tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4159861912515510446.post8589688252761199643..comments2022-04-10T10:59:42.859-07:00Comments on research methods: Battling the CanonistsAmy.http://www.blogger.com/profile/01120505617966124962noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4159861912515510446.post-38347408020797237992011-09-28T17:39:38.096-07:002011-09-28T17:39:38.096-07:00An ironic aspect of Luker's argument is that d...An ironic aspect of Luker's argument is that defending your methods often means citing authoritative sources, giving thick and detailed descriptions, arming yourself with lots of comparison cases - other studies that have deviated successfully, or other examples of interdisciplinary research, etc. So in a sense, you can never quite get away from canon. Thanks for sharing this story Matt - very good point!Sara M. Grimeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17168122635717142885noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4159861912515510446.post-20850767651934549682011-09-22T08:06:24.066-07:002011-09-22T08:06:24.066-07:00Yikes, I'm sorry to hear of your experience.
...Yikes, I'm sorry to hear of your experience.<br /><br />It may be that she didn't emphasize this quite enough - or really display a lot of sympathy for those of us down at the entry-level echelon of academia - but as to the power dynamics at play, I think she does acknowledge the difficulty. Whether or not they're aware of the dynamic at all, the people that benefit from a structure will always be threatened by those that challenge it. Her message seemed to me to be saying: if you're going to rock the boat, it will be hard on you, and you will have to be better prepared and informed than your naysayers.<br /><br />It is of course completely unfair to expect a student to be better informed and able to out-argue a career academic. But it seems to me that Luker is acknowledging that unfairness while still saying that that's the way it is sometimes.<br /><br />And that's my devil's advocacy for the morning.Aaron.https://www.blogger.com/profile/18172387279545577699noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4159861912515510446.post-65522671768933893742011-09-21T21:53:58.572-07:002011-09-21T21:53:58.572-07:00That's too bad you had such a negative experie...That's too bad you had such a negative experience with approaching a research problem from an alternative angle. Thankfully, I've never encountered this problem before.<br /><br />I'm not well-versed in the upper echelons of academia, but based on your experience and Luker's assertion that students "must always be prepared to defend (their) research method" it appears that thinking outside of the box when it comes to research methods is typically not welcomed with open arms in graduate programs. <br /><br />Hopefully as we read more of Luker's book we'll learn how to better defend ourselves against rigid, "canonical" professors such as your old supervisor.Stephanie Quailhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03243667873079817473noreply@blogger.com