Writing & Research Methodology

English 8125 CRN 17939

Mini Research Proejcts 1 & 2

Due: 3/11 for Proejct 1 and 4/1 for Project 2

The purpose of these two projects is two-fold:

• to become familiar with two of the various methods covered in this class
• to practice conducting research

For these projects you will choose one of the covered research methods and create a small study using this method. Following the examples I have given you, such as the Bowie reading, the Perception of fonts article, and the Haas short studies (see ATutor, Haas 3, pages 60-69 covers 3 studies), plan, conduct, and write up two mini research projects. These are should be tiny projects: I recommend three hours, at most, of data collection: 3 hours of observation, a 30 minute survey filled out by 6 people, four 45 minute usability tests, or some equivalent. Your research report should be quite short, think three pages, but it can range from 2-6 pages (single space 2-3 page sis good, double spaced 4-6 is good). I recommend you use one or both of these as pilot tests for your final project. You may replace one of these with an IRB human subjects research protocol submission.

Outline of project:

Study Name: Sexiness is up to you

• Introduction: provide a brief overview of the context including a mini lit review, research problem & question, and the purpose statement
• Method:
  • Methodology: a brief statement
  • Methods: What methods and tools did you use?
  • Participants/ Population & Sample: Discuss the participants, including basic demographic information (as needed), numbers of sample and total population, & selection process
  • Researcher Information: Give a brief overview of your biases.
• Analysis and Results: Present the data you've gathered, then analyze it according to the method you have selected.
• Discussion: Synthesize the results in the context you've laid out in the Introduction. What does it mean? What is the significance in terms of your initial research question?

If you want to see an example of what I did as a graduate student with a similar project check out my publication on it: Gendered Statements, Gendered Perceptions: A Study of Perceived Gender Statements.