DPLS 723fa06 - Qualitative Research Theory and Design

DPLS 723: Qualitative Research Theory and Design
Fall 2006                                                        3 Credits

DESCRIPTION: 
This course is designed to be an introduction to the assumptions, theories, and practice of qualitative research.  Students design, conduct, and report a pilot study that demonstrates their qualitative research skills.  As DPLS 720: Principles of Research is a prerequisite to this class, it is assumed that students have a basic knowledge of research methods.

Questions we will explore include what makes a study qualitative?  What is the nature of qualitative research?  What does it mean to use the self as the research instrument?  How do we talk of validity, reliability, and generalizability in qualitative research methods?  What are the various genres within qualitative research methods?  What kinds of issues are encountered when conducting qualitative research?

REQUIRED TEXTS: 
Association, American Psychological (2001).  Publication manual of the American psychological association (5th ed.).  Washington, D.C.: APA.

Denzin, N. K. & Lincoln, Y. S. (Eds.) (2002).  The qualitative inquiry reader.  Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. 

Glesne, C. (2006).  Becoming qualitative researchers, 3rd Ed.  Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Merriam, S. B & Assoc. (2002).  Qualitative research in practice.  San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Rossman, G. B. & Rallis, S. F. (2003).  Learning in the iield, 2nd Ed.  Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Shank, G. D. (2006).  Qualitative research: A personal skills approach, 2nd Ed.  Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. 

Wolcott, H. F. (2001).  Writing up qualitative research, 2nd Ed.  Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. 

RECOMMENDED TO IMPROVE WRITING SKILLS:

Pellegrino, V. C. A (2004).Writer’s guide to using 8 methods of transition.  Wailuku, HI: Maui arThoughts Co.

Strunk W., Jr. & White, E. B. (2000).  The elements of style, 4th Ed.  Longman Publishing.

Truss, L. (2004).  Eats, shoots and leaves.  Gotham Publishing.

SUPPORT TEXTS
(Texts that are not required for the course but may be referred to.  If you think you may be doing a lot of qualitative research, these are books you may want to add to your personal library.)

Beebe, J. (2001) Rapid assessment process.  Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press.

Creswell, J.W. (1998).  Qualitative inquiry and research design. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. (note: a new edition of this book is scheduled for publication Dec. 06)

Ellis, C. (2004).  The ethnographic I.  Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press.

Ely, M. (Ed.) (1997).  On writing qualitative research: Living by words.  Routledge Falmer.

Marshall, C. & Rossman, G. (2006) Designing qualitative research (4th ed.) Thousands Oaks, CA: Sage.

Miles, M. & Huberman, A. M. (1994) Qualitative data analysis: An expanded source book (2nd ed.). Thousands Oaks, CA: Sage.

Van Maanen, J. (1988).  Tales of the field.  Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Wolcott, H. F. (1994).  Transforming qualitative data.  Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications

A Qualitative Research Resource
QUALRS-L Students are strongly encouraged to at least experiment with a subscription to the listserver QUALRS-L. QUALRS-L is an electronic discussion group for those interested in using qualitative research. The scope and nature of qualitative research is one of the ongoing debates sometimes addressed by users of this list. The label "qualitative research" applies to inquiry that depends on elaborated accounts of what we see, hear, taste, touch, smell and experience. It has roots in cultural anthropology, field sociology, and the professional fields. Qualitative research includes field research, case study research, ethnography, document and content analysis, interview and observational research, community study, and life history and biographical studies. Other names sometimes used as synonyms for qualitative research are interpretive, naturalistic, phenomenological, and descriptive. Qualitative research is associated with such theories as symbolic interactionism, constructivism, and ethnomethodology. Qualitative researchers have a lot of fun, which sustains them through the aggravation, frustration, uncertainty, and sheer slipperiness of most of the approaches to inquiry considered qualitative.

