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GEOG 437

QUALITATIVE METHODS IN GEOGRAPHY

Fall 2017

Mondays and Wednesday 9:30-10:45am

Bolton Hall B87

Instructor: Professor Anna Mansson McGinty (Geography and Women’s and Gender Studies)

Office: Bolton Hall 478

Email: mansson@uwm.edu

Office Hours: Mondays 1:00-3:00pm or by appointment

Course Description:

This course explores the purpose, inquiries, and theories of qualitative research. While

qualitative research is a multidisciplinary approach, in this class we will especially focus on how

different kinds of qualitative methods are applied to human geography. This course covers a

range of qualitative research methods that have been instrumental to geographers, including

interviews, participant observations, ethnography, action and community research, and discourse

analysis.

We will focus on the research process, from formulating research questions, selecting an

appropriate method to approach the posed questions, to analyzing data and presenting the

findings. An important “hands-on” component of the class is to offer the students the opportunity

to try out some of the methods themselves. Smaller data collection assignments and a mini

research project will help students to grasp complex concepts and apply them to their own work.

We will also examine the different epistemological approaches to research and knowledge,

exploring the nature of social knowledge and the issues of positionality and self-reflexivity.

These kinds of inquiries will allow the students to contemplate the politics of representation and

the intricate relationship between observer and observed, researcher and researched, and the

ethical issues that are raised while studying other worlds. What kinds of knowledge are

produced? What is the positionality of the researcher? Who do we write for? How do we

interpret and present qualitative data to scholarly audiences?

Learning Objectives:

1. To familiarize students with a variety of qualitative methods.

2. To acquaint students with current discussions on qualitative research, including the

critique of traditional empiricist approaches to scientific objectivity and “universal

truths.”

3. Critically engage questions such as, how and by whom is knowledge produced and

validated? What is the relationship of the researcher to the researched? How does the

social location (race, class, sexual identity, etc.) of the researcher impact the research

process? What are the issues (ethical, political, epistemological, methodological) that

arise in studying "others"?

4. To provide students with hands-on experience with some of the joys and dilemmas of

doing research, including: designing and conducting an interview and participant

observation and writing a research proposal.

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Required Readings (2 books):

Hay, Ian. 2016. Qualitative Research Methods in Human Geography, 4th

Edition. Oxford:

Oxford University Press. ISBN: 9780195430158. Price approx.: $40.00-60.00 (please make

sure to get the right edition!) Limb, Melanie & Dwyer, Claire (eds.). 2001. Qualitative Methodologies for Geographers. New

York: Oxford University Press. (Listed below in class schedule as QMG). ISBN: 0340742267.

Price approx. Used: $23.00

Articles (marked with an asterisk (*) are available on D2L):

Besides the two text books, we will be reading several journal articles and book chapters.

Cope, M. 2002. “Feminist epistemology in geography.” In: Feminist Geography in Practice:

Research and Methods, ed. Pamela Moss. Malden, MA: Blackwell, pp. 43-56.

Day, Kristin. 2001. “Constructing Masculinity and Women’s Fear in Public Space in Irvine,

California,” Gender, Place, and Culture, 8:109-127.

Dwyer, Clair. 1999. “Veiled Meanings: British Muslim Women and the Negotiation of

Difference,” Gender, Place and Culture: A Journal of Feminist Geography. 6(1):5-26.

Dwyer, Clair. 2003 ‘Where are you from?’: Young British Muslim women and the making of

‘home’ In Postcolonial Geographies, eds. Alison Blunt & Cheryl McEwan. pp. 184-199.

Hopkins, Peter. 2007. “Young Muslim men’s experiences of local landscapes after 11 September

2001” In Geographies of Muslim Identities. Diaspora, Gender, and Belonging. Ashgate.

Mansson McGinty, Anna. 2014. “Emotional Geographies of Veiling: The Meanings of the Hijab

for Five Palestinian American Muslim Women.” Gender Place and Culture.

Mansson McGinty, Anna, Sziarto, Kristin, and Seymour-Jorn, Caroline. 2013. “Researching

Within and Against Islamophobia: A Collaboration Project with Muslim Communities.” Social

and Cultural Geography. 14 (1): 1-22.

