School of Information SI 724: Qualitative Methods Winter 2012

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1 School of Information SI 724: Qualitative Methods Winter 2012 Instructor: Elizabeth Yakel Office: 4419 North Quad Phone: Office Hours: Monday 12 noon 1:00 p.m. and by appointment Meeting Time: Monday 1:10 4:00 pm Location: 1265 Credits: 3 Prerequisites: SI 840 or Permission of Instructor Purposes: The purposes of this seminar are twofold to utilize and gain proficiency using qualitative methodologies/methods and to examine and critique current research employing these ideas and techniques. The course will focus on approaches to and the design of qualitative studies, selection of data collection methods, data analysis strategies, and writing in research utilizing qualitative data. The class will also discuss the appropriate uses of qualitative methods, theoretical frameworks, research design, operationalization, and measurement issues, such as the validity and reliability of data. While the course will not cover every potential qualitative data collection or analysis method, it will discuss broad categories of data (verbal, observational, textual, visual), different research designs (single methods, triangulation of methods, case studies), and data analysis techniques (coding, memoing, discourse analysis, etc.). In addition to methodological readings, readings utilizing qualitative research techniques in the area of information (broadly defined) will be used to help students appreciate the broad range of research possibilities in this field (these fields). Readings from outside our area will be used to introduce students to other research methodologies and issues of importance in carrying out a research study. Learning Objectives: At the end of the term, students in this class will be able to: Understand several different philosophical approaches to qualitative research Design qualitative research studies Perform qualitative data collection, manipulation, and analysis Understand the ethical issues involved in qualitative research Work with software programs for coding and analyzing qualitative data Write up a qualitative study Evaluate books and articles featuring qualitative research SI 724: Qualitative Methods 1

2 Assignments and Grading: There will be weekly assignments building towards a term project, which should be considered a pilot research study utilizing qualitative methods. Completion of these assignments, demonstration of effort, and participation in the discussions concerning is expected. It is intended that students use the weekly assignments to collect data around a coherent research question. During the course students will examine how philosophical assumptions, research questions, methodological designs, data collection and analysis techniques, and writing up the results are framed in qualitative research as well as disciplinary differences in the use of qualitative methods. At each step, students will turn in each part and receive feedback from the professor and/or colleagues in class. You may use an existing study in which you are involved for the class, but you must be able to collect new data, alter data collection techniques slights, and perform different types of analysis than you intended. While there may be some overlap with other research in which you are engaged, there is not a one to one match. Part of the goal of the course is to have you experiment with data collection methods to gain and understanding of their strengths and weaknesses in different situations. Class attendance and participation are mandatory; they are integral parts of the seminar experience. Students should come to class prepared to discuss the readings and their weekly assignment. Students will also take turns leading discussion about the weekly exemplar reading which relates to that week s topic. The final class will be a 15-minute research presentation. All assignments should be turned in *electronically* by 9 am the day before class (Sunday) into your class folder on CTools. Assignments should be uploaded in a word processing format. No pdfs. Name the file with your surname and the assignment name; example: yakel_researchquestion.doc Timely assignments are essential both for the class to function properly and for students to receive appropriate feedback on their work. This will give the instructor and your colleagues a chance to review the information for better discussion, questions, and suggestions. SI 724: Qualitative Methods 2

3 Weekly Assignment Schedule Date Weekly Topic Assignments (Due Sunday before class 9 a.m.) 1 January 9 Introduction January 16 Martin Luther King Day 2 January 23 Research questions and Philosophical traditions and approaches (cont) Research questions / IRB completed if necessary 3 January 30 Design of Qualitative Studies Initial design notes 4 February 6 Collecting Verbal Data Interview protocol 5 February 13 Data Analysis (1): Qualitative Analysis Software Interviews (2 methods) and reflections on data collection 6 February 20 Data Analysis (2) Transcriptions of 2 interviews Initial code list and definitions February 27 Spring Break 7 March 5 Collecting Observational Data Coding of 2 transcripts (one yours one your research partner s) Inter-indexer consistency Inter-coder discussion results 8 March 12 Data Analysis (3): Reliability and validity in qualitative data Observational protocol and notes of first observations 9 March 19 Data Analysis (4): Discourse Analysis Analysis of observations Two memos 10 March 26 Collecting and Analyzing Textual Data Discourse analysis memo of verbal or textual data 11 April 2 Research ethics and qualitative studies; Data sharing and qualitative data Draft of final paper: Research question / Introduction, Literature review, Methodology 13 April 9 Writing up Results Findings and Discussion draft 14 April 16 Final Research Proposal Presentations April 18 Final Research Paper Due SI 724: Qualitative Methods 3

