The course is taught face to face.
My approach to teaching this course is - via the use of group work - to emphasise a critical appraisal of research designs, and to understand that there is no one 'best' design: the driving force behind any chosen design is the problem being addressed.
While learning, we will consider the multiple times that any one of us may have been involved in research - whether it be answering surveys or taking part in experiments. We have nearly all been involved in research, even if unbeknownst to us at the time. We will also be addressing research as reported in the media, to ascertain the quality of the results (as being conveyed to the public).
There are usually about 15 sessions in this course, one per week, lasting for up to three hours (with short break in the middle).
Learning materials will be print based, apart from material the student may find online to augment the print.
On a weekly basis, I will set readings from the text,: the readings will be based on the discussions we have been having that day (to consolidate learning); or they will be to ensure that students grasp a point that I will not be addressing directly. Additionally, if I wish students to have some advance understanding of a topic on which I will be speaking, then in advance I will set appropriate reading material. Be warned - I will be asking students to read and absorb quite a lot of 'Campbell and Stanley' (every Research Methods student's favorite!).
Throughout the course, students will be in touch with me via email, via telephone, via chatting before, during, or after class. I hold an 'office' hour during the hour prior to class.
By the end of the course students should be able to
• identify and implement research strategies appropriate for addressing problems in their own working environment.
• identify well executed, reliable, and valid research
• identify research results which can be applied to their own library or information centre.
Aims of the course
To provide an understanding of the nature, role and value of research.
To demonstrate the importance of, and need for, research.
To familiarize students with a variety of research methods and designs
To enable students to interpret and evaluate research.
Required Text: Orcher, Lawrence T. Conducting Research: Social and Behavioral Methods (2005). California: Pyrczak Press. (Note: this may be obtainable from recent students of 506 or from the UA Bookstore. Otherwise, it is readily acquired directly from Pyrczak)
Required Reading: Campbell, D & Stanley, J. (1963). Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for Research. Reprinted from Handbook of Research on Teaching. Chicago, IL: Rand McNally College Publishing Company.
Required Reading: Johnson, Steven. (2006). The Ghost Map: The story of London's most terrifying epidemic - and how it changed science, cities, and the modern world. New York, NY. Riverhead Books (Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
The class emphasis will be on demonstrating absolute and complete knowledge of the assigned texts and of Campbell & Stanley. To this end, to demonstrate their grasp of the material covered in the text and in class, students will be reading and providing weekly written reviews of assigned chapters.
Johnson's book is an easy and terrifically interesting read, and an inexpensive one. There will be an assignment on this work. Feel free to read it before class begins.
Participation (Worth 5%)
I expect input, and few students have failed to meet this expectation. The course is designed to encourage participation.
Paper 1 Value of Research. Due In class Feb 7th (Worth 15%)
Length: five double spaced pages , excluding references; 12 point font. Use the APA style. (Writing more, or substantially less, than 5 pages will incur penalties); Please write your name on the back of your assignment.
Please provide me with a thoughtful exposition of the value to society of Library and Information Science research. Please find three research articles that ilustrate and support your statements, and discuss how these articles support your views. Also present a brief critique
of the methods used in the research articles you have selected.
Paper 2 Ghost Map. Evaluation. Due in class March 6th (Worth 15%)
Length: five double spaced pages , excluding references; 12 point font. Use the APA style. (Writing more, or less, than 5 pages will incur penalties); Please write your name on the back of the assignment.
Write a five page essay outlining in some detail the research methods used by Snow and by Whitehead. Critique the methods, do not merely describe them. What were the strengths of their methods? The weaknesses? What does the book - their research - tell us about how progress is made in society? What can we say about the reactions to their findings?
Paper 3 Research Proposal Due In class on April 17th (Worth 45%)
Length 10 double spaced pages, excluding references, 12 point font. APA. (Writing more, or less, than 10 pages will incur penalties). Please write your name on the back of your work.
Writing a research proposal will provide you with the opportunity to give in depth thought to your topic of concern. The research proposal will be in report format, containing an introduction, background to the problem, a broad statement on the nature of the problem, a literature review, a theoretical framework in which the problem is placed, a statement of the hypotheses, and a methods section which includes such design details as the variables in the research, how the hypotheses could be tested / measured, which statistical tests are appropriate, and to whom the research results could be generalized. Note that I am not expecting a tremendously detailed proposal - just one that contains all the necessary elements of one. Examples of proposals can be found on line and also in many text books.
Examination In class. (Worth 20%)
Academic Code of Integrity
Students are expected to abide by The University of Arizona Code of Academic Integrity. 'The guiding principle of academic integrity is that a student's submitted work must be the student's own.' If you have any questions regarding what is acceptable practice under this Code, please ask an Instructor.
Accommodating Disabilities
The University has a Disability Resource Center. If you anticipate the need for reasonable accommodations to meet the requirements of this course, you must register with the Disability Resource Center and request that the DRC send me, the Instructor, official notification of your accommodation needs as soon as possible. Please plan to meet with me by appointment or during office hours to discuss accommodations and how my course requirements and activities may impact your ability to fully participate.
Assignment Policies
Asignments will be handed in to me personally in class, on the specified date. If you cannot be in class on that particular day then please make arrangements with me to receive your work in another way - perhaps by email, for example. I do not accept late assignments, except by rare and special arrangement, and only if special circumstances pertain (medical reasons, for example).
Assignments wil be returned to you personally, with myriad comments on them. Please note my earlier instructions about placing your name on the back of each assignment. Please also note my instructions about using APA style, and about font size. Advice about APA can be found online.
- Incompletes
The 1997-8 University of Arizona General Academic Manual, p.23 reads
The grade of I may be awarded only at the end of a semester, when all but a minor portion of the course work has been satisfactorily completed. The grade of I is not to be awarded when the student is expected to repeat the course; in such a case the grade of E must be assigned. Students should make arrangements with the instructor to receive an incompete grade before the end of the semester.
If the incomplete is not removed by the instructor within one year the I grade will revert to a failing grade.
A: 100 - 90
B: 89 - 80
C: 79 - 70
Less than a C = 'fail'
Grades will be written on each paper.
Instructor: Margaret Higgins, PhD
Tel: 520 623 4590 (work)
Tel: 520 406 7813 (cell)
Margaretahiggins@yahoo.com (preferred email address)
Office Hours: 5.30 - 6.30pm i.e. the hour before class
Class Location for Spring 2008: Modern Languages Bldg. Room 314
Class meeting times: 6.30 - 9.00
