THE FILE IS IN THREE SECTIONS:

General instructions.

Specific instructions for the Proposal, the research processes and how to write the final essay. 

An example taken from a real Proposal, with my feedback suggestions. A separate Proposal form file is in the Research Essay folder on the DSO site. 

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Section 1: GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

The research essay project is to be completed in NINE steps as follows:

Consultation on the Proposal before submitting. Optional. Highly recommended.

Completion and submission of Proposal on the form at the end of this file. DUE Friday August 9 (20%) Mandatory

Apply early for an extension and produce relevant acceptable certificate(s)

X AND B students SUBMIT PROPOSAL THROUGH THE DROP BOX.  Please label all files carefully Name ID Assignment # or name, Unit. No hardcopies please

Supervisor feedback and a mark /20. Some proposals will get a Green Light immediately. Discussion of feedback with supervisor Optional. Highly recommended. Approximately 60% of proposals will need revision before being approved. REVISION IS A NORMAL PROCESS, NOT A FAILURE. Mandatory. 

You have three days from the return of your feedback to revise, consult and resubmit. After this, late penalties apply. Mandatory.

Approval of the Proposal and written Green Light to proceed from unit chair. Mandatory 

Participation in the Class Moot Week 7 (B in-class, X on-line) Mandatory

Supervised and guided independent research for the essay. Consult at least once. Mandatory

Pre-submission consultation Optional. Highly recommended.

Run a Turn-it-in Originality Report and append; make copies of extra-unit materials (not online), and append. Mandatory (see below)

Essay submission ton Drop Box, DUE Friday October 11 (60%) Mandatory

Important notes B&X

Research essays must use HARVARD style referencing and adopt a reflexive style of writing (see the special resource on reflexive style).

Late work is penalized at the standard faculty rate of 5% per day late. 

Zero tolerance for cheating, including plagiarism and collusion. Please review the rules. Offenders will be sent to the Faculty Academic Progress and Discipline Committee (APDC) and penalties can be serious (review the rules).

X students may email their Proposals (only), by attachment, directly to the unit chair. 

B & X All work is submitted VIA DROPBOX.

B & X Incomplete Proposals will not be marked. THREE DAY rule applies for revisions.

B & X Essays submitted without following mandatory procedures, including submitting the Proposal, obtaining the Green Light approval to proceed, appending the Turn-it-in Originality Report and copies of non-electronic extra-unit materials, will not be marked.

A random selection of essays from each grade and all failing work are second-marked by an independent academic panelist, in conformity with Deakin’s standard assessment processes.

If you wish to apply for a remark please do so on ANY paper within 10 days of receiving your mark. This Faculty rule applies to all assignments including the final grade.

Good research is an exceptionally exacting, absorbing, time consuming and rewarding task. These instructions are fairly comprehensive but not entirely so. I will discuss and explain details in lectures and on DSO as we go, and there are references throughout to stand-alone files and websites for further help. Please post questions to the relevant discussion strands on DSO.

There are plenty of opportunities for you to do independent and original research within a careful and supportive process of supervision. The rules are there to make sure you don’t trip up and make mistakes academics commonly see. The instructions should get you started, and recheck them as you go through the stages. They include hot tips for success, and specifics about how to do the Proposal, what needs to be in the final paper and how to structure all your assignments. Remember to consult me for supervision throughout the project. I am here to help, do not hesitate to ask!

As graduates you are ready for the challenge of directed study and independent research. You will find you already have many skills, and I will support you to develop them further. The class work is designed to give you ideas, methods, explanatory concepts, models and frameworks, research tips and backing. It is good to collaborate on this work! We create an atmosphere in the class where class members cooperate. I strongly recommend you form your own small research support group early (X students do this online and privately). 2-4 students is a good size.

The assignment is submitted in two major parts (see the due dates). The Proposal is worth 20% and the final research essay 80%. You select topics and set your own parameters with guidance from these instructions, models and ideas drawn from the unit readings, lectures, seminar discussions and A/V, with formal supervision from me. It is important to consult as you do the assignment. You should show me the draft Proposal, or part thereof, before you put it in. You must earn formal approval for the project (aka ‘the green light’) and a mark before proceeding to the final research. You are strongly recommended to consult with me throughout the process, and especially to discuss the penultimate draft of your final assignment before submitting. 