Martin, Emily. 1991. “The Egg and the Sperm. How Science Has Constructed a Romance Based

on Stereotypical Male-Female Role” Signs, Vol. 16, No. 3, pp. 485-501. Signs, Vol. 15, No. 1,

pp. 7-33

Muños, Susana María and Marta María Maldonado. 2012. “Counterstories of college persistence

by undocumented Mexicana students: navigating race, class, gender, and legal status.

International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education. 25(3): 293-315.

Schwandt, T. 2000. “Three epistemological stances for qualitative inquiry: interpretivism,

hermeneutics, and constructionism,” in N. Denzin and Y. Lincoln (eds.). Handbook of

Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, pp. 189-213.

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Silverman, D. 2005.Using Theories, Chapter 7. In: Doing Qualitative Research (2nd

edition).

Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, pp. 95-108. y and 'race' ‘, in Qualitative Methodologies for Geographers, Limb M. and Dwyer C, London, pp 87-100. Sziarto, K., Mansson McGinty, A. and C. Seymour-Jorn. 2014. Diverse Muslims in a Racialized

Landscape: Race, Ethnicity, Islamophobia, and Urban Space in Milwaukee, WI. Journal of

Muslim Minority Affairs. 34(1): 1-21.

Course Requirements:

Attendance and Participation 15%:

Your attendance and participation are salient. More than three absences will result in a lowered

grade. If you miss more than three classes, your attendance grade will be downgraded by one

point/missed class (for example from A to A-, from A- to B+, from B+ to B etc.). In case of

sickness and other emergencies, please provide me with a doctor’s note.

In-class Reading Response Essays 20%:

Data collection assignments 15%:

Details of the three assignments will be handed out in class. These assignments will give you

“hands-on” experience of a couple of research methods.

Research Proposal (20%):

You will have the opportunity to write a research proposal about 6-8 pages long, excluding the

bibliography, for a research project. The proposal should demonstrate comprehension and

sensitivity to the material covered in the course, and draw on at least 3 course readings. The

proposal is due in class week 13.

The research proposal should include the following:

1. A clear and concise statement of the research problem. It may be formulated as a

problem to be examined or a question to be explored.

2. The background, purpose, and relevance of your research topic, including a review of

the relevant literature

3. A description of the methodology and research design, including the methodological

perspective and your methods for gathering data (such as interviews, observations,

discourse analysis, media analysis) and a time table for the research project.

4. Include anticipated concerns and problems related to your project related to ethics,

limitations, insider/outsider status, consent, and confidentiality.

This research proposal should be the beginning of and provide the foundation to your mini

research project due in the end of the semester. Your paper assignments must be submitted on

time. Late papers (research proposal and research project) will be downgraded by one full letter

grade per day.

Mini Research Project (25%):

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Rather than a final exam, you will conduct your own mini research project. This assignment

provides the opportunity for you to engage in the issues and ideas we have talked about during

the semester, and examine them in practice. The topic and focus of your research study has to be

approved by me in advance, and I strongly recommend that your project is based on the research

design you finished earlier. The assignment includes data gathering, shorter analysis of the data,

and a sensitive reflection on the research method and the research process. The report should be

at least 8 pages long excluding the bibliography. It should be a well-written and reflective report

in which you analyze the method, the questions that arose during your fieldwork, what you

learned from doing it, as well as a shorter analysis of your findings. The research paper is due on

Monday, May 11.

1. Clearly state the research purpose and the questions guiding this sample research in a

few sentences.

2. Describe the selection and the recruitment of research participant or the “field” if

drawing on observations.

3. What are your findings? For example, what are the major themes that emerge in the

interview or observation? How do you interpret them? Let your research surprise you:

is there anything new and unexpected that emerged during your research? What have

you learned? Has this been explored and discussed in existing literature? Selectively

use and discuss quotes or field notes to illustrate.

4. What have you learned about the particular research method you chose? Reflect

critically on your own experience of doing research, relating your experiences to

course readings.

5. Attach an appendix to your paper that include interview questions, transcribed parts

of your interview, or field notes.

Paper format for both assignments:

- Include a title page that includes your name, the title of your assignment, course name

and name of instructor.

- Written assignments should be double-spaces, with 12-point font (Times New Roman)

and standard margins.

- Number all pages.

- Use proper citation. All your sources need to be cited and listed in the bibliography,

including web sites and newspaper articles.

