January 16: Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday: No Class |
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January 23: The importance of
research design in graduate & professional education
and issues of hidden curricula in graduate education
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| Topics: | An introduction to seminar focusing on: 1) the value of research and writing skills in professional life; 2) the research interests of participants; and 3) details of seminar organization. |
| Readings: | Babbit, Victoria,
Elizabeth Rudd, Emory Morrison, Joseph Picciano, and
Maresi Nerad. 2008. Careers of Geography
PhDs: Findings from Social Science PhDs—Five+ Years
Out. Seattle:
University of Washington, Center for Innovation and
Research in Graduate Education. http://depts.washington.edu/cirgeweb/c/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/ss5-geography-report.pdf
(accessed December 29, 2008). Study questions: 1) What value do the
respondents place on research, grant writing, and
publishing skills? 2) Do doctoral students
who pursue academic careers value research skills
differently from doctoral students who pursue careers
in government, business, and non-profit organizations?
3) How do you think these results might be different
if master's students were surveyed rather than
doctoral students?
e-Reserve: Solem, M., Cheung, I., and Schlemper, B. 2008. Skills in Professional Geography: An Assessment of Workforce Needs and Expectations. The Professional Geographer, 60, no. 3: 1-18. Study questions: 1) Of
the skills areas listed in Table 6, where have you
received most of your training? 2) Does the
argument in this article suggest that graduate
training should include more or less attention to
research design? 3) How might table 8, 9, and 10
inform your decisions about future coursework and
training?
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| Assignment: |
Based on your work in
History and Theory last semester, pick one research
article on a topic that is closest to the topic you
would like to pursue for your thesis or dissertation
research. This should be an article that involves original
research with a clearly stated method, not a review
article, position paper, or editorial. Prepare a short
presentation (6-8 minutes) that addresses the following
points: 1) what are the author(s)'s research questions;
2) what research methods are used; 3) what is the
author(s)'s rationale for using these methods to address
the article's questions; and 4) what other methods could
the author(s) have used to address the same questions? |
January 30: Defining and
refining a thesis or dissertation topic
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| Topics: | This seminar session will be devoted to strategies of defining and refining research questions. |
| Readings: | Solís,
Patricia. 2009. Preparing Competitive
Research Grant Proposals. In
Michael N. Solem,
Kenneth E. Foote, and Janice J. Monk, Aspiring
Academics: A Resource Book for Graduate Students and
Early Career Faculty, pp. 139-166.
|
| Assignment: |
Prepare a one page (2-3
paragraph) statement and a five-minute oral presentation
that describes your thesis or dissertation question.
It should tentatively define the research problem or
question and articulates its significance to your
sub-field. Try to justify your research problem in terms
of its potential contribution or significance to your
sub-field (e.g. conceptually; methodologically; in terms
of new data from an unstudied place or population; a new
application, model, or algorithm; etc.). If appropriate,
also comment on its practical significance and potential
broader impacts for geography, science, and society. Finally,
state one or more strategies you think you will follow in
your research; include in this final paragraph a brief
description of general methods, data sources, tools of
analysis, and schedule. Use Patricia Solís's Activity 11.1 "Starting with a Good Problem" (pp. 1-4) as a guide. |
February 6: Literature Review and
Conceptual/Theoretical Framing
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|
| Topics: | Discussion of
refined research questions. Writing an effective
literature is one of the greatest challenges of developing
a proposal. Here we focus on how to develop and
shape a concise and convincing literature review for your
project. We will also talk about time management
strategies. |
| Readings: | Foote, Ken. Time
Management. 2009. In
Michael N. Solem,
Kenneth E. Foote, and Janice J. Monk, Aspiring
Academics: A Resource Book for Graduate Students and
Early Career Faculty, pp. 5-15.
