Expert Document Problem Statement:

Format 1: Prospective history graduate students have access to the basic requirements for the graduate program, but not any sort of additional resources that will make the application process easier. Therefore, I will try to incorporate these resources together in a document along with the basic requirements.

Format 2: Ideally, the graduate school application process would be relatively painless, but by accounts, it is far from it. Therefore, I will design a booklet that seeks to ease the process.

Format 3: Essentially, history undergraduate students currently applying to graduate school here lack aids that would make the process easier, and so potentially suffer all manner of frustration as a result of the process.

Lay Document Problem Statement:

Format 1: History undergraduates are aware that the history graduate program exists, but likely do not know exactly what it entails. In order to increase awareness of the graduate program, I would like to design a booklet that essentially explains what it is all about and the potential benefits tied to it.

Format 2:

EDIT: Apparently Blogger ate half my post at the time I published it, so I'll add the rest as best as I can remember it later.

As per the planning worksheet:

The particular audience for my lay document are history undergrads who possess the potential to become history grad students, but as of yet lack the interest. Hopefully the doc will create

For my expert document, the audience will be those individuals that are interested or just beginning the process of applying to grad school.

For the lay document, I know the problem to be pressing, because I've never been approached with information about grad school here, and what I know comes from what I've been able to find, or what grad students I've talked to have told me. In terms of difficulties, it's rather hard to really get interested in a program if you lack even a basic knowledge of what it's about, or what makes it special.

In terms of the expert document, there is information available online, but this information is such that it is more of a reference than anything, and doesn't function as a very useful tool for someone actually going through the application process. If a student wants to know more of what they are doing, they are essentially at the mercy of their advisor.

Both documents will be booklets, with the lay document possibly featuring a sort of splash poster of some sort to accompany it.

The documents are intended to be a package deal, distributed by advisors to their students as needed.

The lay document will attempt to relate a bit of what the graduate History program here is all about, and in doing so, encourage interest in it. The intended outcome is to essentially create an audience for the expert document.

The expert document aims to provide not only the information already available, but also useful advice, relevant contact information, and tools like checklists and lists of deadlines (if feasible). The intended outcome is to make it a less stressful proposition for a student to go through the application process.

In the time that's passed since Thursday, I've contacted Dr. Carney and Moise. Hopefully I should be hearing back from them soon. In addition, I've discovered that I'm also going to be talking to Dr. Marks, who coordinates graduate advising here. On my own, I discovered a guide online that is annoyingly similar to what I want to do, at least in purpose and content, if not in format. I've yet to discover if there is an actual printed resource available already to the department. If there is, it really isn't that big of a deal for the purposes of this project, and the department being able to use my material was really just a possible added bonus. In addition, I've been trying to think a bit about the sort of material I want to include in the document, in addition to the sort of stuff presented in the existing guide.

Now that I have a direction to head in, I think the frequency of my posts should pick up. It's been suggested to me that perhaps an academic paper might be suitable for me, given that if I get my wish of going to graduate school one day, I will be doing a significant amount of such writing. More specifically, I'm working on a sort of set of guidelines for what is required for entry into the graduate program for history at Clemson. As I'd like to enter a grad program for history at some point in the future, this will be beneficial to me as well as students currently considering grad school here. I plan to discuss the matter with Dr. Carney and with my advisor, Dr. Moise. I'd like to find out what actually exists, and if there is any actual need of such a document in the history department. If they actually need a sort of introductory booklet to the grad program, I'd love to do one for them.

Interview Preparation

When preparing for an interview, it is important to have some sort of rough idea at the very least of what sort of information you hope to take away from it. While it is inevitable that one can't prepare an ultimate, all encompassing set of questions for an interview, one can at least make a sort of general outline to follow. In thinking about what I will ask my interviewee (whenever I manage to corner one) these are the sort of general questions I would ask:

-What sort of educational background do you come from?

-What sort of interests prompted you to go into this line of work? (look for interviewee to run away with interview possibly)

-What brought you to the point you are now?

-Describe briefly if you can, exactly what you do here?

-How long have you held your position here?

-Just what sort of unique skills do you bring to your position?
>In your opinion, just what was it that made you attractive to your current employer, or past employers?

I'm hopeful that if I can keep the interviewee from running away with the interview, that I can gather some useful information. Granted, that's all just theory if I can't find one.

On the Hunt

At the moment I'm still attempting to pin down an appropriate interviewee. I'm looking for an individual that has worked in position doing historical research for a company, or barring that, in a position that entails producing documents of external or internal consumption. I've been having trouble locating someone that works in that sort of position that would be willing to speak to me.
In any case, in terms of what I'm looking to do when I graduate, I'd love to go to graduate school, but I don't see being able to afford to do so immediately. Instead, I'm going to be seeking a job with a company that has use for my abilities. Hopefully I can find one in the Upstate area, as I've come to like this area, and wouldn't mind living here sometime.