Research typically takes beginners two to three times longer than they expect. The timeline for this exercise is tight, so get onto it immediately. Twelve weeks will whiz by! There is time to read widely and consult, and some leeway for minor changes of direction, revisions, redrafting, consultation and correcting missteps. This is all built in to the overall academic project timeline. There is no room for major procrastination, sloppiness, loss of materials, or major dead-ends. There are many research books in the library. Make sue you read and exhaust the weekly reading and viewing and the Recommended materials first before you launch into independent research One of the most common mistakes is a lack of unit materials.

Keep on-going (daily) multiple back-up copies of your Proposal, writing, reading notes, ideas, drafts, and so on and the same for the final essay. It is your legal responsibility to keep copies of all work submitted for assessment (see the Unit Guide). 

Allow time for editing and correction of drafts of each section and the penultimate draft. Keep a regular eye on the DSO site for updates and discussions on how everyone is doing, my answers to queries posted there, the sorts of hurdles you are facing, the breakthroughs you’ve had, shared resources, suggestions and solutions. As we go I will refer in classes to the stages of the research, and emerging issues and questions, and you should talk with classmates about how it’s going. A small research group, of say 3-4 people, meeting weekly, is a good idea to help support the research and keep to your the timing on-track. In Week 7 you will be asked to contribute to a research moot in which you outline in brief for others what your project is about. See below.

Order library materials early and book appointments early for conceptual and/or writing or research assistance from the Division of Student Life (DSL) tutors, the librarians, and Dr Star (see below). 

Communicating with Lynne Star 

My contacts are in the Unit Guide.

Office hours: Mondays 1-3 Thursdays 3-4. Of these Monday is your best day.

I run another large class on Thursdays so that’s not the optimal day to catch me. Fridays are my research day, and I do not respond to requests emails (etc.) over weekends. Send urgent stuff before c.o.b. Thursdays please. Posts to DSO are best. 

English language, clear argument, and correct quotation technique 

In graduate school we expect your written English to be of a high professional standard: grammatical, error-free, succinct and intelligible at first reading. Use your own words, minimize quotations, and provide full academic in-text citations and a reference list in Harvard style. Edit carefully. Turn on your automatic spelling and grammar check software, set to Australian English and correct as you write. Always explain your interpretations of quoted words that are not your own. In general, the correct way to use a quotation is as evidence to support your argument. Never rely on a quotation to speak or make an argument for you. 

Students for whom English is not their mother tongue or very familiar, or whose feedback on essays mentioned the need to improve writing or clarify arguments, or who have not undertaken independent research or critically reflexive essay writing as part of an Arts, Social Science or Education degree, are strongly recommended to get professional help with this project before submitting work for assessment. If understanding the readings and writing independently are a challenge, consult with the teacher/unit chair and the DSL tutors. Perhaps think about hiring a personal tutor.

Where to go for help

It is the responsibility of your lecturer or tutor, the Division of Student Life tutors, and the Librarians to provide you with professional help. We enjoy working with graduates! Anyone who does not use the available help is disadvantaging themselves. There is a division of labour for helpers. Librarians help you find relevant materials, especially in complex databases, citation indexes, specialist archives, and other resources you may not even be aware exist.  For example, you may need to find historical examples of newspapers, documentaries or radio programmes, activist newsletters, government reports, statistical data, and discussions of research or debates in books or academic journals. Once you’ve done what you can yourself always consult them for help! Academics help you with understanding unit materials, research design, conceptualization, theoretical approaches, ideas, methodologies, explanations, clarifying and focusing an argument, finding supporting evidence, being more critically reflective, and reflexive style. The DSL tutors’ main role is to coach you to make your essay structure, arguments and writing clearer and more logical. DSL tutors will help with revising a plan, the Proposal, drafts or partial drafts of an essay, clarifying and focusing an argument, editing, grammar, spelling, citations, Harvard style, footnoting, appendices, plagiarism, logical arguments, expressing materials in your own words (voice), and developing your writing style. The DSL tutors offer regular weekly study skills group workshops on writing, grammar, citations, time management, exam preparation (etc.) to help you up-skill. They also run one-on-one, drop-in and pre-booked sessions. See their website:http://www.steelbee.net/baogao/c651

Peers can also offer helpful professional feedback and support. Set up your own Research Support Group in the first few weeks.

