Video essay scaffolding in-class exercise for Nov 6

“[The researcher] must aim not just at answering a question,

but at posing and solving a problem that [one] thinks others should also recognize as worth solving.” - Booth

The following are all important components to a successful argument. You and your group should be in conversation together about them, working through tricky parts and refining together.

Everyone must submit the following (not just a group leader).

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• List your group member names.
• State the general topic area your essay will focus on (for example, gender in multiplayer games or embodiment and play in domestic spaces).
• Hone down into a specific question you will answer.

       Make sure:

• • It is answerable, and answerable given your time/resources. I strongly encourage you to think about a specific case you will explore the question through (for example, a particular platform or game community).
    • You need to think carefully about what data you’d need to answer your question. Break down the parts of your question and think carefully about the data it requires to be tackled. What do you actually need? How would you get it? If you cannot get it (which you sometimes can assess at this stage or decide later during your lit review) you need to re-scope/change/refine your question.
  • The question is more than something easily answered by description. You should be undertaking critical analysis and situated within a larger scholarly conversation.
  • There is literature out there that will assist you in addressing it (or provide the data if you can’t collect it yourself). See next key point.

• Undertake a preliminary lit review. Remember to follow the guidelines in the essay specs. You should be watching for:
  • • Scholarly literature that gives you context in which to situate your research question.
    • Peer-reviewed research that will help you answer your question.

List three potential pieces of literature (full citations in a standard format) for your essay with a sentence or two about their relevance.

• Give a clear provisional answer to what is at stake in the question you are asking and why the answer matters. These should both be within the framework and focus of this class.