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Sample Course Descriptions
The following course descriptions are provided as samples of possible models for the research methods or methodologies course.
Community Based Action Research: This course will focus on the development of the applied, socially responsible research project. The student will explore the practice of research that provides service within community, organizational, or institutional contexts. Specific focus will be given to issues of social responsibility as a researcher including an emphasis on postcolonial or decolonizing approaches to community-based research.
Principle Bibliography
Moustakas, Clark. Heuristic Research: Design, Methodology, and Applications.
Newbury Park: Sage, 1990.
Babbie, Earl. The Basics of Social Research. Belmont: Wadsworth, 1999.
Smith, Linda Tuhiwai. Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous
Peoples. New York: St. Martin's, 1999.
Stringer, Ernest T. Action Research: A Handbook for Practitioners. Thousand
Oaks: Sage, 1996.
Research Methods and Theories in Literary Scholarship: This study will cover literary research methods with an overview of general research methods. Literary theory will include scholarship in modern languages and literature, the use of bibliographies and research guides, the history of literary studies, and methods of teaching literature and writing. Focus will be given to the transformation of literary scholarship throughout the twentieth century. Investigation of general research methods will include an overview of qualitative, theoretical, and nascent research methods, with an emphasis on research in the humanities.
Principle Bibliography
Altick, Richard D., and John J. Fenstermaker. The Art of Literary Research.
4th ed. New York: Norton, 1993.
Booth, Wayne C., Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams. The Craft of
Research. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1995.
Greenblatt, Stephen, and Giles Gunn, eds. Redrawing the Boundaries: The
Transformation of English and American Literary Studies. New York:
MLA, 1992.
Feminist Research Design and Methodology: This course will cover the philosophical lenses that will be utilized in completion of the thesis. Foundational theories to be studied include broad approaches to feminist and queer ideologies, postcolonial, ethnocentric, or cultural theories, and Marxist and class-based philosophies. This course will allow for exploration of the range of interdisciplinary and philosophical lenses through which the thesis research will be completed.
Principle Bibliography
Collins, Patricia Hill. Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness,
and the Politics of Empowerment. New York: Routledge, 1991.
Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. 1970. Trans. Myra Bergman
Ramos. New York: Continuum, 1997.
hooks, bell. Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center. Boston: South End,
1984.
Morrison, Toni. Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination.
New York: Vintage, 1992.
Nelson, Cary. Repression and Recovery: Modern American Poetry and
the Politics of Cultural Memory, 1910-1945. Madison: U of Wisconsin
P, 1989.
Said, Edward W. Orientalism. New York: Vintage Books, 1979.
Trinh T. Minh-ha. Woman, Native, Other: Writing Postcoloniality and
Feminism. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1989.
Sample Syllabi for Independent Research Methods Course
These syllabi provide a variety of specific approaches for incorporating the required research methods component into the student’s MAP study plan. Using one of these syllabi to complete MAP’s required research methods component is an option. The course can be completed in many ways and should be designed to meet the specific needs of the student while keeping in mind the preliminary plan or idea for the master’s thesis. Any of the sample models can be adjusted to complete a course on a different aspect of research or to study multiple methods. In addition, these syllabi can be used as models for creating a 3 semester hour course on any topic.
Sample Syllabus for a Quantitative Research Methods Course
Basic Statistics for Environmental Studies, 3 Semester Hours
Note: This course was designed as a mentored course by Dr. Richard Cellarius, MAP Advisor. It is occasionally offered as a mentored course; contact the core faculty or see the MAP Current Students web page for information. It is provided here as a sample of how one might design a statistical methods course.
Texts: Triola, Mario F. (2001). Elementary Statistics for Excel. Boston:
Addison-Wesley Longman.
Moore, David S. (2001). Statistics: Concepts and Controversies (5th Ed.).
New York: W. H. Freeman.
