EDUC3104: Introduction to Qualitative Methods

Section 1360

Spring 2016

Thursdays, 1:00-3:40pm

Room 5151

University of Pittsburgh School of Education

Dr. Amber Pabon

5111 Posvar Hall

412/648-6034

Skype:@amberjeanmarie

Course Description

This course introduces students to different inquiry traditions (e.g. post-positivist, interpretive, critical, and post-structural) and modes of research (e.g. narrative, ethnographic, phenomenological, historical, rhetorical, and linguistic) associated with qualitative research in the social sciences and humanities. In small-scale projects, students gain experience with various elements in the research process and research methods characteristic of qualitative research. Differing assumptions about how knowledge is generated and the nature of truth claims are explored.

Rationale

This course serves an essential need for doctoral students to understand and apply the multiple forms of research that fall under the umbrella of “qualitative research.” Essential in this course is understanding the various ways in which particular forms of qualitative research are fundamentally grounded in theories of knowledge (epistemologies), theories of the social world (paradigms or theoretical perspectives), and traditions of practice (methodologies, genres or discourse communities).

Objectives of the Course

The specific goals for this course are the following:

  • To learn more about the research process and how to use qualitative research techniques as part of this process.
  • To understand different approaches to qualitative research and the epistemological and ontological assumptions associated with these approaches.
  • To develop practices to support dissertation and thesis research.
  • To prepare students so that they may choose and explore specific methodologies further in order to conduct, with appropriate guidance, a methodologically vigorous qualitative dissertation.

Required Texts

The following texts are available at the University Store on Fifth. Be sure to obtain the most recent editions of each text.

  1. Emerson, R.M., Fretz, R.I., & Shaw, L.L. (2011). Writing ethnographic fieldnotes, 2nd ed. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
  2. Ferguson, A.A. (2001). Bad boys: Public schools and the making of Black masculinity.Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.
  3. Lutrell, W. (2012). Qualitative educational research: Readings in reflexive methodology and

transformative practice. New York, NY: Routledge.

  1. Maxwell, J.A. (2013). Qualitative research design: An interactive approach, 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
  2. Seidman, I. (2005). Interviewing as qualitative research: A guide for researchers in education and the social sciences, 4th ed. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

We will also read the following selected chapters & articles available on CourseWeb:

Saldana, J. (2016). The coding manual for qualitative researchers. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

and finally, the following two articles:

Milner, R. (2007). Race, culture and researcher positionality: Working through dangers seen, unseen and

unforeseen. Educational Researcher(36), 7, 388-400.

Pabon, A. (2014). Waiting for Black Superman: A look at a problematic assumption about

Black male teachers. Urban Education.

Grading Basis

  1. Attendance, Preparation, Participation & Disposition8 points
  2. Reflection Paper (2 points each)10 points
  3. IRB Certification (required to conduct study)2 points
  4. Researcher Positionality Statement10 points
  5. Critical Analysis of Bad Boys10 points
  6. Research Proposal10 points
  7. IRB Study Approval (required to conduct study)5 points
  8. Interview Transcript & Analytic Memo10 points
  9. Field Notes & Analytic Memo10 points
  10. Research Paper20 points
  11. Roundtable Presentation 5 points

Total100 points

Grading Scale

A+= 99-100 pointsB+= 88-89 pointsC+= 78-79 points

A= 94-98 pointsB= 84-87 pointsC= 74-77 points

A-= 90-93 pointsB-= 80-83 pointsC-= 70-73 points

Fail= below 70 points

Incomplete grades: Incompletes are rarely awarded except in exceptional cases. The student must have actively attended to the course requirements and needs extended time to complete the required work to meet minimum expectations. If you are allowed to take an incomplete, a proposed plan of action outlining how you will complete the work by the end of the following term must be drafted and approved.

Course Requirements and Expectations - Assignments

All assignments must be completed in order to pass the course. Assignments are due at or before the beginning of class. Late work is not accepted without prior discussion with the instructor.

All of the writing you do for this seminar should be word-processed in 12 point font, double-spaced with one inch margins (yielding approximately 250-275 words/page). Proficiency with the conventions of Academic Written English must be demonstrated, using APA style conventions. A cover page and running head is necessary only on the final research paper.

The course will be conducted as a doctoral seminar, with the expectation that you will be fully prepared for class discussion and exercises. A few weeks into the term, you will be assigned to a peer-debriefing group for class exercises. You are encouraged to follow up with your group members outside of class for de-briefing on assignments.

At any point during the semester if you are not doing satisfactory work, your instructor will let you know immediately.

You are expected to adhere to the University of Pittsburgh’s policy regarding academic integrity. To access the University’s policy on academic integrity please see

See also the General Academic Regulations for graduate students at Instances of plagiarism will be grounds for failing this course and possible further disciplinary action.

Communication

Sending emails

  • Use your pitt.edu email address. You can email directly from the Courseweb site or from your email. Theinstructor may not receive emails that are not from a pitt.edu address because of spam. Please be careful about this.
  • Tell your instructor who you are and indicate what you need. In the subject, indicate the course name, and remember to sign your email.

Getting an email response

  • Schedule: Monday-Friday, 9 am-5 pm
  • Response Time: 48 hours

Meeting and feedback on assignment drafts

  • Your instructor is glad to schedule a conference at a mutually convenient time. Email your instructor and suggest 2 or 3 available days and times.
  • Your instructor is committed to providing you the feedback you need on your assignments. With the volume of students and assignments, it is not possible to individually grade and fully comment upon assignments ahead of the deadline. If you would like your instructor to review a paper or assignment ahead of the deadline, please email your instructor to arrange a brief appointment in person, over the phone or via Skype.

If you have a disability that requires classroom modifications, please notify me and the Disability Resources and Services (648-7890/William Pitt Union, Room 216) as soon as possible. You will be asked to provide documentation of your disability to determine appropriate accommodations.

Absentee Policy

1)You are permitted ONE EXCUSED ABSENCE per course per term. An excused absence means that you have communicated with your instructor that you will miss or have missed a class and have the necessary documentation to allow your instructor to make a decision on whether the absence is excused or unexcused. It is NOT up to you to decide whether your absence is excused and simply telling the instructor that you will miss a class does not excuse you from the class. You must receive verbal or written confirmation from the instructor that your absence has been excused. An excused absence may be given for only extenuating circumstances such as death in the family or serious illness that requires medication and/or hospitalization (headaches, a slight cold, or fatigue do not count as serious illnesses). Excused absences will not be given for cars breaking down, traffic congestion, family obligations, doctor or dentist appointments, a planned family vacation, or delays at your school site. We all teach classes, work in schools, have family responsibilities, and deal with transportation issues.

2)The one excused absence will not have an effect of your final course grade. You are, however, responsible for finding out what you missed from other students in the class and lack of knowledge about course content because of an absence is not excusable or reasonable. In addition, you are required to submit a 4-page weekly reflection paper (in lieu of the regular 2-page paper).If you do not receive confirmation from the instructor that your absence is excused, you may assume that your absence is unexcused and will have an impact on your course grade (see #2).

3)Beyond the one excused absence, each additional absence will result in the lowering of your final course grade by one letter grade step (A to A-, or A- to B+ for example). Keep in mind that in graduate school you may be required to re-take a course for which you have received a C. A grade of C is not an acceptable grade for a graduate student. The expectation is that you will do exemplary work in all your courses. A QPA of 4.00 should not be an unreasonable expectation for you. In the future, you will be seeking strong letters of recommendation for positions, and mediocre work in courses does not permit an instructor to recommend you highly with no reservation.

Assignments

1. Attendance, Preparation, Participation, Disposition

This course requires your active, thoughtful, daring, candid and respectful participation in all activities.Come prepared to be actively engaged in each class. Prepare for each session by completing all readings and assignments to enable you to enter fully into the discussions and contribute to the development of our class conversations. You are expected to write a two-page reflection on each week’s reading, upload to CourseWeb prior to class and bring a hard copy for reference and submission in class. Professional dispositions include:attending all classes, arriving at class on time, or explaining any absence or lateness (before it happens or as soon afterwards as is possible).

2. Researcher Positionality Statement (1000-1250 words*)

This 4-5 page assignment requires you to synthesize the readings as well as our discussions about your epistemological stance. It asks you to engage with questions that many scholars wrestle with in their work: What is your role as researcher in relation to your research? This means a deep engagement with your position in the world and how that affects access to information, knowledge and power. Further, this means questioning how your privilege or marginality influences the way your knowledge is perceived by others. Questions to consider include:

  1. How has your identity (gender, sexuality, race/ethnicity, class etc.) informed you about the world around you?
  2. What has brought you to your project? Can you trace when you first became interested in this subject/your research question? Why is this project important to you?
  3. As you have already begun thinking about your project, think about you role as a researcher. How does your gender, sexuality, race/ethnicity, class, nationality (or any other important identity category) affect your motivation and/or perspective for your project?
  4. What power and privileges do you bring to your research project? What might you take for granted in terms of access to information, certain research methodologies, or “insider”/“outsider” status?
  1. Close Reading &Reflection(500 words each[*])

You will write a 2-page reflection paper in preparation for class. This reflection requires you to identify the author’s thesis, note the main ideas that support this thesis, summarize the text in your own words and evaluate how the author conveyed his/her ideas. This exercise is designed to support your classroom discussion and the development of a critical analytical lens. If there are multiple readings assigned for a particular week, your submission should reflect some aspect of each reading.

