Fall, 2006

Time:               Mondays, 4:45 – 7:25 PM

Room:             Dewey 1-160A

Office Hours:  By appointment

Phone:             275-0900

E-mail: joanne.larson@rochester.edu

Course Objective:  This course is designed to provide advanced doctoral students with the opportunity to authentically investigate and use qualitative research methods, specifically ethnography and case study. Authentic in this case means that the research project should further the student’s dissertation research. In other words, the research completed will be “real” and not simply a course assignment. Students should have finished their comprehensive exams before taking this course.

Course Requirements:

1. Final Research Project (75% of grade):  This project will be jointly designed by the course professor and each student to meet dissertation research goals. The project will be an authentic investigation of ethnographic/case study design, implementation and analysis. Some projects ideas include: writing the methods chapter for the proposal/dissertation (Note however that this is not a proposal writing course); analyzing dissertation data; designing and implementing a pilot study for the dissertation, including writing and submitting the RSRB proposal; coding and analyzing an existing data set. 

2. Research Journal (15% of grade): Students will be required to keep a research journal. There must be at least one entry per week of the semester (12 entries).  Journals will include reflections on the student’s research process and address substantive theoretical and methodological issues that emerge from reading assigned texts, research projects, and class discussion. Journals will be collected in pairs, read, and commented on a rotating basis.

3. Data Analysis (10% of grade): Each student will be required to analyze text data using qualitative data analysis software (NVivo7).  Several class sessions will be designated for this purpose.  Students will turn in a coding scheme and any preliminary findings as the final product. Professor Larson will provide data.

NO LATE ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED

Required Texts:

Carspecken, P. (1996) Critical Ethnography in Educational Research. New York: Routledge.

Charmaz, K. (2006) Constructing grounded theory: A practical guide through qualitative analysis. London: Sage

LeCompte, M. & Schensul, J. (1999) Designing and conducting ethnographic research. [1] Walnut Creek: Altamira.

Spradley, J. (1979) The Ethnographic Interview. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Stake, R. (1995). The Art of Case Study Research. London: Sage.

Recommended:

LeCompte, M. & Schensul, J. (1999) Analyzing and interpreting ethnographic data. [5] Walnut Creek: Altamira.

Grading:

Final Research Project:                                                            75 points

Research Journal:                                                                    15 points

Data Analysis:                                                                         10 points

Total:                                                                                     100 points

Class Schedule:

[1] September 11

Overview of the course

[2] September 18

Getting Started

Readings:

Carspecken, Chapter 1

Spradley, Chapter 1

Stake, Introduction and Chapter 10

[3] September 25

What makes this ethnography?

Research projects finalized

Readings:

Charmaz, Chapters 1-2

LeCompte & Schensul [1], Chapters 1-2

Spradley, Chapters 2-3

Recommended:

Spradley, Part Two, pp. 42-68

[4] October 2

NO CLASS SESSION

Some Theoretical Positions

Readings:

Carspecken, Chapter 2

LeCompte & Schensul [1], Chapter 3

[5] October 9

Design Questions

Readings:

LeCompte & Schensul [1], Chapters 4-5

Stake, Chapters 1-2

[6] October 16

Building a case

NVivo7

Readings:

Carspecken, Chapters 3-5

Spradley, Part Two, pp. 69-91

Stake, Chapter 3

[7] October 23

Grounding Theory

NVivo7

Readings:

Carspecken, Chapters 6-9

Charmaz, Chapters 3-5

[8] October 30

Educational Cases

NVivo7

Readings:

Carspecken, Chapters 10-11

Gordon, T., Holland, J., & Lahelma, E. (2001). Ethnographic research in educational settings. In P. Atkinson, A. Coffey, S. Delamont, J. Lofland, & L. Lofland (Eds). Handbook of Ethnography, pp. 188-203. London: Sage.

[9] November 6

Data Gathering and In Situ Analysis

NVivo7

Readings:

Spradley, Part Two, pp. 92-119

Stake, Chapter 4-5

Recommended:

LeCompte & Schensul [5], Chapters 1-3

[10] November 13

Data Sources

NVivo7 Analysis Due

Readings:

Stake, Chapters 6 - 7

LeCompte & Schensul [1], Chapter 6

Recommended:

LeCompte & Schensul [5], Chapters 4-5

[11] November 20

Collection and Analysis

Readings:

LeCompte & Schensul [1], Chapter 7

Spradley, Part Two, pp. 120-203

[12] November 27

Coding

Readings:

Carspecken, Chapters 12-13

Charmaz, Chapters 6

Recommended:

LeCompte & Schensul [5], Chapters 6-7

[13] December 4

Interpretation and Writing

Readings:

Charmaz, Chapters 7-8

Spradley, Part Two, pp. 204-216

Stake, Chapters 8 - 9

Recommended:

LeCompte & Schensul [5], Chapters 10-11

[14] December 11

Final Projects Due

Student presentations