205B_APPLIED PLANNING RESEARCH PROJECT SYLLABUS
Winter 2015_ Urban Planning 205B
Mondays from 10:00am-12:50pm in 2343 Public Affairs
Instructor | Leo Estrada
Readers | Lisa Berglund & Jasmin Kim
**Syllabus subject to revision**
| OFFICE HOURS
Leo Estrada (leobard@ucla.edu) | sign up on office door—Room 5385 or email
Lisa Berglund (liber@ucla.edu) | Tuesdays from 1pm-3pm in 1355A Public Affairs Building
(and by appointment)
Jasmin Kim (jasminykim@gmail.com) | Mondays from 1:30pm-3:30pm in the 3rd floor lounge
(and by appointment)
| COURSE OBJECTIVES
The primary objective is to aid students in completion of their Applied Planning Research
Projects. Students are expected to submit the completed literature review, methodology and
initial findings by the end of the quarter.
| ASSIGNMENTS
Literature Review
This term will be partially devoted to fine tuning the literature reviews you started to write in
205A. You will workshop with your classmates during several class periods to assist each
other in refining these documents. An advanced and revised draft of your literature review is
due in week 3. A finalized version of this literature review will be due in week 10.
Methods Section
You will learn different strategies for applying your research methods of choice, and be
expected to develop your research topic into a finalized methods section for your report this
term. The methods section will include: (list of required sections). A draft of your methods
section will be due in week 7, and a finalized version will be submitted at the end of the
term.
Summary of Initial Findings
Students who reach the point of having initial findings will be aided in how best to present
their data and write up the findings for submission at the end of the quarter.
| CLASS SCHEDULE
Week 1 | January 5th
Introduction
Week 2 | January 12th
Methods Discussion
Lecture: Evaluation Research and Zotero Workshop
Assignment due (by the end of the week): Proposition Statement
Week 3 | January 19th
No Class (Martin Luther King Day)
Week 4 | January 26th
Reading Groups
Please come prepared to read a draft literature review to your classmates and give
constructive feedback on the work of others
Week 5 | February 2nd,
Reading Groups
Please come prepared to read a draft literature review to your classmates and give
constructive feedback on the work of others
Week 6 | February 9th
Reading Groups
Please come prepared to read a draft literature review to your classmates and give
constructive feedback on the work of others
Week 7 | February 16th
No class
Assignment due: Final literature review, methods section draft and summary of initial findings
Week 8 | February 23rd
Poster Workshop
Reading Groups (if needed)
Week 9 | March 2nd
Conclusions
Week 10 | March 9th
Individual Meetings
Assignment due: All final products due
**Poster presentations will be held on Thursday, April 2nd**
| HELPFUL READINGS
For ideas on how to structure quantitative analysis in your project:
Shadish, William R., Thomas D. Cook, and Donald T. Campbell. 2001. Experimental and
Quasi-Experimental Designs for Generalized Causal Inference. 2 edition. Boston: Cengage
Learning.
For ideas on how to structure qualitative elements of your project:
Gaber, John. 1993. “Reasserting the Importance of Qualitative Methods in Planning.”
Landscape and Urban Planning, Special Issue Urban Design Research, 26 (1–4): 137–48.
doi:10.1016/0169-2046(93)90012-3.
For practical advice on data collection:
Creswell, John W. 2013. Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches.
SAGE.
Tashakkori, Abbas, and Charles Teddlie. 2010. SAGE Handbook of Mixed Methods in Social &
Behavioral Research. Second Edition edition. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications, Inc.
For a general overview of different methods:
Babbie, Earl R. 2012. The Practice of Social Research. 13 edition. Belmont, CA: Cengage
Learning.
Florida, H. Russell Bernard University of. 2011. Research Methods in Anthropology: Qualitative and
Quantitative Approaches. Fifth Edition edition. Lanham, Md: AltaMira Press.
Guba, Egon G. 1981. “Criteria for Assessing the Trustworthiness of Naturalistic Inquiries.”
ECTJ 29 (2): 75–91. doi:10.1007/BF02766777.
Patton, Michael Quinn. 1990. Qualitative Evaluation and Research Methods (2nd Ed.). Thousand
Oaks, CA, US: Sage Publications, Inc.