Tools: Hand calculator with statistical functions (graphing calculator not required); Microsoft Excel spreadsheet program
Credit: 2-3 semester credits, depending on number of topics completed; Minimum 2 credits for Topics 1-3; 1 credit additional for Topics 4 & 5. This course includes a series of five reading and problem assignments based on the above texts. In each assignment, there is a brief overview of the essential points to focus on. A series of PowerPoint presentations and video files that assist in the elaboration of the concepts and problem-solving techniques is available. The problems from the texts are to be worked either on paper and hand calculator or using Excel. For the full 3-credit course, these will be due as part of the regular study packets, usually about 3 weeks from when the assignment begins, based on a time commitment of about 9-10 hours per week. Some folks will find a slower pace will fit their other obligations better; however, completion of Topics 1-3 is essential for a basic understanding of the statistical approach to data analysis.
Topic 1: Overview; Descriptive Statistics – Sampling, the Nature of Data, Displaying Data
This first installment introduces some of the initial concepts of data acquisition and description. This topic covers a great many topics that might be review of previous learning, at least in part. The fundamental issue here is to understand the different types of data and how data should properly be obtained and displayed. Data can often be displayed in a way that misleads or hides critical information, and it is important to be able to recognize this and evaluate those data more correctly.
Topic 2: Probability and Probability Distributions; Sampling Distributions and the Central Limit Theorem
Probability is one of the most fundamental concepts underlying statistical analysis: given a number of events, what is the probability that a specific event will occur or, if there are repetitive events, what is the proportion of a specific kind of event that is likely to occur. For statistics, probability can be approached with a full-blown coverage of probability analysis or with a survey of the basic fundamentals sufficient to demonstrate that the statistical procedures encountered later have an adequate mathematical basis. This topic takes a route closer to the latter, which does not require learning elaborate notations or doing excessive calculations. The ultimate conclusions to focus on are the nature of probability distributions including the Normal Distribution, sampling distributions, and the Central Limit Theorem, which provides the fundamental rationale for relying on random samples of a population to make statistical conclusions about the entire population.
Topic 3: Introduction to Inferential Statistics – Confidence Intervals; Hypothesis Testing and Tests of Significance
The two parts of this topic introduce the essential concepts and tools of Inferential Statistics, the science and art of making conclusions about populations from statistical samples of those populations. In the first part, the task is to determine the probable range within which the “true” population value of the quantity in question lies based on analysis of the sample data. In the second part, the process is extended to make comparative statements or conclusions based on hypotheses about the population, again on the basis of the sample data from that population.
Topic 4: More Tests of Hypotheses: Inferences from Two Samples; Multinomial Experiments and Contingency Tables
The two tools covered in this Topic are among the most widely used statistical procedures. The first, “Inferences from Two Samples,” generally follows quite directly and quite simply from the hypothesis testing of a single sample that was the subject of the previous topic; here one of two questions is asked: (1) “are the means of the populations represented by two different samples the same or different?” or (2) “has the population changed as the result of the treatment?” The second tool involves making inferences from data gathered when there are a number of categories, for example races of people or varieties of trees. Again students will consider two different types of questions, (1) “how does the distribution in the categories compare with an assumed distribution?” which applies when dealing with a sample from a single population – a multinomial experiment – often referred to as a Chi-Square Test by biologists, or (2) “are the distributions among the various categories the same or different in the different samples?” which involves analysis of contingency tables.
Topic 5: Two Important Analysis Tools: Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Correlation & Regression
The two tools described here are again two of the most important tools used in statistical analysis, and for the purposes of this course, they complete this study of basic statistical analysis techniques. They are covered in the reverse order that they are discussed in the text, primarily because Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) is a logical extension to multiple samples of the hypothesis testing of sample data encountered in one and two sample tests (Topics 3 and 4). In contrast Correlation and Regression deal with the analysis of a different type of data: pairs of sample data, such as weight and height of individuals, weight and girth of bears, or time and distance for a mode of travel or a race.