To subscribe to QUALRS-L, send an email message from the address you will be using to:
 LISTSERV@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU with the command (paste it!):  SUBSCRIBE QUALRS-L

INSTRUCTIONAL INTENTIONS:
As opposed to instructional objectives, instructional intentions are general statements about the overall direction of the course.  They indicate what you as a student can expect to take from the class.
By the end of this class, students should be able to:

1. Understand the theoretical underpinnings of qualitative methods.
2. Be familiar with various genres of qualitative research methods such as ethnography, grounded theory, phenomenology, case study, action research, personal experience methods, autobiography, biography, autoethnography, critical theory, semiotics, etc.
3. Develop an understanding of “self” as researcher and researcher bias.  Development of the “who” is foundational to Jesuit education.  In this class, you will be expected to attend to your place in the research: the “who” is critical in qualitative research.
4. Design a qualitative research project.
5. Gain practical experience in collecting data through observation and interviewing.
6. Analyze qualitative research data and make decisions about relevant material to include in a specific report or project.
7. Transform qualitative data into a journal length article manuscript suitable for consideration for publication.
8. Be familiar with the basic notions of qualitative research and methodologies that are required to accomplish meaningful research.
9. Identify ethical issues related to the use of qualitative methods.

LEARNING ACTIVITIES:  
While the achievement of the above intentions is primarily the responsibility of the student, various learning activities are designed to facilitate this process.  Reading and reflecting upon what was read to be able to contribute to a class discussion should assist you in understanding qualitative research methods.  A variety of texts have been chosen to expose you to the wide range of qualitative research methods, approaches, and interpretations.  Written assignments and research activities are designed to provide opportunities to develop skills qualitative researchers need as well as expose you to what is actually involved in designing and conducting a qualitative study as well as analyzing, interpreting, and writing up qualitative data.

EVALUATION AND GRADE ASSIGNMENT
At this level of coursework, attendance and participation is essential.  This is not a spectator sport—you are expected to be involved; it is also up to you to make the course meaningful to you.  This makes assigning a grade highly subjective and subject to a value judgment on the part of the instructor as to the quality of your effort, thought, and participation put forth in completing course requirements.  This particular instructor values quality of input over quantity.  I will be looking for demonstrations of how you are making the course material your own and how you are creating (not simply acquiring) knowledge.  Your grade will be based on a combination of class attendance, meeting assignment deadlines, content (what you communicate in class and in assignments), written communication (quality of written assignments), and your work as it compares to that of your peers.

The criteria for the grade assignment in this course are:

10%: Class participation and attendance:  Intellectual and social interaction is a major part of the course.  With only 8 meetings during the semester, you are expected to come to class and be prepared to discuss the class readings, bring your reflections, questions, wonderments, and conclusions to the table.  Because you will be working in small groups fairly often, you will be relying on group members to give you feedback, provide peer reviews of your written products, strategize with you how to conduct your research, assist you in writing up your research, and provide overall moral support.

10%: Artifact Description and Reflection, p. 28, Rossman & Rallis.  Due Sept. 8/15: Observation and description are basic qualitative research skills.   You will also find that your “personal biography” bleeds into the research.  With this exercise, you will get an idea of the challenge of describing something you are familiar with to someone else.  You will also consider how who you are effected choices you made about what to describe and how to describe it.  Bring the written description of the artifact to class on Sept. 8.  After describing your artifact to a partner and discussing the differences in how you described your artifact, write a short (1 page) reflective paper on what you learned about your ability to clearly describe something to someone who is not as familiar with the object as you are.  Knowing what you know now, if you were to rewrite the description differently, explain why and what you would do differently.  Also discuss how your personal biography showed in this exercise: How did you decide upon an object to describe and how to describe it?  For Sept. 15, turn in your reflection and a copy of the original description of the artifact.

15%: Research Project Prospectus, p. 109, Rossman & Rallis.  Due Sept. 29:  Prepare a 1-2 page description of what you intend to do for a mini-qualitative research project.  Follow the instructions on p. 109.  Attach a draft of your “Informed Consent” form.

15% Observation Report.  Due October 27: Observation is a common way to collect qualitative data. This exercise will give you insight into “self” as research instrument.  Specific criteria for the written report of this activity will be handed out in class.

10%:  Questioning the data, p. 145, Shank.  Due Nov. 10:  Your study will evolve in the direction of the questions you have been and are asking.  Analyzing data entails having a conversation with your data and asking it questions.  It is telling you something: what is it telling you?  Using Exercise 7 in Shank as a guide, bring 5 questions you have been and intend to ask of your data as you analyze it. 