- You may use any citation style of your choice.

Your paper assignments must be submitted on time. Late papers (research proposal and research

project) will be downgraded by one full letter grade per day.

Oral presentation: 5%

During the last week of classes, students will make a shorter individual presentation to the class

on what they learned from their “mini fieldwork” drawing on class readings and discussions.

Credit Hours:

The university has asked departments to break down for students how much time they will spend

working on various aspects of their classes.

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As the UW System assumes “that study leading to one semester credit represents an investment

of time by the average student of not fewer than 48 hours” (UWS ACPS 4), a 3-credit course

such as this one will require a minimum of 144 (3 x 48) hours of your time. You may find it

necessary to spend additional time on a course; the numbers below only indicate that the course

will not require any less of your time.

In a traditional, or face-to-face, course like this one, you will spend a minimum of

• 40 hours in the classroom

• 80 hours preparing for class, which may include reading, note taking, completing minor

exercises and assignments, and discussing course topics with classmates and the instructor in

structured settings

• 24 hours preparing for and writing major papers and/or exams.

Again, please note that these are minimums.

Grades and Assessment:

All assignments, including Discussion Posts, Research Proposal and Mini Research Project, in

this course will be graded on:

the analytical strength, the complexity and originality of your ideas

comprehension of assigned readings

how well you substantiate your claims with carefully selected evidence

the clarity and general competence of your writing

A/A- Your work demonstrates good understanding and critical, thoughtful engagement with the

ideas articulated in the articles, previous readings, and the issues under discussion. Your

response is insightful, strong, convincing, well-argued, and your writing is free of technical

errors (i.e., free of syntax, punctuation, and grammatical errors).

B/B- Your work demonstrates that you are relatively engaged with the readings and that you are

attempting to think about and respond critically (i.e. thoughtfully and analytically) to what you

have read. Your work is relatively coherent and your writing is relatively free of technical errors

(i.e., relatively free of syntax, punctuation, and grammatical errors).

C/C- Your work is adequate, but not exceptional in any way. Your work may be relatively

coherent but lacks a critical (i.e., thoughtful and analytical) component. Your writing contains

several technical errors.

D/D- You submitted work, but it’s too short to develop ideas, or way off the point, or technically

so sloppy as to interfere with my ability to understand what you have to say.

F You failed to submit the required work.

Grade distribution

A (100-94%) B- (80-83%) D+ (67-69%)

A- (90-93%) C+ (77-79%) D (64-66%)

B+ (87-89%) C (74-76%) D- (60-63%)

B (84-86%) C- (70-73%) F (<60%)

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Course policies:

Academic misconduct:

Plagiarism is when you copy someone else’s work and words and pass it off as your own. For

example, you cannot “cut and paste” text from any sources (e.g. book, article, report, instructor’s

lecture notes, newspaper, websites etc.) without proper attribution.

Plagiarism is a serious violation of academic integrity and will be prosecuted in accordance with

university policies and procedures as set out in UWS 14. The standard penalty for plagiarism in

this course will be a failing grade (F) in the course. The instructor will also report academic

misconduct to the University. For information on UWM’s policies on plagiarism:

http://www4.uwm.edu/acad_aff/policy/academicmisconduct.cfm

Disability Information

If you will need accommodations in order to meet any of the requirements of this course, please

contact me as soon as possible. If you have not already done so, you should also contact the

Student Accessibility Center at 229-6287.

Accommodation for Religious Observances

Students will be allowed to complete assignments that are missed because of a religious

observance.

For further information on university policies, refer to

http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/SecU/SyllabusLinks.pdf (see also last page in the syllabus)

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Course schedule:

Week 1

Introducing Qualitative Research

in Human Geography

Introduction to the class, expectations and requirements, and

each other.

Introduction

Hay, Chapter 1

Week 2

Different Epistemological Stances

Reflect on the different epistemological approaches. What

are the implications of these different theories of knowledge

and how and what we know?

“Using theory,” Silverman*

“Three epistemological stances for qualitative inquiry:

interpretivism, hermeneutics, and constructionism,”

Schwandt*

“Feminist epistemology in geography,” Cope*

Week 3

Ethical and political reflections

and questions – positionality and

power

Reflect on the different ethical and political questions and

problems that may arise during the research process.