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Sample Syllabus for a Qualitative Research Methodologies Course
Qualitative Research, 3 Semester Hours
“All research should take account of the context and also the relevant
forces outside the unit being studied” (Merriam, 1988, p. 1-2).
Qualitative research is often employed by the social sciences for investigation and inquiry. Qualitative research presumes that a researcher cannot know what they will discover until they have witnessed the event being observed or generated. A review of literature is always important to research methodologies regardless of the method selected. Research designs that are grounded in the literature are more reliable and credible to the field.
Course description: This course is designed as a potential model for addressing the methodologies for research possibilities in the fields of education, counseling/psychology, environmental science, adventure education, and the humanities. This course offers ways to make an informed decision about how to design the means for making discoveries. The bibliography listed in this section provides an overview of research practices in the various fields including: ethnography, case study, phenomenological thematic analysis research, interviews, teacher or action research, and combinations of these methodologies. The activities are meant to assist in the development of a foundation of research knowledge and contribute to the design of systematic and credible inquiries. Course objectives:
- gain an overview of the variety of qualitative methodologies used in social sciences and other fields
- translate that overview into practical knowledge and skills congruent with specific research designs found in the literature of your field
- be able to design and critique research
- be sensitive to the ethical, cultural, and political aspects of research
- be able to design a valid research inquiry for a thesis plan grounded in the literature of your field
Suggested activities: 1) Choose 4 of the books included in the bibliography found later in this section or other research methods texts. While reading through them, keep a journal of types of methodologies, thoughts, ideas, and questions regarding your area of interest and study. Write a critical reaction to each book. What appears useful? What seems unrealistic? Which aspects of the research methodology is a match for the inquiry you may be thinking about? What would be the purpose for choosing one method over another? How could a particular methodology be a problem?
2) Find 5 articles in your field that include methods sections. Write a 2 page critique of the design and methodology of each article. What connections can be made with the texts that were read? Include the research question, assumptions the researcher made, and limitations the researcher found in their inquiry. What recommendations would you make to this researcher?
3) Build a thesis proposal: Construct an open-ended inquiry question that will be answered by conducting a qualitative research inquiry. Open-ended questions cannot be answered by yes or no. “The nature of research questions: ‘What’ and ‘how many’ are best answered by survey research. ‘How’ and ‘why’ questions are appropriate for case study, history and experimental designs.” (Merriam, 1988, p. 9) Ask yourself what it is you want to know about in your field. Develop a question from this interest.
Review 6 journal articles in your field and determine ways this question might be researched. (These can be articles on any topic in your field, and may be articles you have already used for your theoretical courses.) What methods were employed? Were they helpful to the researcher? Why or why not? What qualitative research literature would best speak to the design of your research? Interviews? Case Study? How does the content and design of this literature specifically addressed relate to the pursuit of your question and why?
4) Compose a thesis plan. Include: a potential research problem or question, methodologies expected to be used, research design, and sampling techniques. (See the pages on the thesis plan in the thesis section for full list expectations for the thesis plan.) What are the methodologies and who discusses them in their work? How will the data be collected, recorded, and analyzed? Are there any limitations to consider?
It is recommended but not imperative to discuss the discoveries of these above activities with a cohort group, through email, or with advisors. Research ideas and analysis very often benefit from discussion. Some members of the MAP faculty, MAP advisors, or ADP faculty are available to work with students in carrying this out as a mentored course. Students should consult with their core faculty.
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Sample Syllabus for a Critical Framework Methodologies Course
Developing a Critical Framework: Research Methodologies, 3 Semester Hours
Regardless of the method of one’s research—subjective, textual, historical, empirical, etc.—an analytical lens must be used to interpret data. For quantitative research this framework is the logical or mathematical method by which the data is analyzed as well as the philosophical or political agenda behind the research. When analyzing or interpreting qualitative or textual research, or completing a theoretical thesis, researchers must choose an individual or, more likely, interdependent approaches or lenses through which that data or material is interpreted, such as feminist thought, post-colonial theory, decolonizing methods, Jungian theory, Rogerian approaches, etc. This course provides the space to develop one’s critical framework. It can be used when working with single or interdependent methodologies. It is recommended that this course be completed early in the program.
Course description: This course will cover the method and the philosophical lenses that will be utilized in carrying out research for the master’s thesis. Survey of general research methods will include an overview of qualitative and theoretical research, including various methods, such as heuristic, phenomenology, feminist research, and action-based research. This course will allow for exploration and refinement of the full range of interdisciplinary and philosophical lenses through which the thesis question will be created and the research will be completed. Primary focus will be given to the critical or philosophical framework that drives the student’s work.
Course objectives:
- gain an overview of myriad methods of qualitative or theoretical research;
- develop the ability to critically analyze completed research;
- gain an understanding of ethical issues regarding research in general and research in one’s field in particular;
- as appropriate, become conversant with ethical procedures for carrying out research involving living subjects, children, marginalized communities, cultures or societies different from the researcher’s own, etc.;
- focus on specific methods that may be used to complete the master’s thesis;
- develop a preliminary list of potential questions or topics for the master’s thesis;
- develop a plan and potentially a support system that will result in a completed thesis;
- begin to develop foundational knowledge of the theoretical framework—methodologies—through which the thesis research data will be interpreted.
Suggested activities:
1) Choose a research survey text to gain an overview of qualitative or theoretical research methods.
Recommendations:
Babbie, Earl. The Basics of Social Research. Belmont: Wadsworth,
1999.
Mason, Jennifer. Qualitative Researching. London: Sage, 1996.
Rossman, Gretchen B., and Sharon F. Rallis. Learning in the Field:
An Introduction to Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks: Sage, 1998.
2) Choose the appropriate style guide for the discipline. Select one additional process-orientated text that will support the design, writing, and completion of the thesis. Style Guide Examples:
American Psychological Association. Publication Manual of the American
Psychological Association. 5th ed. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2001.
Gibaldi, Joseph, and Modern Language Association of America. MLA Style Manual
and Guide to Scholarly Publishing. 2nd ed. New York: Modern Language Association of America, 1998.
Process Recommendations:
Booth, Wayne C., Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams. The Craft of
Research. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1995.
Rudestam, Kjell Erik, and Rae R. Newton. Surviving Your Dissertation: A
Comprehensive Guide to Content and Process. Newbury Park: Sage, 1992.
3) Survey a number of texts that cover varied approaches to qualitative research, see examples. Carry out a close read of any text that describes a method that may be used in research.
Examples:
Addison, Joanne, and Sharon James McGee, eds. Feminist Empirical Research:
Emerging Perspectives on Qualitative and Teacher Research. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook, 1999.
Moustakas, Clark. Heuristic Research: Design, Methodology, and Applications.
Newbury Park: Sage, 1990.
Neumann, Anna, and Penelope L. Peterson, eds. Learning from Our Lives:
Women, Research, and Autobiography in Education. New York: Teachers College, 1997.
4) While completing other coursework for the semester, consider the research that the authors/scholars carried out in order to compose the texts. Take into account how the author chose to include her methods in the texts, i.e. note whether there is either a clearly designated methods section or if the methods and literature review are folded into the text. Consider the philosophical lenses or framework that drove the work of each author.
5) Begin to carry out the literature review of materials covering the breadth and depth of the philosophical lens or framework through which the thesis data will be interpreted, for example: feminist theory.
Sample bibliography for data analysis based on an inclusive feminist framework:
Alexander, M. Jacqui, Mab Segrest, Lisa Albrecht, and Sharon Day, ed. Sing,
Whisper, Shout, Pray!: Feminist Visions for a Just World. Fort Bragg, CA: EdgeWork Books, 2003.
Basu, Amrita, and C. Elizabeth McGrory. The Challenge of Local Feminisms:
Women's Movements in Global Perspective. Social Change in Global Perspective. Boulder: Westview, 1995.
