening sentences in order to grab the attention of the reader. Use e.g. a concrete example or a metaphor illustrating the relevance of your academic paper. Do not write anything about your findings in the introduction. This would give the impression of biased research, meaning that you decided already in advance what the results ought to be.

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Typical Parts of Research Papers

A. Title Page B. List of Contents C. Acknowledgements D. Abstract E. Introduction F. Literature Review

• G. Methods

H. Findings and Discussion I. Conclusion J. Appendices K. References

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Literature Review

Selectivity  The literature review is not selective with regard to positions. Do not omit publications simply because they are not in line with your argument.  It is selective with regard to relevance. You should refer to important publications more extensively than to others. Structure  The literature review is not an additive line-up of publication summaries.  The literature review is structurized according to your thread and its different aspects. Chapter Chapter Chapter Chapter Chapter Chapter Book A Book B Book C Book A Book B Book C

NO! YES!

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Literature Search

 Get a first overview on your topic and identify relevant search terms by reading chapters in textbooks, handbooks, dictionaries, encyclopaedias.  Use the research facilities of the library.  Check especially online full-text-databases.  Use the ”snowball”-technique: Check the list of references in publications you already found.

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Prioritize the literature you found

Most Important! Least Important!

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Types of Literature

Academic Literature Guidebooks

Getting new Insights a) Improving social practices b) Legitimizing social practices Typical Features:

• Authors: „Successful“ practitioners
• Lurid titles: „How to Become a Millionaire!“
• Instrumental rationality: „How to Make Advertising more Effective!“
• Reference to theories: eclectic + opportunistic
• Reference to empirical evidence: highly selective + use of „sweetheart reports“

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Criteria of Relevance

• 1. It is an academic publication.
• 2. It is about your topic.
• 3. Its abstract sounds promising.
• 4. It shares your paradigms.

5. It is rather new.

6. It is written by a well-known scholar.

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Reading – Extracting – Writing

1. Start the reading process with the most important publication. 2. While reading paraphrase and quote interesting

• content. Store all your paraphrases, quotes and own

ideas in a word processing file. 3. Stop reading and extracting, when content and arguments increasingly recur. 4. Structurize all your extracts with the help of a word processing program. The ”outline” function of Word for example allows a flexible chapter-building and the rearrangement of content. 5. Write the chapters on the basis of selected extracts. 6. As writing is a creative process, you might develop new ideas which require additional reading, extracting and rewriting.

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Typical Parts of Research Papers

A. Title Page B. List of Contents C. Acknowledgements D. Abstract E. Introduction F. Literature Review

• G. Methods

H. Findings and Discussion I. Conclusion J. Appendices K. References

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Methods

Describe and Defend Your…

 Research Design How do you want to find the answer to your research question? What are the elements and relations you measure on the basis of which indicators?  Sample What is the population you analyze?  Method(s) of Data Gathering Which method(s) do you apply in order to get your data?  Method(s) of Data Analysis Which method(s) do you apply in order to analyze your data?

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Typical Parts of Research Papers

A. Title Page B. List of Contents C. Acknowledgements D. Abstract E. Introduction F. Literature Review

• G. Methods

H. Findings and Discussion I. Conclusion J. Appendices K. References

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Findings and Discussion

• Do not just repeat and summarize the data

you gathered.

• Do not get lost in an endless empirical

”replay” completely cut off from your research question and theories.

From Transmission…

• Academic analysis means to select,

structurize, interpret and discuss data on the basis of a chosen theoretical perspective and research question.

• Thus, the presentation of findings and their

discussion is interwoven.

…To Transfer

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Typical Parts of Research Papers

A. Title Page B. List of Contents C. Acknowledgements D. Abstract E. Introduction F. Literature Review

• G. Methods

H. Findings and Discussion I. Conclusion J. Appendices K. References

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Conclusion

 Answer your research question.  Point up implications for theory.  Point up implications for methods.  Point up practical implications.  Point up limitations of the study.  Propose future research.  Point up once more the significance of your research. And finally let your readers go away with your Take Home Message.

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Typical Parts of Research Papers

A. Title Page B. List of Contents C. Acknowledgements D. Abstract E. Introduction F. Literature Review

• G. Methods

H. Findings and Discussion I. Conclusion J. Appendices K. References

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Appendices

For example: Questionnaire Coding Scheme Observation Sheets Letters of Inquiry Interview Transcripts

The appendix includes all material which contributes to the transparency of the research process.

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Typical Parts of Research Papers

A. Title Page B. List of Contents C. Acknowledgements D. Abstract E. Introduction F. Literature Review

• G. Methods

H. Findings and Discussion I. Conclusion J. Appendices K. References

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References

 Consistency: Apply one and only one reference style.  Completeness: Every publication referred to in the main text must also appear in the final reference list and vice versa.  No Autonomy: Often departments decide on a reference style students have to

• apply. Editors always insist on a certain reference style.

 Dominance: In social sciences the so-called APA-style

• f the American Psychological Association

is widespread. It does not only regulate the reference list, but also consists of detailed instructions for the whole publication.