WORKSHOP 4: Turn Your Research Project into a Visual Argument

OVERVIEW:

This workshop asks you to visually represent your research question, the disciplines you’re utilizing, and the core conflict(s) disclosed by your research. This exercise is designed to help you further distill your research question and create an organized and persuasive paper. Further, through a visual medium, once again, you’re exploring your research from a different angle, creating new audiences for your argument, looking for gaps you can fill with additional research, and analyzing conflicts among your disciplinary insights. Hopefully, this exercise will produce new insights into what and how you write

1. Find or create an image(s) that represents your research question. For example, think about what the artwork in a magazine article conveys. There are content and design considerations, such as shapes, colors, font, proportion, and so forth. Further, use your creativity and have fun! For example, why not express your sense of humor or create a unique collage or montage of images? Whatever image(s) you choose, make it crystal clear how that relates to your research question.

NOTE: Technically, you should always credit your sources. Selling “borrowed” images is a copyright infringement and is illegal. But since this assignment is for “educational purposes,” you aren’t required to use only licensed images or to include image references in this assignment.

2. In two to four sentences, explain why the image is relevant and how it relates to your research question.
3. Represent with a symbol or image each of the three disciplines you are using, and somehow relate them visually to the research question image. For example, you could use arrows, background designs, changes or consistencies in font, or colors to visually connect the images in a meaningful way. The same directions in #1 above apply.
4. In two to four sentences, explain why each image is relevant to its corresponding discipline and how each relates to your research question. Make all those connections crystal clear.
5. EXPLORE CONFLICTING INSIGHTS: A precursor to creating common ground (the next STEP) is to explore the conflicts and conflicting questions, theories, ideas, and solutions that arise from interdisciplinary research. In a paragraph, talk about the major conflict that has presented itself in your research. Then talk about any additional conflicts between the disciplinary insights that have emerged in your research.