Baumgardner, Jennifer, and Amy Richards. Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism,
and the Future. New York: Farrar Straus and Giroux, 2000.
Belenky, Mary Field, Blythe McVicker Clinchy, Nancy Rule Goldberger, and Jill
Mattuck Tarule. Women's Ways of Knowing: The Development of Self, Voice, and Mind. New York: Basic Books, 1986.
Collins, Patricia Hill. Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the
Politics of Empowerment. New York: Routledge, 1991.
hooks, bell. Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center. Boston: South End, 1984.
Kauffman, Linda S., ed. American Feminist Thought at Century’s End: A Reader.
Cambridge: Blackwell, 1993.
Kirk, Gwyn, and Margo Okazawa-Rey. Women's Lives: Multicultural Perspectives.
3rd ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2004.
Martínez, Elizabeth Sutherland. De Colores Means All of Us: Latina Views for a
Multi-Colored Century. Cambridge: South End, 1998.
Mohanty, Chandra Talpade. Feminism Without Borders: Decolonizing Theory,
Practicing Solidarity. Durham: Duke UP, 2003.
Shah, Sonia. Dragon Ladies: Asian American Feminists Breathe Fire. Boston:
South End, 1997.
Smith, Barbara, ed. Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology. New Brunswick:
Rutgers UP, 2000.
Trinh T. Minh-ha. Woman, Native, Other: Writing Postcoloniality and Feminism.
Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1989.
Documentation or Demonstration of Learning:
Students should discuss options with their graduate advisors and commit to any final products in the study plan. Here are some possible methods of demonstration:
- completed research or thesis design including questions and rationale, method proposal, any potential survey or interview questions, release forms, bibliography, etc.;
- first draft of the thesis plan;
- written comparative analysis of all methods explored;
- critical analysis of the research completed in one or more of the texts read for the semester’s coursework;
- presentation of results of this coursework at MAP colloquium;
- research paper or critical analysis of the specific philosophical lens studied (for example, from feminist sample: the direction of feminism in the twenty-first century);
- principle research paper on any relevant, essential, or cutting edge topic in the field (for example, from feminist sample: how the intersection of gender with nation, race-ethnicity, and class is making an impact on feminist resistant literature);
It is recommended that this course be completed over the course of the first semester of enrollment.
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Bibliography of Research Texts
This bibliography is presented in APA style; first names have been included for students’ convenience.
The following texts were selected and annotated by various members of the MAP faculty. Each bullet (?) indicates an individual faculty member’s review of the text.
General Research Texts
Booth, Wayne C., Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams. (1995.) The craft of research.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press. (?) Clear information is remarkably accessible. An extremely practical and rather linear text. A process oriented text that guides the researcher in the development and defense of an argument and the details of writing. Excellent tips throughout.
Creswell, John W. (2003). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method
approaches (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. (?) Accessible, practical, and wide-ranging information. Guides researcher in the development and defense of an argument and the details of writing. Excellent tips throughout.
Creswell, John W., and Vicki L. Plano-Clark. (2007.) Designing and conducting mixed
methods research. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Mason, Jennifer. (1996). Qualitative researching. Thousand Oaks: Sage. (?) Ways of coming
to know what a researcher’s question may be is one aspect of this book. Mason addresses a research project that has multiple methodologies and includes interviewing and case study. The prominent feature of this research book is a discussion of the construction and analysis of themes derived from the data collected. This includes sorting, organizing, and indexing. It also addresses the writing aspect of generating explanations. (?) Research process is laid out clearly and is centered on the questions the researcher should be asking herself as she carries out her work. Has very thorough chapters on sampling and on organizing data.
Moore, David S. (2001). Statistics: Concepts and controversies (5th ed.). New York: W. H.
Freeman. (?) A fundamental guide to the most important topics regarding basic numerical data analysis, including how to present data correctly in graphs and charts.
