1. ENGLISH 202 MARCH 15TH, 2010

2. agenda Welcome back Tipping Point Chapter 8 and Afterwards Our next book chapters: Covering ch 1 and 2 Next step in your research: Methodology Book Reviews and lit reviews are due this Wednesday. Make sure you proofread your letters. Perhaps we can send your reviews to Gladwell at the end of this semester

3. Announcement “Please come and join the Food and Nutrition Department and the Student Dietetic Association in celebrating National Nutrition month with the Theme of "FROM THE GROUND UP" on Wed. March 17th in the HUB Atrium, Susquehanna and Monongahela Rooms from 10 to 3 pm.” For more information contact Dr. Nicole Clark at nclark@iup.edu.

4. What have we learned from the Tipping Point? Social Change is possible if …. One is a good observer One values research and attempts to understand human behavior through the act of research One looks carefully to the small details of life One can reach few special people to shape the course of social epidemics (e.g. Law of the Few) We are always influenced by our environments and the individuals around us. Examples of Salesman, connectors, Blue’s clues, New York subway cleanup, Fundamental Attribution error tell us a lot about what it means to be human

5. In-class blogging Gladwell says “What underlies successful epidemics, in the end, is a bedrock belief that change is possible, that people can radically transform their behavior or beliefs in the face of the right kind of impetus” What type of social change you, a contributing member of your society, would like to bring in your community? How do you think you can help tip this social epidemics? (Think about your own social action research project) The act of reading is shaped by the reader. In your view, which chapter was most influential? Why did you find that chapter more interesting than others? Discuss one idea that you will take with you after reading The Tipping Point. How do you think you can apply that idea in your academic and personal life?

6. FROM MEDIA: GLADWELL INTERVIEWS CNN INTERVIEWS: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCt1Wc8Kx4U http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nf3NalDYIT8&feature=related STUDENT PROJECTS http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jq89Hlcn-98 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5BzhNqSSpU&feature=related

7. Moving ahead with your research projects In your groups, please discuss the following questions: What you have gained so far from doing library search and the literature review? How did you organize your literature review? How did you begin your literature review? What are some of the “action verbs” you used in your review? What transitional devices did you use to connect the different sources? How did you end your literature review?

8. What is the next step in your research? Now that you have your ‘evolving’ introductions, have developed a ‘working’ knowledge for your topic, read widely on your topics, wrote a literature review (background) of your social action research projects. The next step will include: Deciding your methods of inquiry (e.g. case study, surveys, ethnography) looking for a research site for your field work. Looking for participants.

9. Next step in your research: METHODS OF INQUIRY Methodology: The way researchers collect data How do a researcher collect his/her data?—Interviews, surveys, taking pictures, reading library archives etc. How can a researcher construct effective interview or survey questions that will help answer the researchers’ questions? Who are your participants? (e.g. college students, high school teachers, women of color in workplace, minority students in a Freshman course) How would you describe them?(e.g. ethnicity, age, nationality, gender etc.) Why did you focus on this group of people? What is your rationale in your “purposeful sampling”?

10. THE PURPOSE OF SOCIAL ACTION RESEARCH IS TO… Understand a social phenomenon To understand how people view world differently To construct and reconstruct reality through your participants’ eyes…

11. AGENDA (March 17th) Happy St. Patrick's Day! PEER-REVIEWS ON LITERATURE REVIEWS CONTINUE WITH OUR DISCUSSION ON METHODOLOGY DON’T FORGET TO SUBMIT YOUR LIT. REVIEWS AND BOOK REVIEWS AT THE END OF THE CLASS. ASSIGNMENTS

12. Research Methods Qualitative Methods (e.g., Ethnography, Auto-ethnography, Life History, Narratives, case studies) The goal is to understand individual’s cultural worlds. Relying on observations, interviews, field notes. Researcher spends a long time in the research contexts Quantitative Methods (e.g., Statistical Analysis Surveys) Relying on counting the themes, survey results etc. (frequency counts) Quantifying the data Allows you to see patterns of language use. “ The more a theme appears the more warranted is your claim” Without some qualitative analysis, the numbers are meaningless!

13. Qualitative Methods of Data Collection People’s words and actions represent the data of qualitative method of inquiry and this requires methods that allow the researcher to capture language and behavior. The data come from various sources: Observation – both participant and direct In-depth interviews Group Interviews The collection of relevant documents Photographs and Video Tapes

14. Qualitative versus Quantitative http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDo7jwikqqI&feature=related

15. Interviews: some initial research activities As your participants’ permission for her or him to participate in this study. Remember this is a volunteer participation. Set the interview time and location with your participants (the people you will be investigating) Prepare your interview questions (what do you need to know?) Keep your questions open ended. Decide how to record your interviews

16. Soliciting participants Begin looking for participants Ask their permission to be a part of your study. Describe your study Describe the purpose Give your participants some information about the background. Schedule your Interviews Begin your interviews (USE A DIGITAL RECORDER TO RECORD YOUR INTERVIEWS)

17. Question categories Opening questions Could you please describe…? Can you tell me about…? Please discuss… I am interested in….What can you tell me about this subject? Follow-up Questions Really? How so? Can you elaborate on X point? Probing Questions Can you tell me more about…? Could you please give me an example…?

18. Class Activity on Interview Find out what your classmate did in her spring break. Research Question: How do U.S. college students spend their spring breaks? Come up with at least 5 questions that can best answer this large research question Conduct a 5 minutes long interview. After your interview, write one paragraph about your participant’s views/experiences on spring break.

19. ASSIGNMENTS Literature reviews DUE on Wednesday, March 17th . Be prepared for a peer-review activity. Book Reviews are DUE on Wednesday, March 17th (Feel free to submit it earlier) Read Writing at the University Chapter 8 and 9. Methodology section of your paper is DUE on Monday, March 22nd–Send it electronically to lisyaseloni@gmail.com NEXT WEEK: INDIVIDUAL DATA COLLECTION WEEK. NO CLASS MEETINGS.

20. What have you achieved so far? Talked about social diversity issues Discussed your own definitions of social diversity. Read, discussed, blogged , and wrote book reviews on The book Tipping Point. Conducted library search. Analyzed several research articles. Found a good topic that is relevant to social and cultural issues. Narrowed down out topics. Wrote an “evolving” introduction. Came up with good research questions Learnt how to write an annotated bibliography. Learnt how to write a literature review. Did various peer-review activities.