Consult as you go!

X class: consultations will normally take place on the DSO website. Use the two named discussion threads “Research Essay Proposal” and “Final Research Essay”. The reason is so that everyone can benefit from the feedback and I don’t need to keep repeating myself. There are three exceptions to this: 1.) I can manage one phone call per person and one email per person about the Proposal; 2.) I will look over a smallish section of the final Essay draft (see below); and 3.) when a matter is personal and confidential, (e.g. a discussion of personal circumstances, issues, challenges, an application for an Extension, discussion about whether to apply for a Special Consideration. If you pepper me with academic emails I will ask you to post them to DSO. 

B class: consultations will normally take place in classes (i.e. shared with the others), in person in office hours, or on the DSO website (as above). I prefer the first two for this group.   The 3 exceptions (above) for the X class also apply to you.

Academic writing style: Write succinctly in clear English, in your own words. The Proposal comes in on the Proposal Form and should be about 800-1000 words. The final Research Essay should be about 3,500 words. Plus or minus 10% of the word limit is always acceptable. Correct your work and edit tightly, two-four drafts is normal. Consult the DSL tutors to make it even better. No bullet points or numbers except for clear lists such as the budget or the timeline in the Proposal, and none in the final essay unless in illustrations, a graph, table, or similar. Use Harvard style, correctly formatted in-text references, and a Reference List. Approach all sources critically (see below). See this site for how to write academic essays: 

Common errors 

Any of the following will lose you marks:  too much description and not enough analysis [aim for about 60% or more analysis]; failure to consult; slapdash editing; general and sweeping arguments (e.g. using vague and meaningless ideas like “American”, “Western”, “modern”, “men”, “our society” as if ‘we all know’ what these mean, or leaving out audience responses); lack of historical, cultural, technical and political contexts and details; inadequate unit content [the mandatory basic requirement for the final essay is 8 unit references but this is a passing level only and for an MA exercise worth 80%   I’d expect a good essay to feature about 15 unit refs]; missing or incomplete citations; lack of media and communications theory; unsystematic or no supporting evidence; a yawning gap where explanations of audience reception (or how people read mediated materials) should be; unclear imprecise and confused arguments; poor written expression; lack of paragraphs or many short paragraphs; a realist and not a reflexive style; definitive claims to ‘know’ or have ‘proven’ something, inappropriate for the nature and scope of evidence provided (or not); poor quotation technique; error-ridden or padded reference list; not using HARVARD style. Another major issue is the temptation to cut and paste stuff from electronic sources or make minor word changes to such materials, and/or not to cite it: this is plagiarism! Don’t even think about cheating! You must append your Turn it-in report.

Human Subjects

You will not be given approval for a project that directly involves human subjects. All such research would need Deakin University Ethics Committee approval and a high level of supervision. The process of applying to and fronting the Ethics Committee is precise and demanding, and you simply do not have enough time in a 12week unit. Neither could I supervise many tricky and demanding personal research projects. Save projects that involve human subjects for Honours Dissertations, Masters by Research, or PhD theses. You can use this ACM701 essay to help you do background research for and devise such projects.