40%: Qualitative Research Project.  Due Dec. 1. :  Design, conduct, and write up a (basic interpretive) qualitative research study.  If you intend to do a qualitative study for your dissertation, this project may be used as a pilot to test out interview questions and practice the skills involved.  However, the data gathered cannot be used for your dissertation since you do not yet have a proposal approved by a dissertation committee.  This project will entail:

• Conceptualizing a research project
• Creating an “informed consent” form
• Conducting fieldwork with a minimum of 6 hours of actual time spent in the field on interviews, observations, and/or material culture analysis
• Creating an interview guide: you will conduct at least 1 but no more than 5 tape recorded interviews and then transcribe at least one interview verbatim.
• Keeping fieldnotes: These fieldnotes will describe the setting within which the interviews take place and other observations related to your project.
• Doing member checks when possible
• Transforming your data into a written article-length manuscript.  An “article-length” manuscript is 20-25 pages maximum (the maximum length may or may not include references).  Write the manuscript as if you were writing it for publication in a journal.  The final product will include an appendix that contains your interview guide, fieldnotes, transcriptions of interviews, and the informed consent form.

Specific guidelines for the research paper will be handed out in class. Please note that this capstone assignment is a significant part of the grade assignment for the course.  The grade on this assignment will be quite influential in determining your course grade.

Grading Criteria

For this instructor, grading is much like judging figure skating.  First of all, it is difficult to quantify what is primarily subjective, artistic work through “grading” it.  However, since we must, just as in figure skating, I tend to look at both technical and artistic quality.  Technical quality has to do with how well written the work is (complete sentences and paragraphs, proper grammar, spelling, APA style, etc.).  Artistic quality has to do with the presentation (how well it flowed, evidence of original thought, creativity, depth and breadth).  Also taken into account is Gonzaga’s grading system.  Thus, your course grade is based on a combination of the results of assignments, class participation, and general evidence of regular and consistent application of the class concepts.  Weight is given to the degree of subject mastery demonstrated by the student as well as the ability to communicate orally and in written form.

A/A- The student demonstrates excellence in grasping key concepts by telling or showing how they can use the information in their specific setting; provides ample evidence for support of opinions by appropriately referencing readings using class materials and others; readily offers new interpretations of discussion material. Contributions to class discussion are relevant, opposing viewpoints are engaged constructively, there is no attempt to dominate the conversation.  Written work thoughtfully integrates course material in a clear and cogent manner; sentences are complex and grammatically correct on a regular basis; ideas are expressed clearly, concisely, logically; demonstrates a high level of vocabulary through word choice; rare misspellings; writing flows for ease of reading.  Citations and reference list are properly documented and formatted according to the APA 5th Edition.  All assignment deadlines are met.  Student attends class regularly.  Work is above average compared to that of other students in the class.  Work is “excellent.”

B+/B The student shows evidence of understanding most of the major concepts; is skilled in a basic level of support for opinions (references course materials); offers an occasional divergent viewpoint.  Contributions to class discussions are meaningful.  Written work is adequate with generally grammatically correct sentences; ideas readily understood but show signs of disorganization; some transitions between concepts are missing; occasional misspellings; reader has to fill in some gaps.  Citations and reference list are improperly documented or formatted according to the APA 5th Edition.  One or more assignment deadlines are missed.  Student misses two or more classes.  Work is average compared to that of other students in the class.  Work is “good.”

B- and below The student has a mostly shallow or no significant
understanding of the material; rarely takes a stand on issues; offers inadequate levels of support (no citations to support ideas). Contributions to class discussion are spotty and frequently irrelevant.  Written work is poor, garbled, or unintelligible; only an occasional idea surfaces clearly; language is disjointed; overuse of simple sentences and repetition of words; paragraphs are often unrelated to each other.  Citations and reference list are sloppy or missing, not formatted according to APA 5th Edition.  Two or more assignment deadlines are missed.  Student misses three or more classes.  Work is below average compared to that of other students in the class.  Overall, work is below that expected of a Graduate student.

Grading Criteria for Written Assignments

Written work is evaluated in three areas: quality of the content (what you say), quality of expression (how you say it) and technicalities (spelling, grammar, punctuation, APA style, etc.)

Breadth and Depth: You must show evidence you have thought about the topic in depth.  This will require you to do more than explain or describe the concepts you are learning.  Analyze the topic from differing views and show you have wrestled with it.  Course material is thoughtfully integrated in a clear and cogent manner.

Organization and Logical Development: You should have a purpose or theme that is introduced in the beginning of the paper/project, developed in the body and referred to in the conclusion.  Paragraphs should be linked to each other in a logical sequence using transitional sentences.  Use arguments, examples, facts, opinions and details to explain your point and lend credibility to what you are saying.  Ideas are expressed clearly, concisely, logically.

