Research, Write, Create

Preface
Acknowledgements
1. Embarking on a Research Journey
Chapter Outline
New Technologies and Scholarship
From Page to Screen
Changing Patterns of Research in Digital Environments
Beginning the Research Journey
Research Strategy
Ranking Sources Based on Reliability and Trustworthiness
Learning to Search Online Databases
Keywords
Academic Integrity
Final Checklist
Chapter Summary
2. Finding and Narrowing a Topic
Chapter Outline
Getting Started
Selecting a Research Topic
What Is the Rationale or Purpose for Your Research?
Moving from Your Interests to a Topic
A Refined Topic and Its Components
Topic to Problem
Problem to Question
Question to Hypothesis
Hypothesis to Position
Creative Project Design
Final Checklist
Chapter Summary
3. An Ecology of Digital Tools and Tactics
Chapter Outline
Blogging
Wikis for Collaboration
Wikis versus Blogs
Microblogging
Aggregators
Final Checklist
Chapter Summary
4. Digital Media in Research
Chapter Outline
Social Networks
Podcasts
Social Bookmarking
Folksonomy
Final Checklist
Chapter Summary
5. Creating with Digital Media Tools
Chapter Outline
Document Sharing
VOIP Technologies
Digital Image Collections
Digital and Streaming Video
Citation Managers
Global Positioning System (GPS) Technologies
Digital Technologies and Scholarship
Final Checklist
Chapter Summary
6. The Proposal
Chapter Outline
Creating a Quality Proposal for a Digital Project
The Basic Proposal Format
Proposed Title for Your Project
General Considerations
The Introduction
Review of Literature
Methodology and Digital Tools and Techniques
Timeline
Bibliography
Final Checklist
Chapter Summary
7. Research and New Technologies
Chapter Outline
Research and New Technologies
Discipline-Specific Genres
What Do All Essays Have in Common?
Integrating New Media
Clarify Expectations for the Assignment Descriptions with the Professor
Disciplines as Discourse Communities
Theories and Methods
Final Checklist
Chapter Summary
8. Planning and Drafting
Chapter Outline
Major Kinds of Scholarly Essays
Purposes of Research Essays
Abstract
Making a Major Project More Manageable
Term Project
Thesis
Capstone Project
Associations, Journals, and eResources
Identifying Relevant Associations
Discipline-Specific eJournals, eBooks, and Databases
Evaluating Research Studies
Filtering Documents Found on the Internet
Drafting the Essay
Final Checklist
Chapter Summary
9. The Introduction
Chapter Outline
Titles and Subtitles
Abstract
Introduction
Research Question
Hypothesis
Thesis Statement
Final Checklist
Chapter Summary
10. The Review of Literature
Chapter Outline
Review of Literature
Research Problems as Puzzles
Final Checklist
Chapter Summary
11. Methods, Methodology, and Digital Media
Chapter Outline
The Methodology Section
Designing the Research Method
Discipline-Specific Methods
Final Checklist
Chapter Summary
12. Methodology and the Project as a Whole
Chapter Outline
Building Connections among the Sections of the Study
Methods
Triangulation
The Big Picture: Creating the Total Project
Developing the Total Project
Final Checklist
Chapter Summary
13. Analysis, Results, and Conclusion
Chapter Outline
Creating a Coherent Study
Creating Links among Parts of the Study
The Analysis or Body of the Study
The Results or Findings of the Study
The Conclusion of the Digital Essay
Endnotes
The Final Bibliography
Appendix or Appendixes
Style and Substance
Revising and Polishing the Total Project
Final Checklist
References
Glossary
Index

Companion Website
- Links, details, and examples of the technologies described in the text
- Key terms
- Bibliography on scholarship and digital media
- Expanded discussions linked by icons to the text
E-Book ISBN 9780199000456

Twyla Gibson is assistant professor at the School of Information Science and Learning Technologies at the University of Missouri, where she teaches courses on digital humanities, history and philosophy of information and media, academic libraries, and visual communication and culture. She is also director of the Digital Humanities Commons @ The Allen Institute at University of Missouri, and holds an appointment as assistant professor of Culture and Technology at the Faculty of Information at the University of Toronto. She is a founding editor of the peer-reviewed journal, MediaTropes and has published widely on revolutionary shifts in communication and information media and technologies. Her research on digital technologies for the analysis of ancient texts is supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Mark Lipton is associate professor in the School of English and Theatre Studies at the University of Guelph. He also teaches in the media studies program at Guelph-Humber College, where he teaches courses about media and communication, digital literacy and pedagogy, performance studies, and research methods. He has published numerous books, in these and other areas. In 2009, as a result of his work with the Media Education Project, Lipton was awarded the Jacque Ellul Award for Outstanding Media Ecology Activism.

Special Features

• Comprehensive coverage of every step of the writing process including practical strategies for planning, researching, and writing a digital essay.
• Coverage of contemporary technologies - such as blogs, wikis, microblogs, social network sites, and podcasts - gives students a timely introduction to the latest digital tools for writers and researchers.
• Research in Action case studies provide practical examples and writing samples that demonstrate how students have integrated academic research and digital media into their own work.
• In-text icons direct to the companion website where students can explore and interact with the digital resources discussed in the book.
• Practical checklists at the end of every chapter help students understand and practice incorporating digital tools into their own academic research.
• Clean, contemporary design enhances readability and makes key concepts easy to find.