DIS 280 "Social Science Research Methodology for Information Studies"
Winter Quarter 2014, Dr. John V. Richardson Jr.,
Wednesday mornings, 9 AM to 12:30 PM in Room 228 of the GSE&IS Bldg.
Office Hours: Wednesday afternoons, 204 GSE&IS Bldg.
Course Description: | Course Vision, Goal, and Learning Objectives | Relationship to Other Courses: | Readings and Textbooks: |
Literature Reviews |
Research Readings Bibliography | Inquiry
Methodology: (pdf file of Clark, Guba, and Smith) |
Class Schedule: | Grading Criteria: | Proposal Writing Checklist | Power Point Lecture Slides
Quoting from the School's Announcements and the forthcoming UCLA General Catalog, the official catalog description reads: "DIS 280, Social Science Research Methodology for Information Studies. Understanding of the nature, uses, and practice of research appropriate to information studies. Identification of research problems, and design and evaluation of research. Social science quantitative and qualitative methods. Inquiry methodology and empirical research are emphasized."
Course Vision, Goal, and Learning Objectives:
My vision is that upon graduation a cohort of IS graduate students will adopt an evidence-based stance (i.e., weight-of-evidence approach) toward professional practice, write successful grant proposals, serve as lead reviewers of proposals for government agencies and professional societies, and be critical readers and consumers of the IS research literature. This course is intended to be interesting and useful--graduate students will be able to read and critique the library and information science literature of their own choosing as well as be able to contribute to the advancement of the field in the future with their own research and decision-making about appropriate research methods and be more competitive in "grant getting."
The overarching goal of this course is to develop a critical spirit of inquiry (i.e., based on logic and investigation) by providing a structured way of thinking about information studies' problems and their resolutions.
The fivefold learning objectives of DIS 280 are to allow graduate students:
(1) to conduct a systematic literature review of the methodologies
underlying research problems in library and information science;
(2) to read, analyze, and critically evaluate library and information science
research (i.e., you will learn their strengths and weaknesses);
(3) to select an appropriate research methodology by identifying its advantages
and disadvantages (i.e., the pros and cons of a particular social science
method and its appropriateness); and
(4) to present the certificate from the online course UCLA Research Training on
Protecting Human Research Subjects. Select "Social & Behavioral
Researchers & Staff: investigators/staff submitting to the general campus
IRBs.
Finally, DIS 280 will be an intensive experience and by the end of the course, successful students will be able:
(5) to read and score a research proposal on a 100-point scale, distinguishing between topics and problems; determining nationally, if not internationally, significant problems in library and information science; recognizing "flat" studies or those lacking depth; proposing higher order objectives (i.e., rather than proposing to undertake merely descriptive studies); stating key research questions and propose provisional theses/hypotheses; identifying critical milestones in the scheduling of events necessary to carry out the study as well as present a defensible budget. In summary, the instructor will provide graduate students a structured way of thinking about problems and their resolution(s).
Relationship to Other Courses:
First quarter students are not advised to enroll in this class unless you have significant pre-professional work experience. While this course is not a statistics class and will not deal in-depth with statistical formulae or mathematical calculations, students must have completed their statistics requirement before enrolling in this section of DIS 280. This instructor's particular approach in DIS 280 is sometimes called inquiry methodology. It is applicable, of course, to your thinking about the portfolio option, other course work, the LIS literature, and even proposals for a master’s thesis. Graduate students are encouraged to enroll in a DIS 596 "Individual Directed Studies" with an interested faculty member (such as your 280 instructor) during any subsequent quarter as a way to carry out your proposed project/thesis proposal, should you care to do so.
As part of their own readings for this course, students are required to demonstrate what they have learned by critiquing the published work of others. Three-to-five readings per week which collectively will make up your Literature Review on research methods. You may select your readings from the class syllabus, other courses, or scholarly, peer-reviewed (i.e., refereed) journals such as College & Research Libraries, Journal of the American Society of Information Science and Technology, and The Library Quarterly. Specialty journals such as RUSQ, Journal of Government Information, and Libraries & the Cultural Record are also acceptable. The selected articles should be research, evidence-based, articles which have explicitly stated methods whether so labeled or not. Structurally you should include a complete and consistent bibliographic citation (following CMS style; see below) plus an informative (as opposed to indicative) abstract. Ideally, the analysis would follow the model article analysis and answer those questions (see also the research proposal checklist for details; you need not repeat the questions or the numbers). Please hand-in your analysis of the readings (note: I do not need the actual articles) for each methodology section we cover (I will give you feedback on selection, and perhaps simply a checkmark; an asterisk means I really like that reading) and then at the end of the class, please turn the entire set of readings (called your Literature Review). I repeat, I do not need photocopies of the articles you have read. Note the readings can be a mix of prescribed (i.e., key or classic) and others of your own choice. One final word about readings, graduate students may also benefit from learning more about inquiry methodology.
Note that a single textbook is not required for this course, however, background reading about general social science methods are also available in these recommended textbooks: Chava Nachmias and David Nachmias, Research Methods in the Social Sciences, latest ed. (New York: St. Martin's Press, latest edition) or Robert Rosenthal and Ralph L. Rosnow, Essentials of Behavioral Research: Methods and Data Analysis, latest ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, latest edition). In our own field of information studies, graduate students may find Alison J. Pickard’s Research Methods in Information (London: facet Publishing, latest ed.), Ronald R. Powell and Lynn Silipigni Connaway, Basic Research Methods for Librarians, latest ed. (Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, latest ed.) or Danny P. Wallace and Connie Van Fleet, Knowledge into Action: Research and Evaluation in Library and Information Science (Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-Clio, latest ed.) useful as well. Copies of the recommended textbooks are not on reserve in the MIT Lab, and may not be available at the ASUCLA Bookstore, so you might consider checking them out from another library or purchasing these titles used via http://www.addall.com.