Moustakas, Clark. (1990). Heuristic research: Design, methodology, and applications.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. (?) Heuristic research goes far beyond the concept of the researcher as subject. It addresses meaning, experience, self-discovery, connection, relationship, subjectivity, and purpose for the researcher. Moustakas describes what most humans go through when we imagine, conjecture, and ultimately decide to do our work (research). A wonderful little text that alone could get someone through a dissertation.
---. (1994). Phenomenological research methods. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
(?) This book is a good source for explaining a step by step approach to conducting a Phenomenological study. Ethnography and heuristic research processes are addressed. Many examples of transcript data are given and analyzed. The appendix includes an example of a letter of permission for participants to sign. This book could be helpful for all fields although the author’s area of interest is psychology. (?) Though the reader must contend with a wide-ranging overview of phenomenological thought from Husserl, Kant, Descartes, and others, to get to the simple explanation of phenomenological method (such as that provided in author's Heuristic Research), it is there and equally comprehensible and useful. The chapters on transcendental phenomenology and its principles are complex though fascinating. Has samples of release and informed consent forms.
Rossman, Gretchen B., and Sharon F. Rallis. (1998.) Learning in the field: An introduction
to qualitative research. Thousand Oaks. Sage Publications. (?) Good overview of the philosophy behind qualitative research as well as the process. Focuses on the researcher as learner. Uses three student examples to demonstrate various approaches. Good information on interviewing and field research. Easy to read and material is accessible.
Rudestam, Kjell Erik, & Newton, Rae R. (1992). Surviving your dissertation: A comprehensive
guide to content and process. Newbury Park: Sage. (?) This guide starts at the beginning with suggestions for choosing a topic, formulating a question, and determining the best method by which to carry out the research. It includes exceptionally clear discussion of each dissertation chapter and their various challenges. The good news is that it takes the reader to completion by addressing such things as emotional blocks, e.g. "Am I smart enough to do this," and the actual writing process. Great (human) living subjects section. Has samples of release and informed consent forms.
On Conducting a Literature Review (Cited in MLA)
Fink, Arlene. Conducting Research Literature Reviews: From the Internet to Paper. 2nd
ed. Thousand Oaks: Sage, 2004.
Galvan, Jose. Writing Literature Reviews: A Guide for Students of the Social and
Behavioral Sciences. 2nd ed. Los Angeles: Pyrczak, 2004.
Hart, Chris. Doing a Literature Review. Newbury Park: Sage, 2003.
Johnson, Andrew P. A Short Guide to Academic Writing. Lanham, MD: UPA, 2003.
Pan, M. Ling. Preparing Literature Reviews: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches.
2nd ed. Los Angeles: Pyrczak, 2004.
Pyrczak, Fred. Evaluating Research in Academic Journals. 2nd ed. Los Angeles:
Pyrczak, 2003.
Rudestom, Kjell Eric & Newton, Rae R. Surviving Your Dissertation: A Comprehensive
Guide to Content and Process. Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 1992.
Social Sciences/Education/Psychology
Addison, Joanne and McGee, Sharon James, eds. (1999.) Feminist empirical research:
Emerging perspectives on qualitative and teacher research. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook. (?) An excellent collection of individuals' approaches to feminist research. Demonstrates the personal as political through multiple narratives concerning research and epistemology. Effective discussion of teacher (action) research or research as agency of change, primarily in relation to its use in composition and rhetoric teaching. Language, writing, theory, literacy, feminism, pedagogy, collaboration, and among the recurrent topics.
American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication manual of the American
Psychological Association (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
Belenky, Mary Field, Blythe McVicker Clinchy, Nancy Rule Goldberger, and Jill Mattuck
Tarule. (1986). Women’s ways of knowing. New York: Basic Books, Inc. (?) This book is an excellent example of thematic research from interviews and narratives.
Braud William & Rosemary Anderson. (1998). Transpersonal research methods for the
social sciences: Honoring human experience. Thousand Oaks, CA. Sage Publications. (?) This covers alternative ways of encountering, collecting, working with, and presenting data related to exceptional and transpersonal experience such as on vision quests or epiphanies in nature and other circumstances.
