Projects Day 2014

Category 2: Non-Experimental Research (Humanities & Social Science Research)

Preliminary Briefing

Prepared by Dr. Tommie Chen 7 March 2014

Reader, after my best efforts, here’s what I believe – not the whole or final truth, but a truth important to me. I have tested and supported that truth as fully as my time and abilities allow, so that you might find my argument strong enough to consider, perhaps to accept, maybe even to

change what you believe.

(Booth, Colomb and Williams, 2008, p.186)

Qualitative Research

•  An important three-step formula for identifying the significance of your research question:

•  Topic: I am studying ___________ •  Question: because I want to find out what/why/

how __________________ •  Practical/Conceptual Significance: in order to

help my reader understand __________________________.

Qualitative Research

•  Qualitative analysis is commonly used in Humanities and Social Sciences research.

•  It has special value for investigating complex and sensitive socio-political issues from either a sociological, historical or literary standpoint.

•  It can be broadly divided into 2 sub-fields: 1.  Practical/Applied Research 2.  Pure/Literature-Based Research

Applied vs. Pure Research Practical/Applied Research •  Is motivated by a practical problem which defines the research question.

E.g. An existing socio-political/historical issue widely reported in the newspapers or widely debated in online forums.

•  Often leads to a proposed solution that helps to solve the practical problem.

Research Significance: •  Topic: I am studying ___________ •  Question: because I want to find out what/why/how

__________________ •  Practical Significance: in order to help my reader understand

__________________________. •  Potential Practical Application: so that readers/political leaders can

__________________________.

Applied vs. Pure Research Pure Research •  Is motivated by a conceptual problem that helps us to understand an

issue in-depth. •  It does not bear a solution to a practical problem, but it improves the

understanding of an EXISTING community of researchers. Research Significance: •  Topic: I am studying ___________ •  Conceptual Question: because I want to find out what/why/how

__________________ •  Conceptual Significance: in order to help my reader understand

__________________________ by refining a particular theory/philosophy.

Qualitative Research •  Centered on reviewing academic literature, with a focus on primary and/or secondary

sources (Especially applicable to projects with a History/Literature slant). •  Examples  of  past  projects  which  qualify  for  this  sub-­‐category  are:  1.  Revisiting the riots: A media perspective 2.  A review of the recent politics of Sino-American relations 3.  The Political Openness of Singapore: Past and Present 4.  Mastering the history of the Communist Statue Park in Budapest. 5.  Captain America: Saving America’s Lost Children 6.  The Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill – A corpus-based study of metaphors in British &

American Discourse 7.  Changing Lanes : A Study of the evolution of secular rhetoric in Singapore Politics 8.  Shedding Light on the Literary Vampire 9.  Analysis of Singaporean Nationalistic Song Lyrics 10.  Examining the Evolution of Female Representation in Popular Culture: Madonna vs.

Lady Gaga – A Corpus-Based Approach 11.  Masculinity as Portrayed in Ip Man (2008, 2010) 12.  Examining the diachronic evolution of Masculinity in James Bond Films 13.  The Search for the "Ideal I" : An Examination of the Portrayal of the modern hero in

The Bourne Ultimatum (2007), The Bourne Supremacy (2004) and The Bourne Identity (2002)

Qualitative Research

•  You need to critique Concepts/Theories. E.g. How useful certain concepts or theories are for understanding particular patterns of behaviour/ events.

•  You need to delineate the contexts and justify the choice of your dataset/theories – IN OTHER WORDS – You need to base your research on existing academic perspectives.

•  In research projects with a History slant, emphasis is placed on how sources are selected, interpreted and used.

•  In other projects, there is a focus on reaching judgements based on the value of key concepts or theories in understanding the world.

•  The foundation for the entire research MUST be based on a solid academic platform.

Literature Review

•  Wikipedia should only be used as an initial springboard for the research, it SHOULD NOT be the MAIN SOURCE of data.

•  Remember to base your methodology on existing research by a recognised community of practitioners.

Literature Review PRIMARY SOURCES •  Raw data used to test the hypothesis and to solve research problems. •  These include documents from the period (speech transcripts), objects, maps,

subject interviews or the text itself (for historical or literary research) SECONDARY SOURCES •  Mainly consists of journals/research reports written for scholarly and

professional audiences. •  Often used by researchers to keep up with their respective fields and frame new

areas of research. TERTIARY SOURCES •  Academic Textbooks and Articles that synthesise secondary sources for general

readers – includes mass circulation publications found online (NEWSWEEK/TIME) or in encyclopaedia entries or magazines.

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What makes a good Cat 2 Project? •  A good and relevant Thesis Statement/Hypothesis – based on

EXISTING research/literature OR CURRENT issues

•  Well-formulated Research Questions that will support your Thesis Statement/Hypothesis.

