Project One: Research GuideIntroduction/Rationale: The personal research guide is an opportunity for you to begin to explore a professional or disciplinary discourse community you are joining or inte

Project One: Research Guide

Introduction/Rationale: 

The personal research guide is an opportunity for you to begin to explore a professional or disciplinary discourse community you are joining or intend to join. Using primary and secondary research methods, you will explore the literacies of the discourse community by identifying significant genres, key experts, important publications, professional organizations and conferences, online presence, commonly employed research methods in the field, major topical or conversational trends from the last 5-10 years, and broad disciplinary values. You will use this exploration of key disciplinary and/or professional literacies to begin to develop research questions about the discourse community.

Assignment Prompt: 

Begin by identifying the disciplinary or professional discourse community you wish to enter and work through the knowledge you already have about the discourse community. Then, using Swales’ six characteristics of discourse communities as a heuristic (bulleted below) generate questions about the field’s purposes, discursive practices, genre conventions, etc. based on your knowledge gaps. What do you need to know or want to find out?

·  What are the “common public goals” of the discourse community?

·  How do members of the discourse community share ideas and information with each other?

·  What kinds of ideas and information do members of the discourse community share with each other?

·  What genres does the discourse community use to accomplish its goals?

·  What are some key features or examples of the lexis of the discourse community?

·  What are the parameters of membership in this discourse community? Who are key figures in the field?

This project has two pre-requisite requirements: 

·  Interview a professional or academicin the field about key genres, commonly used research methods, recent major topics, important journal publications, professional organizations, web sources, and conferences. Follow up on that interview with your own research: (1) search for and review several examples of items mentioned in your interview and (2) research the topics or current events that are important in that discipline or profession.

(This interview can be completed via email or in-person. In-person interviews will need to be recorded and transcribed in full. There will be separate deadlines for contacting your interviewee and drafting appropriate questions. The final interview – with both questions and answers – should be typed and submitted in full on Monday, 9/24 and is worth 3%). 

·  Library research about how members of a particular discipline might use various library resources when they conduct research or want to read in the field. Work through some keyword searches to learn how to use the databases as well as to discover journals, conference proceedings, and/or any other prominent resources the database supplies.

(We will have a scheduled day for in-class research; this is when you will receive guidance on how to access the information above. On this day, you will receive a template to complete during your research process, which will serve as a “rough draft” for your final document. This should be typed and submitted in full on Monday, 9/17 and is worth 2%). 

Minimum Requirements:

Once you have conducted your research and analysis, compose a 750-1000 word research guide that includes the following information:

·  Swales’ six characteristics of discourse communities as a heuristic that organizes the information you’ve gathered and formats the guide for easy reference.

·  A definition of the discourse community in terms of its “common public goals”as understood both by a practicing member as well as any professional organizations associated with the specific discourse community.

·  An example of least twomajor “mechanisms of intercommunication”used by members of the discourse community, specific examples of these mechanisms, and a description of why/how they work to accomplish certain goals.

·  An elaboration of at least two major topics – as discussed in the field’s “participatory mechanisms”: major journals, conferences, databases, and other forums – in which knowledge has changed or significantly developed.  

·  A description of at least two significant“genres”typically used by members of the discourse community to share, discuss, and critique new disciplinary information. These should be different from your “mechanisms of intercommunication”; think about how these genres have developed conventions specific to your discourse community and reflect the needs/values/goals of this community. 

·  A short list of the “lexis”or most important terms, acronyms, and key words that make up the disciplinary vernacular, along with a brief description of how, where, and when they are used in the field.

·  A description of the “membership qualifications”necessary for professional participation in your field, beginning with the most essential steps (i.e. a bachelor’s degree) and ending with the qualifications only an “expert” might have (i.e. experience at NASA)

·  2-3 of your own research questions about the contemporary major topics of your discourse community. These questions and their revisions will continue to drive your research over the course of the semester.

·  A bibliographic list of all resources cited (including the interview), using the citation method appropriate to the field.