It’s not easy to write an entire research paper in less than two weeks while studying for four other classes, attending club meetings, and going to the gym. So it is no surprise when Michael Kleine is horrified to see college students just “copying” and not “analyzing, synthesizing, evaluating, selecting, rejecting…” different sources. Kleine wrote the article “What is it We Do When We Write Articles Like This One – And How Can We Get Students to Join Us?” In this article, he comments on the way students typically conduct research and performs various tests to see the research patterns of students.
In my previous post, I reflected on my research methods of the past and how I committed similar tasks as the college students Kleine mentioned above. However, I feel that after researching within the archival collection, my research method and views on research have changed drastically from merely gathering facts that support my argument to trying to find all the pieces of information before coming to a conclusion.
In this article, Kleine brings up a few options he believe would help engage students in conducting quality research. One of these stood out to me was “we need to promote genuine reading.” I think it’s interesting that Klein takes into account the fact that research is not described as personal and that in order to quality research to be done, one needs to be in isolation and in a personal space. Thinking back to my own research experience, I realize that I do not really work in my own personal space and am usually surrounded by constant distractions that prevent me from researching to my potential.
Another interesting thing Kleine mentions is his idea of “building onto research.” What he means by this is to write research papers for a larger audience and to “downplay writing for the teacher.” I’ve never thought of writing my own papers for a larger audience since only my professor would be grading my papers.
Although Klein makes many valid points about researching, I feel that his suggestions and points are unrealistic to ask of on students because of the busy college lifestyle.
However, I do agree with him that research should be done in a quiet environment where one is alone with his/her thoughts.
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