This means that methods such as new face-to-face, on-line, phone, questionnaires, photographic, friendly chat, vox pop, interviews or any other communication initiated by the researcher (you) for this project is not ok. Likewise oral histories, ethnographic or other films, experiments, attitude surveys, and online research set up by you for this project are ruled out. Such materials that have been composed using such methods as already exist should be used as long as they are published and there is clear permission. You are encouraged to find these materials. Unobtrusive participant observation and photographs may occasionally be approved, as long as the process is carefully designed and I have agreed to it.  The sine qua non are that the observed situation must be public and you will attend and act as a normal member of the public, and nobody will know what you are doing. I must be satisfied the procedure is ethical. An example from last year was that someone attended a major international sporting event in North Korea as a-spectator and analyzed mediated elements of the opening and closing ceremonies

Proposal approval process 

The Proposal must be completed and submitted on time, at a standard acceptable to the unit chair. At that stage you receive feedback and suggestions for further directions and improvements, and a mark  /20. You must receive written authorization - the so-called GREEN LIGHT - before you can proceed to the research proper. No approval, no project! Papers arriving without having completed the Proposal authorization process will not be marked.

Extensions and final paper rewriting

You will be allowed to revise your proposal, but if the final essay arrives in a substandard or failing state, there will not be the opportunity to rewrite (see the Unit Guide). Trimesters and Examination result deadlines and also Faculty policy do not allow this. Get it right the first time please! If you need an extension of time and have good reasons please ask ahead of time. See the Unit Guide.

Turn-it-in Originality Reports and copies of extra-unit materials: two extra requirements Mandatory 

All final essay assignments are required to be run through the university's plagiarism software detector, Turn-it-in, before submission, and the results must be printed out and appended to the Final Research Essay (not the Proposal). There is a link to this software on DSO. Do a run-through with the Proposal to familiarize yourself with how it works. 

ii.) Any materials that you draw on which are taken from outside the unit, and that they are not available electronically must be photocopied and appended to the final essay. If you only use a small part you do not need to copy the entire article/chapter/report (etc.), just the pp. you use. Write on it, and include the bibliographic reference in the Reference list. If you use a photograph, art, a cartoon, or other visuals, or numerical data from research or reports (etc.), it is good to include graphs. Tables, or scans of sections of text, as part of the essay. Write captions underneath, and number your illustrations ‘Fig1’, ‘Fig 2’, (etc.), and provide a List of Illustrations with page no’s and sources at the end of the essay,  before the Ref List and Appendices. If you use films, documentaries, podcasts, radio texts or other A/V that is not unit materials or available electronically you will also need to submit a copy of them.

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Section 2: SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS – PROPOSAL AND ESSAY

In the following elements in the Research Proposal and the Essay are explained further. 

Explanatory Framework and Analysis

Analysis is the essence of good research. It relies on careful research design, flexible revisions of initial ideas, being open to unexpected and/or seemingly negative or inexplicable findings, proper supporting evidence, and a good eye for logical argument. Good analysis also needs clear descriptions of the materials found and generated. Try to foreground and emphasize analysis. The ratio of description to analysis should be about 40: 60 and not less than 50:50. Put far too simply, analysis answers the ‘how?’ ‘why?’, social relationship, interpretative and hermeneutic, ‘causal’, ‘thematic’, ‘power/knowledge’,  and processual questions. It examines, scrutinizes, breaks down into parts, shows what influences what, and tries to explain or ‘throw light on’, designated aspects. Your project aims to explain something using specialist ideas drawn from ACM701 literature and films. In the final essay you must also explain each idea carefully, in your own words, and trace its genesis in the professional research literature. Description tells us the semi- ‘factual’ or historically socially and culturally ‘agreed’ stuff: the ‘who?’, ‘when?’ ‘where?’, ‘what?’. It might concern events, policies, journalism, photographs, cartoons, organizations, the gist of a report, heirarchies, frames, or it might take the forms of quotes, interview materials, blog materials, pictures, audio etc. as evidence. If you use films websites, news reports, or other materials that are not part of ACM701, please append then as Appendices. 

You are required to draw on ACM701 reading and audio-visual resources for ideas about what to research, how to research it, and how to analyze or explain what you have found. You will eventually find some of your own resources but as you start out it is very important to use unit materials. Only search independently for other resources after you have exhausted all theoretical, empirical, audio-visual and other unit resources recommended in ACM701 That is to say, look carefully through all the required and recommended resources for the topic you have chosen, then search outside the directly relevant week’s list. One of the criteria for assessment is that you show you can think laterally to apply ideas and findings from other areas to your chosen topic. You may utilize information drawn from other units as long as the major focus is clearly on ACM701 and the Proposal and the research essay are clearly different from work previously submitted or about to be submitted for assessment in another unit. Teachers in Arts-Education, Humanities and Social Sciences Public Relations, Journalism and so on are in regular contact and we consult if there is suspicion of an attempt to double-dip.  If the research is too ambitious, badly-focused, costly, unethical, dangerous, involves human subjects, or I think that you will not be able to find appropriate evidence, you will be asked to modify it and find something you can do.

