THEOLOGICAL THESIS & RESEARCH PREPARATION

THEOLOGICALTHEOLOGICALTHESIS & RESEARCHTHESIS & RESEARCH

PREPARATIONPREPARATION

8 Oct. 2008

Tom Power

Foundational QuestionsFoundational Questions• What is your topic?

• Why does it interest you?

• From what disciplinary perspective will you approach it? (theological, pastoral, biblical, historical)

• What questions emerge as you reflect on the topic?

• Where would you begin searching for relevant sources?

StrategiesStrategies

• 1. The Question

• 2. The Method

• 3. The Sources

• 4. The Conversation

• 5. The Claim

1. The Question1. The Question• Good theological research begins

with an inquiry, a question, a topic of investigation

• “Faith seeking understanding” expressed in questions

• Anselm posed the question: “Why did God become man?” He answered it in his book, Cur Deus Homo

• Key Point: Begin with a carefully formulated research question

Question: ExampleQuestion: Example

• 1.Identify your topic: – Luther’s understanding of grace

• 2.Reformulate it as a question: – “Was Luther’s concept of grace a distinctly

‘Protestant’ doctrine?

• 3.Extend, refine, & clarify the question: – “…or was it inherent in the Augustinian

tradition that grounded his study of the New Testament”

• 4. Explain why the question interests you and why is might concern a wider theological audience

2. The Method2. The Method• Questions lead to methods• If you ask questions in a particular

way, then you are proceeding from a methodology or research perspective

• Range of methodologies: liberation, feminist, evangelical, exegetical, historical

• Methodology chosen will impact conclusions

• Key Point: Identify the methodology you will use

3. The Sources3. The Sources• Questions can only be answered by

engagement with texts: ad fontes• Familiarity with key theological &

biblical sources + specific ones relating to your topic

• Facility with library and online searching techniques: location, evaluation, use

• Requires familiarity with documentation, citation styles, avoidance of plagiarism, and bibliographic conventions

• Key Point: Become familiar with sources, their location, & use

Tools for Research

Tutorial

Bibliographic Format

4. The Conversation4. The Conversation• Research means entering into a

conversation involving you, the sources, other theologians, & the topic/question posed as the point of reference

• Conversation driven by: research question, methodology chosen, & sources identified

• Based on the research question posed, with whom do you want to have the conversation?

• Key Point: Think about your question, your methodology & your sources to determine your conversation partners

5. The Claim5. The Claim• Culmination: Research claim or hypothesis• Path from question formulation to research

claim declaration: sees you accessing sources & narrowing topic in tandem

• Difficult but critical stage: expanding bibliography & narrowing topic simultaneously

• Narrowing a natural/logical process by virtue of continuous questioning, refinement

• Survey literature (summarize in thesis statement)

• Identify gap & carve out your research claim• Key Point: Broad sifting of sources +

narrowing of topic leads to your hypothesis

ResourcesIn the preparation of this guide I have drawn on thefollowing sources:• Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Research

Papers, Theses, and Dissertations 7thed. (Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 2007)

• Lucretia B. Yaghjian, Writing Theology Well: A Rhetoric for Theological and Biblical Writers (New York: Continuum, 2006)

• Barber, C. & R.M. Krauss, An Introduction to Theological Research: A Guide for College and Seminary Students (Lanham: University Press of America, 2000)

• D. Core, The Seminary Student Writes (St. Louis: Chalice Press, 2000)