Northeastern State University

College of Liberal Arts

Department of Communication, Art, & Theatre

Tahlequah, OK

Fall 2011 syllabus for

COMM 4623/5623 Qualitative Research Methods

MC 4203/5013 Qualitative Research Methods

(last updated 03.02.11)

Professor: Amy Aldridge Sanford, PhD         

Office:  351 SH (Tahlequah Campus)                Ext.:  3608

E-mail: aldridga@nsuok.edu (This is the best way to contact me)        

Office Hours:  See Contact Info on webpage.

Facebook:  Amy Aldridge Sanford

Class Meetings:  Mondays 5:30-8:10 p.m.; SH 229

Your professor’s philosophy of education:  I am a facilitator of learning.  The participants in any given classroom enter with different paradigms and truths.  I aid in the exploration of those truths.  I do NOT believe that the instructor is THE holder of Truth; therefore we must all participate to co-construct knowledge and create synergy.  When a student starts to feel uncomfortable in his/her existing paradigm that means s/he is growing as a scholar.   My desire is that all of my students feel the joy of discomfort from time to time.

Grading Philosophy:  I prefer intrinsic motivations, and therefore, am not a fan of letter grades.  I believe this extrinsic reward is too often the only motivation for students to complete assignments.  A college education should be viewed as a privilege and an opportunity to become learned and scholarly.  However, until there is a better system, grades will be assigned in this class.  Work that meets the minimum requirements of an assignment, is completed on time and displays average involvement with the course content is deserving of a “C.”  Higher grades are awarded to work that goes above and beyond the minimum standards to produce papers and presentations that reflect superior intellectual effort, excellence in critical analysis and overall creativity in the approach towards any given assignment.  In other words, grades are earned in this class.  An “A” is attainable but will require far more than minimal effort.

Pre-requisites:  none

Description of Course:  An introduction to the characteristics and various approaches to designing and conducting qualitative research projects in communication studies.  Students will gain hands-on experience in qualitative methods and analysis techniques.

Course Purpose:  This course allows our undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to learn about qualitative research and utilize it as both a consumer and producer of qualitative research.

Learning Outcomes:

·    Understand the role of the Institutional Research Board (IRB) and its oversight;

·    Propose, conduct, and write up original research;

·    Become familiar with the characteristics, language, and logic of qualitative research methods;

·    Understand the available techniques (ethnography, interviewing, participant observation, etc.) for designing a qualitative

research study;

·    Understand techniques for qualitative data analysis;

·    Recognize and assess quality and rigor in evaluating a qualitative research study.     

Required Texts:




Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA). (6th ed.) (2009).  American Psychological Association.  ISBN:  9781433805615
Roose, K. (2010). The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner’s Semester at America’s Holiest University. Grand Central Publishing. ISBN: 0446178438

Sunstein, B.S. & Chiseri-Strater, E. (2007).  Fieldworking:  Reading and writing research. (3rd ed.).  Boston:  Bedford/St.Martin’s. ISBN:  0-312-43841-9.

Warren, C.A.B. and T.X. Karner (2010).  Discovering qualitative methods:  Field research, interviews and analysis.  (2nd ed.). NewYork:  Oxford University Press.  ISBN: 978-0-19-538429-1

Attendance:

An attendance sheet will be passed out at the beginning of every class period.  NOTE:  You are absolutely, positively 100% responsible for signing the attendance sheet each class period.  If you are late, you must get the sheet and sign it after class… “I forget to sign it” or “I’m sure I was there” will not be sufficient to document your attendance at the end of the semester.

The emphasis on performance and participation in this class requires close attention by students and the instructor to attendance.  You are allowed three hours of unexcused absences (i.e., three unexcused absences for a MWF class, two unexcused absences for a T Th class, or one three hour session in the summer or with an evening class).  For every unexcused absence over the limit, 2% will be deducted from your final grade.  Absences will be excused only under the following circumstances:

      Absence while under a doctor’s care (written documentation required).

      Absence due to participation in an authorized college activity (advance notification and written documentation required).

      Absence due to attendance at legal proceedings requiring your presence (advance notification and written documentation required).

      Absence due to the death or serious illness of an immediate family member (written documentation required).

I consider an excused absence one in which the absence is beyond your control. (For example, the time of a check up or a dental appointment can be controlled).  I will not excuse an absence in which you have to take somebody else to the doctor, hospital, dentist, court, etc.  That is why I give you the three unexcused absences.  Use them wisely.  I think good attendance is very important.  Documentation is due by the last day of classes before finals week.   An excused notes will only excuse one day of absence unless a memo is attached explaining why multiple dates should be excused.

Administrative Withdraws: 

Students who enroll this course and have poor attendance and/or poor participation (as determined by the instructor) may be administratively withdrawn (involuntarily). Students who are administratively withdrawn will be responsible for payment and repaying any financial aid received for the course or courses that must be returned to the provider. If you are concerned about your absences, progress, or success in a particular course, meet with your instructor immediately.

Missed/Late Assignments:

· Getting the Homework:  If you miss class, please consult with one of your fellow students for the notes and/or homework.  Write down two of your classmates’ names and contact information here:

name___________________________________   contact info___________________________________ 

    name___________________________________   contact info___________________________________  
If you cannot reach either one of them after a few attempts, you should contact me. 


· Written Work:  Assignments are due at the beginning of the hour.  It is late after that. For each class session that an assignment is turned in late, you will be assessed a penalty of 10 points for that particular assignment. 

· E-mailing assignments/computer problems:  You will need to submit most of your assignments in hard copy.  On occasion, it will be possible to submit assignments via e-mail.  Please note:  your computer breaking, printer not working, etc. will never be accepted as an excuse for late work.  It is your responsibility to begin work early enough to accommodate unforeseen circumstances.  In addition, e-mailed work is recorded as “turned in” according the time stamp in the introduction to your message.  “I got your address wrong” or “my e-mail wasn’t working” will not be accepted as reasons for late assignments.

· Presentations:  If you miss an assigned speech, we may not have time to allow you to present it later.  If you know you are going to miss an assigned speech, trade speaking dates with someone in the class, and let the instructor know about the change.  Failure to make a presentation will result in a zero for that assignment.

Class Participation: You are expected to attend class regularly and be prepared so that you may intelligently discuss assigned material.  Proper preparation means reading the assigned chapters and completing daily assignments.  Warning:  This professor is well known for counting students absent when they are not prepared for class.

Food and Drink:  Feel free to bring food and drink to class.  Just be sure to dispose of it properly when you are finished.

Classroom Climate:  The success of this course is directly related to the sense of community that we will develop in this classroom.  Participation is essential to this process.  I encourage you to share your views and listen to those of others.  Debate and discussion are an important part of the learning process.  While there will no doubt be disagreements, I expect the members of this community (including myself) to challenge ideas in a manner that reflects respect and recognition of opposing viewpoints without attacking individuals.  There is no doubt in my mind that controversial topics will come up during the course of this class.  They always do. If you are a person who is easily offended by the topics of sex, alcohol, abortion, the death penalty, racial stereotypes, and other potentially controversial topics, then it is advised that you enroll in another communication course not taught by this instructor. 

Visitors in the Classroom:  We may have visitors in our classroom from time to time.  Please make them feel welcome.  Encourage them to participate if they would like.  Let them know that we are happy to have more voices in our classroom. 

Outline of Course:  All of the following assignments are considered tentative and may change over the course of the semester due to your progress and interests. The hyperlinked readings below are available electronically (password is comm4623). The readings provided here are for educational purposes only.  We will use them for teaching, scholarship, research, criticism, and comment.  You should no financially profit from these works. 

Week/Topic	Reading	Lecture	Assignment due (assignments are explained in detail below)
8/16 Orientation to the class		Syllabus; Research Proposal assignment
WHAT IS QUALITATIVE RESEARCH?
8/23	Warren & Karner Preface Ch 1 & 2	Discussion on readings; discuss research proposals; Introduction to the IRB application	Name tents, RR 1; Research Proposals (see below)
INTERVIEWING
8/30	Warren & Karner Ch 6 & 7	Discussion on readings; Research Design & Interview Guide (individual and focus groups)	RR 2; first draft of IRB
9/6 LABOR DAY—NO CLASS
9/13	Sunstein & Chiseri-Strater Ch 5	Discussion on readings; Finishing up the IRB	RR 3; Interview Guide, updated IRB
FIELD RESEARCH
9/20	Warren & Karner Ch 3 & 4	Discussion on readings; Participant Observation Assignment	RR 4; Completed IRB application (see below)
ETHNOGRAPHY
9/27	Roose, pp 1-96	Discussion on reading	RR 5
10/4	Roose, pp 97-199	Discussion on reading	RR 6
10/11	Roose, 200-end	Discussion on readings; Discuss outline of final paper	RR 7
WRITING & ANALYSIS OF THE DATA
10/18	Warren & Karner Ch 5; Sunstein & Chiseri-Strater Ch 1	Discussion on readings	RR 8; Outline of final paper
10/25	Warren & Karner Ch 9; Sunstein & Chiseri-Strater Ch 2	Discussion on readings	RR 9; Participant Observation Summary (see below)
11/1	Warren & Karner Ch 10; Sunstein & Chiseri-Strater Ch 8	Discussion on readings	RR 10
YOU AS RESEARCHER
11/8		Catch up day/discussion of your research; discuss Presentations
11/15		Catch up day/discussion of your research
11/22		Catch up day/discussion of your research
11/29			Presentations (see below)
12/6			Final papers due

Student Evaluation:

Research Proposal (10%):  Select a communication research topic that you would like to study qualitatively.  Conduct preliminary research on the topic and prepare a research proposal in which you explain your general topic.  The paper should be a minimum of 5 FULL pages (Times New Roman, double spaced, 1” margins) and should include an extensive literature review and your research design.  The following areas should be addressed in the research proposal:  What is your motivation for choosing this topic?  Why should this topic be studied qualitatively?  What research has already been done on this topic?   What are you hoping to learn from the interviews?  What is/are your main research question(s)?  (Keep these narrow).  What kinds of questions will you ask to answer the main RQ(s)?  (Don’t just simply list your questions.  Instead, talk about the motivation for the questions). What one population will you interview?  How many people will you interview?  How will you recruit participants?  When and where do you plan to conduct your interviews?

Completed IRB Application (10%):  Includes application and all attachments (could include site letter, interview guide, recruitment materials, informed consent/information sheet).  We will complete this in numerous drafts throughout the semester.  You are responsible for bringing an updated draft each time one is due.

Participant Observation Summary (10%):  This assignment is based on participant observation (P.O.), an important qualitative research technique that you may or may not incorporate into your final paper.  Writing a P.O. will help with your research and writing skills.  Your objective is to collect field notes for an hour or so and then write at least five pages (Times New Roman, double spaced, 1” margins, page numbers in the top right corner) summarizing the experience.  It is important that your fieldwork be done in a public, yet unfamiliar environment (a church service, a mall food court, the park, a bus ride, the gym, a restaurant, a bar, etc.).  Use your notes to write the summary of your experiences and your observations.  Write about themes you found; do not write a chronology (or agenda) of events.  Focus on the social setting (i.e., people and their interactions, space) and be very descriptive.  Put your readers there with you; do not be a distant observer. Include where you were, the date and time, mood, and anything that will "thicken" the description.  The paper should be written in a descriptive mode and can include outside research in order to triangulate your experience.  Be careful not to be ethnocentric or judge your research subjects.  Feel free to include images (photos, sketches, etc.) within your write up, but the images will not count in your minimum page limit.  Include an introduction to warm your readers up to your fieldwork.  In the conclusion you may include analysis of what you saw, report questions that arose for you during your fieldwork (if there were any), and write about any surprises or disappointments you may have encountered.  Papers will be evaluated for content, creativity, grammar, punctuation and spelling.  Attach all of your field notes to the summary.

Participation in class discussion (20%):  Students will receive a zero (no credit), 5 (half credit), or 10 (full credit) during each class to represent his/her participation during that class session.   Simply talking does not guarantee full credit for class participation.  Students are expected to make intelligent verbal contributions to the class.  A student’s discourse should reflect his/her knowledge of the text and his/her ability to synthesize that knowledge with further theoretical implications and application.

Reading Responses (20%):  Reading responses are reflections you have on the reading.  They should be one to two pages and thoroughly thought out.  You are to include information from all of the day’s assigned readings in ONE reading response.  Mark up your book/articles while you are reading and discuss the concepts that most got your attention.   Reading responses should include brief summaries of the text (be sure to use page numbers when directly quoting from the readings), your analysis of the material, and examples when appropriate.  This will add depth to your responses.  At the end of your response, write some possible discussion topics for the class to consider.  Students may be chosen at random to share their responses and lead the class in discussion.  This will also affect your participation grade.

Final Paper (20%):  This is the write up of the original research you have completed while in this class.  The paper should include an introduction, in-depth literature review, an argument for why your research question(s) needs to answered, explanation of your qualitative research design, findings, analysis of findings, limitations, ideas for future research, and a conclusion.  Undergraduates must have a minimum of 8 pages (not including the cover page, abstract, appendix, or references) and graduates must have a minimum of 14 pages (not including the cover page, abstract, appendix, or references).  Papers much conform to APA standards.  I would like to see papers from this class sent to an academic conference.

Final Paper Presentation (10%):  In a 6-12 minute speech, educate your audience with the material you gathered in your final paper.  This gives your cohorts an opportunity to learn from your research efforts and rhetorical criticism.  Remember, you are the expert in this room on your particular topic.  You will be required to submit both an outline and bibliography before your presentation. You may only use the outline during your presentation. Please see the rubric for the grading criteria. 

Class Grievances:  I am willing to meet with you to discuss our class and/or particular assignments.  I ask that you please wait 24 hours after you have received a graded assignment to come see me.  Before we discuss your work, you are required to type out a document detailing what particular elements of your work you feel merit discussion. 

Plagiarism:  According to Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary (1983, 2nd Ed.), to plagiarize is “to steal or pass of ideas or words of another as one’s own…to use created productions without crediting the source…to commit literary theft…to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source” (p.1371).  Students in this course will be responsible for authenticating any assignment submitted to the instructor.  If asked, you must be able to produce proof that the assignment you submitted is in fact your own work.  Therefore, it is recommended that you engage in a verifiable working process on assignments.  Keep copies of all drafts of your work, make photocopies of research materials, write summaries of research materials, keep logs or journals of your work on assignments and papers, learn to save drafts or versions of assignments under individual file names on computer diskettes, etc.  In addition to requiring a student to authenticate his/her work, the instructor may employ various other means of ascertaining authenticity—such as engaging in internet searches, creating quizzes based on student work, requiring students to explain their work and/or process orally, etc.

Please go to http://offices.nsuok.edu/academicaffairs/SyllabiInformation.aspx for required information pertaining to:

Academic Misconduct

American Disabilities Act Compliance

Inclement Weather/Disaster Policy

Teach Act

Accessibility

Release of Confidential Information 

Common courtesies:

·    Please turn all cell phones on silent while you are in class.  Check your messages AFTER class and return the calls then.  Do not text during class.

·    Do not pack up before I dismiss you.  You never know when I may say something important or give a last minute assignment.  You’re going to want to have that pen and paper handy.

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