Clarity: Choose your words carefully and construct complex sentences purposefully so that each point you make is expressed as precisely and clearly as possible. A high level of vocabulary is demonstrated through word choice.

Grammar, Punctuation, Spelling: Use correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling on a regular basis.  Verbs should agree with their subjects, sentences should be complete, and paragraphs are more than one sentence long. 

Transitions, Summaries, and Conclusions:  Provide transitions between ideas and sections, summarize sections of the paper, and end with an overall conclusion to remind the reader of the main points.  Writing flows for ease of reading.

APA Style (5th Edition): Sources are cited properly within the text and a complete reference list is provided.  Perform your own reference audit: are all citations mentioned in the text on the reference list?  Is everything on the reference list a work cited in the text of the paper?  Headings are formatted and used appropriately.

Creativity: You are encouraged to be creative.  Make the class concepts your own.  You do not have to agree with the readings or the instructor, but you do have to be able to explain what you agree and disagree with and why.

Revise, revise, revise!  While you may have to write a shitty first draft to get something written, this is not the draft you hand in.  In Bird by Bird, Lamott suggests at least three drafts:  a terrible first one, a second draft that is fixed up, and the third one, which is where you edit in detail. This is the one you may begin to think about handing in as a class assignment.

The Doctoral Program Course Papers Rubric will be used to evaluate written assignments.

