Univ. of Washington, Geography 513 syllabus

UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
Geography 513, (5 credits)
Winter 2001
RESEARCH-GRANT PROPOSAL WORKSHOP

Contents of this page:

Who, What, Where

Objectives

Prerequisites

Requirements

Schedule (with weekly links to Peer Review sites)

TIMES, PLACE, AND INSTRUCTOR
Tuesdays 4:30 - 7:20
Smith Hall 407
Professor James W. Harrington, 408 Smith Hall, jwh@u.washington.edu
Office Hours: By appointment (send e-mail)

OBJECTIVES
Participants will:
· gain appreciation for the close correspondence required among the various components of a research proposal
· learn elements of "grantsmanship" - identifying and approaching sponsors, and how to approach them
· gain experience in the peer-review process - from both sides
· develop a competitive research proposal for dissertation or thesis work

PREREQUISITES
1. Geography 512 (History of Geographic Thought), or Geography 515 (Evidence and Explanation in Geography), or equivalent.
2. Training and experience with quantitative, qualitative, and/or cartographic analysis.
3. A formulated research project, before the start of the course.

REQUIREMENTS
The key course requirements are

the generation of multiple drafts of each component of a research proposal,
commentary on the drafts produced by other students in the class, and
reading and commenting on assigned material.

Students will be graded on all requirements, with an approximate weighting of 70:20:10.
The course format entails

on-line posting of drafts by midnight Sunday
a 170-minute session each Tuesday, for: discussion of reading; guest presentations; distribution of written commentary; and small-group presentation and commentary.

SCHEDULE
Specific assignments will be added to this on-line syllabus (http://faculty.washington.edu/jwh/513sylW01.html) as the quarter progresses.

Tuesday 2 January
Introduction, overview, and procedures
for overviews, take a look at
"research questions" in Beginners' Guide to the Research Proposal
Persuasive Proposal Writing ("clarity is everything")
"Proposal Preparation" instructions in NSF's Grant Proposal Guide (this will be useful all quarter)

Tuesday 9 January
We'll review each others' research questions: look for clarity and "answerability" Peer Review link
Statements of importance
Finding funding sources (see links page)

Tuesday 16 January
We'll review each others' statements of importance (and revised questions) Peer Review link
Theoretical frameworks

Tuesday 23 January
We'll review each others' theoretical frameworks Peer Review link

Tuesday 30 January
We'll review each others' theoretical frameworks (see last week's Peer Review site)
Operationalization and empirical cases; Information collection plans

Tuesday 6 February
We'll review each others' statements of the empirical case and information collection Peer Review link
Analysis plans

Tuesday 13 February
We'll review each others' analysis plans Peer Review Link

Tuesday 20 February
We'll review each others' revised research questions and theoretical frameworks Peer Review Link
Writing a budget

Tuesday 27 February
We'll review each others' revised proposals Peer Review Link

Tuesday 6 March
We'll review each others' titles, budgets, qualification statements, and proposal summaries Peer Review Link