GEOGRAPHY 315
Explanation and Understanding in Geography
Spring 2011; SLN 13968
Instructor: Andre Ortega
Appointment: Mon. (10:30 AM to 12 NN); Fri. (11:30 – 1:00 PM) at Suzzallo Espresso or by appointment
Email Address: aaortega@uw.edu
Teaching Assistant: Kristy Copeland
Email Address: kcopelan@uw.edu
COURSE DESCRIPTION AND CONTENT
As a discipline, Geography provides distinct ways of seeing, knowing, and questioning the world we live in. This course will introduce you to geographic research traditions and guide you in designing your very own geographic research project. To aid you in thinking geographically and making your research proposal, we will cover topics on (1) Geography and Knowledge; (2) Research Design and Methodology; (3) Strategies for Data Collection. My goal is that by the end of the course you will have:
(1) Designed your own geographic research effectively.
(2) Evaluated critically the research designs of others.
(3) Developed your appreciation of how knowledge is acquired.
(4) Been exposed to various methods in geography.
(5) Learned the appropriateness of different methods for different research questions, and the standards by which each method should be evaluated.
(6) Fully prepared yourself for future courses in geographic data analysis, e.g. Geog 425 or 426.
Throughout the quarter, you will be asked to write different elements of a research proposal, from formulation of an original research problem to the identification of appropriate methods. This entails extensive library research and class peer evaluation. You will be guided by the instructor and teaching assistant in refining your research focus and in polishing your drafts which will build toward a final research proposal. You will receive a ‘W’ credit for this course.
The course has three major elements, the class lecture, discussion sections and your participation. The class lectures (A) meet every Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9:30 AM to 10:20 AM at Raitt Hall 121. You are required to attend all class lectures since the topics that will be discussed will support your research projects. To supplement lecture topics, discussion sections will be conducted every Tuesdays and Thursdays at Smith Hall 415 C. You are registered to one of the following discussion sections :(AA) 9:30 AM -10:20 AM; (AB) 10:30 AM – 11:20 AM; and (AC) 11:30-12:20 AM. You are expected to attend the sections in which you are registered. These are very important venues to present and discuss ideas, share various issues associated with writing a research proposal, and assess and evaluate each other’s work.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND ASSESSMENT
You will be assessed based on the following course requirements. Please take note of the percentage allocation and deadlines listed.
Final Research Proposal (40%) Jun 10 (Fri)
Assignments (30%)
Brief Statement of Topic (10%) Apr 12 (Tue)
Revised Research Topic & Literature Review (10%) May 3 (Tue)
Revised Literature Review & Proposed Methodology (10%) May 24 (Tue)
Three Exams (20%)
First Exam (10%) Apr 13 (Wed)
Mid-term Exam (10%) May 6 (Fri)
Participation (10%)
Active engagement in discussions, in-class exercises and activities.
Consultation w/ instructor or TA.
Final Research Proposal.
This requirement is the highlight of the course. All the lecture materials, assignments and other activities are meant to guide you in developing your own research proposal. Although you will not carry out the actual project, the research proposal entails hard work in and outside the class. You will be asked to polish your research questions and re-write different iterations of your proposal. Because the assignments are iterative and build toward your final proposals, students who miss submitting assignments will receive final paper grade deductions (10 points per missed assignment). Further, final research proposals should be submitted in paper form on June 10 (Friday) at Smith 426, from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Late papers will be penalized by the day (10 points per day except Sunday). We will not accept final paper submission after two days.
Assignments.
The three assignments for this class all build toward your final research proposal. It is important to devote significant time and effort to writing (and revising) your assignment. Each assignment should be submitted in paper form to your TA at the start of your discussion section. We WILL NOT accept late assignments (after the discussion section).
Exams.
There will be three exams for this course. Exams are generally comprised of comparison of concepts and interpretation tests. The aim of the exams is to test and assess your knowledge on the key concepts on knowledge, research design and methods. All exams will ONLY be conducted during the above-mentioned dates and venue. We will not administer special exams unless provided with proper documentation of illness, etc.
Participation.
The success of this course hinges on your participation in discussions. Although participation necessitates regular attendance in class lectures and discussion sections, students SHOULD actively engage in class discussions, share ideas and join in-class activities. It includes expressing your own well-reasoned arguments about the various course topics as well as constructively responding to your classmates’ ideas. It also entails meeting with the instructor and TA for consultation. Our evaluation of your participation takes these things into consideration, and your consistent effort and improvement throughout the quarter. If you are concerned about your ability to meet these participation requirements, feel free to see the instructor and TA to discuss ways to make participation in class activities less daunting or threatening.
CLASS POLICIES
A Stimulating and Respectful Class environment.
Geographers have always reiterated the phrase, ‘space and place matters’! And it does especially in meeting particular goals and objectives. To achieve the objectives of this course, it is important that everyone strives to create a safe, respectful, and stimulating intellectual space, where everyone is able to freely engage in discussions and other class activities. This class respects diversity of all kinds, in terms of ethnicity, age, political and ideological beliefs, sexual orientation, sex and gender, ability/disability, and so on. If you have a disability that needs accommodations, please inform me as soon as possible.
