EDUC 581/681 "Advanced Research Methods"

Winter 20115 (January 5-March 30)

From the UVic Calendar: "The purpose of the research component is to have students become familiar with and learn to distinguish among multiple research methodologies appropriate to specific research problems, questions, and contexts." For a description of the course go here: [course description].

As taught in the 2015-Winter session, this course is
(a) to familiarize students with the various forms of analysis of communication (because all data involve communication) (Reading and discussing textbook chapters); and
(b) for students to produce a (near) publishable analysis of a chosen dataset to be presented in a format suitable as a journal article.


 

Resources

UVic library to go to journals and download readings [here].

FQS: Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung/Forum Qualitative Social Research is a tri-lingual (English, German, Spanish) online journal for issues related to qualitative research.

The Qualitative Report is an online journal dedicated to qualitative research and critical inquiry since 1990. It has lots of links to resources for qualitative research on the Internet.

PRAAT is a program that allows you to prepare very detailed transcripts and do a variety of analyses, including that of prosody.

A sample assignment that received an A+ can be found [here]. The articles by N.I. McRae (2009), L.J. Starr (2009), and V.M. Collyer (2009) also are the results of a course assignment (EDCI 600).
- Collyer, V.M. (2010). Influence of interlocutor/reader on utterance in reflective writing and interview. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 5, 169–179. DOI:10.1007/s11422-009-9234-1
- McRae, N.I. (2010). Linking experiences with emotions and the development of interpretive repertoires. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 5, 181–189. DOI:10.1007/s11422-009-9226-1
- Starr, L.J. (2010). Does anyone really know anything? An exploration of constructivist meaning and identity in the tension between scientific and relious knowledge. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 5, 191–200. DOI: 10.1007/s11422-009-9227-0
(To find those articles, click here)

Thompson ISI Web of Science [click here]

Main Reading: Wolff-Michael Roth and Pei-Ling Hsu, Analyzing Communication (Rotterdam: Sense Publishers, 2010).

The course description can be found at this link: [course description]

 

Detailed Lesson Plans

The outline is a "living" one, continuously growing and changing to meet students' and instructors' needs, though the overall framework [reading, assignments] will stay.

[JAN 05] [JAN 12] [JAN 19] [JAN 26] [FEB 02] [FEB 09] [FEB 16] [FEB 23] [MAR 02] [MAR 09] [MAR 16] [MAR 23] [ MAR 30]


 

 

JAN 05

Lesson topics

  1. Presentations
    1. Students present themselves
    2. A bit about me: How I got here; research methods: Doing Qualitative Research; Doing Teacher-Research; Generalizing from Educational Research; Analyzing Communication; First Person Method
    3. Introduction of the course
      1. course, course objectives
      2. Readings, structure of the textbook
      3. final assignment
      4. Introduction to the way of approaching the assignment (Online journal, getting pdf, working with pdf files; Example of research with online sources, saving in pdf format)
    4. Readings: see Main Reading. (Students are expected to do additional readings to situate and ground their analyses for their course paper.)
      1. Accessing readings (UVic library online);
      2. Thompson ISI Web of Science online
    5. Analyzing some data
      1. Transcript [Available here]
      2. A relevant paper is: Hsu, P.-L., Roth, W.-M., Marshall, A., & Guenette, F.  (2009). To be or not to be? Discursive resources for (dis)identifying with science-related careers. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 46, 1114–1136
      3. A relevant chapter is: Roth, W.-M., & Hsu, P-L. (2008). Interest and motivation: A cultural historical and discursive psychological approach. In J. E. Larson (Ed.), Educational psychology: Cognition and learning, individual differences and motivation (pp. 81–105). Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science. [download here].

    Assignment

    1. Begin to collect the data for your assignment

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    JAN 12

    Lesson Concepts

    Social Structure • Communication • Identity • Auto/Biography • Narrative • Character | Plot

    Assignments

    1. Chapters 1 ("The Structures of the Social") and 2 ("Identity") of Analyzing Communication
    2. Lee, Y. J., & Roth, W.-M. (2004). Making a scientist: Discursive "doing" of identity and self-presentation during research interviews. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 5(1). [access here].

