The
process of discovering my term paper's focal point was difficult to begin with
because I went into the research with a pre-conceived idea of what I was
looking for. I was extremely interested in the Scientific Revolution and its
connection to religion, and I really wanted to make an argument about how
religion helped progress scientific research in astronomy. Only after I had
read one or two articles did I decide that I was searching for evidence to
support that idea. Instead of letting the evidence and research guide me, I
came in with a very specific (and non-objective) 'thesis,' which I attempted to
fulfill. I tried to make connections when there was no real evidence to support
it, and in doing so manipulated the real research to conform to my
pre-conceptions.
What I really needed was to take a step back, say to myself "this is
just not working," and become more objective about what I was looking for.
After I realized this, broadening my research question helped immensely
with the process of finding a supportable thesis statement. So from there I
pretty much started over with reading general books on the Scientific
Revolution; I absorbed the information with an objective mind and found a
better idea to follow.
vesalius.jpg from http://www.myspace.com/primatediaries/blog/312764609
This is interesting and a great point to consider. Sometimes I find myself doing this, so it's definitely better to "remain objective". Chances are we'll end up with a better idea than our original one!
ReplyDeleteI have the same problem. It's difficult to find a balance between having too broad of a topic and too specific of an idea.
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ReplyDeleteI understand the importance of remaining objective, but Evan made a good point in another blog post about the implications of objectivity and whether it's really possible to be objective. Everyone has personal biases-- it's impossible to be completely tabula rasa as our current thought process can be considered biased because it's be shaped by OUR perspective and OUR experiences. Even if one tries to be completely objective, our tone will inevitably take over based on what we focus on.
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