University of Tennessee http://www.lisayamagatalynch.net/Instructor Information Lisa Yamagata-Lynch Educational Psychology and Counseling A532 Bailey Education Complex University of Tennessee Knoxville, TN 37996 Phone: 865-974-7712 LisaYL@utk.edu *Please note that the instructor reserves the right to modify the syllabus during the semester and participants will be notified through this website and BlackBoard Announcements Meeting Time Wednesday 5:00PM - 8:50PM Office Hours Appointments can be arranged upon request Meeting Place Baily Education Complex 328 Catalog Description This course is designed to introduce graduate students to qualitative research in general and qualitative research in education more specifically. The course introduces students to the fundamentals of data collection through interviews, observation, and document analysis, as well as the importance of reflexivity as a qualitative researcher. Students are also introduced to various qualitative research approach such as: activity systems analysis, narrative research, phenomenology, grounded theory, ethnography, and case study. This course serves as the first of a two-course sequence. The second course, EDPY 659: Doing Qualitative Research in Education Settings (typically offered spring semester each year) deals with conducting, analyzing and writing up qualitative research. Students are urged to take both courses for a full introduction to qualitative research. Both courses are part of the Graduate Certificate in Qualitative Research. For more information please visit: http://epc.utk.edu/gradcert_qualresearch.html . Course Format This course will be delivered primarily face-to-face. As you are graduate students, I am going to assume you are a professional and I will treat you as such. That means I am not going to tell you what you need to know, check attendance, or try to motivate you. I assume that you are going to take responsibility for your own learning in this course. Please review the Classroom Etiquette section carefully to understand your responsibilities as a professional participant in this course. If you choose to engage in activities that are unprofessional, disrespectful to others, or disruptive you will lose points toward course participation. Objectives Course participants will be able to:
BlackBoard https://bblearn.utk.edu/ MyUTK https://my.utk.edu/ Graduate Certificate in Qualitative Research http://web.utk.edu/~edpsych/gradcert_qualresearch.html Graduate Catalog: catalog.utk.edu/index.php?catoid=7/ (Listing of academic programs, courses, and policies) Hilltopics: dos.utk.edu/hilltopics (Campus and academic policies, procedures and standards of conduct) Course Timetable bannerssb.utk.edu/kbanpr/bwckschd.p_disp_dyn_sched (Schedule of classes) Academic Planning www.utk.edu/advising (Advising resources, course requirements, and major guides) Student Success Center studentsuccess.utk.edu (Academic support resources) Instructor Generated Resources 10 Habits of Being a Successful Graduate Student and Beyond How do I know when an article is peer Reviewed? Peer Reviewed Article Matrix Resources for Searching Journal Articles
You will regularly receive course related communications from the instructor through email and BlackBoard Announcements. It is your responsibility to make sure that your university email account is in working condition. If you have technical issues or need help troubleshooting please contact OIT at http://remedy.utk.edu/contact/ or by calling the helpdesk at 865-974-9900. You should expect your instructor to respond to your message within 24 hours on regular business days during the week and 48 hours on weekends and university holidays. If you do not hear back from the instructor please send another message or make a phone call 865-974-7712. University Civility Statement Civility is genuine respect and regard for others: politeness, consideration, tact, good manners, graciousness, cordiality, affability, amiability and courteousness. Civility enhances academic freedom and integrity, and is a prerequisite to the free exchange of ideas and knowledge in the learning community. Our community consists of students, faculty, staff, alumni, and campus visitors. Community members affect each other’s well-being and have a shared interest in creating and sustaining an environment where all community members and their points of view are valued and respected. Affirming the value of each member of the university community, the campus asks that all its members adhere to the principles of civility and community adopted by the campus: http://civility.utk.edu/. Disability Services Any student who feels he or she may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the Office of Disability Services (ODS) at 865-974-6087 in 2227 Dunford Hall to document their eligibility for services. ODS will work with students and faculty to coordinate reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities. Your Role in Improving Teaching and Learning Through Course Assessment At UT, it is our collective responsibility to improve the state of teaching and learning. During the semester, you may be requested to assess aspects of this course either during class or at the completion of the class. You are encouraged to respond to these various forms of assessment as a means of continuing to improve the quality of the UT learning experience. Assignments In order to become a successful qualitative researcher you need to gain experience:
Course Participation 100pts Please be prepared for each class session by completing readings on days that they are due with relevant questions for class, and by being a productive participant in course discussions. You need to be able to share your understandings about the readings, new ideas, and discoveries about qualitative research through collegial, effective, and professional discussion in both face-to-face classroom activities and asynchronous online discussions. When you read each work make sure that you take note of interesting ideas you would like to explore through discussion with other participants. If there are ideas that are unclear to you, please make note of those and do not hesitate to bring them up in class. There may be weeks that you will need to reflect and share your thoughts about the readings on a Blackboard Discussion Board prior to class. You will lose class participation points when you miss class more than once and are unable to participate in face-to-face or online discussions. Fieldwork Assignment Reminders |Consent Form Template| This semester you will spend extensive time at a research site of your choice. Ideally this site will be novel to you. You will be a complete observer rather than a participant of the situation you are conducting your research. Through this semester-long experience you will collect and analyze observational and interview data including 1 observation and 2 interviews, and 1 additional source of data (e.g. documents, photos, recordings of naturally-occurring talk, video, Websites, email communication, social media exchanges, etc.). This experience will result in the Final Research Project Report. In addition to the final report you are required to submit 3 graded assignments including an initial observation and document report, initial interview report, and initial data analysis report to obtain feedback from the instructor and other course participants. Note, for the purpose of this class your fieldwork project is restricted to the course and should not involve IRB approval. You may not engage in fieldwork involving at risk populations such as minors, women who are pregnant, individuals who are incarcerated, and any other groups who qualify in an at risk group. By engaging in fieldwork requirements for this course you will be interacting with the public as a representative of the University of Tennessee. You need to understand that your actions in these situations are no longer an individual matter. We will discuss in class your responsibilities as a professional and ethical researcher to ensure that you do not inadvertently engage in irresponsible or unethical activities. Prior to engaging in your fieldwork you are required to: (a) gain permission from any gatekeepers to conduct observations and (b) obtain consent from participants to be interviewed. In all communications about your research participants with the instructor and other course participants refer to your research participants with pseudonyms. Fieldwork Experience and Assignment Deliverables Observation and Document Report 50pts |Guide and Rubric| *You are required to share your Site Description on Blackboard and you can choose to share your report You will conduct an one-hour observation and collect documentation relevant to your investigation. This should be new data and not previously videotaped or previously collected data. Prior to engaging in your observation you need to gain permission from any gatekeepers of your research site unless your site is in a public location (e.g. coffee shop, retail store, and public library). After you gain this permission you are required to prepare a one-paragraph site description and share it with the instructor and other participants on Blackboard. Initial Interview Report 50pts |Guide and Rubric| *You are required to share your Interview Protocol on Blackboard and you can choose to share your report You will conduct a total of 2 30-minute audio-recorded interviews with someone you do not already know from your research site. You should identify this person during your observation and obtain consent from the person to participate in your interview. You need to share your interview protocol with the instructor and other participants on Blackboard and obtain approval from the instructor to conduct your interview. Then you will engage in 1 interview for this report. Once you receive feedback from the instructor on this report you may engage in your second required interview for the final report. Initial Data Analysis Report 50pts *You can choose to share your report on Blackboard You will conduct an initial analysis of your observation, interview, and additional source of data and share your analysis with the instructor and other participants. In the data analysis report please discuss the following:
