Hello! I'm new here ... But I really hope someone can help?
- Complete a research assignment using a variety of methods to locate texts and other forms of information
- Critically evaluate and compare competiting ideas and theories assosciated with production, interpretation and reception of works of art and design
- Structure a systematic, written, exposistion of research outcomes following academic conventions
Written research essay - 2,500 words which incorporates the above... and I have no idea how to start or how to go about it...
I study Advertisng (and its mainly coursework based) - and have no idea how to relate to Art Theories
Thank you in advance - for any help or support. (Masters level)
- Hele
Well Helena, we'd be glad to help!
You'll probably want to start from the beginning and end at the end- it's quite logical.
Start with your research, and start general- like the text says, you need to locate your information in a variety of ways. Avoid the open internet as much as possible, instead, go to your school library or city library and take out books, go to online databases (talk to your school library- any college worth it's salt has a registration to a handful of these), look in periodicals and journals, etc. You should be looking for "production, interpretation and reception of works of art and design".
Once you've collected some general information, you'll have an idea over Art Theories. At this point, you can start to form some sort of a thesis- from what you've found interesting and from what you've found literature on. For any research assignment, a thesis is super important- that's the kernel of what your paper is about.
Go back to researching, this time with your thesis in mind. Collect more literature, narrow down your thesis, and start forming arguments for your thesis. In this round of research, keep track of page numbers of good information and the names of books so that you can quote them later. Consider buying a few stacks of note cards, and copying down all the good ideas you find with the page number, title, author, editor, etc.
Sort the notecards you've got into arguments for your thesis- throw out any loose notecards that you can't fit into cohesive arguments.
Begin to write. Start with your thesis, then your body paragraphs, then the rest of your intro, and conclude with the conclusion.
Come back here! Post your essay on Essayforum and we'll be happy to proofread it. Give it to your professor, too, and ask for his opinion and critiques.
At some point, you'll need to make a bibliography- you can either do this all along or after writing your paper. Be sure to cite every source you've used, regardless of whether it's quotes or paraphrasing. Also, be sure you have the write kind of bibliography (MLA vs ALA vs something else), and be sure you're using the right citation technique. Talk to your teacher about this before hand. A bibliography is an important part of a research paper.
Hope this helped! Have a nice one.
Tim
Research Methodologies Employed?
I am applying to a program and the prompt asks about research methodologies? What does that mean?
This is the full essay prompt: "Provide a statement of the problem or question that was the subject of your most impactful prior research. List your primary tasks and responsibilities, and methodologies employed. Do not include an abstract into this section. "
