Academic research

[agnor]

Haven't been able to read journals lately. Things've been busy and I've been tired.

I have a bunch of questions, but sometimes I'm not sure what the questions really are (this is one of those times).

Was just wondering if anyone has any thoughts on academic research as it applies to me. The Behavioral Neuroscience / Neurobiological Sciences

Comments

[brennakimi]

well. you come up with a question. i'll give you an example with my research.
my question is: why are there still genocides post-geneva conventions?
then you do some reading in the subject area. and when i say some i mean like 5 books and like 50 journal articles. articles i like better because they're generally free and you can print them out and keep them. but books are bigger works.
so then you find an answer to your question.
the answer. geneva conventions didn't provide a method of predicting and preventing genocides, they just outlawed them and they might not have accurately defined them.
so you decide on a new question.
what is genocide and why does it happen?
if you have a question like mine, prepare yourself. you're trying to take on the world. but then mine is graduate level. my paul's undergrad thesis was 'the politics of national identity in interwar poland and lithuania.' you could analyze something like 'the social influences of globalization on medicine' or something like that. (i did, in fact, just pull that out of my butt.)
anyways.
then you read more.
then you prepare a literature review. you write up a paper describing the existing literature relevant to your topic.
this may be between 3 and 20 pages depending on the length of your paper (oy.).
then you start to develop your answers.
i found a new definition for genocide which i feel is more inclusive, more simplistic, and more accurate. it includes all aspects blah blah blah. i'm working now on a historical comparison of rwanda and bosnia to determine what in their history, culture, and politics led to and could have predicted the genocides. hindsight is 20/20 but i'm working on a comprehensive model. my next step will probably be to tie in the haulocaust cause it simply can't be ignored. especially considering the similarities to rwanda. a paper i just finished reading on rwanda read like a script to my nazi history class. really.
anyways. so you develop your answers. this is your research contribution. you pick a way of testing it. this is based on your discipline. usually you do your testing and then you pick your answers, but in a historical case comparison the testing is pretty much reading. anyways.
then you write up your methodology, your data, your results, and your conclusion. all scientific method like.
then. once that's all done, you squish it together into one paper and make sure it flows. and then you're done.

oh yeah. i'm planning on buying endnote. it's citation software. if you decide you like this stuff, you should prolly buy some, too. typing up citation pages is dick.

[agnor]

So is this your actual Masters thesis? Or a paper for one class?

If the former, do you have a sponsor/mentor whom you're working with?

Thanks for the response. Appreciat the time you spent typing that.

[brennakimi]

um. both. first it was a thesis proposal for one class. now i'm working on the rwanda/bosnia bit. before i die i'll have covered every genocide since 1450 and have a general theory. i hope.

i don't yet have an advisor quite. but i know who he'll be. fortunately for me he's the ir prof, the director of our peace studies program, and knowledgable and i think published in this area. he also said i had a unique approach and was more than publishable. he gave me a 100 on the thesis proposal.