LIS 570 Home

Assignments

 

Assignment 1:  Response Paper (20%)

Assignment 2:  Research Methods Report (20%)

Assignment 3:  Research Study and Report (60%)

 
 
 
 

Assignment 1:  Response Paper

  You may choose to write a response paper critiquing any one of the research articles we read for class.  The paper should be approximately 500 words in length.  Criteria

Students are encouraged to submit papers throughout the quarter, however, the absolute deadline is March 7 (after the discussion of the last paper).

The Information School, LIS 570, Fall 2002
Research Methods (in LIS)

Evaluating Research

Criteria

QUESTIONS TO GUIDE YOUR EVALUATION OF RESEARCH ARTICLES IN LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE

 

Evaluation framework liberally adapted by Marc Lampson for educational purposes from Jeffrey Katzer, Kenneth H. Cook, & Wayne W. Crouch, Evaluating Information: A Guide for Users of Social Science Research, (McGraw Hill, 1998).

QUESTIONS USUALLY ANSWERED IN THE BEGINNING OF THE ARTICLE – 
FRAMEWORK QUESTIONS (everything prior to the methods explanation):

Problem (Research Question) Statement
Is the problem (or the research question or questions) stated so that it can be solved generally, and particularly by the methods proposed? Does the way the problems or questions are posed restrict the study or eliminate other explanations or research alternatives?

Definitions
Are definitions sufficiently specific or are they vague or arbitrary or circular? Are the definitions useful to your understanding of the article and in the context of the research tradition of LIS? 

Literature Review
Is what was included in the literature review relevant, recent, balanced, sufficiently descriptive? Does the literature review indicate the author(s) thoroughly considered the implications of what might be found prior to gathering the data? Is there any reason to suspect that the literature chosen for review was chosen because it either confirmed the study’s findings or provided a “straw man” for the study to defeat? 

QUESTIONS USUALLY ANSWERED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ARTICLE – 
METHODS QUESTIONS: The detailed description of how the data were obtained. This includes techniques for data collection, objects or subjects studied, design (fixed, flexible, quantitative, qualitative, experimental, quasi-experimental, case study, etc.), sampling procedures, construction and use of research instruments.
 

Observation
Was anything left out? Was there control for possible distortions of what was observed? When and where were the observations made?

Measurement
Are operational definitions adequate? (Operational definitions are the methods of defining variables or constructs based on how they are measured; variables or constructs are the concepts or ideas being measured in the study.) In other words, does the study measure what it says it measures? Does the instrument measure as precisely as the researcher claims? Is there a measure of reliability provided? What is really being measured – what the author claims or something else? 
 

Control
Were potential rival explanations eliminated in the research design? Was more than one group studied for comparisons?

Generality
Are there any arguments made for generality and how strong are they? Did anything happen during the study that made the people studied less representative?

QUESTIONS USUALLY ANSWERED TOWARD THE END OF THE ARTICLE - 
RESULTS/CONCLUSIONS QUESTIONS. The results/conclusions are what the researcher discovered and how those discoveries are interpreted. These discoveries and interpretations include summaries and analyses of the data, findings from the data, etc.

Fair Summaries
How were the summaries arrived at, computed, chosen (what alternatives were there), and what was left out?
 

Interpretations
Are there missing assumptions or indications that counterexamples or results were excluded? Do the interpretations make sense given the literature cited and are the interpretations acceptable to you, do they make sense? Did the study answer the questions originally asked?

Relationships
Was the analysis based on a single variable, did it consider other possible variables, and are there yet other variables that you can think of that were not considered? Was a causal relationship stated or implied, and if so, was it justified?

Explanations
Can you think of other explanations for what is reported in the study other than the explanation given in the study? Are all causes, or parts of the cause, considered and reported? 
 

Statistical Inferences
Were proper statistical procedures used and used correctly? Was chance eliminated as an explanation? Were the findings statistically significant? Are confidence levels, if used, acceptable? Are the findings meaningful? Get some expert statistical advice if necessary.

 

Suggested Topics

 

Data collection methods

 

Self-administered questionnaires, structured interviews and interviewing techniques, content analysis, participant observation, repertory grid, critical incident method, in-depth interview

 

Designs/Approaches

 

Quasi-experiments, grounded theory, qualitative case study, action research, discourse analysis, network analysis

 

Other

 

Children, interviewing and self-administered questionnaires, measuring attitudes or satisfaction, sampling in qualitative studies, criteria for evaluation, empirical qualitative research, graphical presentation techniques, critical theory in Communication and Information Studies


Assignment 2:  Research Methods Report

 

The goal of this assignment is to introduce you to a number of research designs and methods. You will study one topic in depth and become familiar with several others through the class discussions.

