There are a number of means for dissemination of the results of research endeavors. In some fields, the scholarly monograph is important, in others, it’s the academic or professional journal. There is also the scholarly conference, which is of primary importance in a few areas (notably computer science) but which almost all fields share.
This year, Seattle and the iSchool are hosting the sixth iConference, a meeting of faculty, researchers, doctoral students and interested others of the iSchools Caucus. In just a few years, this conference has become increasingly important and relevant as a venue for research discussions in the emerging information-school environment. While it may not be possible for many of you to attend this year’s conference, I thought it would be good to give you a flavor of what you might be likely to find there.
I’d like you, therefore, to select a paper from last year’s iConference, held at the University of Illinois. The proceedings are in large PDFs, and you will also see the titles in the conference schedule.
Working individually, you should choose a contributed paper or poster (not wildcard or roundtable) from that conference that you find personally interesting and that you believe is of high quality (you may not choose the winner of the best paper or poster prizes), and then write a short analysis of that paper. In particular, your submission must include the title and authors (and page numbers within the PDF so I can find it), and concise statements (preferably as discrete sections) of your opinions of:
· the research question(s) and hypotheses if appropriate
· the theoretical background employed, if stated or implicit
· the overall approach(es)/paradigm(s), qualitative or quantitative, or a combination
· the method(s) used
· the results the author(s) derived
Then, in a narrative of no more than 500 words, you should defend your choice of this as a high-quality work. What about it stands out for you? What gives you confidence in the way it was conceptualized and conducted, how the data was analyzed and interpreted? You should conclude this narrative with 2 questions you would ask the author(s) about this work at their presentation at the conference.
Your work will be evaluated on your demonstrated understanding of the research concepts involved (research question, theory, paradigm, method, etc), insight and thoroughness of your work and the overall quality of your presentation.
The assignment is due at 1:30pm on February 1.