School of Information
and Library Science
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Analysis of an existing theory / Research proposal for a theory development project / Seminar participation / Honor code
Syllabus / Schedule (today) / Sakai site for class
The assignments for the seminar aim to support your exploration of important theories in information and library science and related disciplines, as well as develop your ability to develop grounded theory. You will work on a major paper in each of these areas. One of those papers will be considered your primary work, and the other will be considered your secondary work; you may choose which will be primary and which will be secondary. In addition, you will be expected to be an active participant in the seminar throughout the semester.
During the early part of the semester, you'll have an opportunity to learn about a variety of theories that may be applicable to your research. Some of these theories have been developed by scholars in information and library science, while others were developed in related disciplines. Our attention will focus on those theories that are most likely to be applicable to the seminar members' research plans.
Each seminar member will select one theory for detailed analysis, and will write a paper reporting that analysis. The paper will be in the form of a literature review, with discussion focused on the applicability of a particular theory to the research area in which you're interested. The literature review should be analytical, critiquing the theory and its applicability to your work, as well as its use in other empirical studies. The final section of the literature review should develop one or more theory-based research questions (i.e., question(s) that can and should be studied in order to further develop the theory).
Several intermediate products will be required:
The final paper will be due on March 23 if it is your secondary work, or on April 13 if it is your primary work.
As noted above, this paper may be the primary focus for your semester (and account for 50% of your grade) or the secondary focus (and account for 30% of your grade). It will be evaluated in terms of its comprehensiveness (with higher expectations if it is your primary work), the quality of your reasoning related to the theory and its applicability to your work, the significance and originality of the research questions proposed, and the clarity of the paper.
During the later part of the semester, you'll be introduced to grounded theory development. We'll discuss the foundational reasoning of this approach to theory development, sampling, methods of data collection, methods of data analysis, and methods for theory generation and validation.
For this assignment, each seminar member will develop a research proposal for conducting a study intended to develop theory related to a particular phenomenon in a particular context. The proposal will include an introduction (justifying the importance of the study), a literature review (including both theoretical and empirical literature of interest), and a description of the methods to be used. A rationale for the validity of the methods must also be provided.
Several intermediate products will be required:
The full proposal will be due at the scheduled final exam time; extensions may be requested if it's your primary work, but that will mean you'll take an INcomplete grade for the course.
As noted above, this proposal may be the primary focus for your semester (and account for 50% of your grade) or the secondary focus (and account for 30% of your grade). It will be evaluated in terms of the strength of the justification for the study, the quality of your analysis and synthesis of the literature reviewed, the validity of the study methods proposed, the feasibility of the study methods proposed, and the clarity of the overall proposal.
You are expected to be an active participant in the seminar, contributing to both face-to-face and electronic discussions, and sharing interesting articles you have read, things you have learned, or questions to which you do not know the answer. In addition, members of the seminar will be expected to lead portions of particular sessions, including but not limited to their two formal presentations (as scheduled). Participation will account for 20% of the course grade.
The Honor Code, which prohibits giving or receiving unauthorized aid in the completion of assignments, is in effect in this class. Please familiarize yourself with the UNC-CH Instrument of Student Governance.