Research Beginnings

As with Colin below, this is also my first research methods course. In my undergraduate degree in Classics, I spent a lot of time translating Latin, and less time writing research papers. There were some, of course. The research, however, that I was doing was more an exercise in compiling information already written (as scholars have been studying the Classical era for centuries) – I wasn’t really doing what I would call “original research.”  

I did do some archaeology during my undergrad though, which is a kind of research, although clearly very different from writing a research paper. I think, though, that archaeology can relate interestingly to some of the concepts put forth by Luker in the first few chapters of her book. “You can be surprised by your findings,” she writes on page 6. This simple statement caught my interest as it seems to relate to many other topics that she brings up later, such as bias. This is the same in archaeology. For example, you might think that you are excavating an ancient burial ground, but in the end it is really a fallen down wall with a random body buried beside it. And, you may wish that it was a burial ground, because that would be more prestigious or maybe you are a specialist in ancient burials and you wouldn’t want to have wasted all of this money on an old wall. But maybe the wall is from an important fortress not yet discovered. You could make this discovery if you aren’t afraid to be surprised by your findings. This is the same, in my view, for research papers and why considering your personal bias when setting up the project is so important. I think that this is what Luker is getting at in chapter 3 with regards to survey parameters. I also think that it will continue to be an important consideration for all research methods, not just surveys. 

I’ve had more experience with research methods since starting Museum Studies last fall. A few projects include writing a successful SSHRC proposal about funding for rural museums, a paper on the American and Canadian bicentennial War of 1812 celebrations, a paper on forgeries of Minoan Goddess sculptures in museums, and research on the successes of government grant programs in Ontario for my summer internship. These projects were all extremely different and all employed a variety of research methods without me really thinking or knowing that I was using them. I’ll be interested to consider exactly which methods I used in each case once we learn more about each method.