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Knight & Luker on Early Research Writing


In the introductory chapters of the assigned readings, both Knight and Luker emphasize the importance of capturing research related ideas on paper. One of Knight’s private writing suggestions is to have the researcher reflect on the ways he/she is “influencing the research findings and on the significance of that influence” (Knight, 2002, pg. 2). Yet, even before a researcher starts gathering data, he/she is influencing the outcome of the study by the way he/she chooses to frame the research question. While I was doing Luker’s writing exercise at the end of Chapter 2, I became aware of how the research questions I am interested in and the language I was using to phrase them, revealed my own unconscious assumptions about the way the world works. It is not just the discipline-specific assumptions of canonical social science that a researcher must be prepared to challenge, he/she must also be willing to confront deeply held personal biases.


- Ramona Sansait


2 comments:

Sara M. Grimes said...

So true!

mwells said...

This makes it hard to believe any study that you hear about in the mass media. One study will say that "x" is good for you, the other will say its poison. I found Luker's discussion of the HRT controversy to be really interesting on this issue. I knew bits and pieces of that story, but it was nice to get a better picture of what happened.

- Matt

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