ENG 552 Composition Studies
Spring 2005
Proposal for a Bibliographical Essay or Review of Literature
Wisdom begins in wonder .
--Socrates
This assignment gives you an opportunity to begin to develop a research problem or question(s) that will guide you in your review of the relevant scholarship in the area and that will lead you to write either a bibliographical essay or a review of literature.
Description: You will write a brief (no more than one-page) proposal that outlines:
1. your research problem or question
2. a brief discussion of what led you to this problem or question(s)
3. what your assumptions are concerning the problem or question(s) (what do you expect to find in the scholarship?)
4. a reflection on why you are interested in this problem or question(s)
DUE: Monday, February 21
Suggestions for Identifying a Research Problem and Drafting Research Questions
At the heart of any scholarly endeavor is a good question(s). Constructing good research question(s) or defining good research problems is a challenging task. The following heuristics are meant to help you get started. As you read the relevant scholarship in your research area, you may well find yourself revising those questions or problem statements. Stay loose. Revising these is all par for the course!
1. Identify a research area. What area relates best to your current interests and future professional goals?
• Jot down what type of work you want to do after graduate school as well as which specific aspects of that work interests you
• Jot down graduate courses, topics, problems and readings have caught your attention?
• Keep a notebook for listing ideas, questions, and problems that emerge from your readings and class discussions in various courses.
• Review calls for papers and editorial policies in current issues of scholarly journals related to your field of interest to get an overview of the hot topics and methods in your field of interest
• Examine the conclusions of sections of other scholarly essays for calls for “further research needed”
• Don't seize on the first research problem you encounter; give your choice careful thought and study. Be open.
2. Build a preliminary knowledge base. Read sources (prior literature or scholarship) in your research area to get an overview of what is known and what questions need further exploration. As you read, look for gaps in the literature. That is, look for aspects of the problem or question that have not yet been addressed or that have been questionably explored. (This information may provide good fodder for your conclusion.)
Examine reviews of literature or bibliographical essays relevant to your area of study as models and/or as st art ing points for your own review. (To locate these, look for the phrase “Review of the Literature” or “Literature Review” or “Bibliographical Essay” in the title of sources. Is there a review that was done over ten years ago that could be updated?) Also search for annotated bibliographies in your area to direct you to sources you might not have found otherwise. (You can find lots of these now on the web; do a keyword search for these. Also, some journals such as Rhetoric Society Qu art erly regularly publish annotated bibliographies. See, also, the Bedford Bibliography for Teachers of Writing which is available both in print and online.)
3. Write a problem statement or research question(s) . Consider what your focus of study will be (what object or phenomenon are you interested in). Why is this problem or question important? The characteristics of a good research problem or questions are that it is: a) limited in scope so that it is manageable in one study; b) carefully fitted into a broader context of current theory and research; c) is phrased in such a way that readers have a sense of what is needed to address it; is written in clear, non-technical language that stimulates readers' interest.
4. For your proposal: Remember—this is a proposal. You are writing it early so that you can receive feedback that will help you in your larger project. Be flexible. Research and writing is not nearly as orderly as any discussion or assignment suggests is may be. You'll find yourself working back and forth between your question(s) and your review of the literature. Share your questions and problem statements with colleagues to help you shape them. And most of all—Enjoy the process.