Professor: Victoria Bergvall Classroom: 11-139

Office: Walker 344 Class time: MW 9:15-10:35 AM

Phone: 487-3263 Office hours: MW 12-1

(Please make appointments in class, by e-mail, or by phone if you can’t make my usual office hours.)

Some of the issues covered this term will include considering the range of possible roles and problems of the researcher and subjects, including questions of ethics and power in working with research subjects and communities; motivations behind the variety of different theoretical and methodological approaches to the collection and arrangement of data–e.g., empiricist, realist, interpretivist, feminist, critical, postmodernist; how qualitative methods may be used in different fields (technical communication, rhetoric, cultural studies, organizational communication, technology studies, and linguistics [e.g., Critical Discourse Analysis]); how the presuppositions and methods of qualitative work contrast with quantitative and other research methods.

Sample Observation (due 9/4)

Select some site where you can sit and unobtrusively observe people interacting, without intruding on their private and personal conversations; some possible public sites are at fast-food or regular restaurants, the MUB, the CCLI, the center court of the mall–places where you will not be approached and questioned about what you are doing, nor regarded suspiciously for lingering. Spend about an hour observing them and their interactions. As you observe, jot down on a small note pad information about the physical setting (drawing a map of relevant landmarks of the site), the behavior of the people around you, and their language and social interactions. Read the Introduction and Chapters 1-3 of EFS, then write up your fieldnotes. Select an interesting 2-3 page sample of your jottings and post-jotting write-up, make 7 copies to share, and bring it to class on Wed., 9/4 to discuss. What problems did you have? What did you find most interesting?

Research Consent & Human Subjects Clearances (Weeks 1-2+)

It is critical to inform and secure in advance the consent of the research subjects you are going to work with. Some people consent more readily than others: a key issue is trust. How well do they know you? Do they understand your purposes? Some groups that consent readily include hobby groups or student organizations, etc.

Note that certain educational research is exempt from having to obtain Human Subjects clearances; the above sites will help you to determine if your project is exempt.

MichiganTech IRB clearances often take a while to be approved, so if you need to submit a form, write one up, and we will try to submit our set as a class, after designing our studies–and consent forms–so as to pass on the first try. There are certain specific features that Human Subjects clearances must have; we will discuss that during the appointed date.

Field work (Starting Week 2; continues all term)

• Select a site. Choose one where you have easy access, and where verbal interaction or other semiotic systems provide important information about participant roles, attitudes, or interests that fit with your research interests.

• Begin by spending 1-2 hours (at separate times) on-site. Get signed consent forms from all participants. Start looking for ruptures and dissonances, where things work especially well, or where they go awry. Some possible questions to ask include: How does work/communication/social interaction get done? Who leads, who follows, who is silent, silenced? What RTC issues are addressed?

• Make field notes; bring samples to class; bring problems, issues to class.

Class Participation, Workshops on Data and Analysis (Weeks 2-12)

In class: I expect regular participation in class discussions, and preparation on the assigned days when we will do workshops in class. Such preparation may include making and copying data sets or analyses, or making overheads to facilitate discussion with other class members. If you must be absent, please let me know in advance, if possible, and determine how to make up that work.

Online: Our class e-mail discussion list, hu5100-l, will be a place to continue to discuss issues or direct questions or comments to me and/or to other members of the class. (You are automatically subscribed to it; only class members may post; replies go only to the original sender, and not to the class.) Let me know if you have another address you would prefer to get mail, other than your assigned mtu.edu address.

Research Prospectus (Sept. 16, Week 4)

By Week 4, you must submit a short proposal (about 1-2 pages) that includes a statement about your research interest, research questions, a list of your objectives, a description of your research site and subjects, a timetable, and an appendix of your Human Subjects Consent form, if it is needed. Please feel free to consult with me on any of this, in class or privately. This will be discussed in class, and graded pass/fail.

Students will select, read, and give short in-class reports on ethnographies drawn from domains of particular interest to them, e.g., education, dialect study, cyberspace, or the social study of science.

All students will present a synopsis of their study in the final three weeks of class (about 20-35 min., including class discussion) presentations, with visual displays of data, either in the form of overheads, powerpoint slides, or handouts of transcripts, photographs, or any other graphic material.

By Friday of 15^th week, students will submit a final paper addressing their research questions, with an ethnographic narrative about their research. Include a bibliography of works cited, and appendices of, e.g., site maps; subject descriptions; research clearances; relevant transcripts, data, and artifacts; coding schemas; etc. The papers should range from 15-25 pp., plus appendices.

MTU complies with all federal and state laws and regulations regarding discrimination, including the Americans with Disability Act of 1990 (ADA). If you have a disability and need a reasonable accommodation for equal access to education or services at MTU, call Dr. Gloria Melton, Associate Dean of Students, (7-2212). For other concerns about discrimination, contact your advisor, department head, or the Affirmative Action Office (7-3310).

*I am grateful to Carol Berkenkotter, on whose 1999 HU5100 syllabus much of this schedule and these assignments are based, and to the guests who will share their knowledge and expertise with us.

The following is a working draft of the schedule for the term, giving my best estimate of the dates for guests, readings, and assignments. Changes may occur if we need to spend more time on some issues, e.g., on dealing with problems that come up in our research, on data-workshop days that extend beyond the allotted times, or if guests must change the dates they are scheduled to visit.