Today on the lecture I completed the actual ethics form. This form is needed to the university to consider all the ethical aspects of any research. My study had been classified as Risk Category 1. As far as I understand, this category normally applies to the study, where there is no primary data collection such as questionnaires or interviews. My research will be fully based on the literature review. I am going to evaluate existing literature and gather data from books or any other relevant academic resources. The results of my research will benefit society by generally improving knowledge and understanding of Andy Warhol’s oeuvre impact. According to this, now I need to set a clear plan of how I intend to collect relevant information. This semester the most important skills are time-management, planning and organising skills. I understand that I chose a challenging and hard topic to research, and there are a lot of materials available on my subject area. By keeping it all in mind, I need start doing my research and focus on the work.
The first thing that I need to clarify for myself is the meaning of the notion of ‘critical reading‘. As I have mentioned before, my research is based on the literature review, so I need critically analyse everything that I am going to read. The main point of this is to consider any information not as fact, but as the argument of the writer. I need to challenge and question everything I read. I also need to ask myself why I am reading certain material and what my purpose is. I always need to keep in mind what information am I require. Academic reading requires concentration on a deeper level. By reading the certain book or article, it is important to identify arguments made by the author and analyse other concepts and theories. There are some useful questions that need to be asked while reviewing a text:
Considering the source
· What is the author’s background in this subject?
· To whom is the author writing (determine the purpose of the text)?
· What kind of publication is this?
· Is the text effective?
Recognising assumptions and implications
· What is the thesis or main idea?
· What are the supporting points that create the argument? How do they relate to the thesis?
· What are the examples used as evidence for the supporting points?
· What sources are used? What other theorists or researchers are referred to?
· What has the author assumed to be true?
Recognising intent and attitude
· What is the author’s attitude, tone or biases
· Does the author mean what he says or is he making his point in a roundabout way through humor, satire, irony, or sarcasm?
· Which of the author’s statements are facts? opinions?
Analysing arguments
· Which of the author’s statements does he support? Which does he leave unsupported?
· What conclusions does the author reach?
· Of the author’s conclusions, which are justified? Which ones are not justified
· How can I use it to develop my own argument?
A critical reader:
→ Does not believe everything he reads
→ Questions everything which doesn’t make sense to him
→ Questions some things even though they do make sense to him
→ Rereads when he thinks he may have missed something
→ Admits that the effect on him of what the author says may be caused more by the author’s style of writing than by the facts presented
→ Analyses arguments
→ Has good reasons for believing some things and disbelieving others – for agreeing with some authors and disagreeing with others
Original sources are here:
http://ollie.dcccd.edu/Services/StudyHelp/StudySkills/sub/rdgcri.htm
http://ctl.utsc.utoronto.ca/twc/sites/default/files/CriticalReading.pdf
In general, I hope that all these findings and tips will help me to read critically and more effective within the given time. The main conclusion that I made is that I really need to think about what I am reading and why I am reading that. By the end of this week I am planning to read some books from the library and some journal articles from the university database.
Anastasija Jermolajeva 
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