Carlson, Eve B. (1996). Trauma research methodology. Lutherville, MD: Sidran Press.
Cone, John D. & Sharon L. Foster. (2006.) Dissertations and theses from start to finish:
Psychology and related fields (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Merriam, Sharon B. (1998). Qualitative research and case study applications in education.
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. (?) Merriam’s focus for qualitative research centers on data generated from one specific person, event, or case. Merriam addresses a number of issues for conducting credible research. She also discusses a model for collecting and analyzing data.
Mihesuah, Devon A. (1998). Natives and academics: Researching and writing about
American Indians. Lincoln: U of Nebraska P.
Neumann, Anna, & Peterson, Penelope L. (1997). Learning from our lives women,
research, and autobiography in education. New York: Teacher College Press. (?) The research work discussed in this book is an example of research that includes stories, both academic and personal, as data for analysis. The women in the book whose stories are represented are educational (academic) researchers. (?) A collection of personal narrative essays, each culminating in the consideration of scholarship and knowledge. Addresses research relating to women’s everyday experience, community, and story. Focuses on educational research and the nature of knowledge—specifically women’s knowledge. Topics addressed also include literacy, language, learning, and legitimacy.
Seidman, Irving. (1998). Interviewing as qualitative research: A guide for researchers
in education and the social sciences (2nd ed.). New York: Teachers College Press. (?) Seidman’s book specifically addresses the methodology of interviewing. There are very specific issues addressed regarding the ethics of conducting interviews, the process of interviewing as initial data, and during the analysis of the inquiry. Ways to record the data generated by interviews are also discussed. This book is meant to address several fields in a general way. (?) This is a great little text for anyone planning to do interviews. Covers considerations relating to technique, logistics, and ethics, as well as the standard methods information on data interpretation. Should be read in combination with a text on feminist or postcolonial approaches to interviews, such as Sherna Gluck and Daphne Patai’s Women's Words: The Feminist Practice of Oral History, Linda Tuhiwai Smith’s Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples, or Devon Mihesuah’s Natives and Academics: Researching and Writing about American Indians.
Tuhiwai Smith, Linda. (1999). Decolonizing methodologies: Research and Indigenous
peoples. New York: Zed Books. (?) This book must be read by anyone doing research with indigenous peoples, and as importantly should be read by those doing any kind of research within a community-, culture-, or identity-defined setting. Broadly explores imperialism and focuses on how it relates to research and history. Lays out indigenous ideological approaches to research that are useful to anyone doing research as social agency.
Environmental Studies
Alred, Gerald J., Brusaw, Charles T., & Oliu, Walter E. (2000). Handbook of technical
writing (6th ed.). Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's. (?) Lots of suggestions for how to put things together right.
McMillan, Vicky. (2001). Writing papers in the biological sciences (3rd ed.). Boston:
Bedford/St. Martin's. (?) This book explores the writing tasks and challenges unique to the biological sciences as well as the broad spectrum of disciplines that contribute to the field of environmental studies. It can assist students to better understand the role of scholarly and scientific writing in their learning process. The second edition is organized in a self-help manual style covering formal and informal writing, conducting library research, and critically reviewing scientific literature. Also addressed are strategies for preparing research proposals. The author writes, “I hope this book will convince students that scientific writing need not be tedious and cumbersome, but can be clear, crisp, incisive and engaging.”
Humanities
Altick, Richard D., & Fenstermaker, John J. (1993.) The art of literary research. (4th ed.).
New York: Norton. (?) This text is primarily for literature scholars doing original literary, historical, or manuscript research. However, it also includes general scholarship tips for everything from note-taking and paper organization to determining authenticity of original literary manuscripts. It would be useful for anyone studying original, primary documentation such as letters, speeches, etc.
The Chicago manual of style. (1993). (14th ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
(?) This style is used in various fields in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences.
