Jargon, Method, Design

Matches

It’s quite possble that we can have brilliant ideas but the panel of experts to whom we submit a proposal find the proposal unacceptable and gives us a ton of, “why not do this instead.”

This can mean that either you’re encountering “reviewer 2” (there’s a current FB group now who makes fun of the personas of “reviewer number 2.”)

Or

The way the proposal was constructed did not easily convey the brilliance that was being communicated.

Let’s get the easier one out of the way first: grammar and composition.

• Make sure to have checked with Grammarly (even with the free one).
• Maker sure to double check using MS Word Editor (even if you used a paid version of Grammarly).
• Make sure to have someone else reread for you (you can make a mistake and not see it when you reread simply because you thought what you did was correct, so be humble and ask a friend to be critical and be thankful for critical comments).
• Make sure to reread since it’s you who wrote it and restating certainb parts or not should be your decision.

Now for the more adavanced: Jargon.

Jargon is the secret handshake of the discipline where you hope to be accepted as either a bachelor of, a master of, or a doctor of.

Each discipline has their own way of wording and saying things (note “wording” as using terms, and “saying” as way of composing sentences and even paragraphs). Each discipline also has their own writing style i.e. APA, MLA, Chicago (those are not just for citations).

Research also has its own nuances when it comes to communication.

There’s the design of the research (which is technical, like case study, phenomenology, hypothesis testing, descriiptive profiling) and the design of the manuscript (the organization of the manuscript content, which can be a bit creative but yet should be tempered logically).

Oftentimes, these should mix like a nicely chosen set of clothes in order to work well.

Take for example, using the phrase “to prove” is usually quantitative jargon specially if you are trying to etablish that your independent variable does affect the dependent variable.

This does not mean that qualitative does not prove. So, you also have to dig deep on what you are trying to prove.

Measure is also a word that tends to be quite quantitative. It’s going to be weird if you are describing the impact (i.e. Fragmented, unified, facilitated, corrected) and then you use the word measure when you are not even measuring (high, low). Again, what are you using the evidence for?

We talked about “beginning at the end” last week, and it’s a good thought also for today.

What are you trying to do?

So, make sure that your jargon, your method, and your design matches with what your envisioned purpose of the research is.

A larger purpose

Speaking of purpose, there's another end which should be considered when you think of why you are writing. Each of the three ranks of higher education produce an magnum opus (Trans. from Latin = Great Work," opus for short).

• Bachelors (undergrads) and the Masters (1st rank of postgrad) both produce their own thesis.
• Doctors (PhDs) write a dissertation. 

Here's a trivia. Universities are defined as a community of scholars. Individuals who produce knowledge.

The Bachelors produce knowledge by testing existing theories (I will consider that as a minimum, if you can produce the ones in the next rank, why not). 

Doctors produce knowledge by formulating theories and even laws within the discipline (I.e. Huntington's Theory on the Clash of Civilizations, Michel's Iron Law of Oligarchy).

Masters are in between, they can either test theory or create one.

How does this factor in on your research?

Knowing that you are either producing or testing theory helps you develop your review of literatures.

• It helps you in how to treat your theoretical framework and conceptual framework.
• It helps you in finding out what evidence (data) you need,
• It helps you determine what method and design to use in gathering and analyzing the evidence.
• It helps you know what jargon to use.
• It gives you a bigger purpose. Don't write for submission, write because you have something to say (as what I've said in Principles of Writing, and in the first post last October).

Just look at this link for inspiring examples so that you can have a perspective on why in the nine hells are you taking your degree. This is not to pressure, it's to inspire.

Also check out our MTG card for today below. It's Minamo School of Wizards, the Japanese MTG version of Hogwarts, nicely situated above a waterfall. Check out the quote in the card.

Photo credit to Wizards of the Coast, Inc.,    https://gatherer.wizards.com/Handlers/Image.ashx?multiverseid=79179&type=card