Research Essays

1. Research Essays Research, Think, Write

2. Lecture Outline • Research Proposal Feedback • Thinking, Planning, and Research • Thinking, Writing, and Research

3. Research Proposal Feedback

4. What to do with comments? • There is not one path: different students in different stages • Too Broad – Look for hints! • Look for hints! • Clarify comments with your tutor • Look for hints!

5. Discussion is Key • Talk to your tutor • Understand their comments • Ask them for advice • Your tutor likes to see you going the extra mile

6. Example What would you do with this Research Proposal Feedback? [Insert here example research proposal feedback]

7. Rejected Research Questions What steps should you take if your research question was rejected?

8. Thinking, Planning, and Researching

9. Point of Proposal In what ways did the Research Proposal help you? Discuss this with the person sitting next to you.

10. Where are you? • Preliminary research question • Preliminary thesis statement • Chosen case study • Preliminary reading • Preliminary methodology • Preliminary table of contents/essay structure

11. Class Activity Write an introduction to your essay and discuss: • Where is the thesis statement (and what is the argument)? • What is the methodology? • What is the reasoning?

12. Introduction • DO: • Include your interpretation of, and approach to answering, the question. • Define any key terms. • Include your thesis statement. • DO NOT: • Simply repeat the question. • Having read your introduction I should be able to tell what the question was, how you have interpreted it, and what argument you are going to propose in order to answer it.

13. Thesis Statement • One sentence. Present your argument to the reader. • Answer the question asked of you. • It is a “road map” for the paper. • “When an assignment asks you to analyse, to interpret, to compare and contrast, to demonstrate cause and effect, or to take a stand on an issue, it is likely that you are being asked to develop a thesis and support it persuasively”. • Taken from the Politics Reading and Writing Guide.

14. Thinking, Writing and Research

15. Moving on from here. • There are two options… • A: Work hard without putting any thought in. • B: Think, work, finish early go for a drink. • Coding research. • Organising research. • Writing. Option C: Don’t think, Don’t work, drink and go to BungaBunga party. NB. This option is only available if you are a national president.

16. Conducting Research. • How Much? Enough to answer the question. • Organising research: • Identify themes. • Commonalities/differences. • Interpretations. • Simple coding. • Look for: Concepts / Definitions / Arguments / Evidence. • Each point will have a claim, a premise with support, and a conclusion.

17. What are the debates? • What are the contestedconcepts / arguments / issues? • Can we deconstruct the topic in terms of these debates? • Can we link authors in terms of which side they are on. • How do we slice and dice the topic?

18. How to think. • It is important to understand rather than simply regurgitate. • You need to re-orderthe information. • Break down the ideas. • Know what the author is trying to do. What is the relationship between you and the author?What are they attempting to do? • Books: These tend to be covering a greater number of points. • Journals: These tend to be far narrower. They are usually arguing one point or thesis.

19. Mind Mapping Then: There were democratic election in SL in 1996 Because: EO provided security and were the dominant fighting force. IF: The SL government hired EO in 1995.

20. What are you looking at. DV = f( IV1, IV2, IV3, … IVn) Relationship Causation? If you are seeking to explain the DV, which IVs are important.

21. Tight Focus DV = f(IV) Causation An essay with a narrow focus may look at how one factor was the most important. You then argue this against other explanations and variables.

22. Deconstruct the information. The State of the World: ω Identify Relevant Variables: IV1, …IVn. Relevant Variables Re-arrange your information and then think about what it is you are being asked to do. Process Irrelevant Variables End result

23. Questions • Causes: Does A lead to B. DV=f(IV) • Does your input lead to your output?Explain the process by which it occurs. • Role: Did A lead to B because of C? Was C a part of the process? Was the involvement of C good or bad? • Evaluate: Advantages / disadvantages. What was the intention? Did the process produce the intended or the expected outcome, or where there unforeseen consequences?

24. Discussion: Quotes Vs Paraphrasing • Quotes should not be abused. • Paraphrasing is an extremely important skill. • Paraphrasing shows understanding.

25. Essay Plan: structure • What was the role of mercenaries in the Congo Crisis 1960-65? • Introduction • Congo: A history of the heart of darkness • Mercenaries: The role of hired guns in conflict • Mad MikeHoare: Man, Mercenary, Legend • Analysis • Conclusion

26. Conclusion A well thought-out essay will: • Have a pertinent research question. • Have a narrow scope. • Be logically structured, planned and organised. • Be immersed in the literature but still maintain its own argument. • Have an appropriate methodology. • Have a clear thesis statement that (i) relates to the question and (ii) is constantly referred back to.