4 Grading: Assignment Due Date Percent of Grade Completion of Weekly Ongoing 25% Assignments Class Attendance & Participation Ongoing 20% Research Question Draft March 26, % Literature Review Draft April 2, % Research Design Draft April 9, % Class Presentation April 16, % Final Paper April 18, % Readings: Required Book: Michael Huberman and Matthew B. Miles, Qualitative Data Analysis: An Expanded Sourcebook, 2 nd edition, Newbury Park, CA: Sage, Recommended Books (in ranked order): Barney G. Glaser and Anselm L. Strauss, The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research, New York: Aldine de Gruyter, John W. Creswell, Qualitative Inquiry & Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches, second edition, Thousand Oaks, CA, Harry F. Wolcott, Writing Up Qualitative Research, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Resources Class resources, some lecture slides, assignments, will be posted on CTools. ORIGINAL WORK Unless otherwise specified in an assignment, all submitted work must be your own, original work. Any excerpts from the work of others must be clearly identified as a quotation, and a proper citation provided. Any violation of the School's policy on Academic and Professional Integrity (stated in the Master's and Doctoral Student Handbooks) will result in severe penalties, which might range from failing an assignment, to failing a course, to being expelled from the program, at the discretion of the instructor and the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. SI 724: Qualitative Methods 4

5 ACCOMMODATIONS FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES If you think you need an accommodation for a disability, please let me know at your earliest convenience. Some aspects of this course, the assignments, the in-class activities, and the way we teach may be modified to facilitate your participation and progress. As soon as you make me aware of your needs, we can work with the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) to help us determine appropriate accommodations. SSD ( ); typically recommends accommodations through a Verified Individualized Services and Accommodations (VISA) form. I will treat any information you provide as private and confidential. CLASSROOM ETIQUETTE Students are encouraged to bring notebook computers to class and to use them actively as learning tools. Students should: use laptops for taking notes, conducting research required for activities, and other specific classroom tasks as assigned by the instructor. During class, students should not check , chat, IM, play games, or perform other off-task activities. engage in-class activity as actively as they would in any other class. The computer should not become a barrier to one-on-one interaction, but instead should help facilitate the exchange of ideas and engagement in classroom contact. demonstrate sensitivity to others. Students should not display screen images, including wallpapers and screen savers, which might be distracting or offensive to other members of the class. SI 724: Qualitative Methods 5

6 Class Schedule January 9: Introduction: Theory, Metatheory and Philosophical Underpinnings Who we are (Introductions) What this course is about Expectations / assignments Required: Marcia J. Bates, An Introduction to Metatheories, Theories, and Models, in Theories of Information Behavior, Karen E. Fisher, Sanda Erdelez, and Lynne (E.F.) McKechnie editors, Medford, New Jersey: Information Today, John W. Creswell, Qualitative Inquiry & Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches, second edition, Thousand Oaks, CA, Chapters 2: Philosophical, Paradigm, and Interpretative Frameworks, and 4: Five Qualitative Approaches to Inquiry, January 23: Discussion of Research Questions / Potential Projects Formulating research questions and sub-questions Ethics Moving from research questions to design Barney Glaser & Anselm Strauss, The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research, New York: Aldine degruyter, Chapter 2: Generating Theory, Creswell, Chapter 5: Five different Qualitative Studies, (Reports on studies) Creswell, Chapter 6, Introducing and Focusing the Study, January 30: Designing Qualitative Studies Research design Sampling Operationalization Matching design to questions Required: Miles and Huberman, Chapters 2 and 3: Focusing and Bounding the Collection of Data Glaser and Strauss, III: Theoretical Sampling Creswell, Chapter 3: Designing a Qualitative Study SI 724: Qualitative Methods 6

7 February 6: Collecting Verbal Data Interview Methodology and mechanics applications, types of research questions that can be addressed, note taking, audio taping, videotaping Structured and semi-structured interviews Interviewing techniques ( , chat, face-to-face (recorded and notes), telephone/skype (recorded and notes)) W. Carole Chenitz, The Informal Interview, in W.C. Chenitz and J.M. Swanson, From Practice to Grounded Theory, Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1986: Catherine Kohler Riessman, When Gender is not Enough: Women Interviewing Women, in Gender and Society 1/2 (June 1987): Lokman Meho, Interviewing in Qualitative Research: A Methodological Discussion, Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology 57/10 (2006): Using Verbal Data: Derek Hansen; Mark S. Ackerman; Paul Resnick; Sean Munson, Virtual Community Maintenance with a Repository, Proceedings of the American Society for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T) Annual Meeting (2007) Ann Zimmerman, New Knowledge from Old Data, Science, Technology, & Human Values 33/5 (2008): February 13: Data Analysis (1) Qualitative Data Analysis Software: N-Vivo and Atlas.ti Creswell, Chapter 8: Data Analysis and Representation, Miles and Huberman, Appendix, Choosing Computer Programs for Qualitative Data Analysis February 20: Data Analysis (2) Keeping track of data Creating and managing codes Memoing Miles and Huberman, 4: Early Steps in Analysis; Chapter 11: Ethical Issues in Analysis Glaser and Strauss, V: The Constant Comparative Method of Qualitative Analysis SI 724: Qualitative Methods 7

