Research and Information Science

63-004-18

Lecturer: Dr. Susan Holzman

Class : BA Required courseAcademic year: 2016-2017

Semester:IWeekly hours: 2Credit points:1 annual credit

Office Hours:Wednesday, by appointment

Email:

A.Course description and goals of course:

Research and information science is a central skills course designedfor first year students to prepare the students for the methods and rules of the academic world. This course will include an introductionto the foundation knowledge of academic research in the social sciences as well as an overview of basic academic information sources. Assignments will offer opportunities for practical application of the skills acquired in the course and when possible will follow the principles of Writing across Curriculum (WAC) where assignments are coordinated with the written assignments of a content course in the department.

B.Prerequisites:

No formal prerequisites; attendance is mandatory and a perquisite for submitting final projects.

C.Course requirements:

1)Read assigned texts.

2)Actively participate in class discussions on (University policy: two unexcused absences are allowed; exceeding the two unexcused absence policy will result in failing the course).

3)Write three short papers*

4)Information science: Create an annotated bibliography (according to the APA style manual).Draft 1, due Dec 18, 2016; final draft due Jan 1st, 2016.

5)Research: Write a research proposal according to the guidelines studied in class. Draft 1, due Jan. 15th; final draft due Jan. 29th.

*All writing assignments will be given feedback on a first draft and graded on a second draft. Late submissions will be graded without the benefit of a second draft.

Grade: The final course grade will consist of five parts:

1)Three short papers: (15% each) 45%

These papers offer the opportunity to learn and practice the skills of citation, referencing, paraphrase, summary and quotation according to APA guidelines,

Summary and paraphrase from a Book.
Comparison of two academic articles
Writing the history of a phenomenon; integrating and synthesizing sources.

2)Annotated bibliography: 20%

3)Research proposal: 20%

4)Class participation:10%

5)In class quiz on APA referencing and citation (5%)

Class Syllabus:

*Reading and writing assignments may be changed to fit with the principles of WAC

Lesson / Subject of lesson / Prepared for this class / Homework
Introduction to Information Science and Research / Academic writing considerations
Wheat People vs. Rice People
(academic and journalistic) / Compare & contrast academic and journalistic writing
Reading academic articles and summarizing / Searching for BOOKS in the library: edited books and single authored books
Writing a reference; writing a citation (paraphrase; quoting & plagiarism)
APA style: Books (OWL site) / Choose a term;
Find a BOOK;
Writing: Summarize information
(short paper 1)
Library orientation / Challenge # 1 Due (draft 1)
November 20th
Library science: Finding Journal articles
Comparison and contrast / Finding two articles (Google scholar)
Critical thinking: Beyond reporting what the article says (Comparing and contrasting). / Challenge # 1 final (Nov 28thfor grade)
Read: Bryman, A. (2012). Social research methods, (Ch. 2 – pp. 61-82)
Research Methods
Empirical research and Library research / Discuss: Bryman, A. (2012). Social research methods, 2nd edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press (Ch. 2 – pp. 61-82) / Read: Bryman, A. (2012). Social research methods,
(Ch. 3 – pp. 265-290).
Challenge 2 Due (Dec 4th -Draft 1)
Article development: who is the audience of your paper?
Annotated bibliography: What and why / Choose a paper topic
Discuss: Bryman, A. (2012). Social research methods, 2nd edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press
(Ch. 3 – pp. 265-290). / Challenge 2 due
(Dec 11thfinal draft – for grade)
Research Questions & Thesis statements
Choosing a paper topic / Bring research questions for Politics paper / First draft, annotated bibliography (at least five sources; a book, journal articles and electronic)
(Due Dec 18th)
APA: Books and Journal articles review. Electronic sources, Video, blogs, twitter, etc. / Writing workshop: Writing up resource research
(The non-empirical papers required in many introductory university courses) / Challenge #3 History of a phenomenon; integrating sources
Due Dec 25th
Writing a research proposal
In class quiz: APA references / What to do with a theory? / Final draft: annotated bibliography
Due Jan 1st
Article development:
Empirical research
Library research / First Draft: Research proposal
Publication manual of the American psychological association, Sixth edition
Chapter 3 Reducing bias by topic, pp. 73-76
Due Jan 15th
Reducing Bias in Language / Publication manual of the American psychological association, Sixth edition
Chapter 3 Reducing Bias by Topic, pp. 73-76 / Work on final project
Empirical research / Review articles in current issues of Communication Journals. What is being researched? (A list of journals will be supplied) / Read: Is Google making us stupid? (Carr, 2008)
Is Google making us stupid? / Class discussion: Is Google making us stupid? / Work on final project
Wrap up and review / Final Draft: Research Proposal
Due Jan 29th

D.Required Reading List

American Psychological Assocation (2010). Publication manual of the American psychological association, Sixth edition. Chapter 3, Reducing bias by topic, pp. 73-76

808.02 PUB 2010 (1191174) – REF collection

Bryman, A. (2004). Social research methods, 2nd edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press (Ch. 2 – pp. 61-82; Ch. 3 – pp. 265-290).

Reserved under BRY s4 (2370376) – 4th edition, 2012

Carr, N. (2008). Is Google making us stupid? The Atlantic. Retrieved from

Luhrmann, T.M. (2014, December 3).Wheat People vs.rice people.New York Times. Retrieved from

Paiz, J.M., Angeli, E., Wagner, J., Lawrick, E., Moore,K. Anderson, M., Soderlund, L., Brizee, A., Keck, R. (2013). On-line writing lab at Purdue University (OWL).

Electronic access available

Roberts, S.G. (2015). Commentary: large scale psychological differences within China explained by rice vs. wheat agriculture. Frontiers in Psychology 6:950. doi10.3389/psyg.2015.00950.

Ejournal (2430863)

E.Suggested reading:

Evans, R. (2006). Evaluating an electronic plagiarism detection service: The importance of trust and the difficulty of proving students don't cheat. Active Learning in Higher Education, 7 (1), 87-99

Nagy Hesse-BiberLeavy, P.(2006). The practice of qualitative research 1st edition.Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Chapter 4: The ethics of social research, pp. 59-89.

Perry, B. (2010). Exploring academic misconduct: Some insights into student behaviour. Active Learning in Higher Education, 11 (2), 97-108.

Stempel, C. Hargrove, T. & Stempel, G. H. (2007). Media use, social structure, and belief in 9/11 conspiracy theories. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 84 (2), 353-373.

Summers, J. & Johnson-Morgan, M. (2008). More than just the media: Considering the role of public relations in the creation of sporting celebrity and the management of fan expectations. Public Relations Review, 34 (2), 176-182.