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SYLLABUS
RESEARCH METHODS IN CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
ANT 383.01
Fall 2015
Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 1:25-2:15 PM
Dr. Douglas A. Feldman
Professor
The College at Brockport, SUNY
Department of Anthropology
dfeldman@brockport.edu
(585) 395-5709
Course Description:
This course covers primarily qualitative research methods for cultural anthropology.
This includes participant observation, direct observation, open-ended interviewing,
semi-structured interviewing, focus groups, network analysis, free listing/pile sorts/rankorder tests, questionnaires and interviewing from a questionnaire, research design, data
analysis, text analysis, literature reviews, and human subjects and ethical issues in
research. Some quantitative methods will also be discussed.
Goals:
The main goals of the course are:
1) students will be able to select a topic, conduct a thorough literature review on that
topic, and develop specific aims and research questions or hypotheses for a future
potential research study that they may carry out;
2) students will be able to obtain an understanding of human subjects issues and ethics
in cultural anthropology research methods;
3) students will be able to design a comprehensive research study based upon the
specific aims and research questions or hypotheses, which they may carry out in the
future; and students will gain a mastery of the material of qualitative research methods
in cultural anthropology;
4) students will design a semi-structured interview form and a list of focus group probe
questions appropriate for their proposed study.
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Required Texts:
Bernard, H. Russell (2011) Research Methods in Anthropology: Qualitative and
Quantitative Approaches (Fifth Edition). New York: AltaMira Press.
Reading Schedule
August 31:
September 2:
September 4:
September 7:
September 9:
September 11:
September 14:
September 16:
September 18:
September 21:
September 23:
September 25:
September 28:
September 30:
October 2:
October 5:
October 7:
October 9:
October 12:
October 14:
October 16:
October 19:
October 21:
October 23:
October 26:
October 28:
October 30:
November 2:
November 4:
Welcome and review syllabus. Introductions.
Read and discuss chapter 1.
Discuss research topics and potential specific aims/research
questions or hypotheses. Research exercise.
No class, Labor Day.
Discuss literature reviews and specific aims/research
questions/hypotheses.
Read and discuss chapter 2.
Video or dvd.
Discuss literature reviews and specific aims/research
questions/hypotheses. Research exercise.
Read and discuss chapter 3.
Copy of human subjects online completion due today. Discuss
human subjects and ethical issues.
Video or dvd.
Discuss literature reviews and specific aims/research
questions/hypotheses.
Read and discuss chapter 4.
Specific aims and research question(s) or hypothesis(es) due
today. Research exercises.
Read and discuss chapter 5.
Discuss focus group probe question list and semi-structured
interview form.
Read and discuss chapter 7.
Read and discuss chapter 8.
Discuss research design and timetable.
Read and discuss chapter 9.
Discuss timetable and research design. Focus group probe
question list due today.
Fall break, no class.
Read and discuss chapter 10.
Literature review due today. Research exercises.
Read and discuss chapter 12.
Semi-structured interview form due today. Discuss final research
proposals and timetable.
Read and discuss chapter 13.
Research exercises.
Timetable due today. Discuss final research proposals.
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November 6:
November 9:
November 11:
November 13:
November 16:
November 18:
November 20:
November 23:
November 25:
November 27:
November 30:
December 2:
December 4:
December 7:
December 9:
December 11:
Video or dvd.
Thanksgiving Day, no class.
Discuss final research proposals
Read and discuss chapter 14.
Research exercises.
Read and discuss chapter 15.
Class presentations.
Class presentations.
Thanksgiving, no class.
Thanksgiving, no class.
Class presentations.
Class presentations.
Class presentations.
Video or dvd.
Video or dvd.
Final thoughts. All final research proposals due today.
Course Requirements and Grade
There will be no midterm exam, or final exam for this class.
Two in-class pop (surprise) quizzes (5% each)
Class participation:
Class presentation:
On-line human subjects instruction and exam
Literature review
Specific aims and research question(s)/hypothesis(es)
Focus group probe question list
Semi-structured interview form
Detailed timetable.
Final research proposal
10%
20%
5%
5%
10%
5%
5%
10%
5%
25%
:
TOTAL:
100%
Two or more optional extra credit projects will be available during the semester. Each
extra credit project is worth either 0.125 or 0.25 added to your final grade; a maximum
of 0.50 in extra credit may be obtained for the semester.
Class participation includes constructive participation in which the student demonstrates
having read the assigned chapters, prepared for the literature review, and has thought
deeply about the content. Students are expected to spend at least six hours per week
preparing for the class sessions. The professor may call upon students to discuss their
literature review or the assigned chapters. There will be two unannounced “pop” quizzes
where the student will summarize the assigned chapter reading for that day.
