Sebek Fall 08 Thesis

Hello Class-

I thought that it might be helpful to point you to some good habits as you read and research your topics and methodologies for your thesis projects and ideas. 

1. We are going to be scheduling Thesis Workshops on August 4th and 5th. We will be sending out more information on that as we get our room scheduling confirmed.

2. We are evaluating a new way for your class to share your research at http://www.citeulike.org/.  Remember that it is more efficient for several people to share research on a certain topic. At this site, you can great groups and comment on each other’s research. I have started a group called Parsons MFA DT 2008 Thesis Research. You can post articles there or create a group in a specific area of research. 

3. I got the helpful pointers below when I started my Master studies in Sociology. I’ve modified them a bit for you to apply to Design and Technology Research.  (See Below)

4. Remember that there are also helpful documents to help you do research at http://www.newschool.edu/admin/writingcenter/virtualdrawer.html.  You can use the University Writing Center to help get your research started and to get your summer paper done.  No matter how well you write, it is always good to get someone to look at your work.

ALSO: http://library.newschool.edu/

Don’t forget to visit your favorite collections, museums, and the librarians and custodians of those collections who will be able to help you. Many of you will be doing primary research by going to exhibitions, films, installations. It is important that you record your visits in your notebook, your filing cabinet(and/or website) and that you maintain good track of your thoughts and reactions to the work you see and the people you interview.

HELPFUL HINTS on how to read any website, article, magazine, trade journal, film, multimedia experience etc. In a way, we “read” everything we experience.

ALWAYS READ WITH A PURPOSE: moving your eyes across printed text is not reading! Reading with a purpose means asking a question (or, better yet, a system of questions) that you keep in mind as you progress and that helps you put the pieces of the puzzle together. So always identify from the outset what the author intends to do in the writing, what question s/he sets out to answer, how s/he proposes to do it, and what kind of arguments s/he develops (causal, historical, hermeneutic, etc.).

-SCAN AND SCOPE THE TEXT BEFOREHAND: you’ll do a much better job picking up the argument(s) in the text if you know in advance what to look for. For this, always scan the full text beforehand: flip through the pages, grab a few paragraphs here and there, pay attention to titles and subtitles, notice phrases in bold or italics, tables and figures (in particular their captions)—in short get a rough feel for what’s going on there. You can also read the first and last sentence or paragraph of every section, just to become familiar with the substance and tone of the argument(s). Then read the text in depth.

-READ AS A DESIGNER AND TECHNOLOGIST : this means identifying the problem the author is trying to resolve, the concepts s/he uses or develops for that purpose, the evidence s/he brings to bear on the issue, and the variety of mechanisms invoked. Reflect on the limitations, biases, gaps, and silences of both question and answer. Make an effort to resituate them in the broader constellation of design, social, historical etc. theories and research you are familiar with; never read a text in isolation: always relate it to other cognate texts you know (among them, those assigned for the same and prior weeks). Design and Technology arguments have a structure; your reading should locate and mimick it.

-READ DIFFERENTIALLY: do not treat all printed text in the same manner; “democratic reading” is analytically inefficient (even unsound); some parts of a text contain critical conceptual distinctions or causal arguments and should be read very cautiously (and repeatedly if necessary); others contain illustrative materials, empirical elaborations, or theoretical digressions and can be read more rapidly (and even sometimes skimmed or skipped). So allocate your time and effort wisely, in proportion to the difficulty and/or significance of the passage.

-ANNOTATE THE TEXT AS YOU READ: read with a pen or pencil in hand and mark the progression, twists, and turns of the argument as it unfolds. You can devise your own stenographic system (arrows, stars, circlings, underlinings, etc.) to highlight in a consistent and economical manner the main names and dates, key authors and references, definitions and logical turning points, salient illustrations, conclusions and implications, etc. But do not defeat your purpose and highlight everything!

 READING AND STUDYING:

-WRITE UP NOTES IMMEDIATELY AFTER READING: if you’ve read a text with an active analytical intention, you should be able to summarize and reconstruct the main lines of its argument(s). Immediately upon finishing your reading, write, type, or scribble a short recapitulation of what you just absorbed in telegraphic or diagrammatic form. What was the key question posed by the author, what answers were given to it, what concepts or theories were introduced, what evidence adduced, how does this or that thesis or theory differ from rival views, etc. Use your annotations and marginalia as guides and signposts; if the text introduces new concepts, make a note of them and write down their definition (as given by the author and/or as reconstructed by you); if it contrasts several phenomena or theories, enumerate what makes them different or similar. Use whatever devices (tables, lists, bullets, diagrams, etc.) give you the best synoptic and synthetic view of the piece you’ve read. Your reading notes will be invaluable self-teaching and learning aids for as long as you study.

-REFLECT BACK UPON THE TEXT AND EVALUATE THE ARGUMENT: never close a book or article without evaluating its argument: was it logically consistent and empirically adequate, plausible or convincing and why (not)? What alternative or rival arguments come to mind? Again, relate the text you’ve read to others you know (or mentioned by the author). Never take an author at face value, no matter how famous and authoritative; there is a lot of bulls– in social science writings, as in every other kind. It’s your job to separate the useful ideas like wheat from chaff. Also, do not be swayed by emotional appeals and moral exhortation: more often than not, good sentiments hide weak argumentation. Forsake the “logic of the trial”: the validity of an idea has nothing to do with how attractive or repulsive it is ethically or politically.

-DO NOT HESITATE TO READ A TEXT A SECOND, THIRD,… NTH TIME: a common myth among bad readers is that if you’ve read well a given text, you’re done for life. This makes no sense! A text may be “discovered” as many times as there are purposes for reading it. Genuinely complex and rich texts are profitably read several times over as each reading unhearths new layers, puzzles, and treasures. (Later you might come to own multiple copies of the important books you’ve read).

Remember the etymology of the verb to read: it comes from the Middle English, râeden, to advise. So heed this advice and be advised when you read.