8 Julie Corbin, Coding, writing memos, and diagramming, Chapter 9 in Emerson, Contemporary Field Research, Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1983: Cynthia Weston, Terry Gandell, Jacinthe Beauchamp, Lynn McAlpine, Carol Wiseman, and Cathy Beauchamp, Analyzing Interview Data: The Development and Evolution of a Coding System, Qualitative Sociology 24/3 (2001): February 27: Spring Break! March 5: Collecting Observational Data Observational methodologies Participant observation / Fly on the wall Observational mechanics and protocols Field notes Kai Erikson, A Comment on Disguised Observation in Sociology, in W. Filstead (ed.), Qualitative Methodology, Chicago: Markham, 1970: Howard S. Becker, Problems of Inference and Proof in Participant Observation, American Sociological Review 23 (1958): Marcella Z. Davis, Observation in Natural Settings, in W.C. Chenitz & J.M. Swanson, From Practice to Grounded Theory, Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1986: Carol A.B. Warren, Writing the Other, Inscribing the Self, Qualitative Sociology 23/2 (2000): Research using observation: Stephen R. Barley, (1986) Technology as an Occasion for Structuring: Evidence from Observations of CT Scanners and the Social Order of Radiology Departments. Administrative Science Quarterly 31: Mark Ackerman and Christine Halverson, Organizational memory as objects, processes, and trajectories: an examination of organizational memory in use, Computer Supported Cooperative Work: The Journal of Collaborative Computing, 13/2 (2004): SI 724: Qualitative Methods 8

9 March 12: Data Analysis (3) Validity Legitimization Generalizability Miles and Huberman, Chapters 5: Within-Case Displays and 7: Cross-Case Displays. Appendix: Choosing Computer Programs for Qualitative Data Analysis. Isadore Newman and Carolyn R. Benz, Validity and Legitimation of Research, Chapters 3 and 4: Strategies to Enhance Validity and Legitimation, in I. Newman and C. R. Benz, Qualitative-Quantitative Research Methodology: Exploring the Interactive Continuum, Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois Univ. Press, Creswell, Chapter 10: Standards of Validation and Evaluation Janet Ward Schofield, Increasing the Generalizability of Qualitative Research, in The Qualitative Researchers Companion, A. Michael Huberman and Matthew B. Miles editors, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2002: March 19: Discourse Analysis Approaching text as a social phenomena Interpretative analysis John Searle, Speech Acts: An essay in the philosophy of language, (Selections) Mats Alvesson and Dan Karreman, Varieties of Discourse: On the Study of Organizations through Discourse Analysis, Human Relations 53 (2000): Bernd Frohmann, Discourse analysis as a research method in library and information science, Library & Information Science Research 16/2 (1994): Research using discourse analysis: Tiffany Veinot, The Eyes of the Power Company : Workplace Information Practices of a Vault Inspector, Library Quarterly, 77/2 (2007): March 26: Diary Studies and the Interpretative Process Diary Studies Interpretative framing SI 724: Qualitative Methods 9

10 Diary Studies: Michelene T. H. Chi, Quantifying qualitative analyses of verbal data: A practical guide, Journal of the Learning Sciences, 6/3 (1997): Miles and Huberman, Chapter 10: Drawing and Verifying Conclusions Norman K. Denzin, The Interpretative Process, in The Qualitative Researchers Companion, A. Michael Huberman and Matthew B. Miles editors, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2002: Clifford Geertz, Thick Description: Toward and Interpretative Theory of Culture, in Contemporary Field Research, Robert M. Emerson editor, Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland, D.H. Zimmerman and D.L. Wieder, The diary: diary-interview method. Urban Life, 5/4 (1977): Martin Colbert, A diary study of rendezvousing: implications for position-aware computing and communications for the general public, Proceedings of the 2001 International ACM SIGGROUP Conference on Supporting Group Work 2001, Boulder, Colorado: Carol Kuhlthau, Developing a Model of the library search process: Cognitive and affective aspects, Reference Quarterly 28 (1988): Elaine G. Toms and Wendy Duff, I spent 1 ½ hours sifting through one large box. : Diaries as information behavior of the archives user: Lessons learned, Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology 53/14: April 2: Ethics in Qualitative Research and Data Sharing Ethical issues Data sharing and qualitative research Louise Corti (2000). Progress and Problems of Preserving and Providing Access to Qualitative Data for Social Research The international Picture of an Emerging Culture, Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research [Online Journal], 1/3 (2000). Harry Van den Berg, Reanalyzing Qualitative Interviews from Different Angles: The Risk of Decontextualization and Other Problems of Sharing Qualitative Data, Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research 6/1 (2005). SI 724: Qualitative Methods 10

11 April 9: Writing up Qualitative Research Miles and Huberman, Chapter 12: Producing Reports Creswell, Chapter 9: Writing a Qualitative Study Harry F. Wolcott, Writing Up Qualitative Research, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Chapter 2 April 16: Final Presentations SI 724: Qualitative Methods 11