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Students will prepare the following (see schedule above): written literature review,
specific aims and research question(s) or hypothesis(es), focus group probe question
list, semi-structured interview form (schedule), a timetable, and the final research
proposal. The research proposals should have at least one focus group (conducted
three times), a semi-structured interview, and other relevant research methods (such as
participant observation, direct observation, open-ended interviewing, surveys, free
listing/pile sorts or rank-order tests, and/or social network analysis. It should also
include a detailed data analysis plan, and a timetable for conducting the research over a
two year period. Students are required to read and take the online human subjects
training, and submit a copy of the letter of approval.
Disability Statement:
Students with documented disabilities may be entitled to specific accommodations. The
College at Brockport’s Office for Students with Disabilities makes this determination.
Please contact the Office for Students with Disabilities at 395-5409 or
osdoffic@brockport.edu to inquire about obtaining an official letter to the course
professor detailing any approved accommodations. The student is responsible for
providing the course professor with an official letter. The faculty work as a team with
the Office for Students with Disabilities to meet the needs of students with disabilities.
Gender Discrimination:
Gender discrimination and sexual harassment are prohibited in class. Title IX legislation
requires the College to provide gender equity in all areas of campus life. If you or
someone you know has experienced gender discrimination, sexual harassment, or
sexual assault, we encourage you to seek assistance and to report the incident through
resources available at www.brockport.edu/titleix/index.html. Confidential assistance is
available at Hazen Center for Integrated Care. For these and other regulations
governing campus life, please see all of our Student Polices at
www.brockport.edu/policies/index.php.
Attendance Policy:
Attendance will be taken at the beginning of each session. It is important that you not
be late for class. Students may have up to five unexcused absences without penalty.
Students who have six unexcused absences will receive a lowered final grade (e.g., A =
A-). Each additional unexcused absence will receive one further lowered final grade
(e.g., seven unexcused absences, A = B+; eight unexcused absences, A = B; …16
unexcused absences, A = E). Absences will be excused for: a) written documented
illnesses of the student by a health professional (e-mailing the professor, or telling the
professor, is not sufficient; you must provide a signed medical note indicating the
date(s) of the illness), b) official representation of the College, c) death of a close
relative, d) religious holiday, and e) other circumstances truly and completely beyond
the control of the student, as determined by the professor. As a courtesy to the student,
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the professor plans to notify once only by e-mail as a reminder that you now have
excessive unexcused absences, after you have reached six unexcused absences.
Students who arrive late to class must inform the professor at the end of the class to
make sure they are not marked absent that day. Students who must leave early on a
particular day need to notify the professor before the class session begins, otherwise
you will be marked absent for that day.
Academic Integrity and Student Behavior:
Students are expected to maintain the highest level of academic integrity. Academic
dishonesty (literature reviews, quizzes,and research proposals) will not be acceptable.
Any student engaging in academic dishonesty during this course will receive a lowered
grade for the course depending on the nature of the action, and could possibly be
referred to the administration for further disciplinary action.
Students are asked not to carry on unrelated conversations during class. You are
expected to pay attention and to be courteous. Major breaches of conduct or
impropriety, including rudeness or insulting behavior to the professor or other students,
disruptive behavior, or unrelated conversations, will receive a lowered grade. You will
receive a lowered grade, possibly an E, for the class participation segment of your final
grade. In addition, you will also receive an overall reduction of as much as one whole
letter grade subtracted from your final grade.
Cell phones, pagers, and smart phones must be turned off (or set on vibrate) while
attending class. Please be certain that they are off, or set to vibrate, at the beginning of
each class session. Laptops may only be used for the purpose of taking notes during
the class. They may not be used for checking e-mails or “surfing the net.” Students may
not IM (instant message) or text message others during class time.
It is required that students will not use profanity, or slurs based on ethnicity, race, sex,
sexual orientation, disability, or other social characteristics, during class discussions.
Do not curse and do not insult.
Students are encouraged to attend meetings of the Anthropology Club this semester.
Office Location and Hours:
Dr. Feldman’s office is located at Room C-15 in Cooper Hall. Office hours are
Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 2:20 to 3:20 PM, and Mondays from 6:25 –
7:25 PM, or by appointment. Students are strongly encouraged to meet with the
professor during office hours, or by appointment. It is recommended that appointments
be scheduled even during office hours, since I may be meeting with another student
then.
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Some Questions:
What do you already know about research methods in cultural anthropology?
