Qualitative Research Methods
Blog & Wiki Writing Assignment
Syllabus Spring 2006
I want to try something new this semester - sharing our reflections and writings online. We have a class blog and a class wiki. They have different purposes but in general they help us make our research more transparent, which is one of the requirements for good qualitative research. They will also be opportunities for you to practice thinking and writing like a researcher; part of understanding a new field is to practice some of the basic skills and get comfortable with the vocabulary - these assignments will help with that I think. Click here to access our class blog. You must have a blogger account and have been added as a group member to be able to post to the blog.
The blog: Each week there will be a question to answer - you have to do 3 over the course of the semester; each one is worth up to 10 points. Each person will post their response to the blog by 5pm on Friday. Be sure to put your real first name and initial (if you don't want to put your whole name) in the post. Be sure to start your post with the question you're answering. Over the weekend, read thru the responses and make some comments. You must respond to 2 posts on weeks you don't post your own comments; each comment is worth 5 points. We will discuss them on class on Monday. These questions ask for your opinions and your reactions. The comments make the blog a conversation. For extra credit (2 points each), you can comment more often. You can earn up to 10 points of extra credit.
Questions to answer on the blog:
- Ask 5 of your friends how they know things (don't clue them into our in-class discussions about knowing)- summarize their responses and compare them with the ways of knowing that we discussed in class - for friday february 10
- Look at other avatars of your classmates - what are the most prominent features common to them all? - for friday February 17
- Is it possible to study Second Life and not be a participant-observer? Why or why not? - for Friday February 24
- How would you have reacted if you had been living on the dorm floor with the prof turned freshman? - for Friday March 3
- What's the most difficult aspect of doing observations online in Second Life? - for friday March 10
- After playing Second Life for a few weeks - what does your avatar look like (post a picture) and why? - for friday March 17
- Is Second Life similar enough to the real world for our research collection techniques to be appropriate? Why or why not? - for friday March 24
- Are we taking advantage of the residents of Second Life? Why or why not? - for Friday March 31
- Is Second Life a game? - for friday April 7
- What technique do you use to get your interview subject to talk? - for Friday April 14
- Should it bother us when we interview people online that we can't see them as they answer our questions? - for Friday April 21
- Which data collection technique do you feel most comfortable with - interviews, observations, or content analysis? Why? - For Friday April 28
The wiki: This section I'm still working on. This may be where the final group papers go - or it may be where you write an essay for the final exam. Don't read the instructions below - they're not set yet (kg, 2/5/06). Each group will be assigned one big topic to write about for the wiki. Each entry should be 4-5 typed pages long and include links and a bibliography. Think of it as a book we're writing about our research. We will also post final versions of some assignments. It will be the most public of our efforts.
Topics for the Wiki - Each group picks one
- How can we know things?
- What are the pro's and con's of doing ethnography in an online environment like Second Life?
- What is the role of patterns in qualitative research?
- What steps must we take to protect our research subjects? Why is ethical behavior so important for researchers?
- What's the role of experience in understanding and pattern making?
This page last updated 5 February 2006 by Kim Gregson