Course Blog.
The Geography 315 course blog is up and running! Please check the blog for class updates, news and downloadable documents such as the class syllabus, research proposal and assignment instructions and tips, supplementary reading materials and handouts. Feel free to post comments, suggestions or even share your journey in writing your research proposal. The web address of the blog is: http://geography315.blogspot.com.
Plagiarism.
Being part of an academic community entails a commitment to intellectual honesty. This is one of the fundamental lessons to learn in this class. We take plagiarism and other forms of intellectual dishonesty VERY SERIOUSLY. We will investigate any suspicious submitted documents carefully. If found guilty, the work will be given a ‘0’ and may be reported to the University. Please check this useful webpage for detailed information regarding plagiarism: http://depts.washington.edu/pswrite/plag.html. If you are still in doubt, please consult with the instructor or the TA.
Late Work.
We expect everyone to submit requirements on time. We will not accept late assignments. With regard to the final project, late submissions will receive grade deductions per day, as per the Course Requirements.
Tardiness.
Please be on time. If you arrive late, you run the risk of missing an exam or an in-class activity and will cause undue disruption to the on-going discussion.
Attendance Issues/Missing Classes.
Attending lecture and discussion sections is important to understand key concepts and to participate in discussions and in-class activities that will help in designing your research projects. If you fail to attend lecture and discussion sessions, you run the risk of missing important discussions and activities. If you plan to be absent, please consult with the instructor or TA. You are responsible for the missed information discussed in class and in contacting your classmates in order to catch up with the topics. Lastly, we do not give ‘make up’ in-class activities.
READINGS
Required Text.
Earl Babbie (2010) The Basics of Social Research, (Belmont: Wadsworth).
You may use any edition of the book since the required chapters for the class can be found in previous editions. Also, there is a reserved copy available at Oedegard Library.
Supplementary Reading materials.
There will be reading materials that will supplement the required texts. These readings are intended to help you in designing your proposals. Please check the links on the blog site.
WEEKLY SCHEDULE
| WEEK 1 (March 28 – April 1): GEOGRAPHY - Familiarize yourself with the discipline of geography, particularly human geography.
- Situate your research interests within geography.
Required: Johnston. ‘Geography – Coming Apart at the Seams?’ Supplementary: Gibson. ‘Human Geography’ |
| WEEK 2 (April 4-8): PARADIGMS, THEORY & THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD - Understand the link between paradigms, theory and empirics.
- Learn the scientific method and its limits.
Required: Babbie. ‘Human inquiry and science.’ Babbie. ‘Paradigms, theory, and social research.’ Supplementary: Castree. ‘Is Geography a Science?’ Shaw, Ian, Dixon, Deborah and John Paul Jones III. ‘Theorizing our World.’ |
| WEEK 3 (April 11-15): RESEARCH PROBLEM - To delineate and appreciate the different steps in a research project.
- To specify the conditions of causality.
- To introduce key vocabulary terms that you will use throughout the remainder of your career.
- To introduce you to how geographers approach research specifically.
Required: Babbie. ‘Research design.’ |
| WEEK 4 (April 18-22): CONCEPTUALIZATION, OPERATIONALIZATION AND MEASUREMENT - To understand the different ways to measure social phenomena and how to assess their goodness.
Required: Babbie. ‘Conceptualization, operationalization, and measurement.’ |
| WEEK 5 (April 25-29): SAMPLING - To know different sampling strategies.
- To determine appropriate sampling techniques addressing specific research questions.
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Required: Babbie. ‘Logic of Sampling.’ |
| WEEK 6 (May 2-6): MODELING & EXPERIMENTS - To identify different techniques of collecting data.
- To understand the concept of experiments.
- To learn various ways geographers model reality.
Required: Babbie. ‘Experiments.’ |
| WEEK 7 (May 9-13): SURVEY RESEARCH - To know how to make a survey.
- To know the differences between indices, scales and typologies.
Required: Babbie. ‘Survey research.’ Babbie. ‘Indices, scales, and typologies.’ |
| WEEK 8 (May 16-20): ETHNOGRAPHIES & FIELD RESEARCH - To understand the meaning of ethnography.
- To know how ethnographic projects are conducted using examples by geographers.
Required: Babbie. ‘Qualitative Field Research.’ |
| WEEK 9 (May 23-27): UNOBTRUSIVE RESEARCH - To find out the relevance of unobtrusive research.
- To know the various unobtrusive research methods.
Required: Babbie. ‘Unobtrusive Research.’ |
| WEEK 10 (May 30-June 3): ETHICS & POLITICS OF RESEARCH - To identify typical issues on ethics, politics and positionality arising in the practice of social research.
- To know various strategies of coping with such issues.
Required: Babbie. ‘The ethics and politics of social research.’ |
| WEEK 11 (June 6-10) FINAL STRETCH: SYNTHESIS |
