{"id":632,"date":"2012-03-07T16:42:23","date_gmt":"2012-03-07T16:42:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.johncanning.net\/?p=632"},"modified":"2012-03-07T16:42:23","modified_gmt":"2012-03-07T16:42:23","slug":"are-some-topics-off-limits-for-undergraduate-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/johncanning.net\/wp\/?p=632","title":{"rendered":"Are some topics off limits for undergraduate research?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This is a draft version of the my forthcoming editorial for\u00a0D\u00e9but: the undergraduate journal of languages, linguistics and area studies<\/a>. I have published it here as I think it is of wider interest than the LLAS community. Are there some topics undergraduates should simply not attempt?<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Are some topics intrinsically too difficult for undergraduate students to write about? This question has been raised in some form by two reviewers in the past few months where a student has submitted a paper to the undergraduate journal D\u00e9but\u00a0<\/a>which either engages with very complex ideas or attempts to challenge a well-established theory and offer an alternative. Should scholars lay off trying to dismantle received wisdom and attempting to make theoretical breakthroughs during their undergraduate education? Can undergraduate researchers genuinely advance the discipline? One might argue that if an idea is really good enough to be taken seriously by the academic community it is good enough to be published in a journal which is not restricted to undergraduates.<\/p>\n

One of the most memorable incidents of my own academic career took place as an undergraduate. I was in a tutorial with a professor and three other students. I can\u2019t remember what the trigger was, but he turned to one of my fellow tutees and responded, \u201cYou may be cleverer than me, but I have been reading this stuff for the past fifteen years.\u201d He pointed to the books by Marx on his bookshelf and told us how difficult it was to really understand Marx, notably because his output was so enormous. If you wish to really understand something you have to do a lot of reading \u2013 that takes time.<\/p>\n

But should a lack of time to read the entire literature prevent publication in an undergraduate journal such as D\u00e9but? When we ask people to review for D\u00e9but we send them a form which reminds them that this is an undergraduate journal and that their expectations should take account of this.\u00a0 Some reviewers feel that certain topics should not be attempted at all. Others suggest that well thought out and plausible arguments and theories developed by undergraduates should be published, irrespective of whether or not the arguments are fully polished or the writer does not have a full grasp of the existing literature or that their ideas would not make publication in a non-undergraduate journal.<\/p>\n

Although undergraduate journals have become increasingly popular in recent years expectations remain unclear. In the first D\u00e9but editorial in spring 2010 I conceived of the aims of the journal as follows:<\/p>\n

D\u00e9but not only aims to showcase existing research and scholarship \u2014 it is also a form of training for the aspiring academic. Whatever its advantages and limitations peer review forms an important part of the process by which academic knowledge comes into being \u2013 it is perhaps a matter of concern therefore that many students graduate unaware of how the articles which appear in journals came to be there. The articles in this first volume are \u201cfirst class\u201d essays made even better. (Canning 2010: ii).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

D\u00e9but is a\u00a0fifth issue is a useful time to return to the aims and objectives of the journal, but equally importantly a good time to remind ourselves of what D\u00e9but is not. D\u00e9but was and still is an undergraduate journal. Undergraduate journals complete the research cycle for undergraduate students giving them an outlet for their work familiarising them with the (imperfect) peer review process (Walkington in Corbyn 2008). I hope that everyone who publishes in D\u00e9but benefits from the process and that readers enjoy the articles.<\/p>\n

I sincerely hope that some of today\u2019s D\u00e9but contributors will become academic stars of the future. What we see in D\u00e9but today may be the beginnings of paradigm-shifting work for the future.<\/p>\n

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References<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Canning, J. (2010) Editorial: Introducing D\u00e9but: D\u00e9but: the undergraduate journal of language linguistics and area studies<\/em> 1.1 pp. i-ii<\/p>\n

Corbyn, Z. (2008) Let students enjoy the power of print. Times Higher Education<\/a>,<\/em> 7 August 2008.<\/p>\n\n\n