Precapstone Tutorial

The semester prior to capstone enrollment (no earlier), you register for the noncredit MUSE E-598 Museum Studies Precapstone Tutorial. The purpose of the tutorial is to help you craft a high-quality capstone proposal. You'll receive guidance and mentoring while you iterate on your individual capstone proposal until the document reaches a satisfactory quality. However, you need to submit the required prework in order to remain registered for tutorial.

The prework demonstrates that you have done enough prior reading and research on your topic to begin the capstone process.

Prework Submission. Create a 7–10 page Word document (no first person use) that answers all the following points, in detail. Please be sure to include your full name on the Word document. Submit the Word document by email to ALMcapstones@extension.harvard.edu with “Museum Studies Prework” in the subject line.

See sidebar Timeline for mandatory submission deadlines.

  1. Working Title.
  2. Introduction. Tell your readers the intent of your capstone research and why the topic was chosen. Be sure to touch upon the topic's importance to the field of Museum Studies. You need to answer the "so what" question. Why is this topic worthy of further study?
  3. Coursework. Discuss how your museum studies courses have prepared you for this undertaking. Be specific about what you’ve learned and how you will leverage this information in your research design.
  4. Background. This section allows you to go deeper into the history and/or theoretical details of your particular topic. Previous research on your topic by other scholars is highlighted and used as evidence to support your arguments. You need to frame your work and ground it in prior research in the field. All research is built on the shoulders of previous scholars. This section is not a summary of the literature that you have reviewed.
  5. Research Methods. In this section, you discuss the research methods that you are considering using to collect data. This may include: case study, interviews with experts in the field, surveys, or an evaluation of an exhibit. It is ideal if you model your research methods on prior studies who have already proven the validity and reliability of the methods. Very few scholars create research methods from scratch.
  6. Expected Outcomes. In this section, you discuss what you hope to accomplish. Be sure to be specific about deliverables. The deliverables may take multiple forms, such as a guide for a museum, a proposal for an exhibition, or curriculum for a school partnership. These deliverables are in addition to the capstone paper itself, which is always required.
  7. Works Cited. List references that you used to create the prework document. Ideally at least 10 complete citations from professional journals, books, and websites suggestive of the depth and breadth of your background section as well as research methods.

Please note that you'll need to begin a working bibliography as soon as the capstone topic is approved [different from work cited because it includes all work that is informing your thinking on the topic, not just work used to develop the proposal]. Eventually, this document will become your final bibliography for your capstone paper, which will include all sources that you use during your research.

It is good practice to begin annotating your working bibliography in the early days of your research since you will be asked to turn this in as one of the first assignment for the capstone course. Annotating is not just author, title, publication date, etc., but includes a brief summary of the work. These are notes that you make as you read through the source. Your annotations can be as little as one or two paragraphs. They must be in your own words to ensure that you've truly understand the work.

Formatting

You are required to use MLA formatting. In addition to following the MLA specific guideline for in-text and reference citations, you need to use MLA guidelines for style and tone. You need to follow the entire professional style guide: MLA 9th edition.  See also the MLA Style Center or Purdue Online Writing Lab.