coms 855
Qualitative Research Methods in Communication STUDIES
spring 2009

Instructor

Dr. Nancy Baym                               nbaym@ku.edu

Course Overview and Goals

This course is intended to provide a broad overview of qualitative research methods with particular focus on communication. The goals are to:

¥       familiarize you with the theoretical grounding and aims of qualitative communication research.

¥       provide practical instruction in how to design, carry out, and write up qualitative research projects.

¥       promote critical thinking regarding the quality of qualitative research.

¥       encourage research leading to conference presentations and publication.

Readings

There is a reading packet for the course available in the front office (102 Bailey). Some readings are also online (these have websites listed in the course schedule that follows). There are four required books:

Lindlof, T.R. & Taylor, B. C. (2002). Qualitative Communication Research Methods. Second Edition. Sage.

Denzin, N. & Lincoln, Y. (2008). Collecting and Interpreting Qualitative Materials. Third Edition. Sage.

Silverman, D. (2005). Doing Qualitative Research: A Practical Handbook, Second Edition. Sage.

Markham, A. & Baym, N. (2009). Internet Inquiry: Conversations About Method. Sage.

Assignments

All of these assignments should work together to build your final project:

10 % Identify a scene and appropriate methods for its study. In this paper you should identify and describe a scene for qualitative research, pose at least one research question concerning that scene, and identify the method(s) you anticipate would be most appropriate for its study.  Length approximately 5-7 pages.

10% Conduct, write up, and report on a Participant-Observation

10% Conduct, write up, and report on an Interview

10% Transcribe, write up, and report on a bit of Discourse

10% Review a qualitative research monograph/book in your area of interest. In this review you should (1) identify the research questions (2) identify the strategies used to answer them and (3) using the criteria for assessing qualitative methods described in the readings, assess the strengths and weaknesses of the project. Approximately 3 pages.

50% Research Proposal with Pilot Study. Write a full length proposal for a qualitative research paper that includes a modest pilot study. The paper should (1) discuss the research problem (2) review the literature to provide a rationale for and pose specific research questions (3) propose a design for the study to answer those questions and a rationale for that design that draws on lessons learned from the pilot version (4) identify the strategies you will use to analyze the data, again drawing from the pilot data. If you are already working on a qualitative project for a thesis or other major project, discuss with me how you might work with that data to write a journal submission for this course.

 

 

Course Schedule

 

 

Monday 1.26 Course Orientation. Ice Breaking. Rapport Building. All That Good Stuff.

 

Monday 2.2     Introduction to Qualitative Methods

Lindlof and Taylor (2002), Chapter 1 ÒIntroduction to Qualitative Communication ResearchÓ

Denzin and Lincoln (2003), Introduction: The Discipline and Practice of Qualitative Research.Ó

Silverman (2005), Chapters 1-4

Markham, A. (2009). How can qualitative researchers produce work that is meaningful across time, space, and culture? Responses by Lally, E. and Srinivasan, R. In A. Markham & N. Baym (Eds.) Internet Inquiry: Conversations about Methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

 

Monday 2.9     Theory of Qualitative Methodology

Lindlof and Taylor (2002), Chapter 2 ÒTheoretical Traditions and Qualitative Communication ResearchÓ

Clifford G. Christians and James W. Carey (1989), "The Logic and Aims of Qualitative Research." pp. 354-374 in Guido Stempel and Bruce Westley, eds., Research Methods in Mass Communication.  2nd ed.  New York:  Prentice Hall. 

Geertz (1973). "Thick Description." In The interpretation of cultures. New York, NY: Basic Books, Inc.

Gee (1999), Chapter 3: Situated Meanings and Cultural Models in Introduction to Discourse Analysis. Routledge.

 

 

Monday 2.16                    Getting Started on a Project

Lindlof and Taylor (2002), Chapters 3 & 4 ÓDesign I: PlanningÓ and ÒDesign II: Getting StartedÓ

Silverman (2005) Chapters 5-11, 13 (by Clive Seale), 16 and 17

Hammersley and Atkinson (1983), Chapter 10 ÒEthicsÓ Ethnography: Principles in Practice , Tavistock Publications.

Sveningsson Elm, M. (2009). How do various notions of privacy influence decisions in qualitative internet research? Responses by Buchanan, E. A., Stern, S. R. In A. Markham & N. Baym (Eds.) Internet Inquiry: Conversations about Methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

 

Monday 2.23                    Qualitative Internet Research

Lindlof & Taylor (2002). Chapter 8 ÒQualitative Research and Computer-Mediated CommunicationÓ

Baym, N. & Markham, A. (2009). Introduction: Making Smart Choices on Shifting Ground. In A. Markham & N. Baym (Eds.) Internet Inquiry: Conversations about Methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Hine, C. (2009) How are the boundaries of a project defined? Responses by Kendall, L. and boyd, d. In A. Markham & N. Baym (Eds.) Internet Inquiry: Conversations about Methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Orgad, S. (2009). How does a researcher grapple with the issue of online versus offline in collecting information or making sense of it in qualitative internet analysis? Responses by Bakardjieva, M. and Gahhala, R. In A. Markham & N. Baym (Eds.) Internet Inquiry: Conversations about Methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

 

Monday 3.2                       Presentation/Workshop Day

Scene and Methods paper due

 

 

Monday 3.9                       Assessing Quality in Qualitative Research

Hammersley (1998). Standards for Assessing Ethnographic ResearchÓ and ÒMaking an assessment: Validity,Ó Chapters 3 & 4 in Reading Ethnographic Research, Second Edition, London: Longman.