What do you hope to learn about research methods in cultural anthropology?
How will you use research methods in cultural anthropology in your future career(s)?
GUIDELINES FOR DOING YOUR RESEARCH PROPOSAL
1.
Your research proposal will be graded on the basis of both content and format.
Content should indicate a thorough and comprehensive review of the literature,
be coherent, detailed, and well-written. Failure to follow these guidelines
completely will lower the grade for your research proposal.
2.
Research proposals should have a separate title page with your name, title of the
research proposal, name of the course, course number, date, and name of the
professor (Dr. Feldman).
3.
Research proposals should be entirely typed, double-spaced, use Arial font, on
12-point type (do not use smaller or larger point type), either printed one-sided or
two-sided, with page numbers, and with either 1 inch or 1.25 inch margins on all
four sides.
4.
Research proposals need to be carefully spell-checked and then read over by
you for grammatical errors. (Spell check, for example, will not change “and” when
you meant to say “any”).
5.
Do not use contractions (e.g., use “do not” instead of “don't”).
6.
Do not use Internet or chat line spellings or grammar (e.g., “u r gr8”).
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Your research proposal should have the following sections: A. Specific Aims and
Research Question(s) or Hypothesis(es); B. Literature Review; C. Research
Design (include Timeline as a figure); D. Reference Cited Bibliography; E.
Human Subjects Concerns; F. Appendices (include focus group probe question
list, semi-structured interview form, any other research instruments, online
human subjects approval form).
8.
Research proposals must be entirely your own work. Proposals found to have
been plagiarized will receive an automatic E grade. If you are quoting more than
three lines of your text from a published or Internet source, you must use quotes
and cite your source and the page number of your source. Avoid excessive
quoting. It should not be a string of quotes. Use your own words.
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9.
Your reference cited page(s) must be keyed to your literature review. Only cite
references that are stated in your literature review. Exclude all references that
you read, but you are not citing in your literature review. Similarly, your literature
review must cite references and they must be keyed to your reference cited
page. Make sure that all the references cited in your literature review are
properly listed in your references cited page(s). Your citations in your literature
review should indicate the last name of your author and the year of publication
(e.g., Smith 1998, or Jones, Freeman, Sills, and Wu 2006). Offset the name
and date in parentheses as appropriate. Do not list the page number in your
literature review, unless you are quoting from the text (e.g., Smith (1998) says
that the Navaho are matrilineal; Smith (1998:347) says, “The Navaho are
matrilineal.”).
10.
When citing material from the Internet, list the author, title, name of web site, full
web site address (e.g., www.dontbelievethisinformation.com/thisisthepage/) and
date of publication. If there is absolutely no author for the material you are citing
on the Internet site, the author’s name should be cited in your reference as
Anonymous. If there is absolutely no date for the material you are citing on the
Internet site, it is the current year (2015).
11.
The references in the Reference Cited page(s) should be listed in alphabetical
order by first author’s last name. It should include the year in parentheses, and
should appear as follows:
An article in a journal:
Jaspers, William E. (2006) “Everything you wanted to know about nothing: but
did not want to ask,” Journal of Total Irrelevance. 4(3):254-9.
A book:
Jaspers, William E. and Sylvia Sidelman (2005) The Complete Book about
Nothing. New York: Irrelevant University Press.
An article in a book with many authors:
Jaspers, William E., Rosenguard, Amy, Vilmers, Steven, Stevens, Willy, and
John Johnston (2012) “Absolutely everything about nothing: What more can we
say?,” IN: Essays on Nothingness (eds: Neitherhere, Mary and Jack Northere),
pp. 126-142. Palo Alto, CA: Obfuscating Press.
Note, that if there are many authors, you may use “et al.” (meaning: and others)
in your written text (e.g. Jaspers, et al. 2004), but cite all the authors in your
references cited page as indicated above.
A newspaper or magazine article written without a cited author:
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Anonymous (2010). “Thinking about nothing,” Time Magazine, pp. 21, 24-5,
June 14, 2010.
Note, that some authorship is listed at the bottom of the article (e.g., “prepared by
Tim Jabbers with the assistance of Jane Dabbers” would be cited as -- Jabbers,
Tim and Jane Dabbers (2010).
Something without clear citation on the Internet:
Anonymous (2007). “The Top Ten Reasons Why Nothing Exists”
www.theyllnevercatchmeandlockmeupagain.com/postmodernpage/ .
The style used is neither MLA nor University of Chicago. It is a style used in
anthropology books and journals.
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E-mailed materials are not accepted.