Repositioning my standpoint...



Current thought process February 2012

Im currently going through a difficult stage of repositioning, that is, Im not sure what my research is about, or where it is going for that matter?? i guess what has really confirmed this is the research and scholarly conference (Harrogate 23rd February 2012) I attended and also contributed to. I produced a film which I am still in the process of uploading onto YouTube (too long!!) shall put onto blog once edited down. In the forum I talked about (very abstractly) my research, if I think back to Bournmouth conference I proberly said more than 1 sentence (yes Im being hard on myself, but quite rightly so..) the feedback was more positive, I guess my research brought on a discussion?? key points made were Performance, process, apparatus, representation and interpretation. 

Ive been currently reading 'Visualising Research. A guide to the Research Process in Art and Design' Carol Gray and Julian Malins (Ashgate ebook) the book is great I have to say, interesting, however what it has made me realise is my standpoint, that is, it poses the following suggestions;

1. 'what?' - the identification of a 'hunch' or tentative research proposition, leading eventually to a defined and viable research question

2. 'why?' - the need for your research in relation to the wider context, in order to test out the value of your proposition, locate your research position, and explore a range of research strategies

3. 'how?' - the impotance of developing an appropriate methodology and specific methods for gathering and generating information relevant to your research question, and evaluating, analysing and interpreting research evidence

Methodology is key here in helping me understand the process itself, but equally so is the lit review, however I have lost focus and need to pull in the reigns, maybe its a case of writing a contextual review on what I read so far to see not the connections (as I know they are there...as illustrated above) but to understand the gaps where knowledge can be identified and help focus RQ and I guess confirm that Im not reinventing the wheel...is this right...in the book it is called 'mapping the terrain'. I plan to discuss with SE Thursday 1st march, Im hoping we can come up with something to move  the research forward..signing off