_Research Methods in Geography and Urban Studies

GUS = 482: Research Methods in Geography and Urban Studies: Spring 2006

Instructor: Sanjoy Chakravorty

Class in GH 310 from 5:30-8:00 Tuesdays

Office Hours: 11 to 1, Thursdays & 3:30-5:00, Tuesdays, or by appointment=

Office: GH 308; Tel: 1-1434; e-mail: sanjoy@temple.edu

This is an introductory course on research methods—it is designed to provi= de an overview of the research process. My goal is to acquaint you with all aspects of research: thinking and learning about a problem, defining a specific answerable question, situating the question in theory and existing research, devising a method to find an answer to that problem, carrying out the chosen methodology, and interpreti= ng and reporting the findings. W= e will not spend a lot of time an any one of these aspects of research, but try to find enough direction and assistance for the motivated researcher to do the rest.

Note that this is a seminar-format class: you will be responsible for the bulk of work for this course. I will = be your guide, showing the way to accomplish individual projects.

Your grades will depend on your performance on five elements (totaling 450 point= s):

(1) A semester long project for the whole class: 50 points

(2) Reading theory (oral presentation and written review): 75 points=

(3) Reading empirical research (oral presentation and written review): 75 point= s

(4) An individual project (paper and oral presentation): 150 points<= /span>

(5) In-class exercises: 75 points

(5) Class participation: 25 points

Items 2, 3, and 4 are interconnected. Your primary responsibility in the course is to prepare a thesis proposal (item 4 above). This thesis proposal will investigate a research problem or project, which in tu= rn, will be based on an existing knowledge base. This knowledge base will have empi= rical and theoretical elements. Wha= t you will be required to do, in temporal order, is to locate your project in the discourse of theory, place it in the context of existing empirical work, and then specify your question and the methods to be used in answering that question.

The following grades will be associated with the points you acquire:=

400 and above: A; 380-399: A-; 360-379: B+; 340-359: B; 320-339: B-<= /span>

I am hopeful that no one will go below B-.&n= bsp; Anything less in a course like this is tantamount to failure.

This course is set up on Blackboard. First time Blackboard users go to

http://www.= temple.edu/cs/helpdesk/documentation/bb.htm

In Blackboard, the useful material in the course is under Course Documents, wh= ich includes this handout and all the required reading material for the course.

Note that you will be responsible for a substantial volume of additional indepen= dent reading.

List of required readings

Andranovich, G. D.= , and G. Riposa, 1993, Doing Urban Resear= ch, Newbury <= st1:PlaceType w:st=3D"on">Park, Ca: Sage Publications. Chapt= ers 2 and 4.

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Becker, H. S. The Epistemology of Qualitative Research, in Essays on Ethnography and Human Development (Jessor et al. eds.), Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. www.home.earthlink= .net/~hsbecker/qa.html

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Fetterman, D. M., = 1989, Ethnography: Step by Step, Beverly Hills, Ca:= Sage Publications. Chapters 2 and 3.

Hedstrom, P. and R= . Swedberg, 2001, Social Mechanisms, Acta Socio= logica 39:281-308.

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Kachigan, S. K. 19= 91, Statistical Analysis: An Interdiscipli= nary Introduction to Univariate and Multivariate Methods, New York: Radius Press. Chapters 1 and= 10.

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Lieberson, S. 1991, Small N’s and Big Conclusions: An Examination of the Reasoning in Comparative Studies Based on a Small Number of Cases, Social Forces 70:307-20.

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Marini, M. M. and = B. Singer, 1988, Causality in the Social Sciences, Sociological Methodology 18:347-409.

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Mitchell, A. 1999,= The ESRI Guide to GIS Analysis, Redlands, Ca: ESRI. Chapters 1 and 2.

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Munck, G. L., 1998, Canons of Research Design in Qualitative Analysis, Studies in Comparative International Development 33:18-45. Pp. 18-25 are most important.=

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Pandit, N. R. 1996= , The Creation of Theory: A Recent Application of the Grounded Theory Method. The Qualitative Report. www.nova.edu/ssss/QR= /QR2-4/pandit.html

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Simon, J. L. 1969,= Basic Research Methods in Social Scien= ce, New York: Random House. Chapter 13.

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Smith , C. D. and = W. Kornblum, 1989, In the Field: Readings on the Fi= eld Research Experience. New = York: Praeger. Chapters by Elliot Liebow (A Field Experience in Retrospect), and = Ruth Horowitz (Getting In).

