Women Studies 491 - AUTUMN 2003
Miller 302A
a.m.
9:30-11
joint 11-12
p.m.12-1:30
Women Studies, Psychology, & ginorio@u.washington.edu
American Ethnic Studies http:
//faculty.washington.edu/ginorio
U Wired librarian, Women Studies collector suekane@u.washington.edu
This course will provide Women Studies students engaged in writing their senior thesis skills and guidance in the beginning tasks of fulfilling this requirement:
identification of thesis topic and
appropriate advisor,
design of a research plan and
corresponding timetable, and
preparation of the first draft of the
thesis proposal.
Class meetings will provide a forum for discussion
of application of skills to the specific content of their thesis, and of issues
related to the feminist assessment of research topics and methodologies.
The goal of this course is to make the writing of
the thesis an experience that maximizes matching of the students’ goals to
those of the department in the areas of critical thinking and research skills.
Course
Requirements
Active participation in all aspects of the class is
required. This is a hands-on
course that requires reading, discussion, and writing:
READING: read few assigned articles, read many
references to form the introduction of your thesis
DISCUSSION: participating in class discussion &
in peer evaluation activities, poster session
WRITING: keeping a thesis log, writing assignments,
these will result in a “final” thesis proposal,
Written materials are due at the end of class on Friday
unless otherwise arranged.
There are two assigned readings for this
course, available throug
Each student is expected to be working on your own
thesis. However, I encourage group work
and we can discuss how to do that in the context of an individualized grading
and credentialing system.
Proposal
that has the following parts (30):
Introduction
(many of you have already alluded to this in your one
paragraph)
Literature review (will
contain at least 10 items)
Re-statement of thesis as a
hypothesis (testable) or question (arguable)
Methods (sample--including
selection), procedures—for example, survey
References (consistent style
used for references; APA style preferred)
Appendices
(Human Subjects, if appropriate; all materials returned to you by instructors,
peer feedback)
Thesis
log (to be examined in support of the proposal) (5)
1-line topic + goal (2)
timetable (2)
1-paragraph topic (4)
5 library resources, annotated (5)
1-page outline + timetable + at
least 10 references in APA style (10)
poster (5)
Sue’s homework assignments (myers-briggs, journal article obstacle
course, etc) (7)
Evaluation of two of your classmates
1-page proposals (10)
In class participation (10)
Presentation to the class
(mini-poster) (10)
Thesis proposal due by
Any materials generated for this course or the
thesis cannot be used for two different courses unless previous authorization
of the instructors involved is obtained.
Timeliness and presentation of materials are
important.
*********
If you would like to request
academic accommodations due to a disability, please contact
Disabled Student Services, 448 Schmitz Hall by
calling 543-8924 (V/TDD).
If you have a letter from
Disabled Student Services indicating that you have a disability that requires
academic accommodations, please present the letter to one of the
instructors
so we can discuss this and
other accommodations that you might need
for class.
The schedule attached presents the topics of our
classes on a weekly basis. If in
examining these topics in the first day of classes there is an area of interest
to you that is not covered, please mention it so that we can discuss how to
incorporate it in the syllabus.
SCHEDULE
OCTOBER
Week one
Introductions / Survey
The THREE segments of this this class: a.m., joint,
& p.m.
Review of syllabus and
format of the course
Goals of the course, personal goals for your thesis
How does a thesis become a project and then a
manuscript? (1 sentenceŕ35 pages)
Overview of thesis components
Finding the tools and resources you need for design,
data collection, & writing.
Points of departure (once topic is decided):
literature review or design?
SUE KANE: Affective aspects
of thesis writing and library work
Report on resources available through library,
including 2003 thesis materials.
[E-MAIL ASAP a message with NO content and the RE: capture me with your e-mail address(es)]
[E-MAIL by Thu 7 p.m.: One sentence description of topic AND one sentence statement of your goal(s) for your thesis. IF you don’t have a topic, mail a statement of interest areas.]
[Read
Ramazanoglu, Caroline & Holland,
Janet (2002). Feminist
methodology: Challenges and choices.
10 Report
on survey: Topics, Goals of the thesis, Preparation of students
Discuss Ramazanoglu &
Holland’s chapter
Kinds of research projects.
Brainstorm about types of probes: survey, individual
interview, archival research, oral history, video or other media production.
JOINT: Setting
timetables
SUE
KANE: Evaluation of library resources.
[E-MAIL by Thu 7 p.m a one paragraph description of
topic. Make explicit how it ties to
goal(s) for your thesis.]
[READ “Spies like us: When sociologists deceive” in
hard copy (buy) OR through web link.]
17 Question or hypothesis? How to connect two ideas.
Ethics of Research, Human
Subjects Review Boards as a solution.
JOINT: Ms.
Geri Faris, Human Subjects Review and their use in the research process at the UW
[BRING to class a timetable for autumn quarter (if
possible, by week) and for winter & spring as detailed as you can make it
at this time.]
[PERUSE at least one of the 2003 thesis
available for you.]
24 Advisors’
update
Developing hypothesis or
question
Situating your research
question (or how who you are affects what you do)
SUE KANE: Literature review;
searching in data bases.
JOINT: 2003
Women 491-493 student panel shares their experiences and wisdom
[SEARCH for at least five library and/or electronic
sources.]
31 How
to get your primary data?
What
information/data/evidence will you use to explore your hypothesis?
What is the fit of your thesis goal/objectives with your data?
Internal
forms, contacting outside resources
Three
time slots for 492: discussion
SUE
KANE: Report on at least five library and/or electronic sources
JOINT: Review of components of the thesis
Entering a conversation: literature review
(difference with annotated bibliography & content analysis)
Methods focus: Content
analysis
[PREPARE and BRING to class X copies of one page outline of thesis that includes question/ hypothesis (X = N of group members + 2). PLUS: Timetable. References for sources found so far.]
NOVEMBER
7 Peer
review of current outline, timetable, references.
JOINT: Types of analyses: quantitative vs. qualitative; descriptive statistics, content analysis.
Methods focus: Surveys
[PREPARE & bring to class Human Subjects Form IF
you will need this.]
14 Report
on student write-up week 6
Review and discussion of first draft of thesis goal/objectives,
design, methods.
Choose research design and methods based on the fit
of your thesis goal/objectives with your research design, and methods?
JOINT: Demo
of two posters varying by formats and issue of question or hypothesis
Review
of components of the thesis & relations among the components
Methods
focus: Interview
[PREPARE & BRING to class the current version of
your thesis in poster format]
21 Poster session; you will have a chance to present
your poster and review 2 other posters
JOINT : Organization of 492
“Final”
thesis proposal for 491 (advisor vs. abg content & format)
Writing focus: Difference between personal opinion
and citation in introduction (literature review) and discussion
No class Thanksgiving
holiday: Read, write, think & write some more.
[BRING for review any 2-3 page section
you would like ABG to review]
5
Class evaluation
Review of timelines
JOINT: Implementation
of thesis proposal in Winter ‘04
Writing focus: ???