Over the past week, I have coded Seasons 16 and 18, meaning I am still unfortunately one week (2 seasons) behind in my coding schedule. Additionally, I am probably going to fall 1 season behind this week due to revising my literature review and methods; however, I will be able to get on track with the ample amount of time I will have next week.
I have also gotten a better handle on how to make my literature review stronger and clearer. It is my goal this week to finalize both this and the methods section by Thursday. My literature review needs to be substantially reorganized as well as extraneous information no longer relevant to my project needs to be cut. Both my methods section and literature review need to have all sections connect back to gratification and formula. Once these tasks are complete my paper will flow smoother and be easier to understand. The most significant change in my literature review in the past week, is that I changed my question from "What components of reality television competition programs has Survivor preformed over its 16-year run to continually appeal to traditional television viewing audiences?" to "Has Survivor become more formulaic over its 16-year run to continually gratify traditional television viewing audiences?" The new question allows me to focus in on formula, which is what I am actually researching, instead of broadly asking a question I am not fully answering.
The section I am the most hazy on is what I am going to do with all the percents and times recorded. Currently, I am planning on graphing all the percents on a basic line graph with season/episode vs. percent. If Survivor has become more formulaic, then the slopes will approach 0 on the graphs. What I need to find is a source that describes what ranges of slopes mean what (for example does -0.1 to 0.1 equate to being 0?) To figure this out, I will be meeting with Mr. Peacher sometime next week to ensure I am on the right track.
Although I have not compiled all of the data from each season I have watch together, I have noticed some trends from looking at the numbers. First, within the seasons the amount/ percent of time devoted to each portion of the episode has definitely become more consistent as the seasons go on. Additionally, the percent of confessionals devoted to the player being eliminated in an episode has increased. Other than that, I need to graph the data in order to see how it is changing.
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Catherine, I'm always so sad when your blog posts aren't funny. Moreover, the audience is about to expand for who's reading your blog, so you need to be sure you explain things for people who aren't me or the period 3 research students.
ReplyDeleteI am glad that you're noticing the recursive process of research -- in other words, I'm glad you see how important it is that you go back and make sure the literature review, question, and methods all align with each other.
Finally, I would secure a time to meet with Mr. Peacher as soon as possible. He's a very busy many, so it'll be of utmost importance that you secure a time to meet with him ASAP.
Mr. Peacher is a man not a many.
DeleteI agree with your decision to change the research question and narrow its focus. Your new research question makes it much easier to see the direction your paper is headed, and I am sure with this new question it will be much less difficult for you to make your methods section and literature review clearer and easier to follow. Regarding the percent and interpreting the data, try to show some of the numbers from the research you have already done to Mr. Peacher. This could maybe give him more concrete numbers to work off of, making it a lot easier for him to see what formulas and graphs you should be using in your project. Overall, I am happy that you’ve been able to revise your paper, and now you have a much clearer focus on your project.
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