HCDE 502: Empirical Traditions in HCDE, Spring 2013
Place and Time / Savery 156, Wednesday, 6:00-9:50Instructor / Jennifer Turns
409 Sieg Hall
Office hours: By appointment and directly before class
Readings / Selected articles, Available through the course website
My Freshman Year, Used copies can be purchased for around $15.
Online / Website: TBD
Course Overview and Objectives:
Empirical research increasingly forms a cornerstone of our field. As a result, those in the field need a solid understanding of the nature of empirical research. This is true whether one aims to function as a designer using the research to guide design decisions or as a researcher trying to expand the body of relevant research. HCDE502 addresses this situation. In this course, we will explore the empirical traditions that inform research and practice in our field. Topics include epistemological assumptions underlying empirical research, empirical research methods, examples of empirical research, and ethical issues underlying empirical research.
We will start with a foundations period in which we will discuss of the notion of empiricism and empirical research, engage in a benchmarking exercise, explore foundational ideas about finding truth and/or creating arguments from observational data, discuss ethical issues, and learn about the role of empirical research in important journals in our field (project 1). Armed with a toolkit of concepts and experiences, we will proceed to read and discuss examples of various types of empirical research. This phase will be complemented by a project (project 2) in which you will select a research method that interests you and explore the use of that research method in our field. The final phase of the class, the synthesis phase, will consist of looking back (to take stock of what we have learned through the term) and looking ahead (you will explain how the lessons gained in this course contribute to you professional trajectory). In addition, the core theme of the first and second phase of the course—gaining skills and confidence in critically evaluating empirical studies—will be brought to the fore in project 3 in which you will prepare a professional evaluation of an empirical research article of your choosing.
As a result of participation in this course, you will be able to:
· Critically discuss features of empirical research including (a) the nature and appropriate criteria for quantitative, qualitative, and mixed method research, (b) the socially constructed nature of empirical research, (c) connections between research and practice, and (d) ethical considerations associated with empirical research.
· Function as capable and critical consumers of empirical research, by applying knowledge of the above topics to the reviewing of instances of empirical research.
· Discuss trends and tensions in the use of empirical research in our field and in your areas of interest.
· Explain how the skills acquired in this course will help you with your professional goals.
Activities and Grading
Grading in this class will be based on the completion of four projects and three discussion papers. Additional details for each project will be provided in a separate project briefs. In addition, there will be a number of required readings for this course (listed at the end of this syllabus) and short "discussion idea" postings to the course blog in order to stimulate discussion about these readings.
Project 1—Journal Landscape (20%). Working in teams of two or three, you and your teammate(s) will characterize approximately one year of articles in a major journal in our field in terms of 5-7 dimensions of your choosing and then prepare a report detailing what this characterization reveals.
· Grading: Your grade will be based on your report. Roughly, you can expect a 3.4 grade for fulfilling minimum requirements, a 3.7 grade for going beyond the minimum requirements, and a 4.0 grade for creating a “wow” report.
· Additional requirements: To receive full credit for this project, you will also need to bring required project milestones to class.
Project 2—Method Landscape (25%). Working in teams of two or three, identify a research method of interest and identify a relatively large set of readings that use this method, prepare rigor/relevance analyses of selected papers from this larger set, compare and contrast the results of these analyses, and then prepare a report documenting the insights generated concerning the use of the research method within our field.
· Grading: Your grade will be based on your report. Roughly, you can expect a 3.4 grade for fulfilling minimum requirements, a 3.7 grade for going beyond the minimum requirements, and a 4.0 grade for creating a “wow” report.
· Additional requirements: To receive full credit for this project, you will also need to bring required project milestones to class.
Project 3—Professional Review (25%). Working individually, you will prepare a formal review for an empirical study of your selection.
· Grading: Your grade will be based on your review. Roughly, you can expect a 3.4 grade for fulfilling minimum requirements, a 3.7 grade for going beyond the minimum requirements, and a 4.0 grade for creating a “wow” review.
· Additional requirements: To receive full credit for this project, you will also need to bring required project milestones to class.
Project 4—Course-based Professional Preparedness Argument (15%). Working individually, you will prepare a course-based professional preparedness argument in which you make an argument about how the course has contributed to your preparation for future professional activity.
· Grading: Your grade will be based on the materials you submit that represent your argument. Roughly, you can expect a 4.0 grade if you satisfy the basic requirements for the assignment.
· Additional requirements: To receive full credit for this project, you will also need to complete required milestones.
Community Engagement (15%)
· Discussion papers. Discussion papers are informal (but well-written) documents that serve to stimulate conversation amongst students in the class. In particular, we will use these documents to stimulate conversation directly during class sessions, so you should write what you are comfortable with sharing. You will prepare two discussion papers during the term.
To facilitate this function in our class, discussion papers should have a provocative title, provide a *short* discussion of some aspect of the reading, identify 2-3 questions to be discussed, include a bibliography, feature an engaging/relevant graphic of some sort, and fit on one page. You will prepare two discussion papers during the term, resulting in several being shared during each class session.
