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Context of Practice 3 Proposal Form 2013 Guidance Document INTRODUCTION The CoP3 Proposal Form is an important part of your Context of Practice 3 study. Its aims are 1. To kickstart the module at the end of Level 5 and make you think about your proposed CoP3 Research project in detail at the outset. To complete the proposal form to a satisfactory standard, you will need to have considered a variety of aspects of your project, have undertaken a certain amount of preliminary research, and considered the viability of your proposed research. 2. To make you to think about the practical, theoretical and written aspects of your research project holistically as part of a single synthesized research project. 3. To allow you to receive detail and focused formative feedback on your project before you leave for the summer where, hopefully, the bulk of the CoP3 research will be undertaken. The following is a section-by-section guide to completing the proposal form to the standard that we expect. Carefully following the instructions in this guide will not only mean that your proposal is more rigorous, which will ultimately pay dividends further into the project, but also ensure that you get better quality feedback from your tutors. It is designed to work in tandem with the Context of Practice briefings, delivered by the Head of Contextual Studies, which you should be able to find on eStudio. SUBJECTS OF CONTEXTUAL RESEARCH ALREADY UNDERTAKEN This section is quite straightforward but may be important or relevant. Please indicate the topic or theme of the contextual essays or presentations that you have undertaken at Level 4 (year 1) and Level 5 (year 2). Please note that it is perfectly acceptable, perhaps desirable, to make your CoP3 research a continuation of your Level 4 and 5 research. However, you cannot submit the same piece of work for assessment twice so your CoP3 research has to significantly extend from any earlier work should you choose to go down this route. AIM AND/OR OBJECTIVE OF YOUR PROPOSED C.O.P.3 PROJECT This section is the most important part of your proposal and, therefore, the bit that you should spend the most time on. Donâ€&#x;t feel that you have to write a formal, academic essay for each section but you should aim to provide as much detail as possible. Bullet points are perfectly acceptable. To start with, it is important that you first indicate the aim and/or objective of your research project. Ideally this should be in the form of a question, a line of enquiry or series of questions / lines of enquiry that can be investigated through the research process. Donâ€&#x;t worry; you will not be forced to keep to these questions if they change throughout the process.
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Context of Practice 3 Proposal Form 2013 Guidance Document Now, a series of four questions about your research project that you should spend a bit more time considering. If you are interested, these four questions are adapted from the hermeneutic philosophy of Paul Ricouer. They are designed to get you thinking about your CoP3 Research Project in a 360º, holistic manner right from the start and position your creative practice right at the heart of the research process.
1. What research needs to be undertaken into the general and specific contexts of your practice? Try to answer this question by detailing any historical, political, social, cultural, technological, or other contextual determining factors that frame or lie „behind‟ your chosen subject and, in a nut shell, make it what it is. Thinking about this question should allow you to understand your subject in a deeper way. This may involve asking questions like What historical events have had a significant impact on your chosen subject? How? (imperialism, slavery, colonialism, war, diaspoara, natural disaster, human geography etc.) What political events are significant to your chosen subject? (legislation, political ideologies, political systems, revolutions etc.) What cultural attitudes inform my subject? Is my subject culturally specific, and if so, how? What are the economic factors that influence my chosen subject? Is my chosen subject related to any technological advances in society? Are there any dominant or prevailing attitudes that inform my subject? What is the specific history of my subject and how has it developed over time? Who are the key figures within my chosen subject? (This may include makers, practitioners, writers or thinkers.)
2. What approach(es) will you take and what processes, methods, materials and tools are to be involved in research into your practice? Try to answer this question by thinking about how you will actually undertake your research. One aspect of this question is concerned with methodologies (see below) but also, try to think about the possibilities of „thinking through doing‟ and insights that can be gained through creative experiment or making. Firstly, try to think about what overall methodological approach you will take for this study. The exact methodology that you will use will be unique to your particular project and you should discuss this carefully with one of your tutors. The methodology that you choose will have a great impact on your study and, as such,
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Context of Practice 3 Proposal Form 2013 Guidance Document it is quite important to consider this early in the process. Put another way, the types of answers that you ask will determine the types of answers that you get. You will have encountered some methodological approaches during your Level 4and 5 study. For example, Historical, sociological, semiotic, psychological, feminist, Marxist, postcolonial, discourse analysis and gender studies are some, but by no means all, of the examples of theoretical methodologies that you may wish to apply to your research. For practical work, some of these may be relevant also but you should also consider more practically oriented methodologies such as hermeneutics, heuristics, empirical investigation, reflective practice (Schön) and data collection. Give the names of specific writers or theorists of particular relevance. In addition, perhaps consider the following questions about your practice What is the relation between the techniques that you use in your practice to other techniques in the sector? How does changing the materials that you use affect your practice? What processes of creative practice are essential or integral? Are there any specific factors that produce significantly more successful results for your creative practice? What factors could disrupt your creative practice? What are the barriers to creative practice? In deciding which methodologies to choose, and which to reject you have not only being radically differencing the future outcomes of your Research Project but also undertaking complex epistemological decisions. Epistemology, if you didn‟t know, is the term philosophers use to describe investigations into the nature of knowledge itself, its presuppositions, bias, flaws etc. You are now „doing‟ epistemology. Congratulations.
