WHAT IS RESEARCH?

- The systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to
establish facts and reach new conclusions.

Research is "creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the
collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a
particular attentiveness to controlling sources of bias and error.
- Creative way to generate new concepts, methodologies and understandings. This could include synthesis
and analysis of previous research to the extent that it leads to new and creative outcomes.

WHY IS RESEARCH IMPORTANT? - Research plays a vital role in our lives, from healthcare and
education to technology and social policy. It is a process of investigation aimed at finding solutions to
problems, expanding knowledge, and advancing our understanding of the world.

HOW TO WRITE A GOOD RESEARCH TITLE

The “title” should be
Descriptive, Direct, Accurate, appropriate, Interesting, Concise, Precise, Unique, and Should not be
misleading.

Tips for Writing an Effective Research Paper Title

1. Make sure your research title describes;
a) the topic,
b) the method,
c) the sample, and
d) the results of your study.
2. Avoid unnecessary words and jargon. Keep the title statement as concise as possible. You want a title
that will be comprehensible even to people who are not experts in your field.
3. Make sure your title is between 5 and 15 words in length.
4. Use a descriptive phrase to convey the purpose of your research efficiently.
5. Most importantly, use critical keywords in the title to increase the discoverability of your article.

IMPORTANCE OF RESEARCH TITLE

 Forms First Impression
 Increases Discoverability
 Provides Clarity and Focus
 Attracts Audience/ Readers
 Establishes Relevance

CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD RESEARCH TITLE

1. It should predict the content of the research paper.
2. It should be interesting to the reader.
3. It should reflect the tone of the writing.
4. It should contain important keywords that will make it easier to be located during a keyword search.
DANTE’S TENTH CIRCLE
by DEBORAH TENNEN

In Ravenna, Italy, archivists recently discovered a lost canto of Dante’s Inferno — what appears to be the tenth circle of Hell. The
ninth circle was previously understood to be the lowest point of Hell reached by Dante and his guide Virgil before ascending on
their journey toward Paradise. A portion of the 14th-century manuscript, translated into English prose, is reproduced below.

---
“Virgil,” I cried, “Those shades—burning, immersed in human excrement, trapped in icy waters. I thought I had witnessed the
basest of all sinners. So who are these figures I now see? Do my eyes betray me, or are their heads fully absorbed in the
derrières of others? And who are these individuals whose bottoms are swollen due to the immense size of the heads there
immersed?”

A New York Times Bestseller.

“Johannes is a hero for all time.”

— Juanita Giles, NPR, Books We Love
“Your reaction is sound,” he replied, “for it is an atrocious sin these shades have committed. Those whose enlarged heads are
occupying the derrières of others were graduate students while they lived. As you well know, sinners must eternally suffer the
wrong they committed in life; and thus their heads are swollen from illusions of grandeur. As for the position of these heads, I
need only reveal the identity of second group: tenured professors. While alive, these elders allowed many heads to be
consumed in their rear ends, and they now endure this punishment eternally.”

I wished to flee from the sight, but many questions still burned within me. Virgil sensed my desire to understand. “Go on,” he
urged, “you may speak directly to the shades. But make haste, as I fear that you will contract that wretched condition of
pretentiousness by proxy.”

I cautiously approached the shade closest to me, standing tense so as not to tremble: “What was your discipline?” I asked.
“What brought you to this place?” The shade’s head was fully obscured, so his professor spoke for him as he had done, too, in
life: “This student occupied himself with the implications of Heideggerian philosophy in contemporary humanistic discourse,” he
responded.

There ended that interaction as I could not have cared any less than I did in that moment.

“A key barometer of the literary climate.” —The New York Times

I stopped then at an elderly derrière, wrinkled from its years of experience yet swollen more than any other I had yet seen. “And
why is it that your behind is inflated more than all the others?” I inquired. The professor responded: “this shade was my pupil,
studying toward a PhD in postmodern reinterpretations of 11th-century lyric poetry.”

I was slowly beginning to comprehend. The more inconsequential a field of study, the more swollen the head, and in turn, the
derrière.

Sensing that I understood, my guide urged me to join him and leave this terrible circle. But there remained one shade I could
not ignore. A unique sight, her head was not in the rear end of another shade. Instead, she was contorted in a way I did not
think feasible—her head was inserted into her very own posterior. I briefly paused, turning toward Virgil, but his back was to
me; he did not dare look.

“Why is your body distorted so,” I asked, “with your head in your own rear end?” I could barely make out the response, for the
sound was muffled as it passed through the derrière. As I recall, I heard but three letters: MFA.

“This is the kind of magazine you keep on your bookshelves with your favorite books.”
— Cece Bell, author of El Deafo
After witnessing this horrific spectacle, I resolved to rejoin to my guide. “Virgil,” I wept, “Let us return to the circles we have
already passed. I would sooner burn in fire, rot in excrement, or freeze in an icy lake than spend another second with these
miserable, putrid shades.”
Nine Circles of Hell
Here are the circles of hell in order of entrance and severity:

1. Limbo: Where those who never knew Christ exist. Dante encounters Ovid, Homer, Socrates,
Aristotle, Julius Caesar, and more here.

2. Lust: Self-explanatory. Dante encounters Achilles, Paris, Tristan, Cleopatra, and Dido, among
others.
3. Gluttony: Where those who overindulge exist. Dante encounters ordinary people here, not
characters from epic poems or gods from mythology. The author Boccaccio took one of these
characters, Ciacco, and incorporated him into his 14th-century collection of tales called "The
Decameron."

4. Greed: Self-explanatory. Dante encounters more ordinary people but also the guardian of the circle,
Pluto, the mythological king of the Underworld. This circle is reserved for people who hoarded or
 squandered their money, but Dante and Virgil do not directly interact with any of its inhabitants. This
is the first time they pass through a circle without speaking to anyone, a commentary on Dante’s
opinion of greed as a higher sin.
5. Anger: Dante and Virgil are threatened by the Furies when they try to enter through the walls of Dis
(Satan). This is a further progression in Dante’s evaluation of the nature of sin; he also begins to
question himself and his own life, realizing his actions and nature could lead him to this permanent
torture.

6. Heresy: Rejection of religious and/or political “norms.” Dante encounters Farinata degli Uberti, a
military leader and aristocrat who tried to win the Italian throne and was convicted posthumously of
heresy in 1283. Dante also meets Epicurus, Pope Anastasius II, and Emperor Frederick II.

7. Violence: This is the first circle to be further segmented into sub-circles or rings. There are three of
them—the Outer, Middle, and Inner rings—housing different types of violent criminals. The first are
those who were violent against people and property, such as Attila the Hun. Centaurs guard this
Outer Ring and shoot its inhabitants with arrows. The Middle Ring consists of those who commit
violence against themselves (suicide). These sinners are perpetually eaten by Harpies. The Inner
Ring is made up of the blasphemers, or those who are violent against God and nature. One of these
sinners is Brunetto Latini, a sodomite, who was Dante’s own mentor. (Dante speaks kindly to him.)
The usurers are also here, as are those who blasphemed not just against God but also the gods,
such as Capaneus, who blasphemed against Zeus.

8. Fraud: This circle is distinguished from its predecessors by being made up of those who consciously
and willingly commit fraud. Within the eighth circle is another called the Malebolge (“Evil Pockets”),
which houses 10 separate bolgias (“ditches”). In these exist types of those who commit fraud:
panderers/seducers; flatterers; simoniacs (those who sell ecclesiastical preferment);
sorcerers/astrologers/false prophets; barrators (corrupt politicians); hypocrites; thieves; false
counselors/advisers; schismatics (those who separate religions to form new ones); and
alchemists/counterfeiters, perjurers, impersonators, etc. Each bolgia is guarded by different demons,
and the inhabitants suffer different punishments, such as the simoniacs, who stand head-first in
stone bowls and endure flames upon their feet.

9. Treachery: The deepest circle of Hell, where Satan resides. As with the last two circles, this one is
further divided, into four rounds. The first is Caina, named after the biblical Cain, who murdered his
brother. This round is for traitors to family. The second, Antenora—from Antenor of Troy, who
betrayed the Greeks—is reserved for political/national traitors. The third is Ptolomaea for Ptolemy,
son of Abubus, who is known for inviting Simon Maccabaeus and his sons to dinner and then
murdering them. This round is for hosts who betray their guests; they are punished more harshly
because of the belief that having guests means entering into a voluntary relationship, and betraying
a relationship willingly entered is more despicable than betraying a relationship born into. The fourth
round is Judecca, after Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Christ. This round is reserved for traitors to their
lords/benefactors/masters. As in the previous circle, the subdivisions each have their own demons
and punishments.