Assignment:
Research Question: How is LeBron James' leveraging his social capital through his influence and popularity on twitter?
As you know, your research proposal for your term paper is due on October 20. Please email your proposal to me as a word attachment. Please note that I will not accept your proposal without first having met with you to discuss your topic.
Writing out a research proposal is designed to accomplish several things:
1) It will help narrow down an amorphous research topic to a set of specific questions you will be asking about said topic
2) In so doing, it will force you to think very specifically about the various approaches available to you in answering any given question.
3) It will also force you to think about why these questions matter and what can be gained, beyond personal edification, by asking them.
The best types of questions are always going to be ‘How' and ‘Why' type questions, because they allow you to investigate processes and contexts as well as products. For example, asking "What makes J.K. Rowling an author?" suggests that a shopping cart list of items can be assembled. Asking "How is J.K. Rowling's authorship articulated?" opens the question up to potential struggles, negotiations, and competing discourses that work together (even if antagonistically) to construct knowledge about Rowling's authorship.
In writing out your research question, you should also be able to answer:
A) What types of materials will I need in order to answer this question?
B) How will I be able to access these materials?
C) Once I find these materials, what sorts of questions will I ask of them? (yes, there are more questions to ask, because "evidence" is not "proof." It too needs to be interrogated).
D) What supporting materials can I use in strengthening my understanding of cultural artifact/technology/text/person/institution/community I am researching?
E) What else has been written about it? What theoretical and methodological approaches might I borrow/extend in order to shine a fresh light on my object of study?