Gibaldi, Joseph. (1998). MLA style manual and guide to scholarly publishing (2nd ed.).
New York: Modern Library Association of America. (?) This style is used in most fields in the humanities; specifically in the arts and letters. This guide is intended for graduate students and includes sections on thesis and dissertation writing and should not be confused with the familiar undergraduate guide: MLA handbook for writers of research papers.
Gibaldi, Joseph (Ed.). (1992). Introduction to Scholarship in Modern Languages and
Literatures (2nd ed.). New York: MLA. (?) Chapters either introduce specific fields of study, i.e. rhetoric, composition, or language studies, or address specific aspects of literary or cultural scholarship, such as canonicity versus textuality, literary theory, feminist and gender studies, and “ethnic” studies. The authors cover the fields’ history and address specific scholarship or research methods—includes an excellent methods chapter on the history of textual research. Each chapter includes an extensive bibliography that can lead to an in-depth exploration of the field. Every discipline should have such a text and for those in English, this should be the starting place of all work. (Note that the first edition is a completely different book with essays by different authors.)
Greenblatt, Stephen, & Gunn, Giles (Eds.). (1992). Redrawing the Boundaries: The
Transformation of English and American Literary Studies. New York: MLA. (?) Includes thorough and readable chapters on periods of literary scholarship from medieval to contemporary and on specific critical theories. The early chapters demonstrate how the study of each era was affected by the introduction and development of new critical theories. The latter chapters go into clear, detailed exploration of specific critical theories. For literature majors, this is an excellent companion piece to Gibaldi's Introduction to Scholarship. All of the authors in these two texts lean toward a diverse canon or a textual (versus canonical) approach to literary scholarship.
Harner, James L. (1998.) Literary research guide: An annotated listing of reference
sources in English literary studies (3rd ed.). New York: MLA. (?) A valuable resource for literature students; fully describes and evaluates literary reference materials including research books, libraries, journals, and projects.
---. (1991.) On compiling an annotated bibliography. Rev. ed. New York: MLA. (?) Primarily
for producing and publishing an academic bibliography; includes a chapter on how to write the actual annotation, including style and structure.
Lowery, Shearon and Melvin L. DeFleur. (1995.) Milestones in mass communication
research (3rd ed.). New York: Longman. (?) Includes samples of exemplary research projects in various communications-related fields.
Note: Throughout history theories in literary criticism have been founded on philosophical and cultural trends. The following books though intended for literature scholars, are excellent theoretical survey texts for many fields including education, environmental philosophy, cultural studies, and sociology.
Marshall, Donald G. (1993.) Contemporary critical theory: A selective bibliography.
New York: MLA, 1993. (?) Includes excellent, clear overview of theories, brief descriptions of the principal literary players, and bibliographies of the foundational philosophy and critical theory texts. Given the time involved in readying a book for publication, any bibliography includes works published two years earlier or more.
Rivkin, Julie, & Michael Ryan, eds. (1998.) Literary theory: An anthology. Malden, MA:
Blackwell. (?) Articles by the founders and primary theorists in ten critical or philosophical approaches. Principally for literary studies; highly useful in any field exploring contemporary philosophical and critical theories. Covers Marxism, feminism, deconstructionism, psychoanalytical theory, postmodernism, postcolonial theories, etc. Includes over 100 articles by theorists such as Marx, Freud, Foucault, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Derrida, DuBois, Gates, Morrison, Sedgwick, Rich, Spillers, Lourde, etc.
Tyson, Lois. (1999.) Critical theory today: A user-friendly guide. New York: Garland.
(?) Easy to understand overview of ten primary theories of criticism. Primarily for literary studies, but highly useful in any field exploring contemporary philosophical and critical theories. Covers Marxism, feminism, deconstructionism, psychoanalytical theory, postcolonial theories, etc. Literary application includes readings in each method of Fitzgerald’s The great Gatsby.
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Last updated September 22, 2008.
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