Course Requirements
Because this is a research seminar with an emphasis on developing a set of
research skills, this will be an experiential, hands-on kind of class.
That means there is little in the way of formal lecture or readings.
That noted, there is a lot of work that will be done for the class that will
be conducted outside the formal class meetings. A three-credit class
at the upper-division level generally requires about 10-12 hours per week
of work outside of the class meeting. You should recognize that the
class will probably require that much time. The formal requirements
are as follows:
1. Attendance. Attendance at every class meeting is required.
Developing the survey, analyzing the data, and writing the final report are
all group efforts and your participation is essential. So while there
is work outside of class, you must also plan on attending every class meeting.
2. Readings. Readings will be assigned for several of the class
meetings. Readings should be completed before class.
3. Interim projects. The study will be broken down into a series
of discrete steps involving the development of research questions, survey
design, pre-testing the survey, data entry, analysis, and a final report.
You will be asked to turn in progress reports for each of these.
4. A final report on student activism and the Internet. This
will be a collaborative report, and will be presented in written form and
as an oral presentation. Each of you will play some role in writing
the report; each person on a research team will receive the same grade for
the report that their team turns in.
5. Participation. Clearly, this project won’t be completed without
the active participation of each person in the class.