Hay, Chapter 2 and 3

“Interpretation, representation, positionality,” Ley and

Mountz, (in QMG),

“Insiders” and/or “outsiders”: positionality, theory and

praxis,* Mohammad (in QMG)

“Cross-cultural research,” Skelton, (in QMG)

Week 4

Research Design and Proposal

Discuss what makes a research proposal a good proposal.

Hay, Chapter 4 and 16

“Doing qualitative research,” Smith (in QMG)

Negotiating the personal and political in critical qualitative

geography, Kobayashi (in QMG)

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“At the drawing board,” Valentine (in QMG)

Reflective assignment on positionality and power due

Week 5

“Doing” Qualitative Research

Interviewing

Reflect on the intricate interpersonal relationship of in-depth

interviews. What are the benefits of interviews as a method?

Hay, Chapter 6

“Shared Lives,” Aitken (in QMG)

“Constructing Masculinity and Women’s Fear in Public

Space in Irvine, California,” Day*

Week 6

Interviewing (cont’d)

“Emotional geographies of veiling,” Mansson McGinty*

“Counter stories of college persistence by undocumented

Mexicana students,” Muñoz and Maldonado*

Conduct your own interview this week and transcribe it.

Discuss in class on Wednesday.

Week 7

Focus Group

Discuss the benefits and dynamics of focus groups.

Hay, Chapter 8

“The focus group experience,” Bedford & Burgess (in QMG)

“Veiled Meanings: British Muslim Women and the

Negotiation of Difference,” Dwyer*

“Young Muslim men’s experiences of local landscapes after

11 September 2001,” Hopkins*

Data collection (interview) assignment due

Week 8

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Week 9

MIDTERM

Review of readings and discussions in class

Review of material covered Week 1-7

Midterm (same time and place as regular class)

Week 10

Ethnography and (Participant)

Observations

What is ethnography? What are some of the dilemmas and

strengths with ethnography?

Hay, Chapter 12

“Fieldwork in the Trenches,” Dowler (in QMG)

“Reflexivity and positionality in feminist fieldwork

revisited,” Nagar and Geiger*

Week 11

Discourse and Textual Analysis

(including media analysis)

Hay, Chapter 11

“Starving in Cyberspace,” Day and Key*

“The egg and the sperm,” Martin*

Week 12

Surveys and Questionnaires

Reflect on the significant benefits with survey research, but

also the many questions of representation and design that it

raises.

Hay, Chapter 10

“Diverse Muslims in a Racialized Landscape,” Sziarto et al.*

“Researching Within and Against Islamophobia,” Mansson

McGinty et al.*

Data collection (observation) assignment due

Week 13

Interpreting and Representing

Qualitative Research

Field Notes and Coding

Hay, Chapter 14

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“Making sense of qualitative data,” Jackson (in QMG)

Research Proposal Due

Week 14

Research Week

This week is designated for your research project, finishing

up your data collection, research relevant literature, and

meeting with me. In class students will discuss their progress

and give feedback in groups.

Week 15

Representing research

Hay, Chapter 17 and 18

“From where I write,” Butler (in QMG)

Week 16

Oral Presentations

Each student gives a ten minutes long presentation of their

research project

Mini Research Project due May 13th

Syllabus Addendum:

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Policy Links1

1. Students with disabilities. Notice to these students should appear prominently in the syllabus so

that special accommodations are provided in a timely manner.

http://www4.uwm.edu/sac/SACltr.pdf

2. Religious observances. Accommodations for absences due to religious observance should be

noted.http://www4.uwm.edu/secu/docs/other/S1.5.htm

3. Students called to active military duty. Accommodations for absences due to call-up of reserves to

active military duty should be noted.

Students: http://www4.uwm.edu/current_students/military_call_up.cfm

Employees: http://www4.uwm.edu/secu/docs/other/S40.htm

(Editorially Revised, 3/25/09)

4. Incompletes. A notation of "incomplete" may be given in lieu of a final grade to a student who has

carried a subject successfully until the end of a semester but who, because of illness or other unusual

and substantiated cause beyond the student's control, has been unable to take or complete the final

examination or to complete some limited amount of term work.

http://www4.uwm.edu/secu/docs/other/S31.pdf

5. Discriminatory conduct (such as sexual harassment). Discriminatory conduct will not be tolerated by the