    Lesson topics

    1. Checking attendance
    2. Mystery transcription: What can we find out? (15 min)
    3. Writing the motivating paragraph: A think-aloud session (15 min) (recording, will be put online)
      1. Press releases, self-presentation (Goffman), identity, individual/institution, language, audience
    4. Addressing any issues or concerns
      1. Taking note who would like have his/her PhD/MA study discussed
      2. Update on assignment: Discussion of students' choice of data and topics
    5. Discussion "Making a scientist (and implicitly, issues of chapter 2)
      1. Some data: different ways of analyzing text (relation, content, discourse)
      2. What are assumptions we make in dealing with/analyzing data?
      3. Language; auto/biography as genre; the genres in auto/biography; the relation of author, text, and audience; identity (idem); self as another; Marx/Engels (Production, production of self);
    6. Designing research question, method, data collection, interpretation: Kay's project (40 min)
      1. Focus on the problem: What IS the (real) problem?
      2. Design of the research
      3. Analyses: Museum of Vancouver Press releases

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    JAN 19

    Lesson Concepts

    Discursive Psychology • Ethnomethodology (EM) • Conversation Analysis • Context • Con/Texting • Formal Analysis vs. EM • Interpreting vs. Reading

    Assignments

    1. Read Chapters 9 ("Discursive Psychology") and 10 ("How Experts Analyze Data") of Analyzing Communication
    2. Find and read one text that is grounded in discursive psychology. Send citation information (APA) to the instructor. Be ready to talk about the text in class.

    Lesson topics

    1. Doing DP
      1. Analyze [this],
      2. and [this]
      3. work out ethnomethods, conversation analysis with the concrete details of the transcriptions
    2. Students present the key ideas from the articles they read: what is "discursive psychological" about how what the authors have done and how they have used the term?
      1. Michael P.: Friesen, N., & Hug, T. (2010). Investigating Web 2.0 in education: A discursive paradigm for research
      2. Kay: Tileaga, C. (2010). Political accountability, public constitution of recent past and the collective memory of socio-political events: A discursive analysis. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 20(5), 363–376.
      3. Claire: Garnet, D. (2014). Recycling material culture: Environmentalism, free art supplies, and Artsjunktion. International Journal of Education & the Arts, 15(2)
    3. Discussion, questions of essence of chapter 9, chapter 10
    4. Designing research: Colleen's case---an exemplary practice

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    JAN 26

    Lesson Concepts

    Power/knowledge • Agency • Passivity • Structure • Ethnomethodology • Formulating the Social

    Assignments

    1. Read Chapter 3, ("Beliefs, Attitudes, Interests, Motivations") of Analyzing Communication
    2. Roth, W.-M., & Hsu, P-L. (2008). Interest and motivation: A cultural historical and discursive psychological approach. In J. E. Larson (Ed.), Educational psychology: Cognition and learning, individual differences and motivation (pp. 81–105). Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science. [download here].

    Resource

    [Here], in Discourse & Society, several articles that might be relevant, even as a contrast to what you want to write. (You need to link through UVic library to be able to download.)

    Lesson topics

    1. Summary of course objectives and review of initial steps
      1. Course objectives
        1. "The purpose of the research component is to have students become familiar with and learn to distinguish among multiple research methodologies appropriate to specific research problems, questions, and contexts."
      2. Summary of course content covered so far
        1. Mystery transcription: self-explicating nature of discourse
        2. Production and making visible of social structures
        3. The extraction of textual pieces from the whole
        4. Discursive psychology: how people use psychological constructs to conduct everyday life
        5. Methods: discourse analysis (= more than analysis of content), the how of language use to achieve purposes; conversation analysis (= more than analysis of conversations) e.g., the function of "uh hm" or speaking pauses
    2. Students talk about the article in their area related to discursive psychology
    3. Researching beliefs, attitudes, interests, motivations: Applying today's readings
      1. The interview situation
      2. Language as a means
      3. Praxis of analysis [sample transcript]
    4. Designing student projects
      1. Sulosh:
      2. Jamie: Learning and transfer in the context of video games

