Context of Practice 03 | Lecture 01
Introduction to Context of Practice 3 : Organising your Research Project
- Lecture 1: Introduction to Context of Practice 3: Organising your research project
- Lecture 2: Integrating Theory and Practice
- Lecture 3: Resolving & Presenting your Research
- Project Lecture 4: Submitting Your Research Project (Assessment Briefing)
- To support the development and application of higher level independent critical/analytical research skills and approaches to generating source material through a range of practical and theoretical methods.
- To support the investigation of individual creative concerns that recognises and communicates the synthesis of a practical, theoretical and professional understanding of contemporary animation.
- To embed critical and analytical approaches to the development of individually practical and theoretical research and investigation.
- To develop higher level communication skills through written, visual and practical formats that demonstrate a reflective, evaluative and critical understanding of individual creative practices appropriate to BA (Hons) Level 6 academic expectations.
During this module you will be required to demonstrate your ability to inform the practical and visual development of your ideas through increasingly focussed research into appropriate theories, principles and concepts relating to your chosen subject or theme.
The project will represent an extended individual period of self-initiated study supported by individual tutorial support and peer review opportunities.
You will be expected to demonstrate your ability to plan, organise and undertake independent practical, theoretical and contextual research activities as well as provide a consistent critical and evaluative developmental record of your project and outcomes.
- Practical Response: Products and Proposals should be presented via 5 x presentation boards (submitted digitally) that evidence research, idea generation, development, and outcomes. Appropriate physical work, objects or digital outcomes should be submitted in line with the guidance provided on eStudio.
- Written outcome: A 5000 word essay (excluding quotes) using Harvard referencing and containing a bibliography
- Context of Practice Blog: Should contain no more than 2000 words in total and should document annotated visual development, critical reflections, feedback, study tasks, and any other related work.
'Research is formalised curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose.' - Zora Neale Hurston
Methodology
Tutorials & Supervision:
- Refers to how you will find out what you are looking for. (Approaches)
- Identifies who will be involved and how. (Techniques)
- Specifies how you will turn source material (data) in to evidence. (Analysis)
- Considers how you will generate meaning from your evidence. (Interpretation)
Tutorials & Supervision:
Tutorial 01 - you should be prepared to discuss:
Tutorial 02 - you should be prepared to discuss:
- Clarifying research question
- Revised proposal if direction has changed over Summer
- Outline chapter structure
- Timeline for practical aspect
Tutorial 02 - you should be prepared to discuss:
- Draft of at least one chapter
- Critical analysis, triangulation and use of sources
- Practical development and synthesis with textual analysis
- Draft development of at least 2 chapters
- Clarity and criticality
- Chapter introductions and conclusions
- Development of project against timeline
Tutorial 04 - you should be prepared to discuss:
- Completion of first dissertation draft
- Aims, intentions and methodological approach
- Conclusion
- Practical synthesis and realisation
- Feedback on essay to date, identifying any areas for clarification.
- Academic conventions, formatting and arrangements for submission
- Any additional revisions or improvements to be made
- Practical outcomes
- Evidence of synthesis between practical and written elements
Chapter 1 – Introduction (400 words)
This is an important section of any essay. It is the first section that any assessor will read and, rightly or wrongly, its quality or lack of will colour any interpretation of the content that follows. It needs to cover some essential information about the content of your project and your approach to research. As such, it is an excellent source for evidencing triangulation and methodology (6B1), organisation and project management (6D1), and that your work is the result of critical, effective and testable research processes (6C1). However, it should not be discursive or really even analytical. Clear economical writing is best and certainly try not to waffle. Quotes are not usually included in the introduction, as these would usually be analysed in detail in the later sections.
It is often easier to write the introduction last, following the completion of your research. However, the content of the introduction should have been given serious consideration before embarking on your research.
The following information needs to be included in your introduction (these should be discussed with your tutor at your very first tutorial) – It is often easier to write the introduction last, following the completion of your research. However, the content of the introduction should have been given serious consideration before embarking on your research.
- Clearly outline the topic you are investigating and explain to the reader why this is an important area to study.
- Clearly state the overarching research question of the project. This should be formulated as an answerable question or assertion, not an abstract statement. If necessary, you might also wish to articulate more specific sub-questions that guide your project
- Outline how you are going to investigate this project (your methodology). This might include highlighting key primary and secondary research methods, including visual, practical, and textual research methods.
- Completing the above may necessitate telling the reader what your own individual position (theoretical, political etc.) on this topic is. This is not necessary, but good practice as it is a demonstration of academic honesty and a defence against accusations of bias. if so, you should explicitly relate this to writers, key texts, and other relevant information.
This is the first section of the main body of your Essay. It is the section where you will evidence the breadth and depth of your background research (6D1), whilst also demonstrating your own independent critical understanding of the contexts (be they aesthetic, cultural, historical, technological, social, political or other) contexts relevant to your chosen topic and, indeed, your subject discipline (6A1).
In longer essays, theses or Dissertations, this is usually accomplished through a Literature Review. We are not asking for a formal and exhaustive Literature Review here, and you are not expected to demonstrate subject expertise. However, the key elements of a quality Literature review should be evidenced. Therefore, you may find it helpful to look up chapters on this method of writing in the books you will find in the Study Skills section of the college library (371.3).
The following information needs to be included in your second chapter (these should be discussed with your tutor at your individual tutorials) –
- Evidence that you are aware of the key theoretical sources within your chosen topic.
- Evidence that you are aware of all the key contextual information (leading practitioners in the field, influential historical events, social and cultural contexts, policy, legislation etc) within your chosen topic.
- Appraisals of the quality of evidence cited. Try to use reliable sources at all times.
- Evidence that you can triangulate between all of the above to arrive at independent conclusions that extend your knowledge of your topic. You should avoid writing in a linear or chronological fashion. The best writing at this level is comparative and critical. Write in paragraphs that focus on specific points, which are woven together cumulatively to build into a powerful and well-defended argument. Make your writing flow.
- Explicitly explain the relevance of all of the material cited to your central research question or questions, and your chosen research methods (practical and textual). A mini- conclusion that links to the next chapter.
- Use Harvard Referencing throughout. Try to use a mixture of paraphrasing,
author/date citations, and short and long quotes.
This is the second section of the main body of your Essay. It is the section where you will evidence your ability to use all the critical theory raised in the previous chapters to evaluate examples of creative work from your own subject discipline (6B1) and demonstrate your understanding of the synthesis between theory and practice (6A2). The most straightforward way to approach this is by carefully selecting a small number of relevant art or design works to base your analysis around. This is called a Case
Study approach – the aim is to show how individual works can be held as exemplars of a wider cultural tendency, problem, attitude, prejudice, and so forth. This approach is also useful as it allows you to evidence skills in visual analysis, which is good evidence for most of the module ILO’s, but easier for some visual arts students than textual analysis.
The following information needs to be included in your third chapter (these should be discussed with your tutor at your individual tutorials) –
- A number of extended analyses of specific works of art and/or design. Try not to include too many – two or three extended, critical analyses are preferable to many superficial analyses.
- A clear rationale for the selection of your chosen works. You can choose a number of works by the same practitioner, or different works by different practitioners. However, you must explicitly explain the relevance of all of the works cited to your central research question or questions, and your chosen research methods (practical and textual). This is best dealt with in the first paragraph of this chapter.
- Descriptive Analysis: Basically, describing the image in as much detail as you can to help with your later interpretation.
- Theoretical and Contextual Analysis. Here you need to explicitly evidence of the application of theoretical research and contextual information from Chapter 2 to back up your interpretations of your chosen works. Put another way, use quotes / citations to back up your own ideas. Try to relate the work to the context you found it in. What cultural and historical information is necessary to “get” the work? Do any social values or norms influence the way you interpret the work, for instance by guiding you to make a specific moral judgement? Does the work make a claim for a specific truth about the world?
- A mini- conclusion that links to the next chapter.
- Use Harvard Referencing throughout. Try to use a mixture of paraphrasing, author date citations, and short and long quotes.
This is the final section of the main body of your Essay. It is suggested to be quite short, but in many ways it is the most important. It is the section where you will evidence your ability to use all the critical theory raised in the previous chapters to critical evaluate examples of your creative work (6B1). It also demonstrates how a synthesised, contextual, and theoretical understanding of your studio work has emerged through a rigorous and reflective process of research (6A1 / 6B1 / 6C1 / 6D1). This is called Reflective Practice, and is an essential skill for any successful creative practitioner, which is why evidence of this skill scores marks against all the module ILO’s.