Be sure that your paper includes the following elements:

a.Identify the author’s thesis.Ask yourself what the context of the argument is and why the author may have felt the need to argue it. Ask yourself if the author offers a solution to any problems they raise in their thesis. If so, ask if this solution is realistic. Take notes on all these initial thoughts as you read.

b.Note the main ideas.Identify the main ideas of the work in order to analyze the structure. In an academic article, the main ideas can usually be found amongst the topic sentence of each paragraph or sentence. Again, take notes.

c.Describe the work in your own words.Writea brief summary after a thorough reading of the text. The summary should only be one or two paragraphs. Try to phrase the summary in your own words as much as possible.

d.Evaluate how well the author conveyed meaning.Determine how effective the author's appeals were from your own perspective as a reader. Ask yourself if you had an emotional response to an emotional appeal. Did you become happy, upset, or angry at any point? If so, ask yourself why. Determine if the author's attempts at logic and reason were enough to change your mind. Also ask yourself if the material was clear, accurate, and cohesive. Ask yourself if you believe the author to be credible. Determine why or why not.

4. IRB Certification

On the date indicated on the course schedule, bring the print-out of your IRB certification. IRB certification is required to submit your study for IRB approval.

5. Critical Analysis of Bad Boys: Public Schools and the Making of Black Masculinity(1500-2000 words*)

This 6-8 page paper is an opportunity for you to critically examine the Ferguson study, using course readings. Your paper should have an introduction, thesis statement, supporting points, and a conclusion. You should use excerpts from the Ferguson text to support your points and cite Seidman (2005), Emerson et al., (2011) and Fine and Weiss (2012). In this paper, you will need to:

  1. Identify an issue that the study addresses.
  2. Address a theme of the text and the author’s development of the theme through data.
  3. Discuss how the author incorporates prior literature.
  4. Explore issues of ethics, politics, rigor, and representation of voices.
  5. Synthesize how the author informs educational practice and policy.

6. Research Proposal (1250-2000 words* and 10-15 interview questions)

Your problem statement and research questions act as a road map for a potential study for which you will begin to collect data in this course. Although the focus often does change after entrance into the field, a thoughtful problem statement and focused research questions provide important structure that enables the researcher to conceptualize the study and to re-conceptualize it as the study proceeds. You will bring drafts to class and then submit revised electronic copies by the end of the week.

The proposal should have all of the following components:

  1. An introduction that explains the topic and its significance as a topic and as personal interest.
  2. A brief literature review that places your topic in the context of prior research. Refer to at least ten (10) references from the literature that inform your focus, question, and analysis. At least two (2) should be theoretical or conceptual pieces, and if these two references report data, that should not be the only function of the piece. At least six (6) should be research articles. In other words, the literature chosen should have some theoretical depth to it.
    Some guidance here:
    a.) Use ERIC and other scholarly databases to locate research articles related to your focus, and if you’re digging into something new or arcane, look for studies that overlap with your topic – that study a similar phenomenon, that study the same setting or population, or that use the same theoretical frame. Use E-Z Proxy obtain secure remote access to restricted library materials (See )
    b.) Plan at least one trip to Hillman Library to access articles and books not available electronically and to scan the latest issues of pertinent journals not yet catalogued in ERIC.
    c.) Use the Library of Congress database (loc.gov) for books not listed in Hillman.
    d.) Use Interlibrary Loan when needed.
    e.) Be on the lookout for the types of journals you cite. Supplement articles in practitioner journals (which sometimes refer to research studies but often do not) with research articles.
    f.) When using ERIC, favor EJ documents and limit the number of non-peer-reviewed studies and ED documents (often non-reviewed conference papers) you rely upon.
    g.) As you go along, systematically keep track of all your references and citations, perhaps using Mendeley or EndNote.
    h.) Attend one of the library orientation sessions scheduled specifically for education graduate students during the term (schedule provided in class and/or on Courseweb). Contact a reference librarian and/or attend a library instructional session for advanced assistance.
  3. A problem statement and statement of purpose.
  4. Research questions that address the problem statement and that connect to the literature review.
  5. A draft protocol of interview questions. You may not have read and/or absorbed the appropriate Seidman section at this point, so do your best, and you’ll have a chance to revise them.
  6. A sampling strategy. Identify the number and kinds of persons you would interview in order to get the best data possible. In addition, identify whom specifically you will interview for the subsequent class assignment (without telling me the individuals’ names). The best learning experience will come from interviewing adult persons you do not know or don’t know very well. Do not interview a best friend, close colleague, or family member – there could be good reasons for conducting research with these significant others, but it is difficult to learn interview methods that way (and nearly impossible for someone else to offer suggestions when reading your transcript). Also, do not interview anyone under the age of 18.
  7. A tentative data collection strategy, to include the two required interviews, one required observation, suggested document analysis, and additional data collection you believe you’ll need to write your analytic memo. A rule of thumb for this assignment is 10 total hours of data collection (in combination of interviews, observations, document analysis, and other data forms).
  8. An unsigned consent form adapted from the samples provided on Courseweb. Also, in your paper, indicate what you will say to your respondent to obtain informed consent and to maintain confidentiality.

7. IRB Study Approval