•  Theoretical Scaffolding -  Psychoanalytic Film Theory/Lacan’s Spectatorship Theory -  Critical Discourse Analysis -  Marxist Theory -  Foucault (Discourse & Power) -  Gender/Feminist Theory -  Conceptual Metaphor Theory

•  Clear research methods –  Well-scoped with CLEAR delimitations. –  Practicality in terms of data/text collection –  Reliability in data analysis –  Interpretation & Extrapolation –  With Scope for Future Research

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

How does the portrayal of the protagonist in The Bourne Trilogy (2002- 2007) aid the spectator in the identification process and to make the heroes more realistic?

How do contemporary developments in society explain the difference in the portrayal of modern heroism?

1

2

3

What are the defining characteristics of the modern hero, as seen in Jason Bourne?

Thesis and Research Qns This Project will •  Analyse the Conceptual Metaphors present in National Day

songs. •  Discern their use in the “formulation” of Singapore’s “national

identity” (Ortmann, 2009)

Research Questions •  Are there any stock metaphors in Singaporean nationalist

songs? •  What are the conceptual metaphors behind these

representations? •  What underlying national ideologies do the conceptual

metaphors promote?

•  How has the usage of Conceptual Metaphors in landmark political speeches by three generations of Prime Ministers evolved during the transitions of power from one to the other?

•  What are the social and political implications of the evolution of these Conceptual Metaphors?

Research questions

•  How has the usage of secular rhetoric and conceptual metaphors changed over the years to protect the multiracial and potentially explosive composition of society?

•  Through the usage of secular rhetoric, how has the government upheld secularism through an unwavering emphasis on pragmatism as a cornerstone?

Research questions

Research Questions •  How do Madonna and Lady Gaga differ in their

representation of the female in their lyrics? •  What are the Conceptual Metaphors used in the

representation of the female in the lyrics of Lady Gaga and Madonna? How do they differ?

•  How are the proposed representations on gender further

justified empirically by the use of Corpus Linguistics?

Theoretical Frameworks

Corpus Linguistics

Critical Discourse Analysis

Conceptual Metaphor

Theory

Critical Metaphor Analysis

(Charteris-Black, 2004)

Corpus Linguistics Critical Discourse Analysis

Conceptual Metaphor Theory

Theoretical Frameworks  

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What makes a good Cat 2 Project?

Two key questions you need to ask yourself: •  So what? Beyond your own interest, why

would others think that your topic is a question worth asking.

•  What will be lost if your question is not answered? How will not answering your research question keep us from understanding something better than we do?

What makes a good Cat 2 Project? •  You need to identify of a worthy issue for exploration. •  A potential issue for further research has the following characteristics: 1.  Real world: Relevant, contemporary, widely-debated, ambiguous and

evolving – with no simple answers e.g. disturbing trends in contemporary film, literature texts or socio-historical or political developments.

2.  Multiple points of view: Identify the stakeholders. There should be a practical slant/link to Singapore society OR to a specific academic community.

3.  Practical: There SHOULD be existing academic literature/research in the field pertaining to your area of interest and there should be the availability of substantial information/data for collection/mining.

4.  Multi-faceted and Significant: You have to ask questions about things that matter. You also have to consider the arguments of others and contribute your personal perspective and original thinking..

Many thanks to Mediacorp Channel News Asia 2010

     Breakfast  with  CEOs    27th  October  2010  

Outlining/Storyboarding  

I.  Introduction II.  Literature Review/ Theoretical Scaffolding a.  Author A b.  Author B c.  Author C III.  Key Issue a.  Identifying Gaps in Literature b.  Real world Implications IV.  Outlining the Problem/ Data Collection V.  Analysis and Evaluation VI.  Conclusion VII.  Future Areas for Research/Extension •  Having an outline like this helps to ensure overall

coherence/persuasiveness & enables you to chart your progress satisfactorily.

Many thanks to Mediacorp Channel News Asia 2010

     Breakfast  with  CEOs    27th  October  2010  

Projects Day Details  

Prelim  Judging  (5  min  PresentaLon,  3  min  Q&A)  •  To  proceed  to  the  Semi-­‐Finals:  >  20  out  of  52      Semi-­‐Finals  •  To  advance  to  Finals:    >  34  out  of  52      Finals    A*  :  >  75%  (39/52)  A      :  >  70%  (36/52)  B+  :  <  70%  (36/52)      Grand  Finals  Selec.on  round  •  Groups  scoring  at  least  44  out  of  52  will  be  eligible  for  

consideraLon  for  the  Grand  Finals  SelecLon  round.  

Dr Tommie Chen Principal Consultant – English Language tommie@hc.edu.sg

Thank You for Your Kind Attention. Any Questions?