16.303 research methods

From: Humanist Discussion Group (by way of Willard McCarty (w.mccarty@btinternet.com)
Date: Tue Oct 29 2002 - 02:00:14 EST

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                   Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 16, No. 303.
           Centre for Computing in the Humanities, King's College London
                       www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/humanist/
                         Submit to: humanist@princeton.edu

             Date: Tue, 29 Oct 2002 06:54:23 +0000
             From: Willard McCarty <w.mccarty@btinternet.com>
             Subject: research methods

    In response to Charles Faulhaber's query for help with teaching a research
    methods course. I would suppose that as his course is being offered by a
    department of Spanish, it will need to have all of its examples drawn from
    that disciplinary area. But to the (large) extent it is about
    computer-assisted & -affected research, it can draw on courses in
    humanities computing with or without a specific disiplinary focus. The
    curricula of our undergraduate minor programme,
    http://www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/undergraduate.html, our new
    introductory module, http://www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/AY1003/, and our
    MA, www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/ma/, should therefore be grist to his
    mill. Courses taught at other centres can be discovered through the
    directory to institutional forms of humanities computing that Matt
    Kirschenbaum and I have put together,
    http://www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/allc/archive/hcim/hcim-021009.htm
    (current draft only).

    At induction sessions, both for undergraduates and postgraduate students, I
    usually put up a table showing a highly generalized scheme for the research
    process, against each stage of which is a list of the computing tools and
    techniques that apply at that stage. I've found this a useful way to think
    in designing and presenting a curriculum. (Of course no one scheme fits all
    people nor all projects done by one person or even, strictly speaking, any
    one project, really, but having one does provide a good jumping-off point.)
    I usually emphasize the parts of the process (such as thinking about and
    assimilating the results of research) which cannot in principle be helped
    directly. Best way to make friends among the sceptical.

    Yours,
    WM

    Dr Willard McCarty | Senior Lecturer | Centre for Computing in the
    Humanities | King's College London | Strand | London WC2R 2LS || +44 (0)20
    7848-2784 fax: -2980 || willard.mccarty@kcl.ac.uk |
    w.mccarty@btinternet.com | www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/wlm/



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