For your 3 thesis statements due on Friday, consider the concept behind your project. Ask yourself the question, "If these were non-online communities, what would help these communities thrive?" If you're dealing with a Nursing community, or a Military Community, or a Religious community, consider the group first...what drives that community and would these issues or problems be in a traditional "face-to-face" group.
Think of the community first, then consider the online component. If your issue is "Nurses do not come to the message board or contact others through the Professional Nursing message board", broaden it to ask, "Nursing groups in America seem to have problems communicating about professional problems." Focusing on the group, rather than the design, helps your research and broadens your topic into being more of a human issue than a design problem.
This isn't an exact science. Part of figuring out these thesis statements is to use your own intuition and your own thoughts to guide your thesis statements. They don't have to be perfect, but they should help point you in the direction you want to research. Just remember to keep the community above the "online" aspect, and remember that these are people and organizations first...not just faceless people on the internet.
- Gary Ancheta
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Friday, October 9, 2009
Next Week: Classes are Canceled, Group Meetings with Me
Hello Everyone,
We will have 1-2 member group meetings with me on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of next week. A sign up sheet is listed on my door (FH 226). Make sure you follow the directions on the sign-up sheet. Please be patient during our meetings. I will make sure that everyone gets their fair shake during our meeting time, so come on time when we are supposed to meet and make sure your whole group is present when we start. I have made more times available on Monday and Friday, so please look over the sign-sheet.
For those of you who were absence, we went through the following questions:
___________________________
Core II: Peer Review for CORE 2 Paper
1. Personal Voice: Authentic and honest? Or sloppy and fluffy?
2. Personal Essay: Does the author offer their personal connection to the topic? Do we feel “safe” in their hands as they guide us from idea to idea?
3. Research Question: Focused, narrowed, specific? Does the question focus on just the website or the entire community?
4. Rhetorical Questions: Unless there’s a really good reason, your essay should have just a single question.
5. Titles
• Italicize titles of movies, television shows, newspapers, books, albums.
• Use quotation marks for articles, episodes, songs, short stories, poems.
6. Introductory Elements
• Does your sentence begin by introducing space (In the house, In the United States, Outside my bedroom window) or time (After I got home, By the time I’d finished my test, At midnight, In 2005), or by signaling a contrast (However, On the other hand) or a sequence (In addition, Also, First, Second)? If so, your sentence begins with a dependent clause, and you need to place a comma after those introductory elements.
• Before I came to class today, I stopped to buy a Diet Coke...
• In 1991, Pepsi-Cola introduced “Crystal Pepsi.”
• On the other hand, I could use some caffeine right now.
7. What's Next? Does the end result of your project give us a sense of where you want to go with this paper? Your objectives will be for the next part of the semester? Your ideas for secondary research?
8. Works Cited
• Throughout your paper, make sure you indicate quotes from your online community or from your interviews, and make sure you include quoted material in quotation marks. I’m not worrying about in-text citations this time; I’m worried that you’ve done quality research, and that—when you use it—you quote it.
• Make sure your Works Cited page is numbered and formatted correctly.
__________________________________
You will need a partner for this assignment, so complete the following steps:
1. Post your name and your e-mail below (just post anonymous, if you can't sign in).
2. Exchange papers with someone in class, go over their paper and give them suggestions based on the questions above.
3. Sign up at my door with a meeting time for you and your partner(s). Please read the instructions on the door on how to sign up.
4. Meet with me during your appointed time.
If you do not make your meeting time, it will be considered TWO absences and that will be reflected on your overall grade for this paper as well as your partner's overall grade. I take my meeting times seriously: don't waste my time and I won't waste your time.
We will have 1-2 member group meetings with me on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of next week. A sign up sheet is listed on my door (FH 226). Make sure you follow the directions on the sign-up sheet. Please be patient during our meetings. I will make sure that everyone gets their fair shake during our meeting time, so come on time when we are supposed to meet and make sure your whole group is present when we start. I have made more times available on Monday and Friday, so please look over the sign-sheet.
For those of you who were absence, we went through the following questions:
___________________________
Core II: Peer Review for CORE 2 Paper
1. Personal Voice: Authentic and honest? Or sloppy and fluffy?
2. Personal Essay: Does the author offer their personal connection to the topic? Do we feel “safe” in their hands as they guide us from idea to idea?
3. Research Question: Focused, narrowed, specific? Does the question focus on just the website or the entire community?
4. Rhetorical Questions: Unless there’s a really good reason, your essay should have just a single question.
5. Titles
• Italicize titles of movies, television shows, newspapers, books, albums.
• Use quotation marks for articles, episodes, songs, short stories, poems.
