This course will look at the digital technologies that make up the new world of “digital convergence.” This course will also help students to develop necessary digital media production skills and use them critically to solve media development problems. The course will examine the effects of digital media convergence on psychological life, on industry, and on communities local and global through a variety of theories and paradigms.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Blog #2: “How to Write a Graduate Paper” “Theoretical Perspectives”
1. Thomas Frentz basically explained to us the differences of an undergraduate paper versus a graduate paper; summarizing accounts of what other people say is not enough you must go beyond and contribute original ideas as well. Frentz then goes further to explain the similarities as well as differences in requirements between different graduate level term papers including: full-blown M.A. thesis, seminar, and convention papers. Finally he concludes with the difficulties and realities one faces when trying to publish a paper, however after many negatives he doesn’t discourage us to shy away from our goals.
2. A)“New news” B) Find the literature, understand the literature, and Critique the literature C) Revising and resubmitting- Many people are asked to do this, “you’re not the only one!” Take your time, lots of it, and don’t rush! Do not forget the letter to your editor that must accompany the revised paper.
3. A) “New news” is critical to the success of a graduate level paper, without “new news” your paper is consider just an undergraduate level term paper. B) Find the literature, understand the literature, and Critique the literature- this is important and can save an individual lots of time if and only if all three are identified before moving on with your paper. On page 3 of this article we are asked to craft a rationale and it gives us these three important pieces of information we must gather and why. Without one we can’t move on to the next and without a literature critique we can’t really find out what the inadequacy is. C) 1.We don’t usually see revise and resubmit in grade school, we just submit and get a grade. In the publishing world of academics it seems as though many people are asked to do this, “you’re not the only one!” 2. Take your time, lots of it, and don’t rush! 3. Do not forget the letter to your editor that must accompany the revised paper.
4. Convention Papers- I understand the idea of these papers however I was wondering if besides the fact that you get to present your idea (and don’t get me wrong this is a huge honor as well as opportunity) at these NCA conventions and possibly get out of a comp question, can these papers also be published?
5. 1. What do you believe is more beneficial for someone pursuing a career in academia, being published or presenting at a convention? What’s looked at more highly amongst other published professors? 2. This article sounds like its talking a lot about a literature review; will we be writing a literature review for this class? Similar to Research LEAD 550 3. The author introduces this idea of revise and resubmit, claiming it’s a common practice in publishing academic literature, if so then how come we don’t utilize it more in grade school so children can learn from their mistakes?
6. My last questions made me think more about the real world and how this article, specifically one part of it resubmit and revise, is directly connected to the real world. Remember when children are just learning to walk? Well when you fall down you are NOT punished or scolded for doing it incorrectly, instead your encouraged to try again, and then rewarded once you finally get it correct. Then when we enter school it’s not so much the same thing, we are given assignments and for the most part you have once chance, you hand the paper in and await a grade from your teacher. Where is the learning curve here? We are discouraging kids! Think about it they are only in first grade and put all their time and effort into a diorama and the teacher (one individuals opinion) gives the student a bad grade because it’s not as “pretty or neat” as some of the other children, maybe the coloring was out of the lines, this child may never again try. They gave it their best and were shut down completely just like that. Why aren’t we instead doing what we did when we were just learning to walk or what they do in academia “revise and resubmit”? At least in these situations were encouraging the individuals to not give up but to dig deeper or think outside the box to find something else that might give your work that extra edge to make it great!
In his paper “How to Write a graduate Research Paper” Thomas Frentz outlines how and why they differ them from an undergraduate paper. He discusses the process of finding an appropriate topic to examine, the process of reviewing previous literature on a topic and being able to critique it, and then finding an inadequacy on which to build an argument. This argument is then used to justify the research that you intend to carry out.
Frenz discusses the differences between a research paper, a thesis proposal, thesis, seminar paper, and convention paper, and then finishes with the process involved in getting a paper published in the most appropriate journal(s).
Key Ideas / Three Specific References to Readings
In a graduate research paper you must offer something new. You must contribute something original to the field
Page 1 “ I like to call this original contribution your “new news”
Knowing the process in order to figure out if you understand fully the literature you are reading.
Page 3 “f you can write a short paragraph on each of these questions in your own words, you can feel fairly confident that you’ve understood what you’ve read. If you can’t go back and re-read the study again.”
Once you have identified a questionable area or weakness within the literature you have to find a way to address it and remove it. This becomes the idea for your own research.
