How to analyze the subject in research
Chapters
- I/ Recognize the gender of the question asked: analysis of the verb form
- II/ Analyze the “secondary term” of the subject
- III/ Analyze the concept of the program
- IV/ Rephrase the subject
what is subject of analysis:
process of subject analysis with examples
I/ Recognize the gender of the question asked: analysis of the verb form
A) What does “Analyze a subject” mean?
what does analyze mean
To analyze the subject is to define and explain each of the terms of the subject , so as to avoid any misinterpretation and any off-topic, and not to miss the specificity of the question asked. These elements of analysis should be reused for the introduction, of which they constitute the essential first stage.
B) Recognize the type of subject you are dealing with
A distinction will essentially be made between:
– subjects of the definitional type ;
– those who question the obligation or the duty to do something;
– those who question the possibility of an action or a thing;
– those concerning a question of law .
To know what type of subject we are dealing with, we must first pay attention to the interrogative verb form of the subject.
C) Pay attention to the verb form and analyze it
To be sure of the type of subject or question posed, as well as their specificity, one must begin by paying attention to the verbal form that structures the subject (“Can we…?”, “Do we have to…?”, etc.),
II/ Analyze the “secondary term” of the subject
A) What is called the “secondary term”?
The "secondary term" is opposed to the notion of the program which appears in any subject: it is the term which seems the least important and which we wrongly tend to neglect, whereas it is this which makes the specificity of the subject.
Examples
In the question: "Is language an instrument of communication?" “, or again:” Can conscience be the guide of my action? ", we will distinguish the notion in the program or major term (language, consciousness), from the secondary or minor term ("instrument", "guide"), which we will first endeavor to analyze
B) How to analyze the secondary term?
In Philosophy classes , the very simplicity of this term often makes it difficult to define.
To do this, two simple techniques can be used:
– reuse the term in a more common sentence in order to better see and explain the meaning of this word;
Examples
For the subject "Is language an instrument of communication?" “, we can use the term “instrument” as follows: “a violin is a musical instrument” (which is used to make music). To facilitate the analysis of the question "Can conscience be the guide of my action?" »,
– use concrete examples.
Examples
For the subject "Is language an instrument of communication?" , one can think of a tourist guide , a mountain guide which are objects or people who have or give sufficient knowledge to move towards the goal where one wishes to go.
We then begin to see more precisely what the question posed implies.
III/ Analyze the concept of the program
A) What not to do
One should not, from the introduction, want to say too much about the studied concept - in particular if on this concept one has knowledge in great numbers: if one says too much about it from the beginning, the development will then be of much more difficult to develop.
B) What to do
It is therefore necessary, on the contrary, at the stage of the analysis of the subject, to stick to simple and preliminary things, namely:
– possibly recall the etymology, at least if it is significant;
Example
Knowing that the word "work" comes from the Latin tripalium , which means an instrument of torture, can be useful to shed light on at least one aspect of work.
– propose a simple, and even naive, definition which will serve as a starting point for reflection instead of giving an absolutely definitive definition which, on the contrary, risks “blocking” reflection and preventing any progress in it.
Example
We can define freedom to begin with as “the ability to do what we want or what we want without constraint”, even if this initial definition has to be clarified or questioned during the reflection.
IV/ Rephrase the subject
Once all the elements of the subject have been analysed, we can propose a reformulation of it, in order to clarify it and clarify its meaning – and to show that we have seen its specificity.
This analysis and this reformulation should help to see and bring to light the problem, which will constitute the second essential element of the introduction as well as the guiding thread of the assignment.
Example
can be reformulated, after analyzing its different terms, as follows: "Is language really an object external to me , which would be defined (like a telephone) by a single purpose : to communicate, to is to express and convey my thoughts to others? »
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