School of Communication s3

Jan Marontate Spring 2008 School of Communication Simon Fraser University (Burnaby)

CMNS 801-5: Design and Methodology in Communication Research Revised Syllabus (March 7, 2008)

1. Overview This course examines the interplay of research questions, methods and theoretical frameworks in research design. It focuses on the epistemological foundations of various methodological approaches and contemporary debates about specific empirical methods. The course is intended to introduce techniques and promote reflection on ways of assessing their appropriateness, limitations, assumptions and practical applications. One objective is to encourage students to develop familiarity with a broad range of methodological strategies to enable them to read and critically assess communication research conducted in a variety of different perspectives. Another objective is to provide an opportunity for students to develop a methodological strategy related to their research program and interests. The selection of methods covered in the course will be finalized in consultation with students.

2. Course Administration The course will be run as a seminar with regular class sessions on Wednesday afternoons from 1:30-5:00. A few longer class sessions may be scheduled if necessary. Students will be expected to come to class prepared and participate actively in class discussions.

Grades and Assignments 60%-- Seminar Participation (20%), Exercises (15%) and Short Report (25%): In addition to exercises each student do an assignment about a specific method and methodological issues related to them. They will prepare a short annotated bibliography on the topic and propose one or two required readings one week before their scheduled presentations for the entire class to read (which must be approved in advance). During the scheduled class they will present the topic, lead a discussion and submit a short paper (8-10 pages not including the bibliography) due the day of their presentation.

40% Term Project (research proposal, class presentation, essay and annotated bibliography): This project will focus on specific methodological issues in connection with empirical research and their applications in a well-defined substantive area of inquiry (ideally, but not necessarily related to the chosen area(s) of specialization related to thesis or dissertation research). The report should be an in-depth exploration of epistemological and methodological issues, be an investigation of two methodological approaches or specific methods or present a detailed methodological strategy for a thesis or dissertation. A short (2-page) proposal of the topic for the term project must be briefly presented and submitted for approval on February 27th. Students will present their final version to the class at the last class. The final paper (approximately 15-20 pages excluding the bibliography) is due one week after the last class. The paper should draw extensively on readings covered in class, appropriate journal literature and monographs by key writers on methodological issues. It should not be based only on undergraduate survey textbooks. If appropriate (depending on the stage of the student in their thesis or dissertation research) this paper may be designed with the intention of adapting it for use as a thesis chapter or methodological appendix. 2 Note: Attendance at all class sessions is mandatory. Penalties will be applied for absenteeism, lack of preparation and failure to meet deadlines.

Required Readings Most readings will be put on reserve or made available electronically. Some course materials will be posted on the course site: http://webdav.sfu.ca/web/cmns/courses/2008/801/ To access this folder you must log on to the SFU computer system. Students should expect to do a substantial amount of reading each week. Exact choices will be finalized in consultation with the class. In addition each student will be expected to read an appropriate introductory methodology textbook suited to their research agenda.

3. Tentative Schedule of Class Sessions (Changes and more details will be announced in class) Part I : Introduction to advanced studies in methodology. Weeks 1 & 2: Course Administration. Paradigms and models relevant to the classification of methodological and historical traditions of social scientific empirical research Required Readings Thomas Kuhn. (1962) “The Nature and Necessity of Scientific Revolutions” Excerpts from The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. U. Chicago Press. http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/us/kuhn.htm Bruno Latour, (1997) “Crisis”, We have never been modern. Cambridge U. Press. pp. 1-12. Heyer, Paul. (1988) Chapters 1-2, Communications and History. Greenwood, pp. 1-37. One of: Burrell, G. and Morgan, G. (1982) “In search of a framework”, Sociological Paradigms and Organisational Analysis. London: Heinemen, pp. 1-37. or Bruhn Jensen, K. (2002) “The complementarity of qualitative and quantitative methodologies in media and communication research”, in Bruhl Jensen, K (ed.) A Handbook of Media and Communication Research, Routledge. Pp. 254-272. or Guba, E. and Y. Lincoln. (2004) “Competing Paradigms in Qualitative Research:Theories and Issues” in Hesse-Biber, S and P. Leavy (ed.) Approaches to Qualitative Research. A reader on Theory and Practice. Oxford, pp.17-38.

