Communication
801-5, Spring, 1999
Design and
Methodology in Communication Research
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Professors: |
Ellen Balka |
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Office: |
CC 6144 |
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Office Hours: |
Wednesday, 1:30-3:30 |
My office hours are a mix
of drop-in times and scheduled appointments. Please
consult my office door for further |
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Phone: |
291-3764 |
information. |
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E-mail: |
ebalka@sfu.ca |
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Course Description:
An examination of problems, methods, and theoretical
assumptions in qualitative and
empirical communication research. You will be asked to consider the
relationship between methodology and its theoretical underpinnings. You will
also gain practical experience in applying research methods.
This course is intended to introduce you to a range
of techniques, but also to enable you to assess their appropriateness,
limitations and assumptions in relation to your own research program. The
course is informed particularly by the interdisciplinary nature of
communications, with emphasis on the methodological discourse of the social
sciences.
Topics will include the formation of research
questions, research design, ethics in field research, the exploration of
problems from different theoretical perspectives, and the link between
theoretical perspectives and practical techniques used in communications
research. Students will be introduced to a variety of research methods which
may include participant observation, interview techniques, content analysis and
other approaches to analyzing media texts, documentary research, ethnography,
focus groups 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.
American Psychological
Association (1994). Publication Manual of the American Psychological
Association (Forth Edition). Washington D.C.: American Psychological
Association.
Students will be required to read additional
articles that will either be on reserve or available for photocopying in the
copy room in the School of Communication.
Course Requirements:
A detailed description of assignments follows.
Assignments will be cumulative in that they will all become building blocks for
the final paper. It is expected that
work will be completed and handed in on time. Please double space your
assignments.
Assignment % of Grade Due
Date
Quick and dirty research proposal 5% Week
3
Methodology exercises (2) 20% each 1 week after method is discussed in class;
Class participation 20% Ongoing
Research proposal 35% 1 week
after last class
Description of
Assignments
Quick and dirty research
proposal (5%)
At the start of class in week 3 you must hand in a
quick and dirty research proposal. In 2 pages, you should tell me
what
you intend to write your thesis about;
what
your research question is;
what
theories and methods you think might be relevant.
You must hand this in on time. For doing this, you
get 5% of your grade. I will read and comment on your quick and dirty research
proposal, but I will not grade it. The purpose of this assignment is to get you
thinking about what you want to do with your thesis and how you might go about
it. It is my hope that this exercise will give you a context through which you
can examine research methods.
Methodology exercises (2): 2 at 20 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 one week of when the
method is presented in class. Each exercise is described below.
It is anticipated that students will spend 8-10
hours to complete a single methodology exercise.
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.
Content
/ Textual Analysis:
Several approaches to analyzing media texts
(primarily news) will be presented in
class. For this assignment, you will be choosing a small textual corpus and
subjecting it to a preliminary content
analysis by first generating a set of
questions, then designing a coding protocol and applying it to several units. Then select another approach to textually analyzing the same material. In an even more preliminary way, generate a set of questions appropriate to
that approach, and suggest how the
results of the analysis might compare with those of the content analysis.
You should hand in the textual corpus,
your lists of questions, coding protocol and preliminary analyses.
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.
Research proposal (35 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
that contains enough of a literature review to provide a context for posing
your research question.
· a clear statement of research
objectives and research questions;
· a methodology section that
details the approach that will be followed in answering the research questions.
In the methodology section, you should justify your choice of research methods,
and you should include a discussion of both the strengths and limitations of
various methods that could be employed in your research.
· a section on problems that may
be encountered in conducting the proposed research;
· completion of university ethics
forms appropriate for your proposed research.
Doctoral Students must also complete a short proposal
(1.5 pages) in the form required by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research
Council of Canada, for their doctoral fellowships applications. Consult the
SSHRC WWW site for the actual application form and guidelines.
Class participation (20 points):
Students
are expected to come to class prepared to discuss the assigned readings. You
are expected to speak in class and will be required to work in small groups
from time to time during class time. You may be required to make a presentation
about their work during the course of the term.
Style:
Students will be expected to follow the APA style
guide, and are required to purchase an APA
style guide for use in this course. Learning how to properly use a style
guide will save you hours and hours of work preparing your thesis. If you make
use on-line resources in your work, you must properly reference on-line
resources. Guidelines for citing on-line resources can be found on several WWW
sites, including http://www.mun.ca/library/ref/virtuallib.html#grants.
Short Exercises (strictly optional- I will comment on them if you
like):
These
exercises have been developed to help students think through and develop their
research question. They are not required. If students complete them and hand
them in they will receive feedback on them.
1.
Defining Key Concepts that are central to your research interest. Suggested
completion: 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.
Suggested completion: 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.
Articulating your research question. Suggested completion: 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.
Weekly Schedule
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Date: |
Topics and Readings (readings are to be completed prior to class time
on the day they re listed). Each week students should
read at least one article listed under theory and at least one article listed
under practice. Articles with an * beside them must be read by all students.
If you are interested in a particular method, you may want to read the
article or articles listed under example, as well as other articles listed
for the week. |
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Jan. 6 |
Overview of the course |
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Jan 13 |
Overview of the research process; Marshall and Rossman, *Chapters 1-3 (and scan 4). *Creswell, J.W. (1994).
Chapters 1 and 6. Research design: Qualitative and quantitative approaches
(p. 1-19 & 81-104). Newbury Park, CA.: Sage. Strauss, A. and Corbin, C. (1994). Grounded theory
methodology: An overview. In N.K. Denzin and Y.S. Lincoln (Eds.). Handbook
of qualitative research (p. 273-285). Newbury Park, CA.: Sage. |
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Jan. 20 |
Theory:
The roots of qualitative method and symbolic interaction Theory:
Symbolic Interactionism Prus, R. (1994).
Approaching the study of human group life: Symbolic interaction and
ethnographic inquiry. In M. Dietz, R. Prus and W. Shaffir (Eds.). Doing
everyday life: Ethnography as human lived
experience (p. 10-29).
Copp-Clark: Miss. Ont. Practice:
Participant Observation and Ethnography *Anderson, J.A. (1987).
Participant observation. Communication research: Issues and methods
(p.295-356). New York: McGraw Hill. Burgess, R.G. (1984).
Methods of field research 1: Participant observation. In the field: An
introduction to field research (p. 78-100). London: George Allen &
Unwin. Shaffir, W., Dietz, M.L.
and Stebbins, R. (1994). Field research as social experience: Learning to do
ethnography. . In M. Dietz, R. Prus and W. Shaffir (Eds.). Doing everyday life: Ethnography as human lived experience
(p. 31-54). Copp-Clark: Miss. Ont. 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 (p. 25-51).
Chicago: Markham. Example: Rouncefield, M., Viller,
S., Hughes, J.A. and Rodden, T. (1995). Working with “constant interruption’:
CSCW and the small office. The information society vol. 11, 173-188. |
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Jan. 27 |
Theory: Ethnomethodology and phenomenology Practice:
Interviews Theory: *Holstein, J.A. and
Gubrium, J.F. (1994). Phenomenology, ethnomethodology and interpretive
practice. In N.K. Denzin and Y.S. Lincoln (Eds.). Handbook of qualitative
research (p. 262-272). Newbury Park, CA.: Sage. Coulon, A. (1995). Ethnomethodology.
(p. 1-27). Newbury Park CA.: Sage. Practice: 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 (p. 70-87). London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. Mishler, E.G. (1986).
Standard practice. Research interviewing: Context and narrative (p.
9-34). Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Silverman, D. (1985). A
place for interview data. Qualitative methodology and sociology:
Describing the social world (p.156-177). Brookfield Vt.: Gower. Example: Sarch, A. (1993). Making
the connection: Single women’s use of the telephone in dating relationships
with men. Journal of communication 43 (2). 128-143. Prasad, P. And Prasad, A.
(1994). The ideology of professionalism and work computerization: An
institutionalist study of technological change. Human relations 47 (12).
1433-1455. * |
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Feb. 3 |
Theory:
Language and social action Theory: Hammersley, M. (1997). On
the foundations of critical discourse analysis. Language and communication
vol. 17 # 3, 237-248. 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 (p. 1-18). New Jersey: Ablex. Smith, D.E. Femininity as
discourse. Texts, facts and femininity: Exploring the relations of ruling.
(p. 159-208). New York: Routledge. Practice: Berg, B.L. (1998). An
introduction to content analysis. Qualitative research methods for the
social sciences (3rd Ed.). (p. 223-252). Toronto: Allyn and Bacon. Krippendorf, K. (1980).
Content analysis: A practical Guide. Content analysis: An introduction to
its methodology (p. 169-180).
Newbury Park, CA.: Sage. Example: Fraser Institute (1988). On
balance: Media treatment of public policy issues vol. 1 #3. Balka, E. (1991). Womantalk
goes on-line: The use of computer networks in the context of feminist social
change. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis. (Selections: 178-181; 211-216; 228-233;
276-283). Burnaby, B.C.: Simon Fraser University. |
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Feb. 10 |
Theory:
Marxism and Political Economy Theory: Berg, B.L. (1989).
Unobtrusive measures in research Qualitative research methods for the
social sciences. (p. 85-104).
Allyn and Bacon: Boston. Berger, A. (1991). Marxist
Analysis. Media analysis techniques (p. 32-55). Sage: Newbury Park Ca.
Mosco, V. (1996). What is
political economy. The political economy of communication. (p. 22-69).
Sage: Newbury Park Ca. Practice: Hill, M.R. (1993).
Archival strategies and techniques. . (p. 59-69). Newbury Park CA.: Sage. Scott, J. (1990).
Assessing documentary sources. A matter of record: Documentary sources in
social research. (p. 19-35). Oxford: Polity Press. Example: Balka, E. (1998—in press). Long Numbers and Wrong
Numbers: New Technology and the Restructuring of Women’s Work in
Telecommunications in Atlantic Canada. In E. Meehan & E. Riordan (Eds.). Sex
and Money: The Intersection of Feminism and Political Economy in
Communication. (47 pages). |
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Feb. 17 |
Practice:
Focus Groups *Lunt, P. (1996). Rethinking the focus group in
media and communications research. Journal of Communication (vol. 46 #2).
79-98. *Morgan, D.L. (1988). Focus groups as
qualitative research (p. 9-38). London: Sage. (Entire monograph recommended). |
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Feb. 24 |
Practice:
Case Study Research Reinharz, S. (1992).
Feminist case studies (chapter 9). Feminist methods in social research. (p.
164-174). Oxford: London. Yin,
R. K. (1984). Case study research (p. 13-60). Sage: Newbury Park, Ca. Example: Cockburn, C. & Ormrod,
S. (1993). Achieving a new technology.
Gender and technology in the making (p. 16-40). Newbury Park
Ca.: Sage. |
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March 3 |
How to Question Statistics Theory: *Armstrong, P. and
Armstrong, H. (1990). Beyond numbers: Problems with quantitative data. In G.
Hoffman-Nimeroff (Ed.). Women and men: Interdisciplinary readings on
gender. (p. 54-79). Toronto: Fitzhenry and Whiteside. Barnes, J.A. (1979).
Collecting data. Who should know what? Social science, privacy and ethics
(p. 89-133). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Practice: Sanders, W.B. (1974). The
survey. In W.B. Sanders (Ed.), The sociologist as detective: An
introduction to research methods (p. 67-74). New York: Praeger. Stern, P.C. (1979). Evaluating scientific
evidence. In P.C. Stern (Ed.), Evaluating social science research (p.
61-96). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Example: See Armstrong and
Armstrong or Stern, above. |
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March 10 |
Theory:
Non-Obtrusive Methods Theory: *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
(p. 202-217). New York: Praeger. Practice: *Request for Ethical
Approval of Research Application Forms Available on-line at: http://www.sfu.ca/vpresearch/ethics/forms.htm Example: See examples from week 6. |
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March 17 |
Participatory and action research Theory: *Reason, P. (1994). Three
approaches to participative inquiry. In N.K. Denzin and Y.S. Lincoln (Eds.). Handbook
of qualitative research (p. 324-339). Newbury Park, CA.: Sage. Hall, B. (1993).
Introduction. . In P. Park, M. Brydon-Miller, B. Hall and T. Jackson (Eds.). Voices
of change: Participatory research in the united states and Canada. (p.
xiii-xxii). Toronto: OISE Press. Park, P. (1993). What is
participatory research? A theoretical and methodological perspective. In P.
Park, M. Brydon-Miller, B. Hall and T. Jackson (Eds.). Voices of change:
Participatory research in the united states and Canada (p. . 1-19).
Toronto: OISE Press. CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE |
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March 17 |
Participatory and action research, cont. Practice: Damodaran, L. (1996). User
involvement in the systems design process- a practical guide for users. Behavior
and information technology vol. 15 #6 363-377. Example: Forrester, K. and Ward, K.
(1992). The potential and limitations: Participatory research in a university
context. In J.S. Fideres (Ed.). A world of communities: Participatory
research perspectives (p. 165-184). North York, Ont.: Captus University
Publications. |
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March 24 |
Dealing with the inevitable problems *Marshall and Rossman,
Chapters 5, 6 and 7. |
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March 31 |
Extra week in case of snow
or space for material not covered here. Possible topics are: Working with visual data
(video tapes, pictures, film); Coding qualitative data; Working with qualitative data
analysis programs. |
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