3. What preparation or investigations do you need to undertake for your creative practice to take place? This section aims to get you thinking about the sort of techniques or methods that you need to employ to get the research process started. Immediate responses to this question will be answers like „find out information on…‟, „come up with ideas about…‟ or, even more abstractly, „Research…‟ Try to take these questions to the next level. Exactly how will you „find out information on…‟? How will you come up with ideas about…‟? How will you „research‟? Why? Asking the question „how will I research?‟ might even involve having to undertake more research into the process of researching itself. For example, knowing that
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Context of Practice 3 Proposal Form 2013 Guidance Document investigating your subject you will have to write a 9,000 word dissertation or case study might mean that you have to research what a 9,000 word dissertation or case study actually is, and how it is constructed. Alternatively, an investigation into sustainable printing inks might involve research into how to source materials or pigments. Other factors that you might consider here are What techniques do I use to research? How can I improve my research skills? How do I generate ideas? Careful consideration of this section will lead to an increase in the productivity of your research and minimise possible obstacles or dead ends during the process.
4. What research do you need to undertake regarding who your creativity is for? This section is perhaps slightly more important than the last, but certainly no less important. It is basically asking you to consider who the audience for your study is. The default answer to this question, from a large percentage of students, will no doubt be that “it is for the University! I am required to do this as part of my degree and I damn well want good marks for doing it! How do I get a 1 st?”. Whilst there is definitely something in this statement that I have sympathy with, it is hoped that, as a Level 6 student, you are taking much more ownership of your research than this. Furthermore, as emerging practitioners, we would hope that your Level 6 research is significantly more „outward facing‟ than this. Try to consider which professional sectors your research might possibly be aimed at, how they might perceive it and, ultimately, how this audience might shape or change the direction or presentation of your research. Questions to consider in this section might include What specific organisations could use your research and how? How would your „tone of voice‟ (visual or written) change if you targeted your research at a different audience? Does this change the research? What are the specific „cultural codes‟ of the audience in question? Do specific audiences place limits on your research in anyway? Are there elements of collaboration in your research? Does your work challenge existing knowledge or practice within the field?
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Context of Practice 3 Proposal Form 2013 Guidance Document PRIMARY SOURCES OF INFORMATION In this section, try to list three sources of Primary Research for your study. Simply put, primary research is that which is conducted by yourself. It may include observation, experiment, archival research, documentation, translation, interviewing, surveying, making among others. Because of the complexity and originality of Primary Research you are generally awarded significantly more marks for this type of research. SECONDARY SOURCES OF INFORMATION Secondary sources of research are those where the research has been conducted by others already and is generally used, in the humanities, to refer to books, journal articles, websites, documentaries but there are other forms also that relate more specifically to practice. To ensure that your proposal has the necessary scholarly rigour from the outset we insist that, at the very minimum, you locate 6 secondary sources that will inform your research project. PERCEIVED PROBLEMS OR DIFFICULTIES Very simply, this section asks you to consider the viability of the project that you are undertaking. How realistic is your proposal? Will it involve you having to travel half way across the world at a prohibitive expense? Can you access all the sources that you require for your research? More importantly, we would like you to consider the possible ethical implications of your study in this section. Is your research legal? Will it require the consent of others? Will it cause offence or harm anybody (physically or mentally)? Consider ethical questions carefully and consult with one of your tutors if in doubt. PREPERATION / RESEARCH SUGGESTIONS The following texts are excellent introductions to research projects within the field of Art & Design. It is strongly recommended that you familiarise yourself with some of the material in these texts before submitting your proposal form. The adaptation of Paul Ricoeur‟s hermeneutic philosophy, represented by the diagram below, was cribbed from the Errington et al. text (p.21) so it is worth looking at this at least. All the texts below in some way focus on the uniqueness of practice based research in particular and all are helpful resources for emerging practitioners and researchers. Bell, J. (2010) ‘Doing Your Research Project’ 5th ed. UK, Open University Press Errington, K. & Maycroft, N. (2004) ‘Soul Food, and Music: Research and Innovation for Creative Business’, UK Gray, C & Malins, J. (2004) ‘Visualizing Research’, UK, Ashgate
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Context of Practice 3 Proposal Form 2013 Guidance Document Schön, D.A (1984) ‘The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action’, UK, Basic Books Noble, I. and Bestley, R. (2005) 'Visual Research', Switzerland, AVA
Finally, remember Context of Practice 3 is your opportunity to take ownership of a large percentage of your Level 6 study, deepen your knowledge of your own practice and shape the future research direction of your chosen career. It is an exciting module and I hope that you take this opportunity to produce some exciting and original research. Good Luck Richard Miles Head of Contextual Studies, 2013
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Context of Practice 3 Proposal Form 2013 Guidance Document