Genre Analysis
The
stakeholders, those academics who analyze technology in the educational
setting, are best represented by their written peer-reviewed articles. Arthur
M. Langer, Kim Sosin, and Hsin-liang Chen are just three of the stakeholders
whose articles represent my genre set. Their peer-reviewed articles written
give an adequate view on how the research that has already been conducted about
my topic is similar to my own. Moreover, their articles all represent how a
research argument should appeal to readers, be organized with a formal tone,
and utilize proper formats. Thus,
my genre is the academic, peer-reviewed articles written by my stakeholders.
The
peer-reviewed articles come from a strictly electronic medium. The majority is from academic journals
such as The Journal of Economic Education
and The Journal of Academic Librarianship. If not from a journal, the articles are
from prestigious departments in universities, such as Langer’s article from The
College of Education and Human Ecology at Ohio State University. Furthermore, since my genre is my
peer-reviewed researched source material, there are specific types of content
that are permitted in order to be credible. These articles are primarily researched based. The authors
of my articles are all involved in specific field of Education Technology that
have guided their interest toward researching this topic. For example, Aruthur M. Langer’s
“College Students’ Technology Arc: A Model for Understanding Progress” revolves
around his work at the Center for Technology, Innovation, and Community
Engagement at Columbia University (186). Usually, personal experiences and views are not the driving
factor behind the research but are sometimes included briefly in the
methodology. Finally, each of articles has numerous sources referenced, as
those mentioned in my genre set have over twenty-five each.
Each
article follows the same specific strategies that make the information more
credible. First off, the articles all begin with a good thesis in their
introduction. For example,
Hsin-Lian Chen in his article lays out of the main issue with his first
sentence: “With the development of information and communication technologies
(ICT), networked learning has become popular at higher education institutions…”
(14). From this sentence, it
becomes clear that the way in which technology has been implemented in
education is what the research will revolve around. Another strategy shown in
my genre is the usage of charts and tables to reveal research results. These results make the findings in the
conclusion much clearer to the reader, as the table breaks down findings into
the simplest form possible. In addition to particular strategies in my genre, a
certain style of organization is apparent, as well. Each academic article follows the same general outline. First the research problem is
introduced followed by a brief background on that issue. Next, the article explains other
information found about the topic such as their secondary sources. These sources generally come from other
studies conducted or academic journals such as “Journal of Computer Assisted Learning (Langer 196). A methodology then explains how the
experiment, survey, or observations will be conducted which all connect back to
the thesis. Finally, the results
are organized in table format with a conclusion section at the end.
My
genre calls for a specific tone and language, as well. The tone of the peer-reviewed articles
is scholarly and is very detail oriented. This tone includes formal language,
avoiding the use of pronouns such as, “I,” “you,” and “me.” Moreover, word choice is highly
important. Since the authors are
writing to other academics that often have background knowledge on the topic,
they are able to use sophisticated terms. One example term used by Sosin is “cyber-plagiarism” (285).
Moreover,
specific design requirements are favored in my genre. Each article is not only
broken up by paragraphs, but includes precise sub-headings that let the reader
know what information and what part of the study are to follow. Sub-headings include words such as
“Introduction,” “Methodology,” “Discussion,” and “Conclusion,” or something
similar such as “Concluding Observations” (Sosin 288). Moreover, often times the abstracts
before the actual work begins are italicized. Finally, the fonts vary from article to article but always
are clear and professional in appeal. Some examples of font are Times New
Roman, Courier, and Helvetica.
Overall,
for this genre to be credible to my stakeholders, the peer-reviewed articles
must do more than just summarize research that has already been revealed in the
past. The articles must utilize past research to build their own argument where
gaps in the research still lay. For example, Chen states in the beginning of his article,
“Whether or not students perceive the same value in approaches to online
instruction as their instructors is an area that requires further study”
(15). This is Chen’s way of
establishing his own claim and becomes credible since he is trying to work on
one aspect of the research that still needs further evaluation. Thus, this serves as a superior example
of my genre that is credible to other stakeholders. All peer-reviewed articles in my genre must follow similar
guidelines as these.
Based on my
analysis my final project must include the following:
·
Sub-headings
·
Significant
number of sources
·
Table
of Results
·
Abstract
·
Introduction
and Background separated
·
Professional
Tone
·
Formal
Language
Works Cited
Chen Hsin-Liang,
and James Patrick Williams. "Use Of Multi-Modal Media And Tools In An
Online Information Literacy Course: College Students' Attitudes And
Perceptions." Journal Of Academic Librarianship 35.1 (2009): 14-24. Academic Search Premier. Web. 28 Sept.
2012.
Goffe, William L., and Kim Sosin.
“Teaching with Technology:
May You Live in Interesting Times.” The Journal of Economic Education 36.3 (2005):
278-291. JSTOR. Web. 16 Sept. 2012.
Langer, Arthur M., and L. Lee
Knefelkamp. “College Students'
Technology Arc: A Model for Understanding Progress.” Theory Into
Practice 47.3 (2008): 186-196. JSTOR.
Web. 13 Sept. 2012.
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