Researching

My undergraduate degree is in art history and classical studies. Like many of you, this will also be my first research course. I have never conducted or participated in a research study before but I am very interested to learn about the process and trials of doing so. Since our first class, I have spent a lot of time thinking about what exactly I would like to "research" and how exactly I intend to go about doing it. Obviously, as a novice I'm unclear on the exact steps that I will take, but I liked the potential that Luker presents for using a variety of research methods. Like Karey, I also tend to research first and formulate an argument later, when writing a thesis paper. While I often start with an idea of what I would like to write about, I find that generally while researching questions or arguments, my thoughts are fluid and regularly changing. In this sense, I'm looking forward to developing my skills as a researcher, and learning methods for conducting a more pragmatic study.