PhD Wednesday: Probability and Statistics and Jonah Hill
I’m an English PhD student at the University of Memphis. The following blurb was from Week 10 of last semester’s ENGL 8001 Academic Genres courses where we submitted weekly write-ups on one aspect of our readings. This excerpt covered the chapters on grant writing and research questions respectively. Each section ended w/ two questions we had to incorporate into that week’s Discussion Posts. Apparently, that week I had three.
When I used to advise students, I would always steer non-math majors towards Probability & Statistics rather than the standard Math 1010 because I felt ProbStat was more practical. We asses probabilities all day, everyday. I say all that to say there should be a math class for English majors where we only read articles that have quantitative research. Page 108 of the Ochsner, Hug, and Daniel article felt like someone poured molasses into thick oatmeal. But it’s not their fault; I can’t read complex statistics.
The “Craft a Compelling Question” chapter was interesting because it felt like that’s how Folsom brainstorms research questions for her own work. I realized I wasn’t sure what the five main books were in my field of study. That said, I like how the pursuit of a specific question led to a small bibliography of seminal works on the topic, organized by theme.
Reading “Identify Grant Makers” felt like reading in-class exercises from a professor committed to helping her students graduate the course. The steps are easy; the competitive element is hard. I like the idea of ‘no repeats’ since it forces students to be creative and proactive with their work. If necessity is the mother of invention, then deadlines are the father. And kicking people out who miss the mark is next level workshopping: “Everyone is helping everyone else. Those who fail to complete this assignment are barred from continuing the workshop.” Something about the word ‘barred’ provides the appropriate level action taking place in the session. The word also connotes a serious tone that hints at something beyond mere grant writing.
Grant writing seems like a useful skill. It also seems like some weird tournament based on who could answer the most narrow set of questions the best. The “Lockdown Those Criteria” article provided an in-depth glance at how picky and ridiculous grant writing can be. But it’s like what one of my former classmates said about MLA format, “it sounds picky and ridiculous because it is picky and ridiculous.”
Questions
1. Good questions seem to be at the heart of good research. What’s a poignant, thoughtful research question that you’ve come across as a grad student?
2. On the verge of quitting his job and moving to Vegas in hopes of becoming a professional gambler, a full-time grant writer is roped into a world of murder and betrayal where he must use his research abilities to save his family and his university. But when it comes out that he is the main suspect in the disappearance of a fellow professor, he must choose between understanding the man he is and chasing the man he wants to be. Does this sound like a fun, grant writing-based movie? If so, should the main character be played by Jonah Hill for dark comedic notes or Letitia Wright for more of an action feel?
3. What five works would you use to craft a research question in your field?