the proposal

Forgot to blog the day i finally submitted my full thesis proposal. I was able to submit it right on time -not. There were too many stuff going on back then (and until today I'm on the process of finishing all needed requirements for the semester). So here goes my tentative research title. Hopefully it will pass the fires of scrutiny and reach publication and the next National Communication Research Student Conference.

my weird rocket ship-looking conceptual framework

chapters 1&2 (thank Heavens), sent!

statement of the problem tweak

how can metaphors of science concepts within stories in children's picture books with health themes help in spreading the public understanding of science?

giddy UFO at large

Seems like the more i read, and the more i know, the more confused i get --realizing that i need to know more. -___- makes me sing this song.

Lord I don't know which way I am going
Which way the river's going to flow
It just seems that upstream I keep rowing
Still got such a long way to go
Still got such a long way to go

-Coldplay, U.F.O

trial titles

le ambitious tweet

i've been doing this since the first day of class even though my study is not yet done. i don't know, *ambitious intent cannot be hidden* i guess.

here are some of my trial titles. they're not very awesome... yet. :)

first try: Critical Analysis of Mga kwento ni Tito Dok series: Children's storybooks with medical themes as science education literature/ health communication tools

second try: Critical Analysis of metaphors for science used within narratives in children's storybooks with health themes

third: Science and technology in children's storybooks: A critical analysis of science metaphors of health diseases and the human body

Oh! it's raining again.

12:39,
Dana

metaphor analysis

a few days ago, found journals discussing "metaphor analysis" and "systematic metaphor analysis" and it's procedures. Most authors recommend using a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches to metaphor analysis (see notecard).

i guess this will be perfect since i will look for metaphors within stories (see notecard). It was also recommended to use a combination of content analysis and narrative analysis (notecard).

after that, i wanted to find the methodology that i badly needed! (see another notecard tweet) so i moved on to other journals and read about the theory of metaphorsssssssssss...

After lots of sunshines and sunsets... found the "systematic metaphor analysis" (yay!) there were other methodologies for metaphor analysis but i guess i won't blog about them for the mean time.

I kind of tried to outline the procedure. But i did not create a full outline (because my brain suddenly went soup-like and it wouldn't function -that fraction of a second of wonderful derp-ness.)

So here goes the procedure outline

Systematic Metaphor Analysis (Schmitt, 2005)

Subjectivity and Method I: Procedure

1. Identifying the target area for metaphor analysis
2. Unsystematic, broad-based collection of background metaphors
3. Systematic analysis of a sub-group
     (a) Identification of metaphors and deconstructive segmentation of the texts
     (b) Synthesis of collective metaphorical models

Subjectivity and Method II: Interpretations

1. The Comparison of Metaphorical Concepts
2. Implicit Sub-Division and Values
3. Metaphorical Resources
4. Limits to the Use of Metaphor
5. Actions Motivated by Metaphors
6. Conflicts Between Metaphorical Models
7. The Absence of Metaphorical Models

my brain is soup but i'm happy :)

10:50,
Dana

Theory Wars

The theory wars inside my head is finally over. Or so it seems.

I wanted to blog about the endless journal articles (82 and counting), mind-bending what-on-earth discussions, and the strange swirling feeling of uncertainty in the pit of my stomach but.. nah.

So I guess my study will use the linguistic theory of metaphorical concepts by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson (1980, 1999) or the theory of metaphor using the semiotic approach.

And oh, i really wanted to use the critical approach too! So maybe that'll be the "theory of metaphor using the semiotic and critical approach." But for now I'll stick with semiotics. Since that will answer my problem of "how science concepts are represented in metaphors within stories". Not really very sure yet but it's more or less it.

9:23,

Dana

What on earth am i studying this for?

The purpose of this paper is to critically examine stories in children's picture books dealing with the theme of health and diseases using [literary] semiotic* analysis to explain how science concepts are represented in metaphors and its significance for the popularization of science**

Specifically, this study aims to achieve the following objectives:

1.      Identify the metaphors or analogies used to describe science concepts in children’s picture book stories.

2.      Categorize the metaphors or analogies used according to themes and common elements.

3.      Explain the reason for which these kinds of metaphors or analogies were used.

4.      Discover the relationships between the metaphors used and the science concepts.

5.      Describe how the metaphors are used to represent the science concepts.

6.      Determine the potential effectiveness of the metaphors for promoting science concepts in health, diseases and the human body among learners.

 Hmmmm. I'm still looking for the best approach. For now I think I'll go with the semiotic approach with [literary (?)] semiotic analysis as main methodology. [Or narrative approach with narrative analysis as methodology] *psychedelic spirals of confusion* Lemme elaborate on that later. :)

Overarching question and subquestions

These are my preliminary main question and subquestions. They are not yet perfect, and are subject to future tweaking. :)

My study aims to answer the problem of how science concepts are represented in metaphors

in children’s picture book stories with health themes? (in order to give insight to how it can be used to promote scientific literacy specifically in health, diseases and the human body among child learners)

This study aims to answer the following subquestions:

1.      What metaphors or analogies were used to describe science concepts in the stories?

2.      What common themes or elements do these metaphors use?

3.      Why are these metaphors used?

4.      What are the relationships between the metaphors and the science concepts?

5.      How are the science concepts being represented using these metaphors?

6.      How do these metaphors help popularize science?

Next stop, lemme answer the deeper question: what on earth am I studying this for? :)

Problem statement tweak

preliminary problem statement: How were metaphors used to represent scientific concepts in fictional narratives in children's storybooks with medical themes? (taken from purpose of the study, see picture below)

 

and then, the tweaked problem statement:

Okay. Now that I have defined my problem, i need to define what approach will I use: will it be semiotic? narrative? critical? And then what research design can best answer my problem? Oh yeah let's do this. 

Dear Thesis, Kitto katsu!

Today i stumbled upon a Kitkat infographic, "A World of Kitkat" which contained the many [weird and wonderful] flavors of Kitkat. I also found out that Kitkat had been famous in Japan (hence the many Kitkat japan flavors) because of the product name's similarity to "Kitto katsu!" which means "You will surely win!" And then I thought about having kitkats during thesis reading and writing breaks --sounds fun.

It's 3:01, time for some Kitto katsu! :)

Creating chapter one

Wooohooo! To help me construct my chapter one, lemme answer the following questions. I find it funny as I am answering these questions because I'm not sure if I'm trying to convince myself or tell the truth. Oh well, tried my very best to answer them, though. *wink*

Problem (conceptual): How were metaphors used to represent scientific concepts in fictional narratives in children's storybooks with medical themes?

How science concepts are represented in metaphors in stories in children’s picture books with medical themes? (to give insight to how it can be used to promote scientific literacy among child learners)

 Problem (operational) [or simplified, as I would like to put it]: How were analogies used in the stories in the Tito Dok Series?

 Analogies = metaphors used to represent scientific concepts

Stories = fictional narratives

Tito Dok Series = children's storybooks with medical themes

1.      Why is there a need to study your identified research topic? 

In my preliminary library research, I found richness in studies about children's literature, children's literature in education, & the use of narratives or science stories in the classroom to help in the development of scientific literacy. On the other hand, there is obviously a gap in research regarding children's books with science topics specifically in the Philippines. (I found one study by Aquino, n.d., Addressing the Thinking Mind: A Constructivist Approach to Informational Stories for Children. It tried to describe the meaning-making process by which children learn from informational storybooks.) My study may provide insight on using analogies in stories to promote science literacy (popularize science) in the Philippines --especially in health.

2.      Is your research a “communication” research?
 

Yes, (definitely). It is a communication research because it deals with language –the translation of technical to common language through the use of analogies/metaphors in stories. The semiotic triad is also very evident. In this study, the object will be the scientific concept; the representatem, the metaphor used to represent the scientific concept; and the interpretatem, the meaning of the relationship of the scientific concept and the metaphor.

3.      Is your research a “devcom” research?

Yes.  This study encompasses science literacy and popularization which are under education and science communication.

4.       Suppose that I am one of your classmates and I am interested about your chosen research topic. Please discuss your research to me in a clear, simple, and straightforward manner so that I can understand what you want to do in your study. (In other words: What is your problem really, and how do you proceed?)

My problem is that I want to know what how analogies were used to popularize a science concept. Since children are the main readers of children’s storybooks, the narratives or the stories that are published use a language that is common or familiar. To identify what analogies/metaphors are used, I will use content analysis. Then, to discover how these analogies/metaphors are used, I need to dissect and analyze the story(s) using narrative analysis.

5.      What are your concepts and/or variables (a.k.a. observable indicators) in this study?

Hmmm. I think I will have to look for words or phrases or sentences in the story(s) that were used as metaphor or analogy to describe a certain a scientific phenomenon or scientific concept.

6.       So, after answering your problem, what good can it offer to humanity? (In other words: So what?)

After I identify the words or phrases or sentences in the story(s) that were used as metaphor and after discovering how these metaphors were used, I would have then proved/disproved the following: (a) the metaphors contribute to the development of literacy of the nature of science; (b) the metaphors create misleading information due to translation.

In line with the first mentioned assumption, I would like to advocate for the use of metaphors in stories to popularize science concepts (specifically health/medicine/human body) in learning systems (e.g. classroom) and/or non-conventional learning techniques (e.g. kariton klasrum), as the narrative (or story) has the “rhetorical power” to persuade (Mattingly, 1998). Specifically, children’s books may be used to promote health concepts and practices. On the other hand, the critical approach will be used alongside the second assumption. A criteria for evaluation is expected to be created.

Wooohoooo!

time for some Kitkat...it's 3 am.

Purpose of the study

After tons of journal articles i think i've finally decided on my problem. ^_^

Okay. So basically i want to discover what metaphors were used to represent science concepts in storybooks. As we can see, storybooks translated technical language into common language through the use of metaphors or analogies.

I think i basically got my question nailed down. It's more or less "it" already. I'm now trying to construct my chapter one of the proposal which will include the following: (1) Rationale of the Study; (2)
Grand Tour Question and sub-questions; (3) Objectives of the Study; (4) Significance of the Study; and (5) Scope and Limitations of the Study.

[I'm not yet sure with this format because there's a variety of formats for a qualitative study that I don't know which one is best]. I guess I'll stick with this format for the meantime. To help me construct my chapter one, I might as well try to answer the following questions (from our course handout). Here goes! (weee!)

Dearth in theory

Oh lookie. Now I know why it was hard for me to find Mr. and Mrs. Theories suitable for my study. They are yet to be born. Need to investigate more.

Towards graduation and beyond

It's about time. I guess I just have to embrace beautiful and scary uncertainty and move forward. Onto my nth journal article reading session. I guess my note card tweets are a bit clumsy. Nonetheless, note-card-tweeting helped calm down me troubled mind when I seem to go round and round from one journal to another. And then today I just remembered that I have a thesis blog to journal my rather scattered manner of thinking and maybe shed some light to my wonderful thesis proposal in-the-making. (Just realized that the last sentence rhymed). Okay I have approximately 13 days to finish my proposal. Divine intervention is desperately needed.

P.S.
I'm journaling in two mediums (paper and twitter, plus one (blogger). I think I can update just two but the paper one is a bit handy especially when offline. Oh well. Three is good then.

3:56,
Dana