Category: Thesis

• reference video

This week we have continued to learn how to write a literature review and have looked at the literature review section of many articles. I have learnt a lot of valuable details about the writing, and we have started to think about the topic for our FMP dissertation this week

You should include:

• Research title
• A brief outline of the research objective (100-200 words)
• An outline of the literature that will inform the study to support the objective (300-400)
• A bibliography

Research Frameworks

https://www.youtube.com/@drjthesising1017/videos

• Frameworks | Part 1 – What Are They and Why Are They Important.

• Frameworks | Part 2 – How to Find One,

• Frameworks | Part 3 – How to Use One.

This week we learned how to identify and test research topics. Developing a Literature review.

 Thesis Process

• when selecting appropriate resources
• when using/reading those resources
• when making your own case.

Evaluating Information

Define your research scope

Over the next four weeks this is an opportunity to select foundations for a topic of interest that supports a potential thesis proposal, stimulates research development, encourages finding and loging sources and develop a draft literature review.
Explore materials and resources Research your topic options
Once you have a specific thesis for your work, write a list of keywords related to that thesis you can use to streamline your source-gathering process. 

The purpose of writing a literature review is to present the sources you’ve used in your research to your work’s readers. By doing this, you’re communicating several things:
Relevant research methodology: Explaining the type of research you conducted, how you conducted your research and collected your data, your reasons for choosing the sources you chose, and how you analysed the data you collected.
Theoretical framework you established: Mapping your research showing where you started, which concepts you chose to focus on and where following those concepts brought you. Generally, these concepts are theories and models established by academics in your field. 
Where your work fits into the bigger picture: Explain how your findings connect to the existing body of research on your topic and how it relates to other pieces of research, any existing gaps it fills, any debates to which it contributes.

Structuring a literature review

A literature review : states the research question and explains how you tackled it. Following are body paragraphs that explain your research in further detail. Then, it ends with a conclusion section that reiterates the research question while summarizing the insights you had through your research. 
A literature review’s length depends largely on the type of research it’s being written for. For a short paper, it might only be a few pages long, but for a lengthy work like a thesis or dissertation, it’s often an entire chapter. 

Style and writing approach

A literature review requires the same style as any other piece of academic writing . That means no contractions or colloquialisms, concise language, formal tone, and an objective perspective at all times. 
To distinguish between your analysis and prior scholarly work in the field, use the past tense when discussing the previous research conducted on your topic and the present tense when discussing your point of view. For example, you might write that a specific author conducted research or that they had been influenced by earlier researchers in the field, but also that you are exploring different research methods and that you are posing certain questions. 

Find relevant literature

Using the keywords you listed, search for relevant sources through your university library and/or databases like Google Scholar, JSTOR, EBSCO, and field-specific databases like Project Muse and EconLit. 
As you find potential sources, read their abstracts to determine whether they are within your research’s scope. By reading a quick preview of each source (and taking note of recurring authors, contributors, and citations) you can pare down your list to a collection of works that provide the data, insights, and additional content you need to conduct your research. 

Identify themes, patterns, and gaps within your body of sources

Read your pared-down body of sources. As you conduct your research, take note of the themes present in them and ask questions: 
Do different authors agree with each other on these themes? 
Where do they disagree? 
How does each author support their position?
Examine the research methods each author used in their work. If your sources involve studies or experiments, note whether the results were replicated and where, if at all, the studies’ results varied from each other. 
Write down your key insights and how each source you consult contributes to the existing pool of knowledge on its subject. Explore how the sources challenge and contradict each other and where they agree or expand upon each other. 

Writing an outline is an important part of the proposal and consequently the thesis.
Once you’ve read your sources and you understand their themes, patterns, and connections to each other, it’s time to organize your strategy for writing about how you’ve used them in your research by creating an outline. 
There are alternatives to organising an outline. You can organize it chronologically, listing and discussing the oldest sources you’ve consulted and working up to the latest pieces. You can also organize your sources according to their themes, creating a section for each shared theme you encountered and discussing it there. Another way to organize your sources in your outline is to group them according to the research methods used by their authors. 

Create a literature review outline

The best way to organize your literature review often depends on your subject area. In the humanities, presenting your sources chronologically or according to their themes can effectively highlight how existing research on your subject has evolved, whereas in the hard sciences, organizing your sources according to their research methods can enable you to highlight why the current scholarly consensus (if there is one!) is what it is. 

Writing a literature review

Once your outline is complete, it’s time to start writing. In nearly all cases, literature reviews are written in the third person. For example, you might discuss a scholarly article by stating “this paper argues . . .” or “in her work, the author elaborates on . . .” However, there are cases where first person is appropriate in a literature review, such as when you’re referencing your own research. For example, if you’re citing an earlier paper you’ve written or data collected from a study you conducted, you may use phrases like “I argue,” “I propose,” and “through my research, I found that . . .”

