Critical Perspectives: 16/02/18

Critical Perspectives: 16/02/18

To start the lecture we were introduced to Tracey Ashmore who is there to assist us in the writing and structure of our dissertation proposal.

There are two main types of enquiry: Exploring the relationship between societal views and.... 

-Industry related practices 

-Industry related output

These are the 4 common aims when writing an essay:

1. To measure/gauge the extent of a phenomena

2. To challenge a view/practice

3. To update or recontextualise a view/practice

4. To evaluate a view/practice

Group Activity

Example question: Is relaity Television Taking Over From Soap Operas?

What is wrong with this question?

-It is worded poorly and is a bit vague (a better question would be "to what extent is reality television, taking over from soap operas?"

What details does it lack?

-It lacks depth and it lacks reference to source material. 

Do you think the person knows the answer?

-I think they have a vague idea but not a well thought out answer.

What are the dangers and pitfalls of basing a dissertation off of this question?

-There will not be enough substance, it is very broad, and there is not a lot of theory that can be applied. Also, it's a closed question that only has a yes/no answer.

What research do you think this person has done to arrive at this enquiry?

-I don't think they have done much in the way of research at all.

What research would you advise this person to do, to develop their enquiry?

-Look into theories, pick a time period to focus on, find the origins of each genre.