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Notion Press Old No. 38, New No. 6 McNichols Road, Chetpet Chennai - 600 031 First Published by Notion Press 2018 Copyright © H.V. Deshpande 2018 All Rights Reserved. eISBN 978-1-64324-754-0 This book has been published with all efforts taken to make the material error-free after the consent of the author. However, the author and the publisher do not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause. No part of this book may be used, reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Dedicated to The living memory of my grandmother, Late. Mrs. Janakibai Vaman Kulkarni who lived a life of hardship and devotion to the Almighty, almost throughout the last centuary, making us aware of the spiritual element underlying the reality. Contents Prologue Dialogue Acknowledgement Part I Philosophy of Research 1. Some Significant Definitions 2. Literature, Philosophy and Research 3. Objectives of Research 4. Research and Development 5. Research and Global Competition 6. Types of Research 7. Qualities of a Good Researcher Part II Areas of Research in Literature and Language A. Research in Literature 1. Forms of Literature 2. Literary Theories and Critical Concepts 3. Interpretation of Literary Works 4. History of Literature 5. Indian Writing in English 6. Translations 7. Literatures in English B. Research in Language 1. Phonetics, Phonology and Philology 2. Vocabulary, Grammar and Structure 3. Growth and Decay of a Language or a Script 4. Dialects 5. Language Teaching Methods 6. Linguistics and other Sciences C. Recent Developments 1. Comparative Literature 2. Interdisciplinary Research 3. Diasporic Literature 4. Reader Response Theories 5. Reception and Influence Theories Part III Research Methodology 1. Selection of a Topic 2. Significance and Objectives of the Study 3. Hypothesis and the Approach (Method of the Study) 4. Initial Synopsis with Chapter Scheme 5. Collection of Data: Primary and Secondary Sources 6. Among the Friends: The Library 7. Taking and Making Notes: The Card System 8. Note Taking and Note Making 9. Documentation: Citation of References 10. Preparation of the First Draft 11. Final Draft, Conclusion, Final Synopsis and Epigraphs 12. Viva Voce 13. The Role of the Guide and of the Student Part IV Research Paper Part V Epilogue Works Cited Abbreviations Roman Numerals Prologue Research in literature is different from that in natural and social sciences. It depends more on the literary scripts than on field surveys, experiemnts and social surveys. However, any literary work of art is incomplete without reader’s response. A work of art is born as an aesthetic entity after the reader’s response. Its journey through the appreciation process is a cultural phinomenon. The literary taste takes its own shape through the reader’s response. In literary research it is necessary to take into account the transformations in the literary taste. In this sense, research in literature is necessarily a culture-centric study. Therefore, a reasearcher has to study not only good works of art, but the average or ordinary works of art also. Perhaps the respresentative works of art of the respective cultures may be found among such average and ordinary works of art. The investigation of the literary culture of different ages can be done through the study of the reader’s response to the classical and popular literature. For example, a comparative study of how the reflection of urban reality got its expression in literature of the different ages can be undertaken. Dante used suffering city as a simile for hell; and T.S. Eliot used the image of a city as the mo