Suitable research materials

 Your main materials and examples for analysis will be drawn from the unit, and reputable professional research sources such as academic journals, research reports, primary mainstream or contra- or counter-media,  well-researched and argued and evidenced NGO or government reports, books and online sources. Do not include as evidence vague and unsubstantiated reports from popular sites or journalism of findings or figures along the lines of “research indicates …” or “a survey of 200 people showed that …” where the author fails to provide adequate details of the methodology to allow a proper professional evaluation of the method and reliability. Popular sites such as discussions in on-line newspapers, radio, on-line chats, twitters and blogs may perhaps be used with appropriate caution as evidence for emerging trends or opinions. Check with me for decisions on a case-by case basis.

Critical academic essays

In writing a critically reflective academic essay you are asked to adopt a style that explains debates and evaluates the nature, methods, and reliability of what you and all your sources say, and explores how you and your sources generated or produced their materials. See the DU study skills website 

Include reputable published professional research already done by others. Use yourself as the primary resource for exploring multiple possible readings of materials. Write about the processes of making meanings. You are asked to adopt a Reflexive style: see the separate resource on DSO. It is always wise to run your critical and independent thoughts, evaluations of readings (etc.), and first drafts in a reflexive style, past the lecturer. These are some of the most challenging aspects; get them right and your marks will reflect it! 

Methodology, claims of proof, and a little more on academic style 

Indicate in general in the Proposal whether you intend using a qualitative, quantitative or mixed methodology. All research projects will use either discourse analysis or critical textual analysis, and you can employ semiotics or other methods with both of these, for example such as content analysis, televisual and filmic analysis (see lecture and weekly reading materials for sources). Whne oyu say your method is critical please state what form of theory you are using e.g. a feminist analysis or a Foucauldian approach to surveillance (etc) and cite the theorists on whom you draw or rely. Except for unobtrusive participant observation almost everyone will use secondary sources, that is, existing films and other texts, statistics, research reports, professional journals, government documents, NGO materials, reputable websites, etc.  

In the final paper details of your methods must be carefully explained and justified. In the Proposal it is ok to just indicate your intentions, and cite the theorists you rely on or discuss. 

Please be modest with your claims to ‘know’. A 12week project is a short time to complete a full review of relevant materials, sort out all the possible theories and writers, and access enough documents to be able to really back a factual claim to know. You would need about a year fulltime to do this properly. Therefore, I do not expect anyone will say they have proved anything or ‘found the facts’ or ‘truth’ of some circumstance.  Please employ softer claims. Preface the work by saying that an ‘exploratory’, ‘small-scale’, ‘initial’ sort of project or case study, at best a pilot study. Talk about notes or observations and say this is your reading and opinion and others are possible. Talk about debates in the literature. Say something like on the basis of your limited materials, certain trends/tropes/attitudes/depictions/stereotypes/discourses (etc.) seem to be emerging, but that further research is needed. Write in a dialogic way that invites the reader to respond.

Confidentiality 

Yes, you have bust a gut, but your final Essay is the result of what is primarily an academic research training exercise from the point of view of the university. That is, it is confidential, and its readership is you, your supervisor and the academic panelists in ACM701.  It is OK to share parts with your peers of course, but this will not become a publication, a conference paper, a business report, a film script or play, a research report, be included in CV materials for a job, or be shown to anyone else. Occasionally, people in professional jobs have ideas of publishing stuff that began as this research, and that might be appropriate later, but to do so is to adopt another agenda. The essay would need to be rewritten to make it into publication and you will need professional supervision to do so. If you intend to use this research for any other purpose, you must let me know.

