Blog 8: Feedback on Developing A Research Plan

Generra Johnson

29 September 2012

ENG 3029-01

Professor Chandler

Blog 8: Feedback on Developing A Research Plan

            I can now narrow down my research topic to a narrow point of view because I am going to ask it from the point of view of one story in particular. I am doing this just like my classmate suggested. So my new research question is how do you develop a teen romance story like Rebecca?

            I will not be using research subjects for answering this question. But I will be using books for my research. I do not know the books that I will be using. I have not found them yet, and I have no idea where to look.

Blog 7: Developing my Research Question

Generra Johnson

25 September 2012

ENG 3029-01

Professor Chandler

Blog 7: Developing my Research Question

            My topic is: What is the difference between adult romance stories and teen romance stories?

1.      Ideas and Questions for Topic (Includes Question 2):

·         One big and huge difference between adult and teen romance stories is that adult stories show it all. In other words there is sex, violence, and rated R type things in the adult romance stories, while in the teen romance stories: the stories mainly talk about the issues that teens are dealing with in their daily lives and the stories stay modest.

·         Adult romance stories also go into greater detail about the daily lives of adults. How they live and how they struggle to get by. Then what it added in is relationships- friendship relationships and intimate relationships.

·         Teen romance stories deal with not only the daily lives of teens, but the stories also include the new things teens encounter every day. Two examples are love and their future.

2.      What I Need To Know to Answer My Research Question:

·         What are the plots in teen romance stories?

·         What are the plots in adult romance stories?

·         How are readers drawn into teen and adult romance stories?

·         What makes adult romance stories so passionate and intense?

·         What makes teen romance stories so serious and yet romantic?

·         What makes the adult and teen romance stories so fulfilling to the reader?

·         What makes a reader desire to read the adult and teen romance stories a second time, and many other times after that?

3.      Formulate A Research Plan:

·         I hope to discover the differences between teen romance stories and adult romance stories, not only as an assignment, but also because I want to know how to write both types of stories on my own.

·         The statement of my research question is: What is the difference between adult romance stories and teen romance stories?

·         The information I need to gather is: On the plots, characters, images, elements, key terms, and conclusions. I also need to gather how do the authors start and plan their stories as well.

·         Primary List of Sources (This List Will Be Updated Continuously):

Relevance:
Database:	Nancy Thompson Library
Main Author:	Glicken, Morley D.
Title:	Mature Friendships, Love, and Romance A Practical Guide to Intimacy for Older Adults.
Primary Material:	Book
Physical Description:	Computer File
Includes:	Computer File
Publisher:	Santa Barbara : ABC-CLIO, 2010.
Description:	1 online resource (215 p.)
Notes:	Description based upon print version of record.
	Written to appeal to men as well as women, Mature Friendships, Love, and Romance: A Practical Guide to Intimacy for Older Adults is a serious book about love, romance, intimacy, and sexuality, as well as friendship and family. It is about what happens when older adults lack close relationships and about practical ways to address that isolation and loneliness. ||Through personal stories and vignettes, readers will see how notions of friendship, intimacy, and love change as we age, what mature love is, and what factors can make it challenging. Among the topics discussed are late-life divorces an
URL:	http://www.kean.eblib.com/EBLWeb/patron?target=patron&extendedid=P_554270_0&
Linked Resources:	Click here to view book
Database:	Nancy Thompson Library
Location:	Electronic Resource
Number of Items:
Linked Resources:	Click here to view book

·         A Plan to Gather Information:

o   I will be studying adults and teens.

o   Where I will collect my information has not been decided yet.

o   How many subjects I will study is: I will pick at random until I have an even number.

o   The methods I will use to conduct my study are: interviews and written analysis.

Blog 6: Deductive Analysis of the Literacy Narratives

Generra Johnson

23 September 2012

ENG 3029-01

Professor Chandler

Blog 6: Deductive Analysis of the Literacy Narratives

            Hypothesis is: Was writing complex for the authors of the literacy narratives?

            My theory is yes writing was complex for the authors of the literacy narratives, and no it was not complex for them.

Proving the Hypothesis (Evidence):

·         “I didn’t exactly enjoy writing, but I didn’t hate it.” – This shows that yes, writing was complex for the authors.

·         “It was fun sharing ideas and chatting with friends. It was a good way to get out my feelings and interest to others.” – This shows that no; writing was not hard for the authors.

·         “I remember sometimes crying as I wrote how I felt confused.” – This shows yes, writing was complicated for the authors.

·         “My love for reading helped me in school as well. I was able to understand different styles of writing.” – No, it was not challenging for the authors to write, as this statement proves.

·         “There was no connection between my rich imagination and the world of writing.” – This statement proves yes, writing was difficult for the authors.

·         “But it was these computer stories that got me back into writing. I wanted to write stories too.” – This statement proves no, writing was not arduous for the authors.

My theory is: for all the authors writing is difficult, and then there are times when it is not complicated. But it all depends on the author, their feelings, the situation, and the people around them.

            Yes, my hypothesis has been proven by these statements that the authors have made in their literacy narratives. 