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Chapters 1, 2 & 3 from Cresswell, John W. 2009. Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 15 & 18 from Turabian , Kate L. 2007. A manual for writers of research papers, theses, and dissertations: Chicago style for students and researchers. 7th ed.. Revised by Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, Joseph M. Williams and the University of Chicago Press Editorial Staff. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. |
| Assignment: |
1) Provide brief comments
on the two statements of research questions which you were
assigned to review. If possible, send those comments
to the authors (and me) by Friday. 2) In no more than six double-spaced pages (not including reference list), write a literature review and conceptual framework based on your (revised) research questions. Include your research questions with this assignment. In citing literature, follow the Turabian parenthetical, reference list style of citation. On Monday, give or send copies of this statement to the people who will review it for next week. I will provide a list of those to who will review your statement. On the cover sheet be sure to include your name, but also: 1) state what you consider to be the best or strongest part of your review; and 2) state any questions or points at which you would like the reviewers focus particular attention. |
February 13: Writing and
Reviewing Grant Proposals
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|
| Topics: | Discussion of
literature reviews. Overview of the grant writing
process including issues relating to the review process
used by some of the major granting agencies. We will
also focus on some of the other elements grant proposals
include schedules and budgets. We will also discuss
the need for pilot projects to test methodologies as well
as the process of developing "fall-back" plans in case an
element of our methodology doesn't work in the field. |
| Readings: |
e-Reserve:
Calef, Wesley. 1994. Some Canons of Reviewing. Urban
Geography 15: 1-3. e-Reserve:
Chamberlin, T.C. 1890. The method of
multiple working hypotheses. Science (old series), 15,
92. |
| Assignment: |
Prepare a page of written
comments for two of the literature reviews distributed in
seminar last week. Focus on: 1) the strengths of the
review; 2) issues which are unclear, need further
refinement, or could be strengthened. As to the
latter issues, provide concrete suggestions and ideas
about how to strengthen the literature review. Send or give these review statements to their authors (and me) by next Monday. |
February 20: Getting the Most Out of Conference Participation & Effective Use of Tables, Graphs, Maps and Visualizations in Research Communication |
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| Topics: |
Participation in academic conferences, workshops, and symposia is one of the most important activities of academic life. Conferences are once of the best ways to share ideas, gain new insights and ideas, network, and build networks among peers. Getting the most out of meetings can often benefit from advance preparation which we will focus on this week. We will also focus on the value of tables, graphs, maps, and other visuals to communicate research ideas and findings. |
| Readings: |
e-Reserve:
Tufte, Edward. 2001. Graphical excellence.
Chapter 1 in The visual
display of quantitative information, pp.
13-51. Cheshire, CT: Graphics Press e-Reserve: Tufte, Edward. 2006. The cognitive style of PowerPoint. In Beautiful evidence, 156-185. Cheshire, CT: Graphics Press, 2009. Chapter 8 & 26 in Turabian |
| Assignment: |
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February 27: AAG Meeting, NYC, No scheduled class |
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March 5: Contemporary Research
Methodologies and Methodological Debate in Geography I
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| Topics: | I have set aside
three weeks for us to review and discuss methodological
issues related to our projects. We will discuss the
strengths and weaknesses of some of the major qualitative
and quantitative methods used in contemporary geography,
as well as those of direct relevance to your thesis and
dissertation projects. We will also consider some of
the recent methodological critiques of contemporary
research paradigms in geography. |
| Readings: | Chapters 7 & 8
from Cresswell Here are some useful sources I have put on reserve. Please use them as needed: Norlin Reserve: Clifford, Nicholas J. and Gill Valentine, eds. 2003. Key methods in geography. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Norlin Reserve: Cloke, Paul, Ian Cook, Philip Crang, Mark Goodwin, Joe Painter, and Chris Philo. 2004. Practising human geography. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Norlin Reserve: Hay, Iain, ed. 2005. Qualitative research methods in human geography. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Norlin Reserve: Kitchin, Rob and Nicholas J. Tate. 2000. Conducting research in human geography: Theory, methodology and practice. Harlow, UK: Pearson. Norlin Reserve: Montello, Daniel R. and Paul C. Sutton. 2006. An introduction to scientific research methods in geography. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Norlin Reserve: Yin, Robert K. 2009. Case study research: Design and methods. 4th ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. |
| Assignment: |
In no more
than six double-spaced pages (not including
reference list), write the methodology
section of your proposal. This
section should include a description of the nature and
sources of your data (which may also include a
description of the field site, if appropriate), data
collection strategies, and data analysis.
Be sure and make clear how your data and analysis
will specifically address your research questions and
your rationale for picking the method you propose to
use. If more than one methodology could be applied
to your research question, you may need to compare and
contrast the possible methods. Follow Turabian as
to style of presentation and citation. Give or send this statement to the people who will review them (list will be provided). On the cover sheet be sure to include your name, but also: 1) state what you consider to be the best or strongest part of your review; and 2) state any questions or points at which you would like the reviewers focus particular attention. Also, begin methodological presentations. Instructions are located here. |
March 12: Contemporary Research
Methodologies and Methodological Debate in Geography II
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|
| Topics: | Continuation of
discussion of contemporary research methodologies. |
| Readings: | Chapters 9 & 10 from Cresswell |
| Assignment: |
Prepare a page of written
comments for two of the methodological statements
distributed in seminar last week. Focus on: 1) the
strengths of the statement; 2) issues which are unclear,
need further refinement, or could be strengthened.