Reflection Experiences Assignment of Final GradeGreat Paradigm Jigsaw 50pts |Handout| In a team of 3 to 4 members you will represent the positivism, postpositivism, critical theories, constructivism, and participatory paradigms to engage in a Jigsaw activity. This is an in-class activity and there will be class time designated for the preparation of the activity. Upon completion of this activity you will gain the full points. Epistemology/Reflexivity Paper 300pts |Guide and Rubric| *You can choose to share your paper on Blackboard You will write a paper that represents your personal reflection on the fieldwork experience, data collection and analysis, and course discussions and readings. In this paper you will describe your paradigm, epistemological, and ontological beliefs and reflect on your role as a qualitative researcher in the field and within the research community. Research Approach Group Presentation 100pts |Guide, Audience Assessment, and Peer Evaluation| *You are required to share your Annotated Bibliography, Articles, and Handouts on Blackboard In a team of 3 to 4 members you will identify readings about a qualitative research approach, engage in a 45-minute presentation on the approach with an additional 5 minutes for questions and answers. You are required to prepare a handout for participants. Upon completion of this activity you will gain full points for this assignment. Fieldwork Writeup and Reflection Experiences Final Research Project Report 300pts |Guide and Rubric| *You can choose to share your report on Blackboard You will reflect on your fieldwork experience and prepare a final report that synthesizes your data and analysis. In this paper you are telling a story about what you experienced as a researcher at the research site to someone who was not there. In this paper you need to share relevant information for your reader to vicariously experience what you did. Please remember to use pseudonyms for all names you include in the paper. Note about Data Collection As you may already know, prior to beginning any study with human subjects (participants) faculty and student researchers alike must get approval from the university’s Institutional Review Board. IRB approval is not required when data is being collected and analyzed for class purposes (like you are doing for this course). This means that you cannot use this data for conference presentations or publications; however, you will be able to present your findings at in-house graduate colloquiums designed for you to gain experience showcasing coursework. With that being said, please do not select an observation site or interviewee that puts you or your participants at risk in any way. The purpose of the data collection and analysis assignments in this class are to provide you the opportunity to try something new, make mistakes in a safe context, and learn from the process. I recommend that you select an observation site and interview participants that you are not planning to investigate later in your research career (e.g. for your thesis or dissertation). That is, consider choosing an unfamiliar context which may be somewhat related to your overall research interests, but not one with which you are already familiar. It is imperative to have a backup plan for data collection. Every semester one or two students have an interviewee that does not show up, gets sick, or cancels at the last minute. Or, for some reason they are not able to observe the location they had planned. Have a contingency plan. You will be glad you did. Most of all, remember that this is a learning process and HAVE FUN! Learning entails not getting it "right" the first time. So if it does not go exactly as you would have liked, that is okay. Just write and reflect on what happened and why and what you would do differently next time. Also, please note: You are expected to do your own transcribing for this project. Note about Sharing Assignments with Others In qualitative research, there are multiple ways to engage in a study. I encourage all participants to share their work with others in this course. This will provide an opportunity for each member to see how others in class approach their qualitative research study. I trust that we will all benefit from this experience and remain ethical with other peoples' work. There is much to gain from sharing your work with one another and exchanging ideas on how to approach your fieldwork and reflection activities. However, if you find that there are situations that raise concerns and you find that participants are taking advantage of your work or others, please inform the instructor. There are some assignments where you are required to share to others and, other assignments that are optional. The sharing requirements of assignments will be clearly communicated to you by the instructor. Assignment sharing will be facilitated using Blackboard Discussion Boards; therefore, only members of this class will see your work. Note about all Writing Assignments When writing your assignment reports please follow the writing requirements below:
Please submit all assignments using the Blackboard Assignment feature. All assignments must be submitted by 11:59 pm the day they are due. Please save your files as “your last name-assignment description.” For example, “Smith-observation-and-document-report”. This helps me organize the files while reviewing your work.
