A New Year, New Research

On Thursday, August 27, students in the Research Methods began their course with Prof. Tamar Carroll, MUSE faculty member from RIT's History Department. The purpose of the Methods course is to introduce students to the methodologies of research appropriate for the field of Museum Studies. This course provides a strong foundation for students as they undertake the thesis in the following semester.

For the thesis, students are asked to conduct research and produce a paper. The research paper takes one of two forms, generally. The paper may combine research with an experiential-based project. Or, the paper may be based entirely upon research. In addition to conducting research and writing a supporting paper, students are required to disseminate their work publicly. This is done usually through the college-wide poster session held in May (pictures below in May's post).

As another form of facilitation and dissemination, students are asked to make periodic posts to this blog throughout this semester. Posts will continue in the spring, as well, as they bring their projects to a strong finish.

To facilitate thinking about which type of project each student will pursue, Prof. Tina Lent and I joined the Methods class last week to talk with the students about potential projects that might be interesting to pursue as part of senior thesis work. In addition to one of the dozen or so projects that we introduced—many of which are offered in conjunction with area institutions—students have the option of pursuing a project of their own design, after consulting with MUSE faculty.

To give inspiration for the students, I am attaching a photograph from the university-wide poster session that was held earlier this month. There, two of our class of 2015 seniors presented their thesis work. Be sure to click here for a pic of most of last year's class at graduation!

Best wishes, seniors! 

University-wide Poster Session, August 7, 2015. Photo T. Lent