Annotated Bibliography

For the Proposal, choose three or four items from the ACM701 reading and viewing lists, textbooks, highly recommended books, and other recommended materials that you see as centrally relevant for your research essay. For each entry give the full bibliographic reference in Harvard style, and a short annotation that relates the item directly to your research essay project: how is it relevant, what is its usefulness, which specialist concepts, theories, arguments, approaches do you propose using? Write out, then edit back to three/four sentences for each. Note: the objective is not to overview or review full chapters (etc). Zoom-in on the precise ideas, methods or findings that are directly relevant to your project. In the final essay Reference List drop the annotations. The final Ref list should include approximately 15 unit sources, cited in the essay.

Research Proposal First Submission There is a mandatory submission of the Proposal to be completed at the end of Week 4, (Friday 5th August). Before that, there is a recommended consultation with the unit chair to help you get it right. If external students want an individual phone conversation you must send materials to me the day before and you please book in a time to talk. Otherwise post it on DSO. 

With an approved extension of time a little longer may be available, on a case-by-case basis. Feedback on your on time Proposal should be available by the start of Week 6. Submit your Proposal and have it APPROVED. Sometimes revision will be needed. The most common error is to take on a project that is far too grand. Small is beautiful! Think one event or a small number of events, such as part of a war, an antiwar protest, a small number of films/documentaries/podcasts Otherwise you will not have a project that is do-able in the circumscribed timeframe. I have included below a couple of topics that have gained permission in previous years, for you to consider, i.e., not the Proposal, just the topic. 

Content: finding a topic. I will discuss this in the early lectures, and as needed.

Finding a methodology. I will discuss this in the early lectures, and as needed

Research Essay v Research Report

You are doing an academic research essay. This means that although there are sections you need to cover, your final submission must look like an Academic Essay, not a Business Report, Law Brief, or piece of Journalism. If you are not sure what an academic essay should look like ask either DSL tutors or Lynne Star and please check the conventions at 

Consider the feedback on the Proposal carefully and consult if something is not clear. Re-read the Unit Guide Marking Criteria for this project and follow instructions to make sure the final product is up to standard. 

Supervision

The Proposal is designed to incorporate an experience of professional research supervision. Supervision is a professional research tool you will also use in the ‘real world’. It provides you with good ideas on how to modify and improve your work,  access research or other materials, and find appropriate theories that explain the materials. That is my role. I will also help as you go along. Please consult regularly. That said it is NOT my role to edit and correct your writing or find research data for you. I will tell you if I thin you need to see the tutors or librarians. I can only look at one completed Proposal per person before submission. I will not look at partial drafts. 

Sections to cover in the final Essay [READ ME]

The sections to include in the final essay are basically the same as in the Proposal. However you must drop the subheadings and numbers, and instead write an academic style in full sentences, linking each section clearly to the next with signposts (write, “in the next section I discuss …”). I don’t mind too much about the exact ordering and don't forget the reflexive content needs to be present throughout! Here is a standard format:

Begin with an ESSAY Introduction. Overview the piece in a nutshell, providing in effect, a ‘road map’ or plan of the entire essay.  That includes the topic, the nature of the materials you engage with, the methodology and specific (‘nuts and bolts’) methods used, main unit and extra-unit theorists you draw on, their/your major concepts and analytic framework, the steps in your argument, and your conclusion. Include names and in-text references, keep it succinct, edit hard! This must all be written in a brief few paragraphs. It should look like an Abstract or Synopsis in a professional journal. Don’t ramble! I would expect the Introduction to be 1/2-2/3 of the first page. 

After this, you must signpost where you move from section to section. Write: “ In the next section I discuss/argue/cover …” . Keep linking all your sections together, forward and back, e.g. “You will recall in section 2 (pp. 3-4) I argued that …”

The next section can be your Reflexive Introduction. Personalize: use ‘I’, and continue to do so. Say how you are linked to the research. Explain and justify your topic or other choices. Include your politics, ethics, or personal experiences here. I don’t mind if you choose not to do this in a separate section, or to place it elsewhere. It’s ok to integrate your personal stuff anywhere but just make sure you adopt a reflexive style throughout! 

