Research Proposal

I put off writing this week's blog post until I tried my hand at drafting a research proposal for one of my other classes.  I wanted to see if I could use some of the ideas I have picked up this semester to better direct my brainstorming and improve the organization of my thinking.  After floundering around for a workable idea for a couple of days, I conclude that I have not gotten much better at the process.  I have drafted a proposal that identifies a topic--an enigma-- but does not offer a key to unlocking it.

Perhaps my anxiety and sense of frustration and failure are misplaced.  Perhaps it is foolish or quixotic to expect to have a working thesis at the head of my research rather than the tail (but I hate the sense of reading material without knowing what I am reading it for or how I plan to use it).  In this sense, writing the research proposal may have been a success, because I forced myself to quit reading and researching for a brilliant idea to strike, and just write down the things that interested me, what I want to research, and possible ways and methodologies with which I want to consider my topic.  Writing it down seemed to organize the bounds of my consideration (hopefully it will keep me from researching off topic).  Perhaps this will ultimately lead to a better thesis in admitting more flexibility until I am more well-versed on my topic.  On the other hand--and this is the thing that always drives me to want to find a thesis early in the process-- I could get to the end of my research and still not have a thesis I am satisfied with.

Turning from this research proposal to our introductions to our thesis proposals we critiqued in class. . .  I found the in-class critique very valuable.  Not only did I benefit from comments on what I wrote, but it was helpful to analyze and discuss how other introduction succeeded and failed at what they needed to accomplish.  From the in-class discussion and from writing a research proposal for my other class, I think one of the major problems of my draft introduction stemmed from my attempt at coming up with a conclusory thesis before embarking on the research needed to write it.  I need to remember that at this stage, I am proposing a research project; I am not yet answering the question definitively.  I think this change in scope will allow me to further develop the so what, and be more honest and open in my questioning without trying to force my ideas to a premature conclusion.