Memo38+--+Primary+Data+No.1

Thomas Solley STSH 4980-01 Senior Thesis Costelloe-Kuehn 11/2/2014

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__ Memo 38 -- Primary Data __ #1 " (interview transcript, close reading of a primary document, etc.)" ... I am assuming (though late) that this should be a transcript of the primary stuff used in my Thesis -- which happens to be data I do not yet have. I have not yet conducted an interview -- the five I am hoping to conduct will, hopefully, re-inform the data I have managed to find. My hope was that the interviews would point me in the direction of new data for me to analyze -- and as a result, that I could have time after the interviews to conduct a "re-analysis" of my prior assumptions. Given how little time there is left, I do not see that as being possible (granted, given how little time I have there is little room for me to make a conclusion of ANY sort, I feel, as I do not have the Empirical or Theoretical literatures to back-up my Thesis thus-far.

There are some papers and sources which have guided my thoughts thus-far -- those were all listed in the October 17th and 19th streams -- and for which I have sought interviews to gain a better understanding and depth than what little I currently have.

Rather than re-stating the articles that have guided me thus far -- as I do not know if their contributions will still be relevant after I have conducted more study (e.g. STHV and Annual Review) -- I shall instead here describe the expected significance and data I hope to get from my hopeful, upcoming interviews.

Of the five interviews I seek to obtain (Dolan, Gomez/Morrison, Bostrum, Snow, and Selmer), I look to Gomez/Morrison as the singular most important one I can gain information from. As these experts have already done extensive research into the topic I am only now pursuing, it behooves me -- with so little time on my hands -- to get as much knowledge as I can and to build-from the work that has already been done, rather than seeking to "re-invent the wheel." With only a few weeks left in the semester, I do not have the time to "reinvent the wheel," to start my research from a full "ground up" perspective. I am hoping that my questions to these two researchers can solidify the work and theories I have thus-far obtained (see link to UWash questions; < [] >), which will be QUITE the credibility-boost to my Thesis!

Even if my ideas thus-far do not align with their data, then it will be useful for me to explain as such -- as well as the possible reasons WHY there may be changes from their models! However, it may be that these two do not Y/N-polarize my ideas, but rather re-direct me off to reading their own work and the work done by others in academics -- which while still useful (as more sources are good, especially credible ones in academia), I worry about the amount of time I have left for this term. Will I have the time to read-through 73 sources as the UWash researchers did? No, I probably will not -- so the more streamlined this process can be, the better. -->> I should probably include, in one of my follow-up emails to them, that time for me is limited -- and to ask for what the "bare minimum required" would be (in terms of background sources) that I could use to bolster my paper...Good catch!