WOMEN'S STUDIES 6100:
EPISTEMOLOGICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL APPROACHES IN WOMEN'S STUDIES
Winter, 1995
Professor: Ellen Balka
phone: 737-2515
Office Hours:
Monday, 3:00-4:30
Wednesday, 1:30-3:00
and by appointment.
Course Description:
Epistemological and Methodological Approaches in Women's Studies is designed to provide students with both a range of techniques and a set of critical procedures for pursuing research in Women's Studies.
The course is informed particularly by the interdisciplinary nature of women's studies, with emphasis on the methodological discourse of the social sciences and the theoretical discourse of humanities-based fields of study. Students will be encouraged to develop an awareness of the problems besetting scholars pursuing Women's Studies from diverse and more tradition bound disciplines.
Topics will include the formation of research questions within disciplines, the exploration of problems from different disciplinary perspectives, and the link between theoretical perspectives and practical techniques used in research. Students will be introduced to feminist critiques of research, and a variety of research methods which may include participant observation, ethnography, interview techniques, oral history, content and discourse analysis, documentary research, literary criticism and other techniques as required by student interests and needs.
Required Texts:
Marshall, C. & Rossman, G.B. (1995). Designing qualitative research. Newbury Park, CA.: Sage.
Reinharz, S. (1992). Feminist methods in social research. Toronto: Oxford.
Liebowitz, A. (1991). CRIAW paper # 29 Star Gazing: Charting Feminist Literary Criticism. Ottawa: CRIAW.
Recommended (If you haven't read it already):
Kirby, S. & McKenna, K. (1989). Experience research social change: Methods from the margins. Toronto: Garamond.
Students will be required to read additional articles that will either be on reserve or available for photocopying in the women's studies office.
Style:
Students should consult with their supervisors about the referencing procedures they will use in writing their thesis. Students will be expected to follow whatever style guide (such as MLA, APA etc.) is prescribed by their supervisors, and may want to purchase a style guide for use in this course.
Course Requirements:
Assignment
% of Grade Due Date
3 short exercises
5 each Jan.23, Jan. 30 & Feb. 6
Methodological critique or theory paper 20
March 20
Methodology exercises (2) 10 each
2 weeks after method is discussed in class
Research proposal 30
April 17, 5:00 p.m.
Class participation 15
Ongoing
Description of Assignments
Short Assignments (3 at 5 points each)
Students will be required to complete a number of short assignments, which are described below. The logic behind the assignments is that by completing these tasks, students will progress through a number of steps that will ultimately help them think through their research proposal.
1. Defining Key Concepts that are central to your research interest. Due Week 2
Identify at least three key terms or phrases related to your area of interest. For example, key terms relevant to my current interests might include technology, participatory design and ergonomics. Once you have identified key terms in your area of interest, either locate definitions from other people's work for each of the terms, or, write your own definitions. You should turn in a list of your terms, a list of definitions, and a brief write-up indicating some of the definitions you rejected, and why.
2. Locating your research interest from different disciplinary perspectives. Due Week 3
Go to the library and find ten articles that are related to your research interests, written from at least three different disciplinary perspectives. (E.g., in light of my interest in women and technological change, I might find an article about women and technology written by a sociologist, another by someone in women's studies, a third by a historian, a forth by a computer scientist etc., all having to do with women and technology in the workplace). You should skim all of the articles, and then select three from different disciplines for further analysis. Once you have read the three articles, answer the following questions about them. What are some of the differences in how authors within different disciplines address your topic of interest? Are there similarities? If so, what are they? What points are implicit in the different treatments of your topic (or, what is assumed within different perspectives?) Are there similarities between perspectives? If so, what are they? Are any ideas treated as implicit within the different disciplinary perspectives? If so, what are they? What points are made explicitly, that relate tot he disciplinary perspective? What research methods are used within different disciplines?
3. Limitations of previous research in terms of sexism and interdisciplinarity Due Week 4
For this exercise you should begin by summarizing the main points Salter and Hearn make about interdisciplinary research, and the main points Eichler makes about sexism and research. This will leave you with a list of sorts. Now, working with the three articles you selected for last week's exercises, you should determine if the articles you selected are, according to Eichler's critique, sexist, and if so how. Next, go through the criteria Salter and Hearn identify as aspects of interdisciplinary research. Do any of the articles you've chosen meet Salter and Hearn's criteria? If so, how? How will your research be interdisciplinary, and how will it differ from the articles you have chosen? You should turn in a copy of your articles (they'll be returned to you) and your write-up.
Recomended (but not required):
4. Articulating your research question Due Week 5
See table 3.1 in Marshall and Rossman (p.41). For each of the categories Marshall and Rossman describe, try to generate one or more research questions in your area of research. Next, identify appropriate research strategy and methods for each of the questions you identify. Your end result should be a table like the one in Marshall and Rossman, where all the examples reflect your research interests. If you complete and hand in this exercise, I will be happy to comment on it.
Methodology exercises (2): 2 at 10 points each
Over the course of the semester, several research methods will be presented (according to student needs and interests). Students will be required to gain practical experience with at least two of these techniques (the nature of the requirement will vary from method to method). Students will be required to hand in the results of their 'field trials' for comment, within two weeks of when the method is presented in class. Each exercise is described below.
Participant Observation:
Select a place to conduct participant observation. Go to that location, and act as a participant observer for one half hour. Plan your time so that you have several hours free after doing your observation, to write up your field notes. Later in the week go back to the same sight and do another observation for 15 minutes. Again, leave time after your observation to write up your field notes. Turn in notes made during your half hour and 15 minute observations, as well as your write up of field notes from both sittings.
Interviews:
Three types of interviews will be presented in class-- two types of particularistic interview and an approach to a generalizable interview. For this assignment, you will be required to generate a set of interview questions for each type of interview, and then go out and conduct a trial interview with each set of questions. After conducting the trial interviews (they will likely take about half an hour each) you should make sure you have time free to write up both your interview notes and your reflections on conducting the interviews. You should hand in the three sets of interview questions, the interview texts, and your notes made after conducting each of the interviews.
Discourse/Textual Analysis:
Several approaches to analyzing text will be presented in class. For this assignment, you will be choosing a text and analyzing it from at least three different perspectives. After selecting the text you will have to generate a set of questions you will be asking of the text (each set of questions will reflect a particular approach to textual analysis). After generating your set of questions you will conduct an analysis of the text from each of three perspectives. You should hand in the text, your three lists of questions, and the analysis you arrived at from each of the three approaches you chose.
Archival Research and Government Documents:
For this exercise you will be required first to identify and locate an exhaustive list of possible sources for archival and government documents related to your area of interest. Once you have identified a list of potential sources, you should indicate the type of information you expect to find in each source of information. Again, this list should be as exhaustive as possible. Finally, you should choose one document from your list, and locate it. Once you have located it, identify other documents it refers to and locate those if possible. Continue with this process until you have spent at least 8 hours searching for documents that were referred to in other documents (or until you hit a dead end). Once you have stooped locating documents, sit down and draw a diagram of which documents led you where. From this you should also be able to compile a timeline of events described in your documents, a list of people, agencies and institutions identified in your documents, and perhaps other phenomenon (such as reference to regulations, hearings etc.). Identify as much information as you are able to, and then sit down and write up a summary of what you have learned as a result of your document search. You should turn in a list of documents you consulted, the lists and diagrams you generated in doing the exercises, and your written summary of what you learned.
Case Study Research
If you are electing to do this exercise with a focus on case studies, you will be required to describe the case study you would like to do. You should start by indicating what you expect to find, what data sources might be available to you (an exhaustive list), what problems you expect to encounter), how you will delimit your case study population, potential problems in identifying, gaining access to or delimiting your case study population, and how you will conduct your case study (e.g., what data sources you will pursue, why you have chosen those sources, what you expect to find, problems you expect to encounter and so on). You should turn in all written material this process generates.
Focus Groups
If you do this exercise with a focus on focus groups, you will be required first to identify who will be asked to participate in your focus group, and why you have chosen to delimit the population in the way that you have. You should also indicate what you would like to find out in holding a focus group, and submit a list of questions that have been designed to illicit answers to the questions your are posing. You should indicate where you would hold your focus group and why you have chosen that location, whether or not you would use audio and/or video tape and why you made the decision you did, what problems might arise and what you feel are the strengths and weaknesses of this approach. You should turn in all written material this exercise generates.
How to question statistics
Go to the library and locate several (a half dozen) articles in your research area that include statistics. What type of statistical tests are used? For two articles, answer the following questions: Does the author describe the sampling procedure? Whether the integrity of the data was checked, and if so how it was checked? Whether the research instrument was pre-tested, and if so, how? Is gender a variable of investigation? What other variables have been excluded, and what if any limitations might this pose for the study? Are you given adequate information to determine whether the research instrument was valid? Do the authors' conclusions seem to you to reflect what the numbers day? If not, provide some examples. Are there other conclusions that might explain the statistical patterns the author(s) found? You should refer back to the Eichler article in doing this exercise.
Non-obtrusive methods
If you choose this exercise, you should identify as many non-obtrusive measures as you can related to your area of research, and potential problems associated with each type of data. In particular, you should attempt to identify as many ethical problems as you can, as well as all of the things that might come to bear on the validity of the conclusions that might be reached from working with each data source you identify.
Literary Criticism
If you choose this exercise, you should choose a short text for analysis. Next, go back to Liebowitz's writing, and analyze your text according to each of the constellations she describes.
Methodological critique or theory paper (1 at 20 points)
Methodological critique
During the semester students will be required to prepare a paper that discusses and offers a critique of methodological approaches related to their area of interest and inquiry. In order to do this, students will first have to locate work in their area of interest conducted from a variety of methodological perspectives. After assimilating this information, material from class lectures, discussions and readings should be used to identify both the limitations and strengths of various methods used to conduct research in the student's area of interest.
Theory paper
For this assignment, students will be required to read in depth about a theoretical perspective upon which a research method is based. So, for example, a student doing textual analysis might choose to read on semiotics; a student wishing to do interviews based on an ethnomethodological perspective might choose to read on ethnomethodology, and so on. Following reading outside of class, students will be required to write a brief paper on the theoretical perspective of their choice. The purpose of this assignment is to give students an opportunity to investigate the theoretical basis of research methodology in greater depth.
Research proposal (30 points)
As a final requirement for this course, students will be required to prepare a research proposal which ideally will resemble the research proposal that will be pursued in their thesis research. It should contain an introduction and background, a clear statement of research questions, a methodology section that details the approach that will be followed in answering the research questions, and a section on problems that may be encountered in conducting the proposed research. Student's with research work that will require clearance by the university ethics review committee should complete the necessary forms as part of their research proposal.
Class participation (15 points)
Students are expected to come to class prepared to discuss the assigned readings. Students are expected to speak in class and will be required to work in small groups from time to time during class time. Students may be required to make a presentation about their work during the course of the term.
Women's Studies 6100
Reading Schedule
Week Date Topics and Readings
1 Mon. Jan. 16 Introductions
Discussion of Student Interests and Course
Structure. Interdisciplinary and the questions posed
within disciplines
2 Mon. Jan.23 Doing Research: Library Session with
Sue Sexty, QEII Library--Class will
meet in L1016
Theoretical basis of disciplines and
Interdisciplinarity
Chapters 1 & 2, Marshall and Rossman
Anderson, J.A. (1987). An introduction to
qualitative research. In Communication
research: Issues and methods. New York:
McGraw-Hill. (237-266)
Todd, A.D. & Fisher, S. (Eds.). (1988).
Introduction: Theories of gender, theories
of discourse. In A.D. Todd & S. Fisher,
(Eds.),Gender and discourse: The power
of talk (pp. 1-18). New Jersey: Ablex.
Chapters 2, 3, and 4 of Berger, A.A. (1991).
Media analysis techniques. London: Sage. (p. 33-95.)
3 Mon. Jan.30 Interdisciplinary and Feminist Critiques of
Research
Eichler, M. (1990). The relationship between
sexist, non-sexist,woman-centred and feminist research
in the social sciences. In G.H. Nemiroff
(Ed.). Women and men: Interdisciplinary
readings on gender. Fitzhenry & Whiteside.
(p. 21-53).
photocopy on Report on Interdisciplinary
Research (Salter & Hearn)
Introduction in Reinharz
Introduction, Chapters 1 and 2 of Maynard,
M. and Purvis, J. (1994). Researching
women's lives from a feminist perspective. Philadelphia:
Taylor and Francis. (p. 1-48).
4 Mon. Feb. 6 Designing Research
Chapters 3 -end of book, Marshall and Rossman
Chapter 11, Reinharz
5 Mon. Feb. 13 Research Design cont. and Participant Observation
Reinharz chapters 10
Anderson, J.A. (1987). Participant observation.
Communication research: Issues and methods (pp.295-356).
New York: McGraw Hill.
Burgess, R.G. (1984). Methods of field
research and participant observation.
In the field: An introduction to field research (pp.
78-100). London: George Allen & Unwin.
Recommended: Deutscher, I. (1970). Words
and deeds: Social science and social policy. In W.J. Filstead (Ed.),
Qualitative methodology: Firsthand
involvement with the social world (pp.
25-51). Chicago:Markham.
6 Mon. Feb. 20 Interviewing
Reinharz, chapter 2 & 7
Finch, J. (1984). 'Its great to have someone
to talk to': the ethics and politics of
interviewing women. In C. Bell &
H. Roberts (Eds.), Social researching:
Politics, problems,practice (pp. 70-87).
London:Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Mishler, E.G. (1986). Standard practice.
Research interviewing: Context and
narrative (pp. 9-34). Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Silverman, D. (1985). A place for interview
data. Qualitative methodology and
sociology: Describing the social world
(pp.156-177).Brookfield Vt.: Gower.
7 Mon. Feb.27 Textual Analysis
Reinharz, chapter 8
Enholm, D.K. (1980). Symbols and sexism:
A symbolic interactionist perspective.
In C.L. Berryman & V.A. Eman, (Eds.).
Communication, language and sex:
Proceedings of the first annual conference
(pp.124-131). Rowley, MA.: Newbury House
Publishers.
Painter, D.S. (1980). Lesbian humor as a
normalization device. In C.L. Berryman &
V.A. Eman, (Eds.). Communication, language
and sex:Proceedings of the first annual conference
(pp.132-147). Rowley, MA.:Newbury House Publishers.
Sanders, W.B. (1974). Content Analysis.
In W.B. Sanders (Ed.), The sociologist
as detective: An introduction to research
methods (pp.221-226). New York: Praeger.
Chapter 1 of Berger, A.A. (1991). Media
analysis techniques. London:Sage. (p. 1-32)
Read 1 of Smith's articles:
Smith, D. (1990). The active text: A textual
analysis of the social relations of public
textual discourse. In D. Smith, Texts,
facts and femininity: Exploring the
relations of ruling (pp.120-158). London:
Routledge.
Smith, D. (1990). Femininity as discourse.
In D. Smith, Texts, facts
and femininity: Exploring the relations
of ruling (pp. 159-208).
London: Routledge.
8 Mon. March 6 Archival Research and Government Documents
Ethnography and Cross-Cultural Research
Reinharz chapters 3 & 6
9 Mon. March 13 Midterm
break-- no class
10 Mon. March 20 Case Study Research and Focus Groups
Reinharz, chapter 9
Morgan, D.L. (1988). Focus groups as
qualitative research.
London:Sage. (pp. 9-38).
11 Mon. March 27 How to question statistics
Reinharz chapters 4 & 5
Barnes, J.A. (1979). Collecting data. Who
should know what? Social
science, privacy and ethics (pp.
89-133). Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Sanders, W.B. (1974). The survey. In W.B.
Sanders (Ed.), The
sociologist as detective: An introduction
to research methods (pp.
67-74). New York: Praeger.
Stern, P.C. (1979). Evaluating scientific
evidence. In P.C. Stern
(Ed.), Evaluating social science research
(pp. 61-96). Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
12 Mon. April 3 Non-obtrusive Methods
Webb, E., Campbell, D.T., Schwartz, R.D.
& Secherst, L. (1974).
Physical evidence. In W.B. Sanders (Ed.),
The sociologist as
detective: An introduction to research
methods (pp. 202-217). New
York: Praeger.
Literary Criticism
Liebowitz, A. (1991). CRIAW paper #
29 Star Gazing: Charting Feminist
Literary Criticism.
13 Mon. April 10 Pulling it all together
Reinharz chapter 12