As to the latter issues, provide concrete suggestions and
ideas about how to strengthen the methodology. Send your reviews to the authors and to me by Friday. |
March 19: Contemporary Research
Methodologies and Methodological Debate in Geography III
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|
| Topics: | Continuation of discussion of contemporary research methodologies. |
| Readings: | No additional
readings. |
| Assignment: |
First full
draft of proposal due by Friday. |
March 26: Spring Break |
|
| Review proposals. |
|
April 2: Ethics in Research and Publishing |
|
| Topics: | Professional
ethics are at the foundation of all of our work.
This week we consider some of the key issues involved in
the ethics of research and publishing as well as steps for
recognizing and resolving ethical dilemmas. |
| Readings: | Association of American
Geographers, Statement on Professional Ethics, http://www.aag.org/cs/about_aag/governance/statement_of_professional_ethics
CU Human Research Committee, http://humanresearch.colorado.edu/ Hay, Iain and Mark Israel. 2009. Private people, secret
places: Ethical research in practice. In Michael N.
Solem, Kenneth E. Foote, and Janice J. Monk, Aspiring
Academics: A Resource Book for Graduate Students and
Early Career Faculty, pp. 167-178. Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, s.v. "Scientific
Misconduct," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_misconduct |
| Assignment: |
Read and be prepared to discuss the case study
scenarios found in Iain Hay and Mark Israel, Activities
for AA Chapter 12, Private People, Secret Places: Ethical Research
in Practice, pp. 16-23. If your research involves human subjects, then take the HRC online training course before this session. The online training course explains in more details some of the issues we will raise in class. Send your reviews of the full proposals to the authors and to me by Friday. |
April 9: Academic Publishing:
Selecting Journals and Preparing Manuscripts
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|
| Topics: | I have set aside
two weeks to focus on the process of research
publication. Here we focus on some of the
nuts-and-bolts issues about how to select the journals to
which we submit manuscripts, how the peer-review process
works, and how to work with editors in response to
reviewers' comments. |
| Readings: | Brunn, Stanley
D. 2009. Academic publishing. In Michael N. Solem,
Kenneth E. Foote, and Janice J. Monk, Aspiring
Academics: A Resource Book for Graduate Students and
Early Career Faculty, pp. 179-189. Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. ISI Web of Science/Web of Knowledge available through the Chinook library catalog. The CU Libraries provide an online video tutorial on using the Web of Science at: http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/engineering/flash/WebofScience/WebofScienceFull/WebofScience/WebofScience.html Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, s.v. "Citation Index," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citation_index |
| Assignment: |
Bring two printed copies of
each of your reviews to seminar so that you can give one
to the authors of the proposals you read and one copy to
me. Read and complete Activities 13.1 "Choosing the right outlet for your research" and 13.2 "The ethics and politics of academic publishing" by Jan Monk in Activities for AA Chapter 13, Academic Publishing. |
April 16: Academic Publishing: The Peer-Review and Publishing Process; Big Picture Issues: Career Planning and Work/Life Balance |
|
| Topics: | Continuation of
publishing workshop. |
| Readings: |
Kitchin, Rob and Duncan Fuller, Geo-publishing.org: A Publishing Resource for Geographers, http://www.nuim.ie/nirsa/geo-pub/geo-pub.html e-Reserve: Chapters 3 and 6 in Kitchin, Rob and Duncan Fuller. 2005. The academic's guide to publishing. London: Sage. There is a large range of excellent books about academic writing and publishing on this list which may be of use to you in the future.Monk, Janice and Christine Jocoy. 2009. Career planning: Personal goals and professional contexts. In Michael N. Solem, Kenneth E. Foote, and Janice J. Monk, Aspiring Academics: A Resource Book for Graduate Students and Early Career Faculty, pp. 16-31. Schlemper, Beth and Antoinette M.G.A. WinklerPrins. 2009. Balancing personal and professional lives. In Michael N. Solem, Kenneth E. Foote, and Janice J. Monk, Aspiring Academics: A Resource Book for Graduate Students and Early Career Faculty, pp. 42-51. |
| Assignment: |
Read and complete Activity
13.3 "Understanding the manuscript review process" by Ken
Foote in Activities
for AA Chapter 13, Academic Publishing. For
this activity, you need to read and review this
manuscript by Michael Solem. A review form
is included in the file. |
April 23: TBA
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| Topics: | TBA |
| Readings: |
None. |
| Assignment: |
TBA |
April 30: Presentation and review
of revised research proposals
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|
| Topics: | Presentation and review of second draft of research proposals. |
| Readings: |
None. |
| Assignment: |
Review research proposals and provide feedback to presenters. |
Final draft of proposal due by Friday, May 4th, 4:00 pm |
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