Professor’s Assumptions About This Class

1. Intellectual and social interaction is an essential part of this course.  Because this will not be a course where you come and take notes for a few hours, your absence in a class meeting will be noticed.  I understand there are conflicts that may prevent you from attending all class meetings for the full length of time.  If you do need to miss part or all of a class, it is your responsibility to notify me and contact another class member to find out what you missed.  Depending on what you miss, you may be asked to complete a “make-up” assignment, the nature of which will be negotiated by you and me.  Because I do believe people who are able to attend all class meetings should be recognized for that, if you miss class, your grade for the “Class Participation” portion of the course may be less than an “A.”
2. While I do believe class attendance is critical, I do not expect you to risk your life to get to class, which means if the weather is bad or you are sick, use your own judgment about the importance of getting to class vs. staying safe or getting well.
3. In order to end on time, we need to start on time.  I realize some of you may be late to class.  If and when this happens, you will have to take it upon yourself to get caught up with what is going on in class when you walk in.  We will not necessarily stop and recap what you missed.  Every effort will be made to end class on time, however, please recognize that a rousing class discussion may take us over “time;” an essential point may still need to be covered; or announcements related to the next class meeting may need to be made.  You can expect to be here the full scheduled class time and rarely get out of class early.  This is not due to a need on my part to fill time, but rather, my experience of racing against the clock to provide you with what I hope is a provocative, challenging, true graduate level experience that is worthy of the time and money you are investing furthering your education.  (Note: I have yet to see a student turn into a pumpkin when the clock hits the ending time…)
4. Part of my job is to bring material and perspectives to the class that are outside of the assigned reading.  Readings are chosen to provide you with a foundation in organizational theory and references for future use.  However, the assigned reading in this or any doctoral class is the tip of the iceberg.  Although it may seem like a lot of reading, we will barely skim the surface of this topic.  It is expected that you have completed the assigned reading for each class so that you come to class informed and ready to contribute to the discussion.  However, we may not always specifically talk about the reading.  Class time will generally be used to expand upon what you have read, engage in activities related to the topic, and discuss assignments.  Could you get away without doing the assigned reading?  Probably.  But at this level, I assume you are interested in personal and professional growth and being familiar with the literature in the field is essential to your growth as a scholar-practitioner.
5. Learning is a journey.  Courses are developed “tentatively.”  Things can happen during the summer that would cause changes to the syllabus, including changes to class meeting times and assignments.  Allowing for this flexibility means that we can adjust the course based on our responses to course assignments, readings, current events, etc.
6. Assignments are due on the date specified.  Exceptions will be considered on a case-by-case basis.  If all coursework is not completed by the end of the course, you will receive a grade of “I” (incomplete) with a provisional grade.  See page 9 of the current Graduate Catalogue for more information about the “I” grade.
7. Papers are to be word processed using 1-inch margins, standard fonts, double-spaced, following APA format for the citation of references and headlings. You may want to use the Doctoral “Paper Format” which can be found at www.gonzaga.edu/doctoral.  The link is at the bottom left hand corner.  While the quality of the content is more important than the quantity, it is expected you will thoroughly cover the subject you are writing about.  You are expected to cite sources (following APA style) and provide a reference list when appropriate.  Because it is assumed this is not the first time you have had to follow APA style for a written assignment, there will be very little mercy given towards APA errors.  Although you are not necessarily writing for publication purposes, it is expected that you will strive to write at a high standard.  (See the “Grading Criteria for Written Assignments.”)  Please keep in mind, this is a doctoral level class. 
8. When handing in papers, I prefer them to be simply stapled or paper-clipped.  The first page should be a title page with, at the very least, the course number and your name on it.  One of my professors would not accept a paper that was presented in a pretty plastic cover—now I know why.
9. If you receive a grade of lower than A- on an assignment (which means a grade of B+ or lower), and you feel a need to re-do it, that will be negotiated on a case by case basis.
10. Academic honesty:  It is expected that the work of each student will be their original work.  Academic dishonestly includes, but is not limited to: cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, and facilitating academic dishonesty.  Plagiarism is defined as but not limited to, the use, by paraphrase or direct quotation, of the published or unpublished work of another person without full and clear acknowledgment.  Do not present the work of another (this includes ideas as well as words) as your own: give credit where credit is due.  Plagiarism will not be tolerated.  According to Gonzaga’s policy, andy student found guilty of academic dishonesty is subject to disciplinary action.
11. This is a doctoral level course.  This means you will do a lot of reading, writing, and discussing of theoretical, philosophical, and abstract concepts.  You will be writing a dissertation.  I view writing as a way of knowing, a method of discovery and inquiry.  Use the written assignments in this (and any other) class to sharpen your writing skills so that by the time you get to writing your dissertation, you know APA style and can write at a level acceptable for publication.  For purposes of this class, it is assumed that you have already written APA-style papers for previous classes and have received feedback on your writing.  Comments on written assignments will be made with this in mind.  While my comments may appear to be more Simon Cowell-like (harsh) than Paula Abdul-ish (encouraging), you need to be prepared to write a dissertation.  Feedback will be provided towards the goal of deepening your thinking and improving writing skills.
12. Depth and breadth: A doctoral level education is about developing depth and breadth in the field.  We provide breadth to an extent through the program curriculum.  Courses in the program are designed to relate to but not duplicate one another.  Thus, topics you may have thought should have been covered in a particular class may no have been because they are the curriculum for a different class.  By taking different classes in the program curriculum, you will get broad exposure to the field of leadership.  Developing depth is more up to you.  You have to decide what specifically you want to learn more about and use your classes as different lenses for studying that topic.  This may help you with assignments: you can take a paper or project for one class and re-develop it for another class.  While recycling the same paper or project with no changes except for the name of the class and professor would be “cheating,” using the same paper or project from one class as a foundation for an assignment in another is a way to develop depth.
13. It is my goal to create and facilitate a learning environment such that the intellectual, personal, social, and ethical development of all of us is stimulated.  Each person in the room will be integral to the creation of that environment by encouraging intellectual honesty and respectfully listening to the viewpoints of others.  It is expected that what each person brings in terms of experiential and academic knowledge will be shared.  The goal of such interaction is not to always reach consensus but to understand where each other is coming from.
14. The creation of such a learning environment is not solely my responsibility.  The classroom is “our” classroom.  While I am responsible for facilitating the learning experience when we meet, because my tolerance level for different things is different than yours, it is acceptable and may even be necessary for you to take responsibility for steering the class back on track or clarifying what the purpose of a discussion or activity is.
15. Communication about the class will happen via e-mail.  Announcements that didn’t get made during class, “after-thoughts,” clarifications, etc. may all come to you via e-mail.
16. You may have to remind me of things—like you’ll have to miss a class or I didn’t respond to an e-mail you sent.  It’s OK to ask me again if you haven’t gotten a response in a reasonable amount of time.
17. It is OK to have FUN and LEARN at the same time!

TENTATIVE Course Schedule

TIME & PLACE:     Fridays, 6-10 PM, RC 218

PROFESSOR:     Dr. Karen Norum, Assistant Professor of Leadership Studies

OFFICE HOURS:     By Appointment; Office #248 RC

PHONE:     434-8989 (Oa)  323-3630 (O2) 

EMAIL:      norum@gonzaga.edu (This is the best way to contact me)
________________________________________________________________________

Tentative Schedule