Introduction: Research in the Humanities, Research
Methodology, Research Papers

 What is research methodology?
 Why is it important for a student?
 Why is it important for any individual of some common sense?
 What kind of research is involved in writing a thesis for a student majoring in English Studies?

 Different definitions of research – common denominators:
 Search for knowledge
 Systematic
 Aims to produce new results
 Involves data collection and their interpretation
 Further characteristics:
 Theoretical framework
 Objectivity
 Rigour
 Controlled
 Valid and verifiable




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Application
 Fundamental or pure research
 Applied research
Objectives
 Descriptive
 Analytical


Correlational
Explanatory
 Exploratory
Inquiry mode
 Structured (quantitative)
 Unstructured (qualitative)
Theoretical framework
 Conceptual
 Empirical

 Promotes the development of logical habits of thought
 Influence on industry, business and economics
 Influence on government politics and policies

 Library research
 Analysis of historical records
 Analysis of documents
 Field research
 Observation
 Questionnaires
 Interviewing
 Laboratory research
 Experiments

 Major fields of science (Hungarian Higher Education Act,
2011, 108§ 42)
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
Theology
Agronomics
Technology
Medical science
Social sciences
Natural sciences
Arts
Humanities

Interdisciplinary
Linguistics
Literary
Studies
History
Cultural
Studies
Psycholinguistics
Sociolinguistics
Art Psychology
Etc.

 Intellectual challenge
 Joy of creative work
 Social status
 Livelihood
 Professional pressure
 Getting a degree – to prove the ability to do research
 „Publish or perish” in academia

 The science of studying how research is done scientifically
 Study of research methods
 Steps of the research process (e.g. defining the research problem, forming the hypothesis, collecting and interpreting data, writing up the report)
 Understanding the basic assumptions behind research methods

 In undergraduate courses
 In academia
 In everyday life

 Take-home essay (seminar paper)
 Student research paper (TDK)
 Undergraduate thesis (BA, MA)
 Conference presentation
 Article (in academic journals or edited volumes)
 Review




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

Objectivity
Exact and verifiable data
Clearcut definiton of the topic
Thorough knowledge of the topic’s literature
Clearcut identification of sources and citation system
Logical structure of exposition
Identification of research method(s) and/or theoretical framework


Interpretation of collected data, clearcut conclusions
Semi-formal/formal style, involving the terminology of the given field (academic English)

 Relatively narrower topics (especially for seminar papers)
 Limited expectations of novelty (except for the student research paper)
 Compilation
 Analytical/Descriptive paper proper
 Growing tendency to accept only argumentative papers
 Realistic expectations of familiarity with the literature of the field






Study


Detailed analysis
Relatively longer
Journal article


Summary of findings
Relatively shorter
Conference presentation


Plenary lecture – key-note speech, 40-45 minutes
20-minute talk
Doctoral thesis



150 pages at the minimum
Elaborates one topic in a coherent form
Not necessarily published in book form
Monograph


Book written on a single topic by one author
Varies in scope and length

 TVSZ: for BA theses specifies formal characteristics only
 Department homepage: detailed list of requirements
 Content (argumentative papers)
 Form (MLA or Chicago – Appendix 2)
 Cover (sample cover – Appendix 1)

2011. évi CCIV. törvény a nemzeti felsőoktatásról. Magyar
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Trans. Klukon
Beatrix. Budapest: Gondolat, 1992.
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A tudományelmélet és kutatásmódszertan alapjai.
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Szerkesztők és szerzők kézikönyve.
Budapest:
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