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.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHannah, I'm so glad you found your research idea! I know we talked in class about your topic, but are you combining the topics of the articles referenced above to support your food idea? Will you combine the scientific process with cultural food within a museum space? I can't wait to hear an update on your project, if you find a museum to partner with and need help cooking up recipes (or eating them) let us know!
ReplyDeleteI also found that scientific approach in the "Soapbox for the Automobile" article helped elucidate the information that Baker had gathered during her research into the bumper stickers. Some of the articles we've read have been a bit dense, but she did a fantastic job of using graphs and similar means to clearly lay out her data.
ReplyDeleteHi Hannah,
ReplyDeleteNice post! The type of data presented in the article about developing food-based tours of immigration history at the Lower East Side tenement museum is "qualitative," as opposed to quantitative. In other words, it yields narratives and examples rather than numerical scores. It can be more challenging to present qualitative evidence visually, and this is something we can discuss in class.