Next is a good place to provide Historical and Cultural Background details to contextualize the topic.  Deal here with the descriptive stuff and/or major different perspectives or debates about “what really happened”. Make sure to provide adequate supporting evidence and sources.  Include the ‘when, where, and who?’ stuff: dates, figures, political background, policies, the progress of a war, etc). Zoom in on your exact topic within this context. 

Then comes the critically evaluative Literature Review of relevant unit and extra-unit theories and research findings. Then outline your exact Theoretical Framework. Decide on all the concepts /pegs for analysis you need to explain your stuff. It is probably mostly derived from the preceding Lit. Review. Some people prefer putting the Lit Review and the Analytic Framework together into one section and that’s fine too. An explanation and justification for the Methodologies you use follows. Cover both the general (quantitative/qualitative, Textual or Discourse analysis), and the specific methods, e.g. content analysis semiotics feminist analysis). It is vital to do the Lit Review, Theoretical Framework, and Methodology sections carefully and precisely. Explain all the ideas thoroughly! Do not skip lightly or in a vague way over these sections as they form the essential bedrock/platform on which the analysis will proceed and the argument will be made. This section will take approx a third of the essay.  Then comes the main section of Analysis in which you apply unit ideas from your framework to the materials to argue (or conventionally, ‘shed light on’) how they are linked or influence one another.  Here you cover the ‘why?’ and ‘how?’ processual questions. Be careful of your use of ideas like causality and proof please. I will discuss this in lectures. I’d expect the analysis to take about half to two thirds of the essay. After the analysis of the materials and the arguments you have made, write your Conclusions. In the final Conclusion, review the essay from the introduction to the Conclusion, linking the two. Do not introduce any new materials in the Conclusion. Ideally, finish with a short self-evaluation of how the project went (include the warts! And what you learnt) and mention areas or directions for further research. 

NOW DO AT LEAST TWO DRAFTS OF THE WHOLE THING, AND SEE THE DSL TUTORS AND REVISE, BEFORE YOU SHOW IT TO THE LECTURER! 

DraftsYou are encouraged to consult over your plans and progress as you go but please get on to it early. Last day for optional Research Essay consultation is Wednesday 14 September (mid Wk 10). You should be well on by then. I will look over a draft section of your assignment at this time. It must be carefully written and fully formatted and include your Bibliographic Reference List. I can handle about 500 words. You can also ask for me to look over a short section earlier. One section only per person, please. I will not read cover-to-cover drafts or partial drafts in weeks 11 and 12. Please take them to the DSL tutors for assistance (e.g. with rationalizing an argument, quotation technique, referencing, English, final editing etc.)

Submission of Proposals and Final Essays (X and B classes).  

X class Proposals can be submitted electronically. All final Essays will be submitted through the Geelong office in hardcopy. Postage time is allowed for X students. Make sure the envelope is date-stamped on the due date or before. 

B class, both your Proposal and final Essay will be submitted through the N Building Arts-Education Faculty Office in hardcopy. The only exceptions would be a B student who unexpectedly finds themselves in an extreme, unusual and unexpected position where they must email (e.g. hospitalized, sick child, death in the family). Let me know asap please! 

THE PROPOSAL FORM IS AVAILABLE AS A SEPARATE FILE ON DSO.

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Section three: SAMPLE SECTION FROM A PROPOSAL

To ground these directions, please examine the sample from an actual research essay Proposal reproduced below: i.e. the first question, “How do you describe the area of your proposed research?” Check out the feedback to the candidate. The Proposal is a typical first attempt. You will see it is not perfect. I encourage ‘Matthew’ - his name has been changed - to ask more precise questions and help him focus. I also ask him to use more unit theories and findings. 

SAMPLE FIRST ATTEMPT AT A PROPOSAL AND MY FEEDBACK (please note this class had up to 1000 words to play with, more than you do, and the form had minor differences)

CANDIDATE’S NAME: “Matthew” 

ID: __________________

How do you describe the area of your proposed research?

