Thursday, February 16, 2012

research question

I have been thinking about my research paper and what i want to do it on. i would really like it to influence my own writing that way i can take the lesson i learn after writing it with me for further papers or stories. in class we go through a lot of discussions about reading and writing. a lot of people say the same thing. although they are english majors and want to be teachers in the near future they always hated reading! this is crazy to me because im also an english major but i chose that subject because i have always been in love with words and language. the ablilty to communicate with a structured set of rules is what sets us apart from other animals. this ability to cataloge our thoughts and actions really define us as humans. what i want to research is not only what makes people dislike reading, but what makes them enjoy it as well. perhaps thats too general and i need a tighter focus. if i conduct interviews i can take a poll of what makes people like or dislike writing. or i could complete an oral hsitory of something then use discourse analysis to interpret my findings.
so what makes people like reading is going to be the main focus of my essay but also what makes them dislike it. so actually maybe i should tighten my focus to just one of those. what i really want to know is what makes people dislike reading and how that ties to their writing. i know its a myth that people who dont read cant write either, but maybe it is true. i know i can write, and i love reading. am i average? doesnt it seem unorthodox that an english major doesnt enjoy reading no matter what the subject? does someone hate english if they hate reading? i dont think thats true. according to people in my other english classes they started their life hating reading then began to love it and thats why now they are english majors. i feel like anyone can like or dislike reading so the subject i interview should fit the question im asking. Challenge accepted.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Research topics

In class I considered following the examples provided in the book/articles and do a textual analysis for my research project. However this idea did not settle right, because I do wish to challenge myself. While brainstorming about possible topics that could relate back to writing I began thinking how much it has changed throughout the years. It seemed too broad so I tried zeroing in on a certain subject that has influenced the change, the answer I came to was the Internet. Over the last 20 years everything we knew about the Internet has changed dramatically. From the way we connect to the way we can now carry it around in our pockets. To relate this to writing I considered discussing and researching the impact of change it has had on the way people write. This might include research on my own writing and how it's changed or been influenced as well as on others writing and how the accessibility of the Internet has influenced them as writers. I could do interviews and see what studies have been done as well.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Research skills, methods, and methodologies:

Research skills are the skills with which you use to conduct and plan your research; a big part of that definition in research skills is the skill to be able to organize the final results. Research methods include the way you conduct your research and how you enable yourself to do that research. The kind of method you chose depends greatly upon what you are researching. The chapter talked about different kinds of research methods that one can attempt. Methodologies are your own personal opinion, or outlook of the work you are doing and how that affects your research and the final piece you’re working on.