WWC’s A Beginner’s Guide to Academic Research

We are pleased to present  WWC’s A Beginner’s Guide to Academic Research!

This pandemic project has been over 2 years in the making and we hope it will greatly assist any of our readers who are eager to conduct in-depth research but may be at a loss where to start. 

Go to the Guide Here

The guide is split into 6 parts:

• Introduction and Table of Contents
• Part 1: Getting Started
• Part 2: Searching for Sources Online 
• Part 3: Evaluating Sources
• Part 4: Navigating Academic Sources 
• Part 5: Recognizing Your Limits

Each portion of the guide has links to connect to the previous and next sections. While it is possible to view tumblr pages on phones and tablets through the app, we highly recommend viewing this guide via browser on desktop whenever possible. Tumblr page formatting is better suited for browsers and each section is very dense with information, which will make scrolling in the app or on your dashboard difficult. 

Future FAQ/ Discussion: 

As noted in part 5 of the guide, for the next two weeks, we will be keeping an eye on the notes for this post. If you have further questions or comments about academic research, drop them here and we will select the most pertinent to respond to in a later post. 

If you find this guide helpful, we request that you consider tipping the moderators below for the work and time required from conception, to drafting, formatting and debugging. Their ko-fis are listed below: 

Rina: https://ko-fi.com/arcanabean

Marika: https://ko-fi.com/5h1njuu

@questbedhead said:

Would it be out of place for a non-binary indian hindu person living in the states to wear a nath/nose ring with a chain connecting to the ear casually? I know some desi people have spoken out about that style of nose ring becoming trendy in the goth and boho scenes, but would it be strange for a desi person to wear them outside of a special occasion like a wedding?

Remember: India is Diverse - Do your research!!

Nose rings with chains started with the Mughals. In the part of Karnataka where my family is from, outside of the context of bridal jewelry, the nose chain plus nathori style piercings are more commonly associated with Muslim women, particularly those living in rural areas. More conservative Hindus, particularly Brahmins like my family, avoid nath with chains for their association with Islam alone, but up North, where syncretism between cultural aspects of Islam and Hinduism are more common, the distinction is less important. 

How South Asians use clothes, jewelry and accessories to signal things like marital status, religion, ethnicity and so on would doubtless require a ridiculous amount of research to compile in one place, so you’re best doing specific research on your own, including talking to people who share your character’s background. In Ayurvedic medicine, nostril piercings are associated with fertility, hence why the nose ring is a preferred form of jewelry for married Hindu women.

With things like bindis, bangles and nath that can both be easily subjected to cultural appropriation, but also reclaimed by people, especially those from marginalized groups, in more modern contexts, research will, as I often say, save you 9 times out of 10.

- Marika.

Not problematic, but odd

I wouldn’t say it’s inappropriate, but I’d find it strange simply because they’re a bit awkward to wear in my opinion and I’ve never seen them outside of weddings.

- SK

All from Ingrid’s Notes on Wordpress, direct link here.