6. Introductory Elements
• Does your sentence begin by introducing space (In the house, In the United States, Outside my bedroom window) or time (After I got home, By the time I’d finished my test, At midnight, In 2005), or by signaling a contrast (However, On the other hand) or a sequence (In addition, Also, First, Second)? If so, your sentence begins with a dependent clause, and you need to place a comma after those introductory elements.
• Before I came to class today, I stopped to buy a Diet Coke...
• In 1991, Pepsi-Cola introduced “Crystal Pepsi.”
• On the other hand, I could use some caffeine right now.
7. What's Next? Does the end result of your project give us a sense of where you want to go with this paper? Your objectives will be for the next part of the semester? Your ideas for secondary research?
8. Works Cited
• Throughout your paper, make sure you indicate quotes from your online community or from your interviews, and make sure you include quoted material in quotation marks. I’m not worrying about in-text citations this time; I’m worried that you’ve done quality research, and that—when you use it—you quote it.
• Make sure your Works Cited page is numbered and formatted correctly.
__________________________________
You will need a partner for this assignment, so complete the following steps:
1. Post your name and your e-mail below (just post anonymous, if you can't sign in).
2. Exchange papers with someone in class, go over their paper and give them suggestions based on the questions above.
3. Sign up at my door with a meeting time for you and your partner(s). Please read the instructions on the door on how to sign up.
4. Meet with me during your appointed time.
If you do not make your meeting time, it will be considered TWO absences and that will be reflected on your overall grade for this paper as well as your partner's overall grade. I take my meeting times seriously: don't waste my time and I won't waste your time.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Nike vs. China, Cool Hunting, and Induction
Cool Hunting
You will be posting your research on our research blog (located on the links on the left). Make sure you have a gmail account and make sure you login before you post your research. Tag your research accurately and make sure you post one observation or one interview per post. We will be using your research to look at trends.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Examples of Ethnographies
ASSIGNMENT: READ -
Student Example 1: Ethnographic Essays
Student Example 2: Restricting Faith
Student Example 3: Patriot Act
Also look at the Tribes link on the sidebar. Find at least 3 more observations from that Handbook.
You will be quizzed about these observations next class.
Also, make sure you bring in all your observations and all of the responses to your project so far. We will go over the material next class and prepare to write your paper.
Student Example 1: Ethnographic Essays
Student Example 2: Restricting Faith
Student Example 3: Patriot Act
Also look at the Tribes link on the sidebar. Find at least 3 more observations from that Handbook.
You will be quizzed about these observations next class.
Also, make sure you bring in all your observations and all of the responses to your project so far. We will go over the material next class and prepare to write your paper.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Online Ethnographic Observations
Ethnography is a science that allows for this kind of writing. Ethnographers study social communities (“cultures”) from the inside out – the researcher lives in and among the people she studies for months or years, speaking the language, participating in daily life. He or she takes copious notes on the details of everyday life. He transcribes thousands of hours of taped conversations. The she or he writes articles or books finding patterns and lessons in this massive data.
In a netnography, data takes two forms: data that the researcher directly copies from the computer-mediated communications of online community members, and data that the researcher inscribes. Reflective fieldnotes, in which ethnographers record their observations, are a time-tested and recommended method in netnography. Although some netnographies have been conducted using only observation and download, without the researcher writing a single fieldnote, this non-participant approach draws into question the ethnographic orientation of the investigation.
But what kind of data is it? The researcher is part of the situation being studied. He/she cannot possibly observe a social situation without being part of it. The researcher can’t pretend he has objectivity. Most ethnographers admit their own feelings, points of view, and social roles in the community. They are “participant/observers” in the culture. By admitting their human point of view, they allow their readers to second-guess them, if necessary. They allow us to read their results in a more informed way.
Goal
We will do a mini-version of an ethnographic observation for our second, with this goal: to practice a form of research that mixes facts and observations with a personal point of view. We will practice writing in a researcher’s voice, one that reports the facts, but also uses them to interpret and even to argue.
Assignment
As with your interview questions, you will observe the identity of this online community and figure out what would make their community better. You will observe them for approximately a week, taking notes on as many details as you can. The goal is to observe as closely as possible; below I’ve given some ideas for what and how to observe.
Observing and taking notes:
It’s best to take notes during the observation. If that is impractical, take notes immediately afterward. Summarizing your memories of an event is not what ethnographic observation calls for (though it’s okay in journalism or memoir). You want to get down detailed, specific, observations, on details such as:
* examples of speech (see the warning below about privacy)
* their online Icons/Names/Identications
* ways of greeting, initiating conversation, beginning and ending an event
* protocols of meeting eachother
* the virtual environment (what does their message board/chat service look like)
* social environment (Describe the community this group is a part of, and where they fit in that community.)