Writing a literature review

Remember to follow the Harvard reverencing system. Similarly, use the same objective academic tone you’ll use in your research paper. Don’t just list and describe the sources you’ve read; respond to them, interpret them, and critically evaluate them. Keep in mind that you don’t have to agree with every source you use—in fact, exploring where your findings diverge from a source’s findings can be a strong point in your literature review and your research as a whole.  

Citing and referencing in the review

Using all research sites

Find and list at least two relevant sources to your topic
Write down your key insights and how each source you consult contributes to the existing pool of knowledge on its subject. Explore how the sources challenge and contradict each other and where they agree or expand upon each other. 

Planning your thesis

Once you have a significant collection of notes you can begin to devise a plan. Some of the important points are

•          Formulate a structure that develops an argument.

•          Avoid relying on chronology to structure the thesis for you.

•          Take charge of your notes; do not rely on them to tell you a plan.

•          Edit out irrelevant material. This means you need a clear focus on objective.

•          Identify the main sections/chapters and group the appropriate notes together.

•          Consider visual illustrations to support your discussion/argument.

Thinking about topics in different areas

Today we learnt how to choose a research topic, what to look for, and how to find the right resources quickly.

I’ve been thinking about some options this week, including the recent popularity of AI technology in animation, the use of VR technology to reconstruct the architecture of ancient civilisations in games to enhance immersion, or the emergence of digital people in the concept of the metaverse, among other areas. I’m trying to find what interests me most and think about the possibilities for the future development of this subject.

Choosing a Thesis Topic (and defining a research question)

Examples of Problematic Research Questions

Should animators be environmentally aware?

Further Modifying Your Topic

You will continue to modify your topic throughout the research process. How you modify your topic will depend on:

• Whether there is too much information

• Whether there is too little information

• Whether new issues arise in the research process that need to be addressed

Check List for Choosing a Topic

• Have you chosen a topic which will hold your interest for a sustained period?
• Do you know what the current issues relating to this topic are?
• Have you found out who the leading experts / key writers are in this field and what reviews of the topic already exist?
• Do you have the support of your supervisor for your topic?
• Where are you going to find the appropriate background reading and other sources of information you need for this topic?
• Have you checked their availability?
• Are you going to do primary research?  What access do you have to your area of interest? When are you going to do it?  Have you discussed the practicality of it with your supervisor?
• Have you a clearly articulated position which you aim to test? (if appropriate)
• Are you sure that your topic is sufficiently focused?
• Does it respond to a question and/or present an argument?
• Have you a clear, manageable research question?

Researching your Topic

Choosing your topic will involve a considerable amount of initial research. Research involves locating key sources.  There are two kinds of sources:

a) Primary or original sources.  These could be a mediaeval manuscript, a poem, a photograph, the records of an institution, a dress, an interview…

b) Secondary or interpretative sources i.e. papers/articles/books written about a subject.

Each source/text is written/produced from a perspective and has a specific function.  Interpretation, therefore, depends not only on the content, but also the context.  In other words, don’t take everything at face value. Notice and make note of the position that is being taken by theauthor/producer. An essential part of a good Thesis is commenting on the different position’s authors take.

There are four main stages to research:

• Researching the research

• Planning the research

• Doing the research

• Finishing the research

Research Resources

Google Scholar:  http://scholar.google.com/ 

Credo: https://search.credoreference.com/

The E-Library

The library subscribes to numerous electronic databases and journals.

http://www.arts.ac.uk/study-at-ual/library-services/e-library/

Finding E-Books Guide

https://web.microsoftstream.com/video/98d39c15-9b36-4966-813c-4a08dc7fe3a4?list=trending

This week we studied experimental animation and abstract art, some of which I didn’t understand, but that’s the beauty of energy; each creator can have a strong personal style. We discussed breaking away from traditional narrative techniques and watched many films. I enjoyed watching the movie with my classmates and teachers, and it was great to share our ideas and get new inspiration.

Conceptual Abstraction

This term relates to the abstraction and juxtaposition of narrative structures or storytelling tools, traditional cannons, and communicative vehicles. These approaches question and build film language, challenge perception and exploit semiotics metaphor and symbolism.

Interpreting Abstraction

There is an integral link between conceptual application and technological advancement in the innovation of film and in particular, animation, raising complex and challenging questions on; Categorisation; Genre & Sub-genre what is the works background / setting, mood / tone, theme or topic? Form and Function; interpreting meaning and relating it to the format, or presentational mode: Process; The techniques, materials and technologies applied within the work and the relationships between message and medium, (Does process, technique or tool become the message?) Formal Elements; Use of space/composition, Light & colour, movement, rhythm, timing, pacing, transition and audio relationships.

Lecture content

• Summary of previous experimental animation landmarks
• Developing themes in contemporary experimental animation.
• Breaking traditional narrative and alternative perspectives

Balázs Simon – Bastille ‘Thelma and Louise

Of the many films, I really liked this one, the pacing was very good, and the use of colour in it was very comfortable. And I thought the characters made up of special effects particles in it were also very interesting.