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    FEB 02

    Lesson Concepts

    Ethnomethodology • Intersubjectivity • Prosody • Situated Cognition • Lifeworld Analysis • Multi-Modality of Communication

    Assignments

    1. Chapter 7 ("Institutional Relations") of Analyzing Communication
    2. Roth, W.-M. (2005). Organizational mediation of urban science. In K. Tobin, R. Elmesky, & G. Seiler (Eds.), Maximizing the transformative potential of science education: Learning from research in inner city high schools (pp. 91–115). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
    3. Submit and outline and description of the data that you will use for your paper.

    Resources

    1. Critical Textwork, Ian Parker and Bolton Group
    2. Willig "Applied Discourse analysis

    Lesson topics

    1. Getting at institutional relations
      1. Mystery transcript [access here]
        1. Discussion quotation
        2. Analysis
        3. Presentation & discussion of analyses
      2. Micro-constitution of society
        1. Quotation [access here] & discussion
      3. Discussion of readings: "Organizational mediation of urban science" & chapter 7
    2. Brief demonstration of PRAAT (download the free software here)
    3. Designing research: Losh (45 min)

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    FEB 09

    !!! READING BREAK. NO CLASSES !!!

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    FEB 16

    Lesson Concepts

    Knowledge • Participation • Knowledgeability • Knowing

    Assignments

    1. Chapter 6 ("Participating and Interacting") of Analyzing Communication

    Lesson topics

    1. Practicing analysis of interaction
      1. The micro-constitution of society [access here]
      2. Analysis of a mystery transcript
      3. Joking as social phenomenon. [transcript] [The published analysis]
      4. Claire's data
    2. Discussion of "Participating and interacting" (chapter 6)
      1. Students talk about essence
      2. Additional queries
      3. The role of space and geography [Map 1] [Map 2]
      4. A closer look at the interactions in an inner city classroom [Roth and Tobin, 2010], "Heating up and cooling down"
    3. Questions concerning assignment?
    4. Design talk: Losh's project

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    FEB 23

    Lesson Concepts

    Intertextuality • Inscriptions • Transformations • Boundary Objects • Semiotics • Reading • Phenomenology • Anthropology • Ethnomethodology

    Assignments

    1. Chapter 4 ("Knowledge, Knowing, Situated Cognition") of Analyzing Communication

    Lesson topics

    1. On analyzing data (a look at Michael P's first analysis
    2. Review of lesson 7 (Feb 16) and tying up of loose ends
      1. The analysis to go with laughter as interactive achievement
      2. Discussion of and issues arising from chapter 6
      3. Any other matters
    3. Chapter 4 related
      1. In small groups, view and analyze the video with respect to identifying knowledge, knowing, situated cognition [Transcription] [my initial/raw analyses]
      2. Whole-class discussion of issues pertaining to the analyses and issues arising from chapter 4
    4. Design discussions
      1. Losh
      2. John F.

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    MAR 02

    Lesson Concepts

    Intertextuality • Inscriptions • Transformations • Boundary Objects • Semiotics • Reading • Phenomenology • Anthropology • Ethnomethodology

