5.1. Have a look at the drawing of the sand clock and read the words in it.

Field

Object

Subject-matter

Goal

Tasks

Methods

Topicality/Significance

Figure 3.2. Sand clock («песчинки» твоего знания – Pearls of your knowledge)

5.2. Let’s study the upper part of the clock. Read the definitions of each of the four terms and our comments afterwards.

Term 1. The field of one’s research (investigation field) – the research context (the discipline or, if a research is interdisciplinary, a set of disciplines engaged; research school, people who work in the field).

Term 2. The object of one’s research (investigation object) – the phenomenon studied (in humanitarian disciplines it may be particular texts, one’s activities or experiences etc.).

Term 3. The subject-matter of one’s research (investigation subject-matter) – what in particular is under research (e.g. if one’s object of research is a particular text, then one is to state what elements (components) of the text one is to investigate. So it may be some particular categories (its form or content; its structure or vocabulary, its factual information or an abstract one, as, for example its themes, etc.)).

Term 4. The goal of one’s research (investigation goal) – a central (crucial) part of the sand clock. It answers the questions: why, what for the research is taking place? What’s the sense of doing it?

Our comment:

As you see with each new term followed the meaning of the research is more and more specified. With the help of these terms a researcher (a student) is following the path of self identification:

1. where is s\he? (field)

2. what s\he studies? (object)

3. where is the focus of attention? (subject-matter)

4. why the activity is carried out? (goal)

Without this student’s knowledge is rather vague, indefinite – one doesn’t definitely know what she is learning (investigating) or what have already been learnt so far.

Let us make some more specifications. One studies a particular discipline, relying completely on whatever the teacher says without giving a thought whether this new information is really grasped, which means that the ideas can be interpreted by this particular student in their own way. The logics of student’s interpretation is – the field to which the discipline belongs, the objects it studies, subject-matters that the discipline sees it its objects, the goal the discipline fulfills.

Rather often a student starts to grasp the field not at the first but last lectures on the subject. So it means that the student starts understanding the subject (earlier or later makes no difference as long as the result is reached!). By this we are telling you that in real process of understanding one moves not from the 1^st to the 4^th step of thinking: the line of understanding can be different with different people. But when understanding is with you, you should be able to place all of them in the order proposed – from general to particular (deductive logics!)

We may also add that by thinking with these 4 categories proposed here you help yourself in self identification in research (and learning). It’s like your surname, name, date of birth, mission in the world.

If you are doing something purposefully, you verbalize each step and verify it. Verifying here means fill it with new meaning (and not once). It includes your doubt, search for new wording (new ways of verbalizing). If this is being done regularly, then, while studying particular cases, you won’t mix general issues with particular ones.

 5.3. Fill in Table 3.7. in application to any subject (course) you study at present (e.g. «Introduction into future profession», etc).

Table 3.7.

No.	Focus of attention (abstract issues)	Real content (particular information on each abstract issue)
1	Field
2	Object
3	Subjеct-matter
4	Goal

 To ease your work we demonstrate how you may fill in the table on the example of the subject “Foreign language” given in Table 3.7a.

Table 3.7a.

No.	Focus of attention (abstract issues)	Real content (particular information on each abstract issue)
1	Field	Humanities, communication, intellect, practical study
2	Object	Object is complex and involves several layers (levels): a language one (mastering vocabulary, grammar etc), a speech one (text production), a social one (cultural, professional, interactive), a situational one (different types of context)
3	Subjеct-matter	Narrowed to particular topics (…), themes (…), skills (…), …
4	Goal	(see your self-assessment list and portfolio)

  If you want and have time to practice additionally in filling the table, we propose you our example in Table 3.7b. on practical but non academic activity, such as “Driving a car (I have a car and driving license, but am afraid to start”). Read our table and fill in your own one on something really topical and significant for you.

Table 3.7b

No.	Focus of attention (abstract issues)	Real content (particular information on each abstract issue)
1	Field	Psychological
2	Object	I in my car in the streets of my town
3	Subjеct-matter	My psychological state (but not only!). My adequate actions while driving my car that involve watching and reacting to signs, cars around, people passing by or across the street …
4	Goal	Driving my car on working days to my university and back.

So you know how to produce this type of thinking.

Now try yourself in reconstructing this type of thinking from the texts of others.

☼  5.4. Read an extract from a scientific text and define (reconstruct) its field of research, object, subject-matter and goal. Fill in the answers in table 3.7.