Matthew’s first draft:

The aim of this research is to examine how the US media portrayed race and ethnicity in the month following the events in New York City of September 11, 2001. Primarily, the project will examine the language used by the media. I am interested to highlight otherness, that identifies individuals from different racial, ethnic and religious backgrounds. The paper will seek to problematise the use of this language, highlighting the negative impact at both an individual and community level. Using a small number of case studies the research will examine how the media report and frame particular issues and will engage with theories of social construction and essentialism. The final paper will draw on a range of international relations, media studies and cultural studies sources. 

My feedback:

Hi Matthew,

My feedback is in the text where [*** ] appears and yellow highlighting. Where a word or phrase needs adjusting I have turned it into red text or crossed it out. You will see there are some useful parts and some that need modifying. Re-read the general instructions on the document on the DSO site as several points apply to your Proposal. 

You have put in a commendable effort and have some good ideas, however you must think clearly about how to use your unit readings to analyze your topic. Include ACM701 theoretical ideas and research findings. Think “ACM701 Essay” rather than ‘research’. You also need to think and write in terms of either ideological textual analysis or discourse analysis.

This is only a short research essay using unit materials, 12 weeks long. It is not major study.  

Currently your project is too ambitious, a great deal larger than it needs to be. Qualitative research in Media and Communications often uses only a single example or a few examples. Specify your medium (singular). The topic and the claims you are suggesting need to be considerably reduced and limited and more modest. Find which media and be very narrow in your focus (e.g. just one/two programmes on one TV station or say five/six reports in two newspapers is ok.) This cannot be a big empirical study or a “series of case studies”. You can use other people’s work to expand your materials. Also, focus more on the explanatory framework you will use, e.g. critical textual analysis, discourse analysis, semiotics. Might be a good time to review the original instructions. 

Don’t be discouraged at the prospect of a reduction in scope and refocusing as much of what you have done will form useful background. Right now you have been doing too much specific independent research instead of thinking about how concepts taken from ACM701 unit readings can apply. You are not using enough unit materials. This is a common mistake.  See the notes in your text. You can easily get on track with some adjustments.  

Hope this helps,

Lynne 

The aim of this research is to examine how the US media [*** too broad, state exactly which media – maybe another sentence, see below] portrayed ‘race’ and ‘ethnicity’ in the month following the events in New York City of September 11, 2001.  [*** I put in scare quotes to indicate that you will treat terms like ‘race’ and ‘ethnicity’ as problematic, not factual or self-evident.] Primarily, the project will examine the language used by the media [*** TV, print, online? Specify exact stations, channels, newspapers, websites, or programmes etc.]  STOP. I am interested to highlight ‘I focus on discourses of’ or ‘ideological narratives that create’ ‘Othernes’, identifying individuals from ‘different’ racial, ethnic and religious backgrounds. [***I think the focus on Otherness is appropriate but be clearer that you will be discussing the social creation of ‘difference’. Approach these ideas and identities as shared cultural projects. Include the three sides of the media triangle – makers/producers, audiences and texts. Talk about audiences reading codes. Talk about yourself as the primary resource. I’d also state some of the commonsense ideas involved, e.g. ‘us’ /’them’, ‘enemies/allies’, ‘Americans’, ‘Islamic terrorists’, ‘Muslims’, ‘Arabs’ etc.] The paper will seek to problematise the use of this language, highlighting the negative impact at both an individual and community level. [***Any alleged ‘impact’ will need to be putative and hypothetical – this is not research into real impacts. Make this part minor.]  Using a small number of case studies [*** Which case studies? Is this referring to your readings? If so, state which ones. You can only carry out 1 case study; you won’t have time for  “a small number of case studies”.  the research will examine how the media report and frame particular issues and will engage with theories of social construction and essentialism. [***Try to say whose theories please e.g. Galtung and Ruge, Chomsky and Herman, Collins et al.] The final paper will draw on a range of international relations, media studies and cultural studies sources. ***You need to say what they are at least in a preliminary way. Include major theoretical and empirical references in this section, e.g. Allen (2004) on “News Culture”. 

Access the Proposal form in separate file. 

ACM701 RESEARCH ESSAY PROPOSAL (800 words, 20%, due August 9)

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