Case Studies about Competing Methodologies (Read about at least): 1- “The Social Text Hoax” Alan Sokal’s website about the Debates: http://www.physics.nyu.edu/faculty/sokal/

2- Debate about Cultural Studies and Social Scientific Methods Haraway, D. (1990). Teddy bear patriarchy: taxidermy in the Garden of Eden, New York City, 1908-36, In Primate Visions: Gender, race and nature in the world of modern science. New York: Routledge.

Schudson, M. (1997). Paper tigers: A Sociologist follows cultural studies into the wilderness. Lingua Franca: The Review of Academic Life, 7(6), 49-56. 3 Recommended : Treatises on Method (classics and a new one) and a Study of Why People Write Methodology Texts Karl Marx. Grundrisse: Foundations of the Critique of Political Economy. http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1857/grundrisse/ch01.htm Max Weber (1994 reprint) “The Methodological Foundations of Sociology” excerpted from Sociological Writings, Wolf Heydebrand (ed.), Continuum, (especially “Objectivity in Social Science”) http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/ge/weber.htm#s2 Law, John. Excerpts from After Method: Mess in Social Science Research, Routledge, 2004. Platt, Jennifer. “Writing on Method” and “Theory and practice” in A history of sociological research methods in America, 1920-1960. Cambridge: Cambridge U. Press 1996, pp. 1-67, 106- 142 Week 3: The Place of Commitment, Bias & Reflexivity in Methodologies; Secret and Sacred Knowledge; Research Ethics in the 21st Century Required: Christians, C. “Ethics and Politics in Qualitative Research” in Denzin and Lincoln op cit. pp. 133-155. Mattingly, C. (2005) “Toward a vulnerable ethics of research practice”, Health: An Interdisciplinary Journal for the Social Study of Health, Illness and Medicine. Vol 9(4): pp. 453- 471. Crisp, J. (1999) " 'Who has counted the refugees?' UNHCR and the politics of numbers " New Issues in Refugee Research, Working Paper No. 12. UNHCR, Geneva

Michaels, Eric. (1994) “A Primer of Restrictions on Picture-Taking in tradition areas of aboriginal Australia”, Bad Aboriginal Art. Tradition, Media and Cultural Horizons. Minneapolis: U. Minnesota Press, pp. 1-18.

Case Studies: 1- Innis’ “Bias of Communication” Harold Innis. “The Bias of Communication”, The Bias of Communication. pp. 33-60. Marshall Soules on Harold Innis “The Bias of Communication” http://www.media-studies.ca/articles/innis.htm Irvine, Martine. “Innis and the Bias of Communication” http://www9.georgetown.edu/faculty/irvinem/theory/Innis-Communication.html Recommended Harding, S. (2004) “How Standpoint Methodology Informs Philosophy of Social Science”, in Hesse-Biber, S and P. Leavy (ed.) Approaches to Qualitative Research. A reader on Theory and Practice. Oxford, pp. 62-80. Marcus, George E. (1998) “Censorship in the Heart of Difference: Cultural Property, Indigenous Peoples’ Movements, and Challenges to Western Liberal Thought” in Post, Robert (ed.) Censorship and Silencing: Practices of Cultural Regulation. Santa Monica: Getty Research Institute, pp. 221-242. 4 Hammersley, M. and Gomm, R. (1997) 'Bias in Social Research', Sociological Research Online, vol. 2, no. 1,

Week 4: Library Resources Workshop with Guest Lecturer Sylvia Roberts (session cancelled because the university was closed due to a snow emergency) 5 Part Two: Selected Topics in Research Methodology Part of each class in this section will be devoted to detailed overview and critical assessment of methodological issues related to a specific types of method or strategies associated with particular methodological approaches. Each day a few students will prepare short reports on specific issues related to these topics, ideally in connection with their research interests. We will finalize the assignments of topics in the second class. Students are encouraged to focus on specific debates and case studies related to areas of specialization in communications research and seek to further their knowledge of issues related to the applications of these methods to audience research, communication policy analysis, critical discourse analysis, rhetorical discourse analysis, international comparative research, network analysis, human-computer interaction research, action research, evaluation studies and so forth. Proposals for other topics will be considered but a preliminary list of topics organized around specific (but deliberately broad) research methods and a suggested order follows:

Topics and Presentation Dates

Weeks 5 & 6: Interviews, Surveys, Focus Groups

Week 5 Presentations by Rob McMahon -- “Preparations for Interviews: Approaches to Community-Based Research”