Discussion papers will be due in class—you should bring 10 copies of your paper in order to support discussion with your peers. You are invited to look at the idea forum postings made to the course blog in preparing your paper (as discussed below, these discussion requests are due by 5:00 p.m. of the day prior to the discussion of the readings).
You should post your finished paper to the course blog (so other people can reference them) and to collectIt (for grading). Because of the size of our class, students may not get a chance to read all of the discussion papers during the class sessions. Posting them to the blog makes it possible for interested students to read the rest of the papers.
Grading: You can expect to receive a 4.0 on discussion papers that fulfill the format requirements stated above, and represent a solid effort to bring forward significant issues and engage your peers in discussion around such issues. While I do reserve the right to lower a grade for inferior work, it is possible for all discussion papers to receive 4.0 grades.
· Reflection Boundary Objects. Reflection—looking back at learning experiences in order to appreciate how they have prepared you for your future—is an important part of the learning process. Reflection boundary objects are representations created to (a) provide evidence of your engagement in reflection and (b) entice other students in the class to be more reflective. Creation of a reflection boundary object involves the following: Identify takeaways from your experiences in the class since the last reflection, paying particular attention to takeaways that are preparing you for your future. Create a boundary object that embodies some of your takeaways/reflective thinking and has the capacity to engender additional reflective thinking in your peers. While an essay may be an obvious choice for a boundary object, other written genres are possible (e.g., a poem, a parable) and non-written genres are also welcome (e.g., an illustration, diagram, song). If your boundary object is not intrinsically self-explanatory, then please provide a 1-2 sentence statement that contextualizes your effort.
You will sign up to create reflection boundary objects three times during the term. You should post your reflection boundary objects to the class blog by Friday at 5:00 pm. We will begin most class sessions by looking at the reflection boundary objects that were posted.
In terms of grading, failure to complete the reflection boundary objects may result in a lowering of your grade. At the same time, exceptional contributions may result in the raising of your grade.
Discussion Requests and Other Class-related Activities (required). A few additional activities will be required in order to support the functioning of class. Failure to complete the activities may result in a lowering of your grade. At the same time, exceptional contributions via these activities may result in the raising of your grade.
In this class, we will use our blog as a place to share ideas related to class readings, specifically requests for what should be addressed during class discussion (e.g., a particular question you have at the end of a reading, a personal response you'd like to vet with others). You will be responsible for contributing at least one "discussion request" per reading-focused class session except on the days when you are presenting a discussion paper. These discussion requests will be due by 5:00 pm on the day before we will discuss the readings so they can be used to inform class sessions.
You will also be asked to complete a limited number of additional activities in order to stimulate class discussion and support learning. Please keep in mind that since the purpose of these activities is to support discussion and learning, it is likely that you will be asked to share your products with other students.
Topics
(The readings are provided in a separate document)
Wk / Topic / Overarching questions1.0 / Foundations: Getting curious, Benchmarking / What are we trying to accomplish? What prior conceptions do we bring? What does it mean for research to inform practice? What is project 1 going to be about?
2.0 / Foundations: Quant/Qual/
Mixed / What are ways to do research? What are the underlying philosophical groundings for these different approaches? How do we detect the underlying philosophical grounding even when someone has not explicitly stated it?
3.0 / Foundations: Criteria for evaluating research / How are different methodological communities naming and operationalizing what counts as "good" research? What are the basic issues underlying the different approaches to evaluating research and the arguments made by the researchers? How are internal validity and credibility related? External validity and transferablity?
4.0 / Foundations: Ethics, Our journals / What ethical considerations are necessary when conducting research with people? In what ways are the ethical considerations associated with academic research similar to or different from industry research? What is going on in journals related to HCD&E?
5.0 / Examples: Experimental / How effective are we at evaluating reports of quantitative work? What is needed in order to effectively judge the internal validity and external validity of quantitative research? How can such research inform practice? How and how effectively do the authors address the issue of how their research can inform practice?
6.0 / Examples: Ethnographic work / How effective are we at evaluating reports of qualitative/ethnographic work? What is needed in order to effectively judge the credibility and transferabilty of research? How can such research inform practice? How and how effectively do the authors address the issue of how their research can inform practice?
7.0 / Examples: Mixed methods / How effective are we at evaluating reports of mixed methods research? What if anything is particularly challenging about evaluating such research? How can such research inform practice? How and how effectively do the authors address the issue of how their research can inform practice?
8.0 / Examples: Grounded theory, Student projects / How effective are we at evaluating reports of research using grounded theory methodology? What if anything is particularly challenging about evaluating such research? How can such research inform practice? What other research methods are available? What is involved in evaluating instances of such research?
9.0 / Synthesis: Research to Practice, Pheno-menography / How effective are we at evaluating reports of research using phenomenography? What if anything is particularly challenging about evaluating such research? How can such research inform practice? How do research authors address this issue? What does practice, particularly design practice, look like?
10.0 / Synthesis: Wrapping up / What have we done? What have we learned?
(Final exam period, by 6/12, 10:20 pm) / Question: How have our class activities, and your work in this class, prepared you for your future?
Making it Work: Student Responsibilities
Your responsibilities in this class stem from two goals: ensuring that you have an effective learning experience and ensuring fairness to everyone in the class. Three responsibilities are particularly important in this class: