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Bingo, twinA. I smell a troll. A dissertation is the crowning glory in someone’s quest for a doctoral degree. It is not “a paper.” It is more like a book, 200 typed pages or more. The dissertation is the candidate’s first real contribution to the literature in his/her field. (That’s the theory. The reality is often different.) I find it hard to believe that a doctoral candidate would not know that the phrase “general concensus” is a redundancy, because “concensus” MEANS “general opinion.” Also, the person would either (a) know how to spell concensus, or (b) proofread his/her writing. I wanted to know what kind of half-assed alleged university would approve this kind of project. My guess was: this topic is bullshit.

Can you imagine the footnote Acey would use for any data gathered here?! “Anonymous responses from moviechat.org”?! That’s like saying, “I asked this guy on the street.” No validity whatsoever. In scholarship, there are two kinds of research. First, primary research, meaning you go out into the field. You go to the clinic. You go to the pyramid. You dive into the ocean. You report what you, in person, observed and experienced. Primary research, which is, admittedly, rare, is the Gold Standard and Life’s Blood of scholarly research. Think Indiana Jones. Second, and not surprisingly, there is secondary research, which entails sitting on your ass in one or more libraries and taking notes from other people’s primary research. Then there is garbage research, which is what the OP purports to solicit.

PS, twinA: Direct and rude is okay with me. That’s what some folks deserve. I don’t think you are rude. I think you’re sticking up for your family.