Silverman (2005), Chapter 13 ÒValidity and ReliabilityÓ

Smith and Hodkinson (2008) ÒRelativism, Criteria, and PoliticsÓ chapter 13 in Denzin & Lincoln

Baym (2009). What counts as quality in qualitative internet research? Response by A. Markham, A. In A. Markham & N. Baym (Eds.) Internet Inquiry: Conversations about Methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

 

Monday 3.23                   Participant Observation and Ethnography

Lindlof & Taylor (2002). Chapter 5 ÒObserving, Learning and ReportingÓ

Spradley, ÒDoing Participant Observation,Ó ÒMaking an Ethnographic RecordÓ pp 53- 72 in Participant Observation, Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace.

Angrosino (2008) ÒRethinking Observation: Ethnography, pedagogy and the prospects for a progressive political agendaÓ Chapter 5 in Denzin & Lincoln

Philipsen, G. (1992) Speaking in A Cultural Context. In Speaking Culturally, pp. 3-17. SUNY Press: Albany

Miller, P. J. (1996). Instantiating culture through discourse practices: Some personal reflections on socialization and how to study it. In R. Jessor, A. Colby, & R. A. Shweder (Eds.), Ethnography and human development: Context and meaning in social inquiry, (pp. 183-204). Chicago: The University of Chicago.

 

Monday 3.30                    Interviewing

Participant-Observation Reports Due

Lindlof & Taylor (2002). Chapter 6 ÒAsking, Listening, and TellingÓ

Taylor & Bogdan (1984), Chapter 4 ÒIn-Depth InterviewingÓ 73-105Óin Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods: The Search for Meanings. Second Edition. New York: John Wiley and Sons.

Markham, A. (1998). The shifting project, the shifting self. In Life online: researching real experience in virtual space , pp. 61-83. Alta Mira Press.

Kamberelis & Dimitriadis (2008). Focus Groups: Strategic Articulations of Pedagogy, Politics, and Inquiry (2003) ÒFocus Groups in Feminist Research,Ó Chapter 12 in Denzin & Lincoln

Fontana, A. and Frey, J. H. (2008) ÒThe Interview: From Neutral Stance to Political InvolvementÓ Chapter 4 in Denzin & Lincoln

Dillon (1990). ÒNotions of questioning,Ó ÒActions of questioning,Ó and ÒAlternatives to questioningÓ Chapters 10, 11, & 12 pp. 131-207 in The Practice of Questioning. London: Routledge.

 

 

Monday 4.6                       Discourse and Conversation Analysis

Interviewing Reports Due

Van Dijk (1997),   The Study of Discourse, in Discourse as Structures and Processes. Sage.

Tracy, K. (2001), Discourse Analysis in Communication. In D. Schiffrin, D. Tannen, & H.E. Hamilton (Eds.) The Handbook of Discourse Analysis. 725-749. Malden, MA: Blackwell.

Perakyla (2008) Analyzing Talk and Text. In Denzin & Lincoln, Chapter 11

Herring, S. C. 2001. Computer-mediated discourse. In D. Schiffrin, D. Tannen, & H.E. Hamilton (Eds.) The Handbook of Discourse Analysis, pp 612-634. Malden: Blackwell.

Harper, D. (2008) ÒWhatÕs New Visually?Ó Chapter 6 in Denzin & Lincoln

Silverman (2005), Appendix, page 376.

 

Monday 4.13                    Analyzing Qualitative Data

Discourse Analysis Reports Due

Lindlof & Taylor (2002). Chapter 7 ÒQualitative Analysis and InterpretationÓ

Silverman (2005), Chapter 12 ÒDeveloping Data AnalysisÓ

Atkinson &  Delamont (2008) Analytic Perspectives Chapter 9 in Denzin & Lincoln

Hammersley and Atkinson (1983), Chapter 8 ÒThe Process of AnalysisÓ  in Ethnography. 2nd Ed. Routledge.

Suddaby, R. (2006). From the editors: What grounded theory is not. The Academy of Management Journal, 49, 633-642.

 

Monday 4.20                    Review Paper Due/Workshop Day

 

Monday 4.27                    Writing Qualitative Research

 

Lindlof & Taylor (2002). Chapter 9 ÒAuthoring and Writing.Ó

Silverman (2005) ÒPart 5: Writing UpÓ and Chapters 27 and 28.

Taylor and Bogdan (1984). Chapter 7 ÒThe Presentation of FindingsÓ, 149-156 in Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods: The Search for Meanings. Second Edition. New York: John Wiley and Sons.

Richardson & Adams St. Pierre (2003), ÒWriting: a Method of InquiryÓ Chapter 15 in Denzin and Lincoln

 

Monday 5.4                       Final Presentations

 

Final Papers Due Friday 5.8