Page 4 “If there’s something wrong with a method, then you’ll need a better method, or again, a more creative use of the procedures already used.”
Most Challenging Concept
This weeks reading used a language that I found much easier to understand compared to last. That being said the section dedicated to ‘Finding the Hook’ took me the most time to absorb especially when the author referred to the ‘identified patient’ concept.
Discussion Questions
1. What is the author referring to when he uses the example of an “over-obvious Marxian analysis of some political campaign” being enriched by using “reader reception theory”?
2. Can a graduate research paper evolve into thesis proposal?
3. Thomas Frentz is an extremely experienced professor in communication, with a great deal of knowledge in each of the areas he discusses. Over time has the requirements for research papers, thesis proposals, seminar papers, convention papers and published materials evolved and if so, how might these requirements change and evolve over the next 20-30 years?
How does reading might relate to your upcoming presentation, paper or to the “real world
I feel this weeks reading do relate significantly to the real world especially if you are interested in a career path in academia. The level to which it applies to my upcoming presentation is also significant as the reading is directly speaking to graduate students writing a research paper. It was very helpful in understanding the process involved in each level of writing.
1. This week reading extensively covered how to write a graduate research paper. Specifically, distinctions between undergraduate term papers and graduate research papers were made. In addition to highlighting the differences, this weeks reading also incorporated choosing paper topics, consulting, critiquing, thesis formulation and writing and various other types of papers at the graduate level. 2. The three ideas in this reading were consulting literature, critiquing literature and thesis formulations. 3. “you need to understand the literature you’ve found” pg 3 / “if you can’t see any problem with what’s already known, then there’s nothing for you to study” pg 4 / “what you need is an innovative way to redress that inadequacy, a “hook” upon which you can hang your own research idea” pg 4 4. The most challenging concept for me to grasp was the section on published articles because I have no experience with this and truly never had the desire to want to publish anything I have written or researched as of yet. Perhaps this will change as I continue with my graduate education and continue to perform more and more research. 5. Why do you think vast differences exist between graduate and undergraduate papers? / Is there an easy way to find a “hook” in arguments and/or research, how would you suggest trying to find these “hooks”? 6. This refresher reading on writing a graduate paper as well as some of the basic concepts it brought to my attention will most definitely aid me in creating a well thought out and organized research paper for our course this semester.
1. The article we had to read this week dealt with the topic of writing a graduate level research paper, specifically, the differences between a graduate level paper and an undergraduate paper. The article explains how to choose material, critique this material and draw one's own argument regarding the chosen topic.
2. The three key ideas from this article were choosing a topic, finding pertinent material and the main idea, drawing an original argument from these findings.
3. A)The article suggests ways in which one can decide on a topic. Some suggestions include browsing the chapters of related books, reviewing the class syllabus and accessing data bases. B) The article suggests going to databases to find material, current studies which gives the most recent data on a subject matter and a literature review which does the investigative work for you. C) The article suggests ways to search the literature you found as resource material and to pull hooks from these as the basis for your paper.
4) The most challengingh section of the article dealt with the hooks section and finding one for your paper. The article is not clear on specific methods for extracting these hooks.
5)How can one improve the way hooks are located in the material we find?
In what ways can the amount of research material be narrowed down to the most pertinent information.
6)This article is very relevant to any graduate student since we do write multiple papers during the course of our studies. Also since we are preparing to write a paper for this class it is a good place to start in the process.
1. This weeks reading dealt with the process of creating a research paper that makes sure to involve your own "new news". The author distinguishes between typical undergraduate work and the movement to graduates level papers. The author also takes us down the familiar path of selecting a topic, gathering information, and putting together a proper argument. He also discusses in detail the difference between literature reviews, seminar papers, graduate level proposals, and published works to name a few.
2. I feel the three key ideas in this article were to establish the grounds for graduate level work, selecting and preparing an argument that can champion the idea of "new news", and explaining the types of papers that can be produced and exactly what the implications are for doing them.
3. The author explains that graduate papers are different then undergraduate papers because they, "contribute something original to what we know about communication, here's one way (not the only way) to approach them." (page 1/para 2) The author also goes on to explaining his key argument for explaining "new news" and needing to review literature closely by stating, "you can use that as an argumentative springboard to your own original contribution, your "new news". (page 4/para 1) He talks of convention papers and the need to read and revise carefully when asked to resubmit. He warns the writer to not "hurry your revision." (pg 11, para 2) He wants the writer to take their time and make sure to cover all basis for revision prior to resubmitting.
4. The most difficult concept I found with this weeks reading, as many others have noted, the concept of the "hook". I believe I know what the author was trying to say, but it could have been easier to understand with a more specific example (something in-text perhaps) rather then a category of which we know nothing about. Perhaps this was produced for a specific audience i.e. his Comm 5111 class.
5. I wonder if many students in our program have in the past or seriously considered putting together material for publication. Has anyone every thought of doing this before? I am also curious about our seminar course in the program what kind of paper do we have in that course? Is anyone taking that course now?
6. This reading is a good starter in the consideration of the paper, and what to expect of a true graduate research paper. This article really provides guidance and expectations in the preparation and presentation of a legitimate academic paper. I intend to refer back to this article while writing the paper.
1. Thomas Frentz’s “How to write a graduata research paper” is about the differences between an undergraduate term paper and a graduate research paper. Frentz describes how the main difference between the two is that a graduate research paper requires one to critically evaluate current literature and then contribute an original idea. The author then goes into how to choose a topic, finding your hook, how to start a thesis, and even discusses publishing one’s work. 2. - Finding one’s “hook” - The need to understand and critique literature - A good research proposal still requires a lot of work to be published 3. - “Why is critiquing literature so important to scholarly research? Because the literature that you’ve read and understood tell you only what is already known about the topic you want to research (pg. 4)” - Graduate research papers require you to “contribute something original on your own, something that a reader could not find in what others have said (pg. 1).” - ”if you have a seminar paper that your professor drooled over or if you have an accepted convention paper, you may have the beginnings of a publication (pg. 10).” 4. I didn’t find anything too challenging in this week’s reading. It was very straight forward, which was a pleasant change from last week. I guess something that could be a challenge is the idea of publishing work. I wrote a thesis in undergrad and have written many grad school papers, but publishing work is a different ball game. 5. Most of us are far along in the program and have written many papers for grad school already. With that said, did this article change your thoughts on how to write graduate school papers? Has this article changed how you are going to approach papers in the future? 6. When I read this article I immediately thought of my senior thesis. When I was looking into topics I didn’t understand what my professor wanted because he kept on saying you need to put a twist on it. It took me a while to figure out what my “hook” would be, but that was the twist that he was looking for. When you read this article it seems very straight forward, but at the time I had a very difficult time understanding the topic. This article would have been a big help back then!
1.
ReplyDeleteThomas Frentz basically explained to us the differences of an undergraduate paper versus a graduate paper; summarizing accounts of what other people say is not enough you must go beyond and contribute original ideas as well. Frentz then goes further to explain the similarities as well as differences in requirements between different graduate level term papers including: full-blown M.A. thesis, seminar, and convention papers. Finally he concludes with the difficulties and realities one faces when trying to publish a paper, however after many negatives he doesn’t discourage us to shy away from our goals.
2.
A)“New news”
B) Find the literature, understand the literature, and Critique the literature
C) Revising and resubmitting- Many people are asked to do this, “you’re not the only one!” Take your time, lots of it, and don’t rush! Do not forget the letter to your editor that must accompany the revised paper.
3.
A) “New news” is critical to the success of a graduate level paper, without “new news” your paper is consider just an undergraduate level term paper.
B) Find the literature, understand the literature, and Critique the literature- this is important and can save an individual lots of time if and only if all three are identified before moving on with your paper. On page 3 of this article we are asked to craft a rationale and it gives us these three important pieces of information we must gather and why. Without one we can’t move on to the next and without a literature critique we can’t really find out what the inadequacy is.
C) 1.We don’t usually see revise and resubmit in grade school, we just submit and get a grade. In the publishing world of academics it seems as though many people are asked to do this, “you’re not the only one!”
2. Take your time, lots of it, and don’t rush!
3. Do not forget the letter to your editor that must accompany the revised paper.
4.
ReplyDeleteConvention Papers- I understand the idea of these papers however I was wondering if besides the fact that you get to present your idea (and don’t get me wrong this is a huge honor as well as opportunity) at these NCA conventions and possibly get out of a comp question, can these papers also be published?
5.
1. What do you believe is more beneficial for someone pursuing a career in academia, being published or presenting at a convention? What’s looked at more highly amongst other published professors?
2. This article sounds like its talking a lot about a literature review; will we be writing a literature review for this class? Similar to Research LEAD 550
3. The author introduces this idea of revise and resubmit, claiming it’s a common practice in publishing academic literature, if so then how come we don’t utilize it more in grade school so children can learn from their mistakes?
6.