Blog 5: Analytical Rankings of the New Shaggy Dog Stories

Generra Johnson

18 September 2012

ENG 3029-01

Professor Chandler

Blog 5: Analytical Rankings of the New

Shaggy Dog Stories

1.      Categorize:

·         Connection to the Story

·         Humor

·         What the story has in common with your life

·         Simply enjoying the story

2.      Classify:

·         Emotion- People try to relate to the story

·         Knowledge- People try to understand the story

3.      Pattern:

The people (students) would try to understand the story first, and then relate it to them-selves in some way, and after that they would enjoy the story.

4.      Hypothesis:

I believe everyone will enjoy the stories, but I think the third Shaggy Dog story will be ranked number one.

5.      Test the Hypothesis:

The pattern did repeat today in class. It was how everyone tried to understand the story, but they really did enjoy all of the stories, especially one in particular.

6.      Theory:

My theory still remains that everyone will love all of the stories, but they will enjoy the third story the most.

Blog 4: Analysis of Oral History

Generra Johnson

14 September 2012

ENG 3029-01

Professor Chandler

Blog 4: Analysis of Oral History

1.      Coding

·         Statements

·         Question and Answer

·         Emotion

·         Stories

·         Emotional Connection

2.      Classifying

·         Statement

·         Statement (Two)

·         Statement (Three)

·         Emotion

·         Evaluation

·         Interpretation

·         Interpretation (Two)

·         After Thought 1: Fact

·         After Thought 2: Interpretation

·         After Thought 3: Statement

·         After Thought 4: Evaluation

·         After Thought 5: Observation

3.      Identifying Patterns

The pattern in this blog is: when a statement or a question is asked and then answered, the interviewer and the subject state an emotional response. Then they speak about an observation concerning themselves that they made about the incident (9/11).

4.      Developing a Hypothesis

At an interview of great meaning like this one, a question can bring out emotions, not just a statement.

5.      Testing the Hypothesis

One student repeated the same pattern of data that I gathered. The second student did not repeat the pattern. The third student repeated this pattern. The fourth person did not repeat the pattern as I read in the blog. The fifth person did duplicate the pattern. As a result three people repeated this pattern, and two people did not.

6.      Creating a “theoretical story”

My “theoretical story” is: when a person is asked a question, the question will not only bring out an answer in the person, but it will also bring forth feelings and emotions in that person. Plus once the question is answered, it will spark memories inside the person, which brings out a person’s feelings.

Blog 3: Interviewer: Generra Johnson; Subject: Brigit Bauma Oral History Interview of 9/11

Generra Johnson

11 September 2012

ENG 3029-01

Professor Chandler

Blog 3: Oral History Interview of 9/11

Interviewer: Generra Johnson

Subject: Brigit Bauma

Questions:

1.      Where were you on 9/11?

2.      What were you doing when 9/11 happened?

3.      What are your feelings on 9/11?

4.      How did it feel on that day?

5.      What went through your mind on 9/11 as you first saw it happen?

Question One Answer: She was in Elementary School in Springfield Township, New Jersey.

Question Two Answer: She was in class, in the fifth grade, and students were being pulled out of class. She did not think anything of it until, the principal came to the class to talk to the teacher, and they stopped being taught after that.

Question Four Answer: She did not know what was happening. But she felt like she should be upset. When she was at home, her parents turned on the television, and every station was talking about the 9/11 incident. So her parents turned to SpongeBob Squarepants for her.

Question Five Answer: She really did not know what was going on. She was really worried. The assistant principal came to class to tell them what was going on. Her aunt came to pick up her and her brother along with their cousins, but she had a hard time in doing so. Also the school that she went to was next to a military base.

Head Notes:

[I wanted to ask more questions but I could not.]

Blog 2: Analysis

Generra Johnson

6 September 2012

ENG 3029-01

Professor Chandler

Blog 2: Analysis

            Analysis is, “the process…of studying [any] methods [or] materials,” (www.dictionary.com), and coming to a concrete conclusion about the object, and then a hypothesis is formed afterwards. Analysis is basically classifying an object, and it is also naming that object. How analysis works is you identify an object, you count the object, and you see if the object has any specific characteristics. Lastly, you see if the object comes in patterns, then you code it, which is naming the object, and last you classify it with other objects that are similar to it.

            How I would use analysis to see how words are translated is: first, I would identify the one word like cat, next I would count how many letters it has. Then I would choose a language to translate the word, like the language Spanish, in which the word is called el gato. Next, I would count how many letters are in the Spanish word for cat. After that I would see if the two words have distinct characteristics and patterns. Lastly, I would make a hypothesis, code the words, and classify them in a group.

Blog 1: Research Topics in English and Writing Studies

Generra Johnson

4 September 2012

ENG 3029-01

Professor Chandler

Blog 1: Research Topics in English and Writing Studies

            The type of research that people do in English and writing studies are many types of research. But to name a few, there are: how words are translated, what do words mean, how speech is said and heard, and how people understand languages and words. There are also inquiries done on the different meaning of words, on how words are written, pronounced, and how words are gathered into a single sentence and story. Research is also done on the types of words like: metaphors, similes, synonyms, antonyms, and the structure of a sentence. If people did not do research on these types of English writing, writing and English would not exist.

            The research I am interested in doing is: finding out how words are made, and how words are translated into different languages. Second, I am also interested in studying: how speech is said, and how speech is used in socializing in life. Lastly, I am really interested in investigating how words can tell and make a story.