Re-Search
The remarks below are to orient a novice to intellectual life or/and to aid a novice on initiating a particular research venture.
Initiating Re-Search
THE QUEST OF A QUEST-ION:
One of the tried and tested ways of initiating re-search on a theme/topic is to begin with carefully crafting a question or two that you seek to answer. Crafting a clear and compelling question is therefore the launching pad for your thinking and study. If a question lies at the heart of research and discovery, it also sends the one asking that question on a quest, the quest called research. Embedded thus within every quest-ion is a ‘quest’ motivated either by a deep concern, or a strong curiosity.
But let’s not assume that your concerns, curiosities, motivations and excitements are shared by others (i.e., your audience, readers and listeners), or are obvious to them. They must, therefore, be clarified and intentionally communicated to them. Tell them clearly and precisely what concern has motivated or inspired the quest, and why do you – but especially your audience – care about it? In other words, articulate concretely the significance of your carefully crafted question. Seeking the input of the professor may help refine the question and stakes in it, and that of the intellectual community, family and friends, assess whether and to what extent your quest and underlying concerns resonate with others.
ANNOTATING A BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Taking the question as your guide upon the quest – it will keep you from being distracted -seek to arrive at an Annotated Bibliography (AB). If done well, the AB is a critical landmark in the process of answering one’s question. A strong annotated bibliography should be a consolation that in terms of (re)sources you have what you need to pursue your quest. Inevitably, in your quest (i.e., during the process of research) your questions may change, may be revised, or may need even be discarded – yes, that happens too!
Obviously, at this stage you are not expected to answer your question. The point is to take two good steps in that direction: i.e., formulating a good research question and creating a substantial annotated bibliography.
Annotated Bibliography (As An Intellectual Practice):
The culminating Annotated Bibliography will:
Have a List: Of sources you were able to find that seem relevant to your question;
Be Prioritized: Sources found will be organized in the order of importance/relevance to your question;
Be Annotated: A good annotation will:
Briefly summarize the content of the source; and
Highlight what makes the source important in relation to addressing your question.
Annotate at least two sources that seemed quite relevant to you initially, but then did not fit the bill. Tell us (i.e., your audience) why it appeared relevant initially and not worthwhile upon perusal.
A PARTING NOTE:
As practiced within the scholarly community of the academy, right from the beginning (i.e., from discovering the motivations, concerns and excitement that prompted the journey in the first place), till the finish line (i.e., a paper, thesis, capstone project etc.) the intellectual quest and journey has a ‘public face’; the ‘invisible hand of the intended audience’ (your professor, classmates, scholarly community, blog readers) continuously shapes how the re-search is thought through, and articulated. Research, therefore, is a three-way configured exercise that demands 1) awareness of one’s own intellectual interest and investment, 2) integrity, trust and limits of the (re-)sources available to the re-searcher, and finally, 3) an acute attentiveness to the audience to whom this research is intended and presented, and which often comes in layers. The dance among these three wings is perhaps what makes this craft simultaneously fascinating and frustrating. Juggling of the three dimensions, achieving a higher degree of confidence in your craft, and earning trust of your audience takes time to achieve. And since it is a craft like any other, it demands discipline, dedication, various skills, but most of all, some serious grind.
Teach (Not-Present) Guidelines
Every conversation is potentially an act of persuasion. To teach the intellectual community (your audience) is hence to persuade them of the explorations and findings of your (or your team’s) chosen issue/theme/topic. This final act of sharing your research with a concrete audience (your classmates; assume I am not there) is your moment to teach them on a subject that they will have little familiarity with:
• BEST PRACTICES: You have been on the receiving end of teaching for a lo…ng time. Do what your good teachers do well, and avoid what they don’t. (Don’t repeat their mistakes; imitate what they do well.)
• BE PREPARED: Intellectual preparation and doing the intellectual homework has no substitute.
• CREATIVITY & RIGOR (BOTH): Do not lose intellectual rigor for the sake of being fun and entertaining. The good old academic adage “show not tell” is almost always relevant. Employ images, audio/video etc. for your teaching of the topic. Use the whiteboard if it’s useful for clarifying complicated points.
• WHY OVERWHELM?: Time limit on the one hand, and human ability to absorb only so much are constraints that must guide what must be included (or not);
• TIME LIMIT: Recognize the constraints. Leave some time for Q & A.
• CONCLUDING INSIGHTS & TAKEAWAYS: Leave the intellectual community with one, two OR three concrete Insights.
• The Speaking Center could be a resource.
GUIDELINES FOR STORYTELLING
The act itself has four parts:
A compelling telling/enacting/performing of the story (video, powerpoint, oral performance etc., up to you to see what makes sense);
Meaning and interpretation of the story, and its significance. Here, some research is necessary, on its author, the text’s history and content, and aspects of the story itself. Sources consulted must be documented as accompanying bibliography.
Finally, discovering and making explicit concrete connections between the story (or theme or key aspect of the story) and what we have studied thus far.
Leave us with takeaway(s) from your presentation;
TIME: The team itself will need to regulate time.
• Introduce the text from both within and without. Better you integrate your comments about within and without, more successful the introduction will be.
• Within means biography of the author and his other writings, the authorial intent (goals for writing this text), what you consider to be the key passages and significant themes within the text, and finally those ideas/passages that you consider puzzling and why.
• Without entails discussing the influence of this text upon Islamic intellectual tradition, debates within scholarship on the text, but also your observations and comments on the text and its content.
• Most importantly, you should bring this “background information” to bear upon the reading of the text: show if and how this information does or should inform/transform/influence our reading of the text.
• Cite the sources consulted and discuss those in your writing or presentation.