My last questions made me think more about the real world and how this article, specifically one part of it resubmit and revise, is directly connected to the real world. Remember when children are just learning to walk? Well when you fall down you are NOT punished or scolded for doing it incorrectly, instead your encouraged to try again, and then rewarded once you finally get it correct.
Then when we enter school it’s not so much the same thing, we are given assignments and for the most part you have once chance, you hand the paper in and await a grade from your teacher. Where is the learning curve here? We are discouraging kids! Think about it they are only in first grade and put all their time and effort into a diorama and the teacher (one individuals opinion) gives the student a bad grade because it’s not as “pretty or neat” as some of the other children, maybe the coloring was out of the lines, this child may never again try. They gave it their best and were shut down completely just like that. Why aren’t we instead doing what we did when we were just learning to walk or what they do in academia “revise and resubmit”? At least in these situations were encouraging the individuals to not give up but to dig deeper or think outside the box to find something else that might give your work that extra edge to make it great!
Summary
ReplyDeleteIn his paper “How to Write a graduate Research Paper” Thomas Frentz outlines how and why they differ them from an undergraduate paper. He discusses the process of finding an appropriate topic to examine, the process of reviewing previous literature on a topic and being able to critique it, and then finding an inadequacy on which to build an argument. This argument is then used to justify the research that you intend to carry out.
Frenz discusses the differences between a research paper, a thesis proposal, thesis, seminar paper, and convention paper, and then finishes with the process involved in getting a paper published in the most appropriate journal(s).
Key Ideas / Three Specific References to Readings
In a graduate research paper you must offer something new. You must contribute something original to the field
Page 1 “ I like to call this original contribution your “new news”
Knowing the process in order to figure out if you understand fully the literature you are reading.
Page 3 “f you can write a short paragraph on each of these questions in your own words, you can feel fairly confident that you’ve understood what you’ve read. If you can’t go back and re-read the study again.”
Once you have identified a questionable area or weakness within the literature you have to find a way to address it and remove it. This becomes the idea for your own research.
Page 4 “If there’s something wrong with a method, then you’ll need a better method, or again, a more creative use of the procedures already used.”
Most Challenging Concept
This weeks reading used a language that I found much easier to understand compared to last. That being said the section dedicated to ‘Finding the Hook’ took me the most time to absorb especially when the author referred to the ‘identified patient’ concept.
Discussion Questions
1. What is the author referring to when he uses the example of an “over-obvious Marxian analysis of some political campaign” being enriched by using “reader reception theory”?
2. Can a graduate research paper evolve into thesis proposal?
3. Thomas Frentz is an extremely experienced professor in communication, with a great deal of knowledge in each of the areas he discusses. Over time has the requirements for research papers, thesis proposals, seminar papers, convention papers and published materials evolved and if so, how might these requirements change and evolve over the next 20-30 years?
How does reading might relate to your upcoming presentation, paper or to the “real world
I feel this weeks reading do relate significantly to the real world especially if you are interested in a career path in academia. The level to which it applies to my upcoming presentation is also significant as the reading is directly speaking to graduate students writing a research paper. It was very helpful in understanding the process involved in each level of writing.
1. This week reading extensively covered how to write a graduate research paper. Specifically, distinctions between undergraduate term papers and graduate research papers were made. In addition to highlighting the differences, this weeks reading also incorporated choosing paper topics, consulting, critiquing, thesis formulation and writing and various other types of papers at the graduate level.
ReplyDelete2. The three ideas in this reading were consulting literature, critiquing literature and thesis formulations.
3. “you need to understand the literature you’ve found” pg 3 / “if you can’t see any problem with what’s already known, then there’s nothing for you to study” pg 4 / “what you need is an innovative way to redress that inadequacy, a “hook” upon which you can hang your own research idea” pg 4
4. The most challenging concept for me to grasp was the section on published articles because I have no experience with this and truly never had the desire to want to publish anything I have written or researched as of yet. Perhaps this will change as I continue with my graduate education and continue to perform more and more research.
5. Why do you think vast differences exist between graduate and undergraduate papers? / Is there an easy way to find a “hook” in arguments and/or research, how would you suggest trying to find these “hooks”?
6. This refresher reading on writing a graduate paper as well as some of the basic concepts it brought to my attention will most definitely aid me in creating a well thought out and organized research paper for our course this semester.
(council rock = Stephen Reustle)
1. The article we had to read this week dealt with the topic of writing a graduate level research paper, specifically, the differences between a graduate level paper and an undergraduate paper. The article explains how to choose material, critique this material and draw one's own argument regarding the chosen topic.