A sign-up sheet with possible topics will be circulated in class and posted on the website.  There are places to sign up where you may choose your own topic; suggestions are listed at the bottom.  If you are interested in something that is not listed, the instructor is happy to discuss an alternative.

Prepare a one-page description of the design/method.  It may include a short annotated list of recommended readings.  This will be due on Tuesday of the week you sign up for.  On Thursday you will give a five minute talk summarizing your design/method for the class.

E-Submit

Turn in your Research Methods Report via the Catalyst E-Submit tool.

 

Assessment Criteria
 

 

Content:

 

1. a clear, concise description of the design/method; 

2. clear, concise presentation of the limitations and strengths of the design/method 

3. clear description of how you might use the design/method or why it is not useful. 

4. brief description of criteria for assessing quality of design/method.

 

Presentation skills and handouts:

 

1. helpfulness of the pre-reading in preparing you, the participant, for the seminar 

2. ability to pique interest in the design/method

3. ability to stimulate questions and/or discussion 

 

 

 

Assignment 3:  Research Study and Report
 

 

Content -

 

1. the objectives or hypotheses

2. the major concept(s) and conceptual definition(s)

3. the major variables and operational definitions

4. the measurement instrument, for example the self-administered questionnaire or content analysis sheets

5. a description of the research design, for example a quantitative case study, an experiment.

6. a definition of the population (group of interest) and a short discussion of the sampling methods you would use in a larger scale study. The method for selecting participants for the pilot study should also be described.

7. a description of the data collections methods

8. the presentation of the results

9. a discussion and interpretation of the results, i.e. what they mean to you, and any limitations or concerns, for example ethical, validity, reliability.

10. conclusions

 

General Comments -

 

It is recommended that you work in groups of two or three. You should plan the study together and share responsibilities.

 

It is important to remember that this is a small-scale pilot study. One or two concepts are enough, and you are not expected to conduct a "perfect" study. That's impossible anyway.

 

You should aim for a sample of no less than 20; 40 would be excellent but may not be possible. Sample size itself has no influence on the grade, if you have at least 20. At the margin a larger sample size might lead to a higher grade because you have more opportunity to see patterns and differences in the data. There are, however, many other ways to show that your report is satisfactory or more than satisfactory.

 

Your project may be on any topic relevant to library and information studies and practice. If you have not thought of something of interest by the end of the second week, please talk to me.

 

Assessment Criteria

 

1. evidence of understanding the research process

2. the appropriateness of 

    - the concepts and their definitions for the problem at hand 

    - the research design 

    - the data collection instrument

3. the validity and reliability of the data collection instrument

4. the appropriateness of the population and the clarity of its definition

5. the appropriateness of the proposed sampling plan not the appropriateness of the method used for your pilot study.

6. assessment of major strengths and limitations of the study, including some discussion of reliability and validity.

7. clear and concise description of design methods

8. presentation of the report including its conformity to social science conventions, e.g. table construction and labeling, and its neatness.

 

Suggested Topics

 

I want you to choose a topic that interests you. When considering your topic, make sure it meets the following requirements:
 

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it falls within what is broadly defined as Library and Information Science.

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the topic can be studied using empirical techniques

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it is feasible to complete the study within the time period of the course

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it meets the ethics guidelines of the University
 

Below are some possible topics for the research report. They have been developed so that you can use other students, work acquaintances, family and friends. However, you should not use students currently taking LIS 570.

 

The topics below are hypothetical, although in some cases based on some actual events or campaigns.

 

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You have been commissioned to develop a Recycling Information (any topic could be considered here.) Centre for the residents of a local government area in an inner-city location. You want to try to make the centre as useful as possible so you decide to study the information behaviors, needs etc of the residents.

 
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You are the information officer for the School of Library and Information Science. You want to re-design the information brochures for the MLS program. You think that they need to be based on information that prospective students think is important.

 
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You want to know if and how the format of the information brochures mentioned above influence perceptions of usefulness.

 
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What are students' (or people in general) attitudes toward _______________? (Insert an information agency, a type of information professional, an information product, service, etc.) Caution: This would be interesting, but "attitudes" are more complex to measure than behaviours, opinions, etc. See me before you start this topic.

 
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What are people's beliefs about the benefits and cost of using the (new management information system within the organisation, local community information centre, public library, etc.) How strong are these beliefs?

 

Any type of information source, channel or institution can be inserted here, for example adolescents beliefs about obtaining information from family and friends etc.
 

Good luck and enjoy the project. Research is fun!