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Assignment
2a: Data Collection Memo
syllabus
| calendar
| annotated
bibliography
Purpose
The purposes of
this assignment are for you to...
- learn the process
for collecting data,
- develop strategies
for articulating your research process,
- understand the
complexity of collecting data yourself,
- learn how to
design effective research tools,
- learn how to
write a memo.
Instructions
Choosing
a Method
For
the annotated
bibliography you will be responsible for collecting
some data from a local resourse to help you answer some of your research
questions. You must conduct at least one data collection, using the following
methods. However, you can do up to three data collections; these can be
different methods or the same. If you choose to do more than one include
all of your data collection strategies in the same memo. Your choices
for data collection include...
Interview
with an expert Find a person in the local area who has expertise
with the subject that you are research. Expertise can be defined by
credential (e.g., degree) or appointment (e.g., election). Do not just
interview your friend because s/he has been alive for twenty years.
Prepare six to eight questions and be prepared for follow up questions.
Make an appointment with the interviwee in advanced. Send a thank you
card after the interview.
Questionnaire
Develop a series of questions that will help you understand the
opinion of the residents of the Greater Lafayette area towards your
subject. In other words you are trying to understand how this geographical
area represents your subject. You will have to determine whether your
question will be open-ended or whethter you want restrict the person's
response. Since the people who will take your survey will interact with
the document the questions are on, document design is an important issue.
Observation
If you are researching a local issue, then you may want to actually
observe the subject that you are studying. This will allow you to compare
your own experiences with the subject with others representations. When
you conduct an observation, you do not just sit and take notes. Rather,
you need to develop a plan based upon your research questions. In other
words, what do you specifically plan to look at when you occupy this
space. If you are going to do an observation, you will want to observe
your subject at least 3 times for 30-60 minutes. This will give you
a sense whether what you see is a pattern or a chance occurance.
Writing
the Memo
After you have chosen
a method for collecting data, you will want to write a memo
to the instructor describing your data collection plan. Think of this
assignment as an argument you are making to the instructor about the process
that you will use to collect data; essentially, you are arguing that the
plan that you have developed is the best strategy for collecting data
to answer your questions.
In this memo you
should include...
- the research
questions that you plan to answer with this data collection. Also explain
why this method of collecting data is the most viable means of answering
these questions. This is justification of the general method.
- a
detailed description of your research process. Explain what you will
specifically do to collect the data; therefore, answer the questions
who? what? where? when? how (this will be answered with the attached
research tool)?
- a
justification of the plan. Explain why you have chosen the people, place,
time, etc.for your data collection. This
is justification of the specific plan.
- the
research tool. You must attach the actual interview questions, questionnaire,
or observation (include a map of the space if possible). This does not
go in the body of the memo, it is attached to the end of the memo and
referred to within the body of the memo.
Do not collect the
data before you turn in this memo; the purpose of this memo is not to
report your results.
Criteria
- In
this assignment, you should...
- make
a strong connection between your research questions and how your
data collection will answer them,
- justify
the viability of your decisions in detail,
- develop
and design an effective research tool,
- For
Thursday June 29, 2001, bring 3 hard copy of your Data Collection Memo
to class.
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