* timelines (Note the time and date that you make your observations)
* any other concrete, physical detail of behavior, speech, or the environment
PRIVACY WARNING: Use common sense. Be aware of privacy issues. You are writing a public paper. If you are observing a public setting, remember that your subjects didn’t give permission, and avoid using real names or reporting anything personal. If you are observing a private setting, let people know you are writing a paper. Don’t report private conversations; report typical examples of speech, and snippets of conversation.
Interpreting your experience:
After taking your initial notes will try to find patterns and lessons in what you observed. You should try to bring up as many questions about your observation as you can think of, such as:
* How does the group use formal/informal language?
* Why does this group meet? What is their purpose? What does one get from being a member?
* What beliefs, values, or tastes does this group share? Do their specific actions demonstrate those beliefs, values, or tastes?
* How does this group act towards each other? Do they treat each other differently than they would in other circumstances?
* How does this group see its place in the larger community? How do they define themselves in relation to other groups?
The questions are endless; any question is good that draws a pattern or a lesson from your observation.
Remember that as you interpret, you are conveying your own thoughts. There is no absolutely objective way to measure the truth of what you say – but it will be well supported if you can point to detailed observations to back up your thoughts. It is okay to say “I think” or to discuss your impressions and feelings. Just use examples to show why you arrived at that thought.
In a netnography, data takes two forms: data that the researcher directly copies from the computer-mediated communications of online community members, and data that the researcher inscribes. Reflective fieldnotes, in which ethnographers record their observations, are a time-tested and recommended method in netnography. Although some netnographies have been conducted using only observation and download, without the researcher writing a single fieldnote, this non-participant approach draws into question the ethnographic orientation of the investigation.
But what kind of data is it? The researcher is part of the situation being studied. He/she cannot possibly observe a social situation without being part of it. The researcher can’t pretend he has objectivity. Most ethnographers admit their own feelings, points of view, and social roles in the community. They are “participant/observers” in the culture. By admitting their human point of view, they allow their readers to second-guess them, if necessary. They allow us to read their results in a more informed way.
Goal
We will do a mini-version of an ethnographic observation for our second, with this goal: to practice a form of research that mixes facts and observations with a personal point of view. We will practice writing in a researcher’s voice, one that reports the facts, but also uses them to interpret and even to argue.
Assignment
As with your interview questions, you will observe the identity of this online community and figure out what would make their community better. You will observe them for approximately a week, taking notes on as many details as you can. The goal is to observe as closely as possible; below I’ve given some ideas for what and how to observe.
Observing and taking notes:
It’s best to take notes during the observation. If that is impractical, take notes immediately afterward. Summarizing your memories of an event is not what ethnographic observation calls for (though it’s okay in journalism or memoir). You want to get down detailed, specific, observations, on details such as:
* examples of speech (see the warning below about privacy)
* their online Icons/Names/Identications
* ways of greeting, initiating conversation, beginning and ending an event
* protocols of meeting eachother
* the virtual environment (what does their message board/chat service look like)
* social environment (Describe the community this group is a part of, and where they fit in that community.)
* timelines (Note the time and date that you make your observations)
* any other concrete, physical detail of behavior, speech, or the environment
PRIVACY WARNING: Use common sense. Be aware of privacy issues. You are writing a public paper. If you are observing a public setting, remember that your subjects didn’t give permission, and avoid using real names or reporting anything personal. If you are observing a private setting, let people know you are writing a paper. Don’t report private conversations; report typical examples of speech, and snippets of conversation.
Interpreting your experience:
After taking your initial notes will try to find patterns and lessons in what you observed. You should try to bring up as many questions about your observation as you can think of, such as:
* How does the group use formal/informal language?
* Why does this group meet? What is their purpose? What does one get from being a member?
* What beliefs, values, or tastes does this group share? Do their specific actions demonstrate those beliefs, values, or tastes?
* How does this group act towards each other? Do they treat each other differently than they would in other circumstances?
* How does this group see its place in the larger community? How do they define themselves in relation to other groups?
The questions are endless; any question is good that draws a pattern or a lesson from your observation.
Remember that as you interpret, you are conveying your own thoughts. There is no absolutely objective way to measure the truth of what you say – but it will be well supported if you can point to detailed observations to back up your thoughts. It is okay to say “I think” or to discuss your impressions and feelings. Just use examples to show why you arrived at that thought.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Primary Research and Focus Group Research
Primary Research Resource from Purdue OWL
Primary Research is important for this particular paper. We will go over primary research and creating questions for your Survey/Interview.
Crowdsourcing:
Focus Group Research
25 Most Difficult Research Questions
Primary Research is important for this particular paper. We will go over primary research and creating questions for your Survey/Interview.
Crowdsourcing:
Focus Group Research
25 Most Difficult Research Questions
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)