I. Introduction and Orientation to Course (Week One:
January 8th)—the whole point is testing and validation of
social science knowledge…
II. The Idealized Research Process
(Week Two: January 15th)—What is research? How do articles get into print?
III. Philosophical Perspectives and Methodological
Orientations (Week Three: January 22nd)—How do different researchers think about
problems?
IV. Ethnographic Research (Week Four: January 29th)—How do
qualitative researchers collect evidence?
V. Personal Interviews and Questionnaire Construction
(Week Five: February 5th)—How do researchers talk to people? Student
Presentation
on ER
VI. Field Work in Some Place (e.g., an Archive, Bookstore, Library or Museum) (Week Six: February 12th)—How are you conducting reliable/valid research?
VII. Samples and Populations; Data Coding and Screening (Week
Seven: February 19th)—How many is enough? How do I deal with
quantitative data? Student Presentation of PI/QC
VIII. Statistical Hypothesis Testing and Bivariate Models
(Week Eight: February 26th)—How are good hypotheses shaped? Student Presentation
on S&P
IX. Multivariate Models (Week Nine: March 5th)—How
sophisticated can one think? Student Presentation on CD&S
X. Seminar and In-class Final Examination (Week Ten: March
12th) Student Presentation of HT and BM/MM
Following
the course learning objectives, there are six assignments:
1)
Literature review of a research problem in LIS, covering the problem, goals and
objectives, concepts and variables, and findings (see model). In addition to
the content just mentioned, this assignment will be graded on bibliographic
style (e.g., for following the latest edition of the CMS, section 16 (and
not the author-date system, but the so-called humanities style bibliography)
and graded for complete citation, accurate elements, and each element in the
proper order), 25% of final grade, drafts due each class session
starting on 29 January, and the final
graded version (consisting of everything you have read on the topic) will be
due last class session, 12 March. You might consider using one of the
bibliographic management software programs such as RefWorks.
2) In
class (assigned by the instructor) presentation and discussion of the
advantages and disadvantages (i.e., pros and cons) of the particular
methodology previously presented by the instructor. For the class presentation
and discussion, each student is responsible for inviting any guest lecturers
(but only with the prior approval of the instructor), preparing any PowerPoint presentations, and any photocopying or posting on
the web of any “handout” material (such as recommended readings) for other
members of the class as well as the instructor.
The presentation must cover (i.e., discuss, analyze, and evaluate) at
least one LIS peer reviewed article on their topic; in addition, you might wish
to explore the WWW for useful sites (such as computer assisted calculations for
sample size determination or SurveyMonkey.com, etc.) 25% of final grade. Due dates
in class schedule above.
3)
Submission of the UCLA approved Protection of Human Subjects’ certificate for the
"Social and Behavioral Responsible Conduct of Research Course 1, Basic
Course." (5% of final grade, graded A or F); Due by February
5th. Graded P/F.
4) A
written field-study of a public space (i.e., go someplace) such as a sidewalk, street
or park or a café or bookstore or library or museum, which inductively
generates a theory (or deductively applies an existing theory). 20% of final grade; Due February
26th. Grading: description is good (B) and analysis is
very good (B+), but theory generation is excellent (A-) and testing is
outstanding (A).
5) A
final paper which is either a) a written evaluation of a quantitative research
proposal by Matthew Saxton (pdf part 1, part 2, and part 3)
or a qualitative research proposal by Amy VanScoy (on CCLE), according to a 100-point scale
presented in class or b) a written proposal for original research. Grading is
based on following the proposal writing checklist and grading of the final
paper will be based on the instructor's finding the answers to the questions
posed in the "Proposal
Writing Checklist". You may
wish to pretend that you are serving as a reviewer, reading the proposal, for a
government funding agency. 20% of final grade. Due Friday, March
14th.
6) A
single final, in class and open book, examination consisting of one question related to methodological orientation. 5% of final grade and due final class session, March
12th.
These
six assignments consist of 100% of the final course grade.
Grades
are reported to the Registrar via My.UCLA.edu,
so be sure to check it after receiving any marked paper back in your folder in
the Student Commons. Grading is necessarily subjective; however, the instructor
seeks to make his grading criteria as clear as possible. If it's not clear to
you after reading this section, please ask for clarification. For example,
please avoid the 10
common errors listed on the "DIS 280 Term Research Papers". All
term papers are subject to a half-letter grade reduction for not heeding the
above ten points. Late papers will also be subject to a half-letter grade
reduction per session late. Final papers
are due on that date; any late final papers must be approved in writing by the
instructor well in advance of the due date. Late assignments will be subject to
a half-letter grade reduction per session late. Plagiarism, the unattributed
use of other people's work, is unacceptable; such work will receive a DR grade
and be reported to the Dean of Students without exception. No incomplete grades
are awarded in this class; please plan accordingly. Also, students with
disabilities should present the instructor with the proper form from the Office
of Students with Disabilities to receive appropriate accommodation.
Revisions
and spell-checked: 23 February 2014.