Dennis Contois—“Informed Consent and Debates about Using Archived Qualitative Interview Data”

Required Readings for Week 5

Theme 1 (Rob McMahon): Menzies, Charles R. (2004) “Putting Words into Action: Negotiating Collaborative Research in Gitxaala”, Canadian Journal of Native Education, Volume 28(1-2):15-32. http://www.ecoknow.ca/journal/15.html

Menzies, Charles R. (2001) “Reflections on Research with, for, and among Indigenous Peoples.” Canadian Journal of Native Education. Vol. 25(1):19-36. http://www.ecoknow.ca/articles/reflection.pdf

Theme 2 (Dennis Contois): Bishop, Libby. (2005). “Protecting Respondents and Enabling Data Sharing: Reply to Parry and Mauthner” Sociology. 39: 333-360. http://soc.sagepub.com.proxy.lib.sfu.ca/cgi/reprint/39/2/333

Parry, Odette and Natasha S. Mauthner (2005) “Whose Data are They Anyway?: Practical, Legal and Ethical Issues in Archiving Qualitative Research Data” Sociology 38(139)

Sin, Chih Hoong (2005) “Seeking Informed Consent: Reflections on Research Practice” Sociology. 39:277-294. http://soc.sagepub.com.proxy.lib.sfu.ca/cgi/reprint/39/2/277

Week 6 : Selected Issues in Oral History and Survey Methodologies Presentations by Andrea Fields: “Feminist Perspectives on Oral History Methodologies” 6 Candace Bonfield: “Measuring Environmental Consciousness and Profiling Green Consumers in Surveys and Polls”

Theme 1 (Andrea Field)

Required Reinharz, Shulamit (1992) “Feminist Oral History” Feminist Methods in Social Research; p.126- 144.

Sangster, Joan. (1994) “Telling our stories: feminist debates and the use of oral history” by Joan Sangster, in Women's History Review, 3:1, pp. 5 – 28.

Recommended Thomas, Sherry (1983) “Digging beneath the Surface: Oral History Techniques” by Sherry Thomas, in Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies, Vol. 7, No. 1, Women's Oral History Two, pp. 50-55.

Moore, Dorothy E. (1990) “Work, Ethnicity, and Oral History”; James H. Morrison, as reviewed by Michael J. Chiarappa, in The Oral History Review, Vol. 18, No. 1. (Spring, 1990), pp. 178- 181.

Theme 2 (Candace Bonfield) Required: Schlegelmilch, Bobo and Greg M. Bohlen and Adamantios Diamantopoulos. (1996) "The link between green purchasing decisions and measures of environmental consciousness” European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 30 No. 5, 1996, pp. 35-55.

Diamantopoulos, Adamantios, Bodo B. Schlegelmilch,*, Rudolf R. Sinkovics, Greg M. Bohlen (2003) "Can socio-demographics still play a role in profiling green consumers? A review of the evidence and an empirical investigation" Journal of Business Research 56 (2003) 465– 480

Recommended: Leonard-Barton, D. (1981) in "Voluntary Simplicity Lifestyles and Energy Conservation" The Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 8, No. 3. (Dec., 1981), pp. 243-252.

Deirdre Shaw and Ian Clarke (1999) "Belief formation in ethical consumer groups: an exploratory study” Marketing Intelligence & Planning 17/2 : 109-119

Other Required Readings for Week 6 Bamberg, Michael. 2006. “Biographic-Narrative Research, Quo Vadis? A Critical Review of ‘Big Stories’ from the Perspective of ‘Small Stories’”. In Milnes, K Iet al.(ed.) Narrative, memory and knowledge. Representations, aesthetics and contexts. U. Huddersfield Press, pp. 1- 17.

Bertaux, Daniel and Isabelle Bertaux-Wiame. 1981. "Life Stories in the Bakers' Trade" in Bertaux (ed.) Biography and society. The Life History approach in the Social Sciences. Beverly Hills: Sage, pp. 169-189

Other Recommended Readings 7 Bertaux, D. “From the Life-History Approach to the Transformation of Sociological Practice” in Bertaux (ed.) Biography and society. The Life History approach in the Social Sciences. Beverly Hills: Sage, pp. 29-46.

