Senior Thesis and Research Question

The working title for my thesis is "The Effect of Accurate Reproductions in the Research Environment: The Use of 3D Facsimiles in Replacement of Fragile Objects." The question this thesis will answer will be "what are the implications of creating and using accurate reproductions of objects for the research environment for in person and online use?" The object that will be featured in this thesis will be picked from the Melbert B. Cary Graphic Arts Collection's vast resource of rare books and objects with the help of Dr. Galbraith. I will try to work with The Construct - that I have recently visited - to scan fragile objects in three dimensions. If a book is chosen as the featured object, it will be reproduced online as well as a 3D object. As a purely digital object, this data can be used to give access to these materials online on the Cary Collections website. To make an accurate reproduction of a book as a replacement object the surface of the cover and spine will be scanned with the 3D scanner and printed if it has a notable topography such as the bolt book. Its pages will be photographed and printed in a high resolution. To use this item as a replacement object the pages will be bound and the 3D cover will be adhered to that foundation. After, the way these objects are interacted with will be recorded and analyzed. I can also look in to creating a perfect copy of an deteriorated object to show what the object might have look like when it was first created or look into printing the final object in a 3D press that uses layers of paper rather than plastic. 

Learning Research Methods from Course Readings

At the start of the course, I had thought for a long time that 'research' generally adhered to the preconceived notions I had of it.  I thought it involved reading and poring through pages and pages of materials that hold information beneficial to the researcher's goal.  Of course, this is still a large part of what research is and how it is carried out, but this course has expanded my view of the different ways in which research can be done.  One of my favorite readings we've discussed so far this semester has been Baker's research she did on automobile bumper stickers.  I thought that the comprehensive history of their creation was a really interesting story that I'd never really given a lot of thought about.  The method of compacting qualitative data into charts also struck me as very effective, particularly for subjects that compare qualities over a large amount of objects.  This kind of encapsulation of information is a method that I'm definitely keeping in mind going forward, since it could very well be used for nose art information as well as bumper stickers.

The other research method that I thought was particularly striking was used by Fekete during her research on the garbage plate.  In order to gauge local opinions, she used online surveys to gather information.  This is a method that is relatively new, and growing more viable every day.  With social media and communication technologies having advanced so far in recent years, surveying the local populace online is easier than ever.  The information that is gained through this method would have been far more difficult to obtain in the past, and that made this method seem pretty useful to me.

Bibliography:
Whitney Baker, “Soapbox for the Automobile: Bumper Sticker History, Identification, and Preservation,” Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals, Vol. 7, No. 3, pp. 251-270 (Summer 2011). 

Emily Fekete, “‘I Know I’m Home When I Have One:’ The Cultural Significance of the Garbage Plate of Rochester, NY,” Material Culture, Vol 46, No. 1, pp. 25-43 (2014).

(MUSE)ings On What I've Learned About Research Methods

As Hannah pointed out in her most recent post, my understanding of the thesis research & writing process has changed & grown significantly since the start of this class. One of the things that I've learned over the past 6 weeks, which has particularly stuck with me, is the way in which even a simple chart can be surprisingly beneficial for clearly laying out the data that is covered in one's thesis. This has been apparent in a few different articles, but seemed particularly clear in Whitney Baker's article on bumper sticker history. In Table 1 of her article, Baker provides an overview of a broad range of data, such as historical dates, substrate materials, ink types, and design features.¹ In her long, written out format, she examines these different pieces of information over several pages. Utilizing the table format, however, allowed her to provide, compare, and contrast the most important details in a space of less than half a page. The was one of the easier articles to digest, but even so, her use of the chart really helped me to grasp the information quickly & accurately. I expect that such a method of data conveyance could be particularly useful for my thesis, as at least a small section will likely detail physical aspects of the different wooden printing presses that have existed throughout history.

In a somewhat similar vein, the way in which Amy Starecheski used footnotes in her article on squatting history really helped me come to understand how useful Chicago-style can be when writing a thesis. For example, her twenty-first, twenty-second, and twenty-third citations, all on one page, offer additional sources for the reader to explore, explain nuances of the squatting culture, and cite the source for a quote that she utilized.² My thesis will likely need to include a variety of footnotes, as it will be utilizing books about printing presses, scholarly articles on education, and personal conversations with various individuals involved with the Uncommon Press project. I think my writing will be far clearer with this citation style than it would be with APA or MLA, due to way in which Chicago-style will let me cite all of these sources, while also having the ability to explain specific terminology or design details.

As I've been delving into writings that are specifically related to my topic, I've found it interesting to see the differences between some of the scholarly articles we've read, and the books about printing presses that have been published. I'm really looking forward to doing further research, to learn more about my topic, but also to learn more about the process that goes into researching & writing.

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1 Whitney Baker, “Soapbox for the Automobile: Bumper Sticker History, Identification, and Preservation,” Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals, 7:3, (Summer 2011) pp. 251-270.

2 Amy Starecheski, “Squatting History: The Power of Oral History as a History-Making Practice,” The Oral History Review, 41:2, (Summer/Fall 2014) pp. 187-216. ^↩

What I've Learned In Class So Far

To read and write theses, a solid foundation must be formed. Luckily, for RIT students in the Museum Studies program, the Research Methods class does just that. While we finalize our thesis ideas, read papers for research and learning how to navigate databases, the first weeks of class consisted of how to read and dissect scholarly articles into important parts to know when building a thesis. These parts include Research Questions, Research Methodologies, Evidence presented, Conclusions,

Structures and Citations. These categories are important to reading and analyzing research papers becasue it perfectly sums up the core information presented in the article. Later when writing my own thesis, I can use these to look back on and use as evidence. 

Aside from the research presented in each of the articles, they also exhibit ways in which we can research and write our own. For example, the article “Preserving the Voices of Revolution: Examining the Creation and Preservation of a Subject-Centered Collection of Tweets from the Eighteen Days in Egypt” details step by step how to preserve born digital media which would be a good source for my thesis that is based upon digitization. Detailing how to digitize manuscripts or 3D objects could be one focus of my thesis. On another note, a thesis can be written about public history, such as Kelly's thesis, and could use the article "I Know I’m Home When I Have One:’ The Cultural Significance of the Garbage Plate of Rochester, NY" as a framework. Surveying the community about the panel can be one focus of her thesis. For now, I will continue my research with the help of zotero which was another helpful research tool I learned through this class. 

Bibliography: 

Timothy Arnold and Walker Sampson, “Preserving the Voices of Revolution: Examining the Creation and Preservation of a Subject-Centered Collection of Tweets from the Eighteen Days in Egypt,” The American Archivist, Vol. 77, No. 2, pp. 510-533 (Fall/Winter 2014).

Emily Fekete, “‘I Know I’m Home When I Have One:’ The Cultural Significance of the Garbage Plate of Rochester, NY,” Material Culture, Vol 46, No. 1, pp. 25-43 (2014).

What I have gained from Research Methods

Six weeks into Research Methods, there has been a lot progress, change, and understanding of what it really means to implement research to create a valid and useful research topic. Throughout the process, I have changed my topic a couple of times and have finally settled on one. From these past weeks, one piece of information that I have learned is that there are several different ways to condense and create a research based paper. There are several ways to quantify data and make a cohesive and informative thesis. For example, from Whitney Baker's "Soapbox for the Automobile" article, she investigates the vulnerability of bumper stickers in regards to their chemical composition and their meaning in cultural terms (Baker). This article took a scientific approach and presented the information in a graphical format. This was interesting and gave a good visual account of her research.

Another example from the readings that has helped me understand the multitude of ways that research is able to be presented, in an accessible way is in "What We Talk About When We Talk About Food: Using Food to Teach History at the Tenement Museum." This one examined the introduction of food as a basis of learning about a specific era and location in New York City (Steinberg). I found this one useful because it aligns with the topic that I am interested in researching. It was particularly interesting because they used first hand experience at the food tours to explain their research and the usefulness of this approach to the subject matter.

Both of these examples were helpful in the beginning stages of development to understand the different approaches that there are in writing a thesis and the different types of quantitative data and experiences that could contribute to the final thesis.






Adam Steinberg, "What We Talk About When We Talk About Food: Using Food to Teach History at the Tenement Museum," The Public Historian (Spring 2012): p. 79-89.

Baker, Whitney. "Soapbox for the Automobile; Bumper Sticker History, Identification, and Preservation." Kansas University ScholarWork. (2011): 251-270. Accessed September 13, 2016.

Recent MUSE Theses Online

 

Selected theses from the previous years of Senior Thesis are available on Scholar Works, an open-access repository for the work of RIT faculty, students, and other researchers. Check out the work of alumni from our program here: http://scholarworks.rit.edu/museumstudies/.

Potential Thesis Topic

As I stated in class, I am fairly certain I want my thesis topic to be on museum ethics and cultural sensitivity within exhibitions. I would like to do a case study of the Rochester Museum and Science Center and how they handle exhibiting the Charlotte carousel panel. I have a description of the situation in my first post, but if you are unfamiliar with it, you can read up on it here. I, of course, still need to clear this idea with the RMSC and get permission to pursue it, but I am planning on beginning my research for this topic now. I aim to use all the newspaper articles and news coverage of this I can gather, as well as finding journal articles about other case studies of similar situations for comparison. Because I am an intern at the RMSC, I have access to the panel itself, as well as the staff handling the storage, care and exhibition of the panel. I plan to use the staff as references as well, through interviews and conversations I have with them. I think I have a good handle on my potential topic, and am very excited to see where this research takes me.

The topic that I am considering for my thesis is about how mood affects visitors engagement in museums. There are a variety of museums that have recently implemented the use of emotion based tours, i.e. sad, happy, joyful tours of their objects. These are available for the public to use as self guiding material throughout the museums that provide them. There have also been apps that have been created with a similar focus. Apps like Mood App have these features. I find it interesting that emotions are a new topic that is guiding people throughout the museum and encouraging them to feel and engage with the museum on an emotional basis. I believe it would be interesting to discover via visitor survey of museums that have implemented these guides how the visitors have received the tours and how they wish to change them or how they have bettered their own experiences. It might also be interesting to look at local museums in Rochester to see if they are thinking or have used these tools as well. There are several directions that you can take this idea and I am excited to investigate further into this topic.

The Effect of Accurate Reproductions in the Research Environment: The Use of 3D and 2D Facsimiles in Replacement of Fragile Objects By Katherine Curran

The Effect of Accurate Reproductions in the Research Environment: The Use of 3D and 2D Facsimiles in Replacement of Fragile Objects is the working title for my thesis project. This week I will work with Shaun Foster and Dr. Galbraith to refine ideas such as if I should focus on 3D models replace handling of fragile objects, how it changes their authenticity and educational attributes, whether I should focus on procedures for digitization or creating a 3D facsimile and/or whether it helps to preserve the original. I will ask for Foster's assistance in the area of 3D scanning and Galbraith's help in selecting an object to digitize.

One article that sparked this interest is APPLICATIONS OF DIGITIZATION TO MUSEUM COLLECTIONS MANAGEMENT, RESEARCH, AND ACCESSIBILITY by Chelse Alene Graham which describes the 3D scanning process and implications of a 3 Dimensional marble bust of a young male. This could assist me with how to create and utilize a 3D scan on the Melbert B. Cary Graphic Art Collection's website.

APPLICATIONS OF DIGITIZATION TO MUSEUM COLLECTIONS MANAGEMENT, RESEARCH, AND ACCESSIBILITY by Chelse Alene Graham

FIG. 3.12 PIGMENT TRACES ON IN 821 MAPPED IN 3D IN MESHLAB a. tungsten, b. visible-induced luminescence, c. ultraviolet fluorescence models

After this meeting, my plan is to contact Mike Buffalin who manages the Construct lab that gives 3D scanning and printing access to any student. This could help me get around red tape created by education and resource gaps.

I will soon blog next about any updates.

--Katherine Curran

Current Senior Thesis Topic

I haven't yet officially decided on a topic for my senior thesis, but I do have one general idea, which I think could result in a rather interesting thesis. Starting in March of this year, I began working with a group of students from RIT's Mechanical Engineering Department, who were in the early stages of a project to research & create a historically accurate wooden common press for the school's Cary Graphic Arts Collection. The rest of the team had already begun researching to establish a set of parameters, such as physical dimensions, materials, etc, that would facilitate the creation of a printing press that would align with the original wooden common presses used about two hundred years ago. I started helping with the research soon after joining the team, by participating in a road trip to New England, which allowed us to examine multiple authentic presses, and one reconstruction.

During the trip, I helped with on-site research, at locations such as the Vermont Historical Society and the Exeter Historical Society, both of which held original wooden presses. I was also asked to take charge of running the project's Instagram page, where we've been documenting our progress. In that role, I took and posted photos of our research at both of the aforementioned historical societies, in addition to sharing photos of our team's examination of the Franklin Press at the Museum of Newport History, in Rhode Island, and of our meeting with a historical interpreter at The Printing Office of Edes & Gill, in Boston, MA, who showed us the circa 1950 reconstruction of a wooden common press. We had a bit of a lull over the summer, but things are picking back up now that the semester has started again.

Exeter Historical Society

Museum of Newport History

Edes & Gill

Vermont Historical Society

Currently, I'm not exactly sure how I would utilize my experiences with this project to create my thesis. It could be related to the process of conducting the research necessary to create a historically accurate press, or perhaps it would be about the ways in which I, as a Museum Studies student, am utilizing my knowledge of the field to assist the engineers not only in the research process, but also in spreading the word about the project, through methods like social media. I would definitely appreciate any insight or thoughts anyone might have about how I could best use my work on this project as a basis for writing an engaging and informative thesis.