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Trochim, W. M. K. = 2005, Research Methods: The Concise Knowledg= e Base. Cincinnati: Atomic Dog. Chapters 2 and 4.=

Schedule of Classe= s and Assignments

Date=
1/17:	Introduction, the research process, self discovery, thinking about some possible resear= ch topics The Institutional Review Board www= .temple.edu/ovpr/irb Exercise 1: A Fact Finding Mission
1/24:	Research design, causation. Readings: Andranovich and Riposa, chapter 4 Marini and Singer, Causality… Munck, Cannons of… Exercise 2: Getting started with semester-long group project on Welfare Reform
1/31:	Theory and Research, literature review, ideology, doing urban research. Readings: Andranovich and Riposa, chapter 2 Hedstrom and Swedberg, Social mechanisms Pandit, Creation of theory… Exercise 3: Theory formation in black and white
2/7:	Quantitative research: surveys and interviews Readings: Trochim, chapters 2 and 4 Exercise 4: Survey design
2/14:	Quantitative research: Secondary data and statistics, GIS and IT Readings: Census and other handouts Kachigan, Chapters 1 and 10 Mitchell, Chapter 1 Exercise 4: Survey design continued
2/21:	Qualitative research: Ethnography, participant observation Readings: Becker, Epistemology Fetterman, chapters 2 and 3 Lieberson, Small N’s… Liebow, A field experience… Horowitz, Getting in
2/28	Proposal presentation
3/7:	SPRING BREAK
3/14:	Reading theory—I
3/21:	Reading theory—II
3/28:	Reading empirical research—I
4/4:	Reading empirical research—II
4/11:	Meet the faculty Present results of semester long project
4/18:	Individual Presentations—I
4/25:	Individual Presentations—II

The Assignments:

1. Semester long class project (50 points): This project is designed to g= ive students an opportunity to participate in a significant project in a collaborative manner. Every student in the class will be part of this proje= ct. The project I have in mind may be titled “Welfare Reform: Causes and Consequences”. As you can imagine, this is a big subject. Your object= ive is to break this big task into smaller ones, assign individuals to these smaller tasks, and make a presentation in class. A written output is not necessary. Remember, how you accomplish this project is at least as important as what you find out.

2. Reading theory (75 points): <= /span>Any research that you do will be based on some theoretical precepts. There are two issues relevant to a discussion of theory. One rel= ates to a general orientation, such as Marxism, feminism, postmodernism, etc. It is useful for you to identify y= our personal general orientation. The other, more important, element relates to the specific theoretical issues surrounding your research question. You are required to identify these specific theoretical issues by surveying the existing literature. You will write a 2000 word paper summarizing these theories, and mak= e a seminar presentation on it in class. We will reserve 30 minutes for each such seminar presentation. Each presenter will be assigned a discussant whose role will be to critique the presentation.

3. Reading empirical research (75 points): Any research that you do will buil= d on existing empirical studies. W= hether you are interested in education in inner city schools, or suburban sprawl, = or the use of information technology, or any subject significant enough to deserve research attention, there exists a body of empirical work on the subject. Other researchers have asked simil= ar or related questions and have sought data from the real world to answer these = questions. Your task is to identify this lite= rature and its findings. You will wr= ite a 2000 word paper summarizing these findings, and make a seminar presentation= on it in class. We will reserve = 30 minutes for each such seminar presentation. Each presenter will be assigned a discussant whose role will be to critique the presentation.

4. Individual project (150 points): Each student is expected to begin working (at least thinking) immediately about a research topic he or she is interested in. For graduate students this should be a topic area that they are likely to eventually wri= te their thesis on. You will nee= d to

(i) identify the broad area of the proposed research,

(ii) elaborate on the more focused part of t= he broad area,

(iii) discuss what other scholars have contributed to that focused part, and identify gaps in the knowledge and/or poorly or wrongly understood elements (this is related to assignments 2 and= 3 above),

(iv) specify your own question, <= /span>

(vi) outline a method you will use to answer your question, including data sources, data gathering techniques, time and personnel needed, and

(v) briefly outline the expected findings.

All this will have to be done in about 4000 words (bibliography, maps, figures = etc. not counted). You will also make a brief presentation of the project propos= al midway through the semester (plan to speak for about 5-6 minutes). The prop= osal presentations will be on February 28, and the final presentations will be on April 18 and 25. The time all= otted for each final presentation is 15 minutes (with 10 additional minutes for discussion). The papers are d= ue by May 5. Please talk with me ab= out your projects from a very early stage.

5. Exercises (75 points): Will be discussed in class.=