- A Descriptive Analysis of the work produced during the practical side of the CoP3 module. Try to use as much detail as you can to help with your later interpretation. Include information about the project rationale, research methods, timescales, location, and project management.
- A Theoretical and Contextual Analysis of the work produced during the practical side of the CoP3 module. You must explicitly explain the relevance of all of the works cited in Chapter 2, and all of the works analysed in Chapter 3, to the work produced and the production decisions made during the process. You should also discuss how the work you have produced relates to your central research question or questions, and your chosen research methods (practical and textual). Finally, you should try to suggest how your own work has extended your knowledge of your chosen research topic.
- Use Harvard Referencing throughout. Try to use a mixture of paraphrasing, author date citations, and short and long quotes.
This is an important section of any essay, but one that is merely an afterthought for many students. Think of this section as your last chance to impress, and a last chance to demonstrate skills of triangulation, critical analysis, and reflective practice. The aim of any conclusion is to succinctly pull together all the preceding research and draw independent conclusions. First and foremost, the conclusion needs to answer the research questions you have set yourself. Following this, the conclusion serves as a précis of the essays arguments, and a critical reflection of the impact of its findings.
No new information should be introduced in the conclusion.
- An extended paragraph summarising the findings of each of the preceding chapters. This can be tackled on a chapter-by-chapter basis, or as something more overarching, comparative, or fluid.
- A paragraph indicating the implications that these findings have for your own subject discipline. This might include reflections about your own practice, suggestions for policy development, changes in legislations, socio-cultural change etc. You might even include sections on proposals for future research but keep this brief, as this is effectively outlining a different research project.
- A paragraph evaluating the successes and/or shortcomings of your research project. This should include an extended discussion of the extent to which your research body successfully synthesises theory and practice. Try to discuss research methods and processes as much as final outcomes.
- All conclusions should be linked to evidence produced in the main body of the essay. If you have material in the conclusion that doesn’t relate to preceding evidence, then take it out.
- All conclusions should explicitly answer the Research Questions outlined in the Introduction of the Essay.
- The conclusion should be written in a formal academic tone. Though the emphasis is on personal reflection, try to avoid a first person, conversational tone.
- Use Harvard Referencing throughout. Try to use a mixture of paraphrasing, author date citations, and short and long quotes.
- Front Title Page
- Acknowledgements
- Contents Page
- Introduction
- Main Text
- Conclusion
- Images
- Bibliography
- Appendices
You will need to submit one bound copy in line with the guidance provided.
You will also be required to upload a digital version of your written work
- Single Document
- Include any bibliography/apendicies work within the same document
- Adobe PDF (.pdf) format only
- Maximum size per file: 5mb
Make sure that you have named your file using the following format: 
Integrating Practical Research
Firstname_Surname_StudentID_ModuleCode.pdf, eg. Joanne_Smith_JS012345_COP3.pdf
Practical Response:
- Your practical research should develop alongside and in relation to your written response.
- It can be content, process or product lead and can be resolve through product and/or proposal.
- Practical investigation can and should inform theoretical research and your written response.
- Documenting your practical and written response on your blog should help with and highlight the process of synthesis.
EXAMPLE 1
- Your research may focus on the role of creative practice in improving education at primary level.
- Your written response may analyse the National Curriculum and critique the effectiveness of current teaching methods and learning materials.
- Your Practical response could be a proposal for an integrated learning package that improves the teaching of drawing/creative thinking in classes.
- Your research may focus on the representation of cultural stereotypes in animated films.
- Your written response may analyse four animated films from three different cultures and critique the portrayal of the female ‘hero’.
- Your Practical response could be the development of a series of characters that contradict established gender roles and visual representations of women.
- Your research may focus on food waste and the politics of food production
- Your written response may analyse global food production and critique the role of design in changing peoples consumption/consumer habits.
- Your Practical response could be to develop and propose the branding, packaging and point of sale for a café that uses out of date food and promotes healthy eating..
- In order to gain knowledge your research should have a PURPOSE.
- The PURPOSE of your research should be formulated into a RESEARCH QUESTION.
- Both the PURPOSE of your research and your RESEARCH QUESTION can -and will- change and develop as you find out more about your subject
- Start with what you already know.
- Identify what you want to know more about.
- Plan how you are going to find out about it.
No comments:
Post a Comment