Grades are updated regularly in Blackboard. Final grades will be given according to the UT grading scale: A=900-1000 B+=850-899 B=800-849 C+=750-799 C=700-749 D=600-699 F=599 and below A Note Regarding Letter Grades Completing all assignments and meeting the minimum expectations of the course constitutes “B” work; truly outstanding/superior work constitutes “A” work; and failing to meet the minimum expectations will result in a grade of “C” or lower. Spending a lot of time on course requirements (or having a history of being an “A” student) may not, in and of itself, necessarily result in an “A” grade. Criteria A= Superior performance, B+= Better than satisfactory performance, B=Satisfactory performance, C+=Less than satisfactory performance, C= Performance well below the standard expected of graduate students, D=Clearly unsatisfactory performance and cannot be used to satisfy degree requirements, F=Extremely unsatisfactory performance and cannot be used to satisfy degree requirements. Academic Honesty Academic integrity is a responsibility of all members of the academic community. An honor statement is included on the application for admission and readmission. The applicant’s signature acknowledges that adherence is confirmed. The honor statement declares: An
essential feature of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is a
commitment to maintaining an atmosphere of intellectual integrity and
academic honesty. As a student of the university, I pledge that I will
neither knowingly give nor receive any inappropriate assistance in
academic work, thus affirming my own personal commitment to honor and
integrity.
You are expected to complete your own work. You cannot re-submit work here that was done for previous classes. Plagiarism Students shall not plagiarize. Plagiarism is using the intellectual property or product of someone else without giving proper credit. The undocumented use of someone else’s words or ideas in any medium of communication (unless such information is recognized as common knowledge) is a serious offense subject to disciplinary action that may include failure in a course and/or dismissal from the university. Some examples of plagiarism are
Academic writing conventions and abilities All assignments must conform to a professional style and reference notation format, preferably following the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association 6th edition. The APA manual is an essential tool for graduate school academic writing. Please study it carefully and refer to it often. If you are unsure about particular APA formatting and citation rules, refer to the manual. The ability to write in an appropriate academic manner is critical to successful graduate study. If you find that you need assistance with your writing, please visit the university’s free Writing Center housed in the English department: http://web.utk.edu/~english/writing/writing.shtml. They do not proofread or edit your work, but they can help with idea development and organization – key elements of successful academic writing. Attendance Policy Students are expected to be on time, attend all classes, and participate in class discussions, small group activities, exercises, and projects. You may not receive class participation credit for missed classes and are responsible for missed information. However, emergencies can occur at any time and the instructor reserves the right, based on the individual situation, to accommodate a student with any emergency. A student missing class must complete all assignments to the satisfaction of the instructor before credit will be issued. Absences are not considered excused for job interviews, vacations, regular doctor's appointments, or general lack of planning. Students are granted one "free" absence, regardless of the situation. However multiple absences and excessive tardiness are considered unacceptable for success in this course and can be cause for a final grade reduction. Attendance will be taken every class session, and every unexcused absence after the "free" absence will cost you a 10-point deduction from your final grade. Tardiness Tardiness is disruptive and rude to your instructor and your fellow students and reflects badly on you - it can speak about your attitude and work ethic. Students arriving late to class should wait until the instructor, fellow student, or guest speaker is finished talking and should take a seat close to the door. Excessive tardiness = 20 minutes late more than two times. Classroom Etiquette While your instructor, your peer, or guest lecturer is conducting a presentation you are expected to pay complete attention to what they are presenting. It is not only rude, but also distracting to the presenter and other students in class when you are working on the computer, personal portable devices, cell phones, or behaving in any manner that is disruptive to them. If you are engaging in activities such as surfing the web, writing a paper, reading/writing email, working on class assignments, answering your cell phone, Skyping or any other disruptive activities in class you will be asked to leave for the day. If you are disrespectful and disruptive behaviors continue, you will lose points from course participation, which will affect negatively on your final grade for this course. Make sure that your cell phone and/or beeper are turned off or set on manner mode. Please inform the instructor before class session begins if you are experiencing circumstances that warrant your cell phone/beeper to be turned on, such as extreme weather conditions that may put your family members in danger. *Please note that readings must be completed by the class session on the date they appear in the schedule. *All Assignments are due 11:59pm the day it is due.
Week 1
Last Updated July 22, 2014 |