Qualitative Research Methods in Composition & Rhetoric

Introduction
At the heart of this course is the issue that distinguishes what most scholars recognize about their "work" from what the general public tends to regard as our "work." Here, I'm speaking of the classic disctinction between "research" and "teaching," distinctions that many academics continue to regard as a fixed dichotomy. Research, variously defined and configured in different disciplines in the university, comes to us from the French word recherche, which means to explore or search, to engage in a quest. Obviously, there are any number of ways to go about such a search or quest, and like those of classical heroes of antiquity, our quests can be fraught with pitfalls and minor tragedies.

This course invites graduate students into the complex systems of research that scholars in Rhetoric and Composition (and, to some extent, Technical and Professional Communication) have engaged in for at least the last 25 years as we began to articulate a discipline-specific research paradigm, one we hoped would yield a disciplined body of knowledge recognized by our peers in other disciplines. The trip has not been easy, and as the articles and books we read this semester will make clear, often we have argued extensively with each other. At the heart of a discussion about any methodology are always concerns about language, truth, and human ethics, and these are areas fraught with disagreements and conflicts. Along those lines, this course also encourages graduate students to reconsider what counts as research. There are still many in the academy who do not regard investigations into teaching/classroom practice as research-proper; I hope this course vexes those assumptions.

As the professor for this course, I hope that I can share with you my own experiences conducting various types of research as we investigate together possibilities that might turn into your own theses and dissertations.

Goals of English 7601/8601
Upon completing English 7601/8601, each graduate student should be able to

• Recognize and articulate the primary epistemologies at work in the various research methods and methodologies studied during the semester;
• Understand the particular complexities involved in classroom-based and historical research, as well as research in electronic environments;
• Understand the ethical dimensions of conducting different kinds of research;
• Complete an Internal Review Board (IRB) educational module and protocol;
• Locate, evaluate, and synthesize primary and secondary, print and electronic bibliographic sources that contribute significantly to projects developed in consultation with the professor;
• Propose a research project connected to Composition and Rhetoric, one which demonstrates the student's understanding of the methodological complexities involved in conducting, assessing, and publishing the research.

To meet these goals, graduate students will generally read between 100 and 150 pages per week, take part in online discussion boards, post responses to readings on individual student blogs, and engage in other projects listed below.

Texts

• Brown, Stephen Gilbert & Sidney I. Dobrin. Ethnography Unbound: From Theory Shock to Critical Praxis. Albany: SUNY Pr, 2004. ISBN: 0791460525
• DeVoss, Danielle & Heidi McKee. Digital Writing Research: Technologies, Methodologies, and Ethical Issues. Creskill, NJ: Hampton Pr, 2007. ISBN: (this text is not yet published but should be available mid-semester)
• Farris, Chrisitine & Chris M. Anson. Under Construction: Research, Theory, Practice. Logan: Utah State UP, 1998. ISBN: 0874212561
• Kirsch, Gesa & Patricia A. Sullivan. Methods and Methodology in Composition Research. Carbondale: SIUP, 1994. ISBN:
• Power, Brenda Miller. Taking Note: Improving Your Observational Notetaking. Portland, ME: Stenhouse, 1996. ISBN: 1571100350
• Yin, Robert K. Case Study Research: Design and Methods, 3rd. Ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2003. ISBN: 0761925538
• Course Packet of Readings To Be Assigned (at times, these will be PDFs available from links on the course schedule and/or assignments links)
• Internet-based websites/articles as listed on the course schedule

Instructor Expectations
Obviously, I expect a great deal of commitment from graduate students. By choosing to tackle graduate school, you have plunged yourselves further into the world of the "scholar." I hope you will enjoy that work and take advantage of this time to read, write, and think about issues and ideas you haven't considered before, or to go further than you have in the past. "Reading" in graduate school, especially for doctoral students, is an exhausting activity. While I expect graduate students "read" everything I assign, I hope that you will learn quickly how to "skim and save." Do NOT try to read all these texts like you would poems or novels, pouring over each sentence looking for nuances of meaning. Try to get the big picture, isolate the key arguments/points of the text, and keep it archived for future reference. Some texts, I expect you to devour; others may not hold you interest. That's normal. Regardless, I expect you to always have a passing acquaintance with ALL our readings and an engaged friendship with selected others. Obviously, I expect that we'll have tremendous fun as we work hard together this semester.

Projects
The following brief annotations will provide some context for the sort of projects that this course will require this semester. More thorough explanations, where necessarily, will become available over the course of the semester through the "Schedule" and "Assignment" links that bookend this document.

• Research Blog • (30%) Active and engaged researchers keep careful notes both of their own data regarding research subjects and the scholarship (data) of other researchers who have published their own findings. Researchers also need to know the in's and out's of methodological controversies. As we read this semester, you will write weekly responses to one or several of the texts we're reading, posting these responses to your class blog by Tuesday mornings @ 8:00 a.m. so that other class members can read and respond to your posts for the next 24 hours. Wednesday night classes will start with reflections on these posts.
• Classroom Observations • (10%) After we read Taking Note, students will conduct three (3) classroom observations of a single writing class (first-year comp, advanced comp, tech. writing, etc.) that they will select and will turn in both their observational notes and their narrative/analytical reflections on their observations. Due dates will be announced on the schedule.
• Annotated Bibliography (PhD) • (20%) Doctoral students in the course will use the "rhetorical précis" as a model for how to annotate a bibliography of research involving one of several 'emerging' methodologies that we discuss throughout the semester. Bibliographies should contain at least 10 to 12 article-length sources; book chapters count as one source. Students will share their bibliographies with the rest of the class after midterm.
• Midterm Take-Home Exam (MA) • (20%) Master's students will have a take-home midterm exam which will ask them them synthesize the materials we've read over the first half of the semester. Details will be forthcoming.
• Major Project (30%) • All students will produce a Major Project which 1) proposes a research question relevant to Composition and Rhetoric, 2) surveys a sampling of the published research already available, 3) articulates methods and methodologies to collect and process the data, and 4) demonstrates an awareness of the possible ethical or scholarly concerns for a researcher who might conduct this project. After midterm, students will write short proposals for a research project, conference with the professor, and then begin work on the four parts of the Major Project.
• Studentship • (10%) Studentship refers to attending class, participating in face-to-face discussions, participating in online discussions, and meeting assigned deadlines for projects.

Attendance
Graduate students by default should be at every class meeting, especially for a class which means only once each week. Emergencies and problems arise, so I can overlook your missing one week of class, especially since individual students can contribute significantly on the course blog the week they miss in order to "make up" for not being physically present. Missing more than once, however, will impact the course grade. Graduate classes rely on the presence of engaged students to be successful; as such, your absenses will jeopardize learning for others, which isn't acceptable.

Late Work
We all have very busy, trying lives, and as such, there come times when we have to complete some work late. Each student in this class is allowed an occasional late blog response, or other short piece of writing. Midterms assignments are set in stone and may not be late. Neither major projects nor drafts of major projects may be turned in late, as turning the drafts in late would invalidate the reason for drafting in the first place and turning in final projects late would prevent me from reading and evaluating them in time to turn in grades at the end of the semester. Students may always turn projects in early.

Conferences
Students should schedule conferences with me when they do not understand comments I've made on their projects or when they become confused about the expectations of this course. Likewise, I may require a certain number of individual and/or group conferences during the semester. After midterm, I will schedule conferences to discuss major project proposals.

Academic Integrity
Students are expected to be honest about individual effort and responsible to peer/secondary source materials that are included in their projects. Both plagiarizing and turning in work written partially or completely by someone else are forms of academic dishonesty and carry serious penalties, the least serious of which is a grade of zero on the particular assignment (and thus a D, at best, in the course), but could also result in failure of the class and even expulsion from the university. Students who keep up with their work and consult with their peers and their professor have no reason or need to "cheat." Since this course is focused on research ethics, I expect that students will see me if they are unsure about how to cite or represent ideas/writing by others so that we can figure it out without ending up in a nasty plagiarism case.

Computers in the Classroom
Because we meet in a computer-mediated classroom, we will make frequent use of the machines.  However, certain computer-related behaviors will not be tolerated.  You may check your email or free-surf the web as you please before and after class, but after I announce the beginning of class by starting the roll, any student still using email, chat programs, or web browsers for non-class-related activities will loose points for participation or may even be considered absent from class for the day. **Likewise, students retain sole responsibility for keeping electronic copies of all their work.**  Lost or stolen disks, erased disks, home computer crashes, printer problems, etc. do NOT excuse you from turning in work or having copies of all your work on disk at the end of the semester.  Remember to make frequent back-up copies of files and keep copies on multiple disks.

Accommodations for Students with Special Needs
East Carolina University seeks to fully comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  Students requesting accommodations based on a covered disability must go to the Department for Disability Support Services, located in Slay 138, to verify the disability before any accommodations can occur. The telephone number is 737-1016.