Research question / Concept map of literature / Literature review / Methods proposal / Class participation

Research question (due for grading, September 28)

Every research study is based on a research question. This assignment requires that you state your research question clearly, and define all the concepts that are critical components of the question.

Stating the question

For the purposes of this assignment, the statement of your research question should consist of two paragraphs. The first paragraph should introduce the general area of your research and situate your question within that area. In other words, the purpose of the first paragraph is to provide a rationale for your research question (the rationale will be elaborated further in later assignments). The second paragraph is the explication of the research question itself. The question should be stated (either as a question or formal hypothesis) and any additional information needed to provided context for the question should be provided.

Defining the critical components of the question

Attach a glossary to your question definition. In the glossary, there should be an entry for each critical component of your question. For example, if your question were, "What are the effects of a person's domain knowledge on their formulation of Web search strategy?", you would have entries for at least the following terms: domain knowledge, formulation, Web search strategy. Each entry should define the term (including clarifying the scope of the term), and examples may be provided if appropriate.

Evaluation criteria

The statement of the research question will be evaluated on its completeness and clarity. The accompanying glossary will be evaluated on the completeness of the list of entries and the clarity of each entry. This assignment will account for 15% of the course grade.

Summary of due dates

First draft due, for instructor comment: August 31
Second draft due, for peer review: September 7
Final draft due, for grading: September 28

Concept map of the literature (due for grading, October 7)

As papers to be included in the literature review are identified, they should be represented on a concept map of your research question. The main nodes to be included on the map will be drawn from the concepts defined in the glossary accompanying the Research question assignment. Relationships between those nodes or information about them will be referenced on the map. The version of the concept map to be graded will include: the map (or maps, if appropriate), notes about the map/s, and a listing of the references included in the map(s).

Evaluation criteria

The concept map will be evaluated on its completeness and on the level of understanding of the literature that it represents. For example, a map with each node only accompanied by a few citations and with few relationships with other nodes will receive a low grade, while a map with each node accompanied by a complete set of references and with a rich set of relationships with the other nodes will receive a high grade. This assignment will account for 15% of the course grade.

Summary of due dates

First draft due, for instructor comment: September 9
Second draft due, for peer review: September 28
Final draft due, for grading: October 7

Literature review (due for grading, November 2)

A research proposal, as well as a thesis, contains a review of the literature that pertains to your research question. The creation of a literature review involves the identification and selection of the items to include, and a synthesis of the pertinent information reported in those items. For the purposes of this course, the literature review scope and organizational structure are linked tightly with the concept map created in the previous assignment.

Identifying and selecting the items to include

You are expected to identify all the literature pertinent to your research question. A variety of techniques should be used, including (but not limited to) searching the appropriate disciplinary databases and the library catalog, searching the Web, consulting references of items already identified (to find older items), searching appropriate citation indexes (to find newer items), and scanning journal runs of particularly useful journals.

You should select for inclusion only those items that inform your research question or its context in some important way. For example, you would include any similar empirical studies and any published literature reviews on the topic. You would not include brief popular articles that may be of questionable validity. Consider your bibliography as a list of recommendations to others who might be pursuing similar research questions; what would you recomment that they read?

Analyzing and synthesizing the information in those items

As you select items, they should be added to your reference list and to your concept map. The map is a graphical way to develop the structure that your literature review might take. In addition, you will want to keep more detailed notes about each item to be included. For each item selected for inclusion, you should have a good understanding of how it relates to your research question.

Writing the review

Once you are confident that you have not missed any important sources of information, you should begin writing your literature review. You should use a scholarly style appropriate for the discipline of information science (such as might be published in the Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology or in Information Processing & Management). As you read items you will include, be sure to examine their literature reviews, as models of how you should write yours.

Cite the items you include using APA style (the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association is available in the SILS Library). In general, the authors and date are included in the text, in parentheses. The Publication Manual has additional suggestions for other aspects of style, including the format for the reference list.

Evaluation criteria

The literature review will be evaluated on its completeness, the quality of the items included, the quality of the synthesis/integration of the items, and the clarity of the writing. This assignment accounts for 30% of the course grade.

Summary of due dates

First draft due, for instructor comment: September 30
Second draft due, for peer review: October 19
Final draft due, for grading: November 2

Methods proposal (due for grading, December 16, 2:00)

In preparation for conducting a research study, you will need to make many decisions related to the study design, the sample to be included, the methods you will use for data collection, and the methods you will use for data analysis. Your proposal (which can later be revised as the Methods chapter in your thesis) should provide a detailed description of the methods you plan to use in conducting your study. It should provide enough detail so that you could leave and a classmate could conduct your study in your absence, exactly as you intended, without having to ask you any questions about what to do.

There is likely to be significant variability from person to person in how the methods proposal will be written up, because it will depend on the design of the study. Two sample outlines are attached here: one for a typical experimental study proposal and one for a qualitative study.

If your study involves human subjects, you are also required to submit a proposal to the UNC Academic Affairs Institutional Review Board and complete additional training on the ethical treatment of human subjects. These proposals will not be graded; I will provide feedback on a draft.

Evaluation criteria

The primary criterion for the methods proposal is the suitability of the methods for addressing the research question. In addition, the evaluation will consider the quality of the measurements to be taken (i.e., the operationalization of the variables of interest), the appropriateness of the sample to be used in the study, the appropriateness and practicality of the research design and data collection methods, and the reasoning used to consider possible implications of the study results. This assignment will account for 30% of the course grade.

Summary of due dates

First draft due, for instructor comment: November 2
Second draft due, for peer review: November 18
First draft of IRB proposal (if applicable) due, for instructor comment: November 18
Final draft of IRB proposal (if applicable) due, to advisor: November 30
Oral presentation of full proposal (literature and methods): to be arranged
Final draft due, for grading: December 16, 2:00

Class participation

Class participation is encouraged and expected, and class meetings will be treated as seminars in which each participant is also a leader. Class participation may take several forms, including but not limited to participation in online and face-to-face class discussions. A Web-based discussion forum has been established for the course, and is password-protected only to avoid having it indexed by Web search engines; the user id is INLS098-001 and the password is methods. Throughout the semester, in-class exercises and small homework assignments will provide additional opportunities for a variety of types of participation. At the end of the class (on a date to be determined by the class participants), you will be expected to present your proposal (with supporting literature) to the class.