Research and Writing

 Research and Writing : 

Hello Everyone,

This blog is part of thinking activity of Unit 1 Research and Writing.

- Asssigned by Prakruti Ma'am.

1. In your opinion, should research always strive to achieve something new and creative or is it ok to pursue an existing direction and arrive at newer understanding of the same? In which one of these two categories would you classify the topic that you have chosen for your dissertation?

Research doesn’t always have to come up with completely new ideas; it can also focus on existing topics to gain a deeper understanding. While new ideas can introduce groundbreaking concepts, exploring existing ones helps refine and expand our knowledge, offering fresh perspectives on familiar themes. Both approaches are important for academic growth.

My dissertation topic, "Global Capitalism and Cultural Hegemony: Middle-Class Identity in Chetan Bhagat's Work," fits into the second approach. The themes of capitalism, cultural influence, and middle-class identity are well-studied, but your focus on Bhagat’s novels adds a unique angle. By using ideas like Gramsci’s cultural hegemony, your research shows how Bhagat’s stories reflect the struggles and realities of India’s middle class in a globalized world. This adds new insights to how literature connects with society and culture.

2. Ask a chatbot of your choice to paraphrase the following passage. Check the paraphrase it gives you by answering the questions attached below the paragraph:

"There is little to be gained from seeking to isolate any artistic form or movement from its antecedents and counterparts. Myopia is the product of critical segregation, wherein readers disengage practices from those contexts that have forged their contours. This might seem obvious, but there is value in rearticulating the axiomatic in times of transformation--when something "new" emerges, many of us fall into the trap of isolating our darlings, whether old or young, from all those other contexts that play a significant role in their construction. How does one look at electronic literature without considering the literary, the ludic, that which we can see, touch, and hear---how does one look critically at anything without such frames of reference, and how do we overcome natural limitations in capacity when attempting to do so? The best we can do is look to those who have gone before, build upon their foundation, and indeed, emphasize those aspects of an exploration we deem worthy of greater emphasis." (Sullivan)

After receiving the bot's response, answer the following questions:

Is the paraphrase about the same length as the original passage?

Yes, the paraphrase is about the same length as the original. It explains the ideas without leaving anything important out.

Has any part of the passage been copied word for word?

No, the paraphrase does not copy any part of the passage word for word. It rephrases the ideas using new vocabulary and sentence structures.

Does the paraphrase have the same meaning as the passage?

Yes, the paraphrase conveys the same meaning as the original passage. It discusses the importance of contextualizing artistic forms, avoiding isolation, and building on previous work, all consistent with the original ideas.

What is the full form of CIS? Discuss some of the types of searches which can be employed to search for sources in a library equipped with CIS.

CIS means Central Information System in research methodology.  Primarily there are two versions. 

1. Print : 

The printed library edition of this work is published annually in two clothbound books. The first contains listings in five areas: literature in English, literature in other languages, linguistics, general literature and related topics, and folklore. The second book provides a subject index to the first.

2. Electronic : 

The MLA International Bibliography is published in online and CD-ROM versions, which contain all citations published in annual volumes of the bibliography from 1926 to the present. Therefore,while an annual print volume of the MLA International Bibliography lists around 67,000 titles, the electronic versions offer information on more than 2,000,000 titles. Using these electronic editions, which are available from different vendors, involves searching techniques common to most databases. The standard ways of searching this database and similar ones are by author, title, and subject. Each vendor's system has help screens to guide you through its software interface.

TYPES OF SEARCHES OF THE ELECTRONIC VERSION :

1. Author searches

2. Title searches.

3. Subject searches

4. Expanded searches

5. Boolean searches. 

The electronic MLA International Bibliography also permits searching according to Boolean logic-named after the nineteenth-century British mathematician and logician George Boole. In this kind of searching, you customize your search request with the operators and, or, and not. 

Reference : 

America, M. L. a. O. (2009). MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 

LibGuides: Introduction to Library Research - Overview of the research process: 3: Find materials. (n.d.).  https://iu.libguides.com/howtoresearch/find-resources