ReplyDelete2. The three key ideas from this article were choosing a topic, finding pertinent material and the main idea, drawing an original argument from these findings.
3. A)The article suggests ways in which one can decide on a topic. Some suggestions include browsing the chapters of related books, reviewing the class syllabus and accessing data bases. B) The article suggests going to databases to find material, current studies which gives the most recent data on a subject matter and a literature review which does the investigative work for you. C) The article suggests ways to search the literature you found as resource material and to pull hooks from these as the basis for your paper.
4) The most challengingh section of the article dealt with the hooks section and finding one for your paper. The article is not clear on specific methods for extracting these hooks.
5)How can one improve the way hooks are located in the material we find?
In what ways can the amount of research material be narrowed down to the most pertinent information.
6)This article is very relevant to any graduate student since we do write multiple papers during the course of our studies. Also since we are preparing to write a paper for this class it is a good place to start in the process.
1. This weeks reading dealt with the process of creating a research paper that makes sure to involve your own "new news". The author distinguishes between typical undergraduate work and the movement to graduates level papers. The author also takes us down the familiar path of selecting a topic, gathering information, and putting together a proper argument. He also discusses in detail the difference between literature reviews, seminar papers, graduate level proposals, and published works to name a few.
ReplyDelete2. I feel the three key ideas in this article were to establish the grounds for graduate level work, selecting and preparing an argument that can champion the idea of "new news", and explaining the types of papers that can be produced and exactly what the implications are for doing them.
3. The author explains that graduate papers are different then undergraduate papers because they, "contribute something original to what we know about communication, here's one way (not the only way) to approach them." (page 1/para 2) The author also goes on to explaining his key argument for explaining "new news" and needing to review literature closely by stating, "you can use that as an argumentative springboard to your own original contribution, your "new news". (page 4/para 1) He talks of convention papers and the need to read and revise carefully when asked to resubmit. He warns the writer to not "hurry your revision." (pg 11, para 2) He wants the writer to take their time and make sure to cover all basis for revision prior to resubmitting.
4. The most difficult concept I found with this weeks reading, as many others have noted, the concept of the "hook". I believe I know what the author was trying to say, but it could have been easier to understand with a more specific example (something in-text perhaps) rather then a category of which we know nothing about. Perhaps this was produced for a specific audience i.e. his Comm 5111 class.
5. I wonder if many students in our program have in the past or seriously considered putting together material for publication. Has anyone every thought of doing this before? I am also curious about our seminar course in the program what kind of paper do we have in that course? Is anyone taking that course now?
6. This reading is a good starter in the consideration of the paper, and what to expect of a true graduate research paper. This article really provides guidance and expectations in the preparation and presentation of a legitimate academic paper. I intend to refer back to this article while writing the paper.
1. Thomas Frentz’s “How to write a graduata research paper” is about the differences between an undergraduate term paper and a graduate research paper. Frentz describes how the main difference between the two is that a graduate research paper requires one to critically evaluate current literature and then contribute an original idea. The author then goes into how to choose a topic, finding your hook, how to start a thesis, and even discusses publishing one’s work.
ReplyDelete2. - Finding one’s “hook”
- The need to understand and critique literature
- A good research proposal still requires a lot of work to be published
3. - “Why is critiquing literature so important to scholarly research? Because the literature that you’ve read and understood tell you only what is already known about the topic you want to research (pg. 4)”
- Graduate research papers require you to “contribute something original on your own, something that a reader could not find in what others have said (pg. 1).”
- ”if you have a seminar paper that your professor drooled over or if you have an accepted convention paper, you may have the beginnings of a publication (pg. 10).”
4. I didn’t find anything too challenging in this week’s reading. It was very straight forward, which was a pleasant change from last week. I guess something that could be a challenge is the idea of publishing work. I wrote a thesis in undergrad and have written many grad school papers, but publishing work is a different ball game.
5. Most of us are far along in the program and have written many papers for grad school already. With that said, did this article change your thoughts on how to write graduate school papers?
Has this article changed how you are going to approach papers in the future?
6. When I read this article I immediately thought of my senior thesis. When I was looking into topics I didn’t understand what my professor wanted because he kept on saying you need to put a twist on it. It took me a while to figure out what my “hook” would be, but that was the twist that he was looking for. When you read this article it seems very straight forward, but at the time I had a very difficult time understanding the topic. This article would have been a big help back then!