***Spradley, James. (1979) The Ethnographic Interview. Holt, Reinhart and Winston. This is a classic.

Week 7: Ethnography, Field Research and Participant Observation

Julia Redgrave: “Researching Marginalized Populations” Followed by Workshop on Methodological Concepts and Terminology and Discussion of Second Exercise and Term Assignment

Required: Shaver, Frances M. (2005) “Sex Work Research. Methodological and Ethical Challenges”, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, March 2005 20(3): 296-319.

Koester, Stephen (1995) “Applying the Methodology of Participant Observation to the Study of Injection-Related HIV Risks” in Qualitative Methods in Drug Abuse and HIV Research National Institute on Drug Abuse Monograph Series 157, pp. 84-99. (Electronic document title begins with HIV in the Readings folder).

And one of: Geertz, Clifford. (1972 original) “Deep Play. Notes on the Balinese Cockfight”, in Mukerji, C and M. Schudson (ed.) Rethinking Popular Culture. Contemporary Perspectives in Cultural Studies. U. California Press, 1991, pp. 239-277.

Geertz, Clifford (1974). “ ‘From the Native’s Point of View’: On the Nature of Anthropological Understanding” in Basso et al. (ed.) Meaning in Anthropology. U. of New Mexico Press, 1976, pp. 221-237.

Recommended (more will be added): Emerson, Robert. (1981) “Observational Field Work” Annual Review of Sociology, 7:351-378.

Neuman, W. L. (1999) “Field Research”, Social Research Methods. Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. Pearson, 4th edition, pp. 344-378.

Weeks 8-9: Textual Analysis/ Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches to Content Analysis/Discourse Analysis

Week 8 : Critical Discourse Analysis and Content Analysis Nicole Lindsay: Critical Analysis of Corporate Discourse Shan Wu: Issues and challenges of using discourse analysis to analyze media texts. Text and the production and reception of media messages. Power relations and ideologies involved in media content production. Followed by Workshop on Methodological Concepts and Terminology and RefWorks workshop by Sylvia Roberts (in library computer lab).

Required: (Nicole Lindsay) 8 Chiapello, E., & Fairclough, N. L. (2002). “Understanding the new management ideology: A transdisciplinary contribution from critical discourse analysis and new sociology of capitalism.” Discourse & Society, 13(2), 185.

Slembrouck, S. (2001). “Explanation, interpretation and critique in the analysis of discourse.” Critique of Anthropology, 21(1), 33.

(Shan Wu)

Philo, Greg. (2007). Can discourse analysis successfully explain the content of media and journalistic practice?. Journalistic Studies, 8(2), 175-196.

Carvalho, Anabela. (2000). Discourse analysis and media texts: A critical reading of analytical tools. URL: https://repositorium.sdum.uminho.pt/handle/1822/3137 [February 10, 2008]

Recommended (Nicole Lindsay): Fairclough, N. (2001). “The dialectics of discourse.” Textus, 14(2), 231-242.

Livesey, S. M., & Kearins, K. (2002). “Transparent and caring corporations? A study of sustainability reports by the Body Shop and Royal Dutch/Shell.” Organization & Environment, 15(3), 233.

(Shan Wu): Langer, Roy. (1998). The concept of discourse in the analysis of complex communicative events. URL: http://ep.lib.cbs.dk/download/ISBN/x644791100.pdf [February 10, 2008]

Hackett, R., Gilsdorf, W., & Savage, P. (1992). News balance rhetoric: The Fraser Institute's political appropriation of content analysis. Canadian Journal of Communication, 17(1). URL: http://www.cjc-online.ca/viewarticle.php?id=69 [February 10, 2008]

Readings for Week 9 (Critical Discourse Analysis and Content Analysis (continued))

Masayuki Iwase: Critical discourse analysis, social semiotic analysis, nexus analysis Birgit Schroeder: Content analysis and cross-cultural comparative research Followed by Workshop on RefWorks workshop by Sylvia Roberts (in library computer lab).

Required readings: (Masayuki Iwase) SchrØder, K. C. (2002). Discourse of facts. In K. B. Jensen (Ed.), A handbook of media and communication research: Qualitative and quantitative methodologies (pp. 98-116). New York: Routledge.

Scollon, R. (2005). The Discourse of food in the world system: Toward a nexus analysis of a world problem. Journal of Language and Politics7(4), 465-488.

