INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH METHODS

Transcription

1 INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH METHODS QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE DR ANDREAS DAFINGER + NN WINTER CREDITS (4 ECTS) COURSE OUTLINE Knowing how to obtain and process data is a prerequisite for critical reading of sociological and anthropological work, as well as part of a researcher s key competence. This course introduces the sociologist s and anthropologist s toolbox, debating the potential and the pitfalls of major methodological tools. The course is very much located at the practical level, and follows a how to approach. COURSE CONTENT AND STRUCTURE The course consist of three parts. The first section will introduce you to the tools and methods required to work with written sources, and their repositories. This includes archives, as well as internet based research two fields that increasingly overlap. Making efficient use of bibliography software helps you to keep track and organize readings. The second part looks at the researcher as the main tool in the research process: the dipstick in the field. It intro duces you to the most essential techniques and strategies to carry out successful fieldwork such as participant observation or interview techniques. Part three is dedicated to numerical research: mapping, surveys and principles of statistical sampling. COURSE GOALS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES After completion of the course, participants shall be able to demonstrate solid basic knowledge of social anthropological and sociological qualitative and quantitative research methodology. They shall be capable of reflecting on the differences between quantitative and qualitative research methodology, and on how these may complement each other. The students will be able to assess the roles of the researcher and the informant in the research process and be in a position to apply qualitative and quantitative research methodology in their own work REQUIREMENTS & GRADING Four assignments 25% each: o a statistical analysis of publication frequency, related to your research topic o an interview conducted in teams of two o coding and analysis of this interview, using Atlas TI, in teams of two o a take home exam on statistical methods using either Excel or SPSS You get feedback on your progress throughout the course, assignments are generally graded within two weeks. Timely submission of assignments is essential. You are asked to not use your mobile computers (notebooks) in class.

2 SUGGESTED FURTHER READINGS Bernard RH Research Methods In Anthropology. Qualitative And Quantitative Approaches. Ellen RF Ethnographic Research : A Guide to General Conduct. London ; Orlando: Academic Press. Kent S Analyzing Activity Areas. Albuquerque Moore GT, Golledge RG Environmental knowing : Theories, Research, and Methods. Stroudsburg, Pa.: Dowden, Hutchinson & Ross. Peletz MG Kinship Studies in Late Twentieth-Century Anthropology. Annual Review of Anthropology 24: Pelto PJ, Pelto GH Anthropological Research : The Structure of Inquiry. Cambridge ; New York: Cambridge University Press. Ellen RF Ethnographic Research : A Guide to General Conduct. London ; Orlando: Academic Press Kent S Analyzing Activity Areas. Albuquerque Moore GT, Golledge RG Environmental knowing : Theories, Research, and Methods. Stroudsburg, Pa.: Dowden, Hutchinson & Ross Peletz MG Kinship Studies in Late Twentieth-Century Anthropology. Annual Review of Anthropology 24: Pelto PJ, Pelto GH Anthropological Research : The Structure of Inquiry. Cambridge ; New York: Cambridge University Press. Bicker A, Sillitoe P, Pottier J, Bicker A Investigating Local Knowledge. Jackson A, Commonwealth AoSAot, Jackson A Anthropology at Home. Jacoby J, Kibbee J Cultural Anthropology: A Guide to Reference and Information Sources Second Edition: Libraries Unlimited.

3 Week 1. Introductory session Week 1 o Overview / structure of the course o Requirements and assignments o Qualitative and quantitative approaches Part One: Dark Matter (Working with texts: qualitative and quantitative analysis) Week 2. Bibliography management and Remote Library Research o Literature overviews: scanning the field: quantitative and qualitative research on the research subject. o How to keep literature and your sources organized TOOLS you will learn how to use: working with Endnote and/or other bibliography software/databases Quantitative Approaches, Chapter 6 ( ) start reading:vandijk Week 3. Archives, the web and other sources o Planning archival work o Critical approaches to archival texts: discourse analysis o Stay organized: software for sources (Atlas TI, Access, Zotero) van Dijk TA Principles of critical discourse analysis. Discourse & Society 4: Fang, Yew-Jin Reporting the Same Events? A Critical Analysis of Chinese Print News Media Texts. Discourse Society 12: Part II: You Matter Getting in there: the researcher as a tool and how make best use of him/her Week 4. Getting fieldwork done: the before, during and after o Designing the research project, getting permissions, establishing a network and setting oneself up in the field., Timing and duration. Ethics in Research and the role of assistants. Quantitative Approaches, Chapter 5 ( ) Angrosino, M Doing ethnographic and observational research (The sage qualitative research kit). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage : Chapter 3: Selecting a field site

4 Week 5. Participant Observation o The signature method of anthropologists o Taking Fieldnotes TOOLS you will learn how to use: yourself Quantitative Approaches, Chapter 7 ( ) Rapport, Nigel Writing Fieldnotes: The Conventionalities of Note- Taking and Taking Note in the Field. Anthropology Today 7: Week 6. Mapping (and analyzing) relations the genealogical method TOOLS: (+ technical skills acquired) working with kinship editor Angrosino, M Doing ethnographic and observational research (The sage qualitative research kit). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage : Chapter 4: Data collection in the field Heady P. nd. Kinship, courtship and conscription: Lévi-Straussian aspects of some alpine village rituals Halle: MPI Week 7. Talking as a method o Structured, semi- and unstructured interviews o Analyzing and reporting interview data TOOLS: (+ technical skills acquired) working with Atlas TI and/or other data processing software Quantitative Approaches, Chapters ( ) Angrosino, M.V Projects in ethnographic research. Long Grove, Ill.: Waveland, Chapter 5: Ethnographic Interviewing Part III: Grey Matter: Research by Numbers: Week 8. Mapping sounds and spaces a. Mapping in the Social Sciences (thematic cartography) o as a research method o as a means of presentation of data (thematic cartography) b. Soundscapes Dafinger, A (2005) Market Landscapes Feld, Steven Dialogic Editing: Interpreting How Kaluli Read Sound and Sentiment. Cultural Anthropology 2:

5 Week 9. Statistics: Introduction, key concepts, designing and conducting a survey Carlberg Conrad George Statistical analysis: Microsoft Excel Indianapolis: CH 1 Week 10. Quantitative Data Processing TOOLS: (+ technical skills acquired) working with SPSS and Excel Carlberg Conrad George Statistical analysis... CH 2-3 Week 11. Measurement and distributions, Scaling and Standardizing Carlberg Conrad George Statistical analysis... CH 4-5 Week 12. Analyzing association a. Linear regression and correlation b. Multivariate models Carlberg Conrad George Statistical analysis... CH 6-7