GEOG 703

Research Design in Theory and Practice

Fall 2008 Class meets:

Thursdays 4:00-6:30 Saunders Hall Room 207

Instructor: Mike Emch
Email: emch@unc.edu
Office: 308 Saunders Hall

Course Overview
Course Objectives
Assignments and Research Proposal
Grading

Course Overview

Research design is one of the most important areas of graduate study in any discipline. Designing a good research project requires an understanding of the general field in which the research will take place, an appreciation for the questions that will advance the state of knowledge in that field, an ability to select and apply the methods appropriate to studying the selected research questions, formulating approaches to assess uncertainty in your analyses and to validate results, and, perhaps most importantly, perseverance. In this class, we will discuss some of the basic theoretical and practical tools for designing a research project. Although the immediate goal is to write your own research proposal, the general goals are much broader. As students of any science, we should understand the nature, purpose and value of doing and communicating research.

Course Objectives

1) To understand the theoretical and practical implications of designing a research project;
2) To formulate research questions and tie them to the appropriate literature fields, methods and theoretical framework;
3) To learn how to write a research proposal that will secure outside funding;
4) To write a research proposal.

Assignments and Research Proposal

The main product from this class will be a research proposal that has been reviewed by your classmates, revised, and then presented.  This course will involve several hours a week of reading, research and writing. Much of the coursework will be targeted towards thinking through your own research, however, so time invested will hopefully pay off in terms of progress towards the thesis or dissertation. At the beginning of class we will read fundamental papers about research design. We will then read several examples of successful and unsuccessful proposals and their reviews. Probably the most important and difficult part of the research process is coming up with a good idea and then formulating a good question based on that idea. Once you have that you need to develop a comprehensive literature review that identifies pertinent research that has been done previously that is related to your topic.  This will involve a literature search using library resources. About two-thirds of the way through the semester you will give your classmates a complete NSF research proposal that includes all required sections that are part of the Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement grant. Students will prepare their proposals using the online NSF fastlane system (fastlane.nsf.gov). Students will review all other student proposals using NSF review criteria. Students will then take the reviews and revise their proposals based on the reviews and hand in a final proposal and present the proposal to the class.  A list of the course deliverables follows: 

Note: The immediate goal of this class is to design a viable research project thus you will need to be meeting regularly with your advisor in order to discuss your research questions, literature, and methods. Your advisor should be involved throughout the semester - don't waste the opportunity!  You do not need to be working on your dissertation project or proposal in this class if you are not yet at that stage in your studies! This class is for your own benefit and to explain some of the aspects of research design considered integral to the discipline. If you do not want to work on your dissertation proposal, just pick a project that will sustain your interest for the semester and allow you to develop a workable proposal. If you do intend to develop a dissertation proposal, you will need to engage your committee chair to help frame research questions and to structure your proposal.

Schedule (See Blackboard Site for Assignments which should be done before class on the day listed; The K&T readings are on the Blackboard Site as well)

Week: Date Readings/ Activities/ Deliverables
Week 1: Aug 21 Course Overview/ Introductory Presentation
Week 2: Aug 28 Read K&T Chapters 1 and 2
Week 3: Sep 4 Assignment 1: Developing thick skin 
Week 4: Sep 11 Assignment 2: Good proposals and fuzzy reviews 
Week 5: Sep 18 Library meeting to learn about database searches for literature reviews (Davis Library 246)
Week 6: Sep 25 Assignment 2: Good proposals and fuzzy reviews 
Week 7: Oct 2 Assignment 3: Developing a research question and concept
Week 8: Oct 9 Assignment 4: Designing and preparing a proposal 
Week 9: Oct 23 Assignment 5: Literature review
Week 10: Oct 30 Assignment 6: Dissemination

Complete Proposal Due today 
Week 11: Nov 6  Assignment 6: Dissemination

1/2 of class proposal reviews due today
Week 12: Nov 13  Assignment 7: Proposal review and revision

1/2 of class proposal reviews due today
Week 13: Nov 20 Assignment 7: Proposal review and revision

Final Proposal Presentations
Week 14: Class Exam Time: Dec 11 Final Proposal Presentations

Grading

You will be graded throughout the semester in three areas: a) informal participation in class, which is a combination of physical and mental attendance; b) weekly assignments that will include readings, leading discussions, and reviews; and c) a final research proposal to be submitted both as a written document and presented to the department in the form of a talk.

Weekly assignments: 40% Final proposal and presentation: 60%