(Birgit Schroeder) Livingstone, S. (2003). “On the Challenges of Cross-National Comparative Media Research”. European Journal of Communication; 18(4): 477–500. 9 Neuendorf, K. A. (2002). “Defining Content Analysis”. In The Content Analysis Guidebook. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications: 1-25.Dardis, F. E. (2006).

Recommended reading: (Masayuki Iwase) Kress, G., Leite-García, R., van Leeuwen, T. (1997). Discourse semiotics. In van Dijk, T. A. (Ed), Discourse as Structure and Process: Discourse Studies: a multidisciplinary introduction volume 1 (pp. 257-289). London, Thousand Oaks, New Delhi: Sage.

(Birgit Schroeder) Dardis, F. E. (2006). “Military Accord, Media Discord. A Cross-National Comparison of UK vs US Press Coverage of Iraq War Protest”. The International Gazette, 68(5–6): 409- 426.

Deacon, D. (2007). “Yesterday’s Papers and Today’s Technology. Digital Newspaper Archives and ‘Push Button’ Content Analysis”. European Journal of Communication, 22(1): 5–25.

Rijfe, D. and Freitag, A. (1997). “A Content analysis of Content Analysis: Twenty- five Years of Journalism Quarterly”. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 74, (4): 873-882.

Week 10: Historical and Archival Research (Short Class) Greg Tourino

Required:

O’Connor, J. E. (1988). History in Images/Images in History: Reflections on the Importance of Film and Television Study for an Understanding of the Past. American Historical Review. 53(5), 1200-1209.

Fledelius, K (1989). Audio-visual History - the development of a new field of research. Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. 9(2), 151-163.

Besser, Howard (2001). Digital Preservation of Moving Image Material. Manuscript.

Recommended:

Ross, S. J. (2004). Jargon and the Crisis of Readability: Methodology, Language, and the Future of Film History. Cinema Journal. 44(1), 130-133.

Purdy, S. (2005). Framing Regent Park: the National Film Board of Canada and the Construction of Outcast Spaces in the Inner City, 1953 and 1994. Media, Culture and Society, 27(4), 523-549.

Week 11 : Case Study Method(s) Becca Plucer Followed by demonstration of Research Ethics appliction website (by J.M.) and workshop by Sylvia Roberts (in library computer lab).

Required: 10

Yin, Robert K. Discovering the Future of the Case Study Method in Evaluative Research. American Journal of Evaluation (1994)15;283. http://aje.sagepub.com.proxy.lib.sfu.ca/cgi/reprint/15/3/283

Yin, Robert K. The Case Study Crisis: Some Answers. Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 26, No. 1 (Mar., 1981), pp. 58-65 http://www.jstor.org.proxy.lib.sfu.ca/view/00018392/di995472/99p0005u/0

Recommended:

Pickard, Victor “Assessing the Radical Democracy of Indymedia: Discursive, Technical, and Institutional Constructions.” Critical Studies in Media Communication. March 2006.

Week 12: Visualization Andrew Frank

Required:

MacFarlane, R., Stagg, H., Turner, K. & Lievesley M. (2005). Peering through the smoke? Tensions in landscape visualisation. Computers, Environment and Urban Systems, 29, 341-359.

Nicholson-Cole, S.A. (2005). Representing climate change futures: a critique on the use of images for visual communication. Computers, Environment and Urban Systems, 29, 255-273.

Trumbo, J. (2000). Seeing Science: research opportunities in the visual communication of science. Science Communication, 21, 379-391.

Recommended:

Bresciani, S. & Eppler, M.J. (2008). The perils of visualization. ICA Working Paper, 1, Feb. 2008.

Johnson, C. (2004). Scientific visualization research problems. IEEE Computer Graphics & Applications, July/August, 13-17.

Part Three: Case Studies Week 13: Round Tables on Term Projects

Week 14: Extra Class on Video and Audio Taping Workshop activities with JM, Chris Jeschelnik (video) and Jason Levis (audio). ______The School expects that the grades awarded in this course will bear some reasonable relation to established university-wide practices with respect to both levels and distribution of grades. In addition, the School will follow Policy T10.02 with respect to “Intellectual Honesty” and “Academic Discipline”. (See the current Calendar, General Regulations Section). 11 A schematic representation of empirical research processes in social scientific research

Source: Babbie, E. (1995) The Practice of Social Research. Irwin p. 101.