From Michaelangeo to Aliens

I really like the way Luker illustrates the need to make a connection between one’s new area of research and the research that already exists in that field in Salsa Dancing into the Social Sciences. She uses the example of a cocktail party where a person would enter themselves into a conversation about Michelangelo and find a way to turn that into a conversation about aliens. Her analysis shows that it is not enough to just have a research question but that it must be framed in a way that slides into an already existing “conversation” or research area in order for the research to have long-lasting meaning (66). This point in her book has reminded me how important conducting a literature review will be in order to determine what kinds of research exist on my topic and what sort of questions I should ask to join the conversation.

Luker, K. (2008). Salsa Dancing into the Social Sciences. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.