    Assignments

    1. Chapter 4 ("Knowledge, Knowing, Situated Cognition") of Analyzing Communication

    Lesson topics

    1. Format of last 2 meetings
    2. Organization of design conversations, order
    3. Insights into the writing process: "Growing-making mathematics" (On Becoming Aware , Depraz, Varela, & Vermersch, 2003)
      1. Initial thoughts, readings [Notes-1]
      2. Developing thoughts, reading, writing, assembling [Assembling]
      3. Further developments following intense engagement [Notes-2]
    4. Review of lessons 7 & 8 (Feb 16) and tying up of loose ends
      1. The analysis to go with laughter as interactive achievement
      2. Discussion of and issues arising from chapter 6
      3. Any other matters
    5. Chapter 4 related
      1. RECAP: In small groups, view and analyze the video with respect to identifying knowledge, knowing, situated cognition [Transcription] [my initial/raw analyses]; from knowledge in the head to participation; knowing as apparent from participation in activity; learning as changing participation
      2. Whole-class discussion of issues pertaining to the analyses and issues arising from chapter 4
    6. Design conversations
      1. Rozita's question

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    MAR 09

    Lesson Concepts

    Inscriptions • Representations

    Assignments

    1. Chapter 5 ("Toward an Anthropology of Inscriptions") of Analyzing Communication

    Lesson topics

    1. REMINDER: The purpose of this course is (a) to familiarize students with the various forms of analysis of communication (because all data involve communication) (Reading and discussing textbook chapters); and (b) for students to produce a (near) publishable analysis of a chosen dataset to be presented in a format suitable as a journal article. These two goals are reflected in the activities we do.
    2. How to write a findings section. [Example]
    3. Analysis, in small groups, of the images that go with an article on the relation between Northern Gateway (Enbridge) pipeline proposal and the First Nations. Do a structural analysis, highlighting both structures present and structures (resources) absent
      1. [Analytic framework]
      2. Task: Analyze the relations between text (caption) and graphic [Article]
    4. Design conversations
      1. Colin
      2. Claire: How does the inclusion of visual and gestural communication (in high school education) mediate perceptions of content previously accessed verbally?
      3. Michael: [Link here]

    Lesson topics

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    MAR 16

    Lesson Concepts

    Technology • Mediation • Computer-Mediated Collaboration • Body as Expression • Orientation

    Assignments

    1. Chapter 8 ("Interacting with Technology") of Analyzing Communication

    Lesson topics

    1. Sample paper [video here] [here]
    2. Analysis of data (Course objective 1). [ [Transcription]
    3. Design conversations
      1. Collette: (a) How do teachers transfer their learning of Indigenous education to their students?
        (b) What do teachers do with information they have learned in the Indigenous Education 373 course?
        (c) Do educators teach aboriginal content after taking the IED 373 course in public education?
      2. Kay: As city museums seek to foster civic dialogue, how do their pedagogies work to teach their publics? What potentials do they have to foster adult learner-visitors' capacities to critically imagine more fulfilling ways of being in the world?
      3. Alexis: How does a dialogic teaching approach to language and literacy self-assessment practices (considered formative) in high school classrooms influence students': 1. learning and understanding of literacy skills?
        2. Self-regulation skills?
        3. motivation and ownership of learning?

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    MAR 23

    Assignments

    1. One half of the class presents an informal presentation of their final assignment. We will have about 20 minutes to look at each; and also talk about extensions.
      1. Jamie
      2. Colin [Transcript]
      3. John F. [slides]
      4. Rozita
      5. Yan
      6. Alexis [Transcript]

    Lesson topics

    1. Students informally speak about their assignment, what they have found, etc. ((Use 1 page of data to be projected, talk about the form of analysis, your results; let us discuss it in terms of further affordances))
    2. Questions and critique. ((Students may build all feedback into their assignment; the point is to learn, not to jump hoops))))

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    MAR 30

    Assignments

    1. The second half of students presents an informal presentation of their final assignment ()
      1. Colleen
      2. John R.
      3. Claire
      4. Kay
      5. Michael
      6. Suloshini
      7. Collette

    Lesson topics

    1. Students informally speak about their assignment, what they have found, etc. ((Use 1 page of data to be projected, talk about the form of analysis, your results; let us discuss it in terms of further affordances))
    2. Questions and critique. ((Students may build all feedback into their assignment; the point is to learn, not to jump hoops))))

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