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Structuring the argument of a theoretical paper
A guideline and its reception by advanced undergraduate musicologists
Richard Parncutt and Margit PainsiDepartment of Musicology, University of Graz, Austria
ICMPC Bologna 2006
Session: Music psychology pedagogy
Unanswered questions
• evolutionary function of music• nature of musical talent, emotion…• perceptual status of roots, tonics…• effect of music on intelligence• trance, ecstasy, peak experiences, flow• association between music and spirituality • music and integration of immigrant minorities
Our aims
• Guide to writing a theoretical paper– suitable for team projects– independent of discipline – produces good results
• Users: – advanced undergraduate students– researchers
Kinds of argument and evidence
• Sciences– empirical, data-oriented
• Humanities– philosophical, intersubjective
• Musical practice– practical experience
External models
• Academic democracy– consensus among experts– peer-review procedure
• International research processes– conferences, journals
“Truth”: Hermeneutic approach
• Process-orientation– no clear beginning or end– any draft of a paper can be improved
• Repeated interaction– theses (top-down) and evidence (bottom-up)– participants consensus
Formal structure
• Learn to follow instructions– cf. journal guidelines, APA Publication Manual– cf. grant applications
• Practice creating an argument– exact wording of theses, logical progression– active creation of own argument as a basis for the
passive critical evaluation of the arguments of others
• Formalism is temporary– abilities become intuitive
Seminare versus Vorlesungen
– Seminare: active• talks• write-up• discussion
– Vorlesungen (lectures): passive• assignments• tests• exam
Structure of our Seminare
• First session– introduction to topics and subtopics – students form groups and choose topics
• Next few weeks– planning documents– feedback
• Until end of semester– one team presentation per week
• Vacation period– write-up
Background of our students
• Humanities– historical musicology– ethnomusicology
• Sciences– music acoustics– music psychology– music sociology
• Musical practice– performance– theory, composition
Academic teamwork
• What is it?• Why train it?• Forming student teams• Roles of team members• Teamwork tips• Feedback
Academic teamwork
• Interdisciplinary synergy– different knowledge and abilities
• Increasingly common– communication technology – expansion of literature
Why train teamwork?
• Practical reason– no time for individual presentations in seminar
• Research implications– a difficult, important, general research skill– academic conflict management
Forming student teams
• Choose partners– trust – standard
• Maximize disciplinary diversity– split students with similar, unusual skills
Roles of team members
• Content– introduction, a subtopic or conclusion
• Coordination– searching for literature on a given topic– compiling contributions from others
– proofreading a draft, giving comments
Teamwork tips• Common responsibility
– share responsibility for the whole– plan to contribute more than “fair share” – address common problems
• Clear agreements – plan meetings, be on time– assign flexible roles to group members– tolerate / discuss unreliability
• Mutual support– give and receive constructive criticism– share literature sources– keep all members informed
The whole Seminar as a team:Feedback after the presentation
• Aim: a foretaste of – conference question period– journal peer review
• Documentation– append feedback sheets to write-up– cover letter with
• main suggestions• how responded
Planning the presentation
Planning documents• Tabular argument • Reference list• Draft of powerpoint file• Self-evaluation
Structure of talk and write-up
• Introduction– holistic, contextualised
• Main part– analytic, detailed– divided into subtopics
• Conclusion– holistic, contextualised
Functions of structural elements
• Introduction: prepare audience– motivate– general (background) particular (examples)– explain approach
• Main part: present detail
• Conclusion: present main thesis– express and explain– place in broad context – consider implications
Structure of the argument
Main question
Ist subtopic 2nd subtopic 3rd subtopic
Main thesis
1st subthesis 2nd subthesis 3rd subthesis
Introduction:
Conclusion:
Examples: Performance research
Question Thesis Subtopics
What promotes a child’s musical development?
people closest to the child
parents teachers peers
What does performance anxiety depend on?
cognitive factors
preparation trait anxiety situation learned thought
patterns self-efficacy
What is the psychological basis of sight-reading?
pattern recognition
text versus music memory eye movements creativity
Structure of the introduction
Main topic explanation definitions
Directly addresses course theme What do you mean by the topic? How you use specific technical terms
throughout?
Example explanation
A specific person, situation or anecdote; illustrates and introduces the main question; links theory to reality
Embed it in the argument!
BackgroundOverview of specific, relevant, accepted knowledge in relevant disciplines; no individual studies
Main question
relevance possible
theses
Corresponds to the main topic Why is this question important and interesting? Several plausible answers to the question
Approach Division of topic into subtopics, with explanation
Structure of each subtopic
Subtopic explanation definitions
including link to main question confined to this subtopic
Subquestion possible
answers plausible answers to subquestion
Detail Relevant material from cited literature
SubthesisSpeaker’s preferred answer to the subquestion; supports the main thesis (not yet stated)
Evidence* Summary of empirical, theoretical and logical evidence supporting the subthesis
Counter-evidence* and limitations*
undermine the subthesis or support other possible subtheses; weaker than “evidence”
Structure of the conclusion
Main question As in introduction
Main thesis common to all subtheses original, going beyond cited sources
Evidence* supports main thesis as a whole avoids detail that could be in subtopics
Counter-evidence* and limitations*
Commonalities of the counterevidence und limitations of the subtheses
ExampleNew explanation of the introductory
example involving the new thesis
Implications*What if thesis is true? Specific
consequences
Suggestions*Specific ideas for further research related
to the main question and thesis
Our thesis
Advanced undergraduate students benefit from a formal approach to theoretical writing…
…in which they practise creating and assembling the individual building blocks of a convincing argument.
Application
• Any academic discipline with– difficult questions – uncertain answers
• Any students who should– think independently and clearly
Student reception
• Development period 2003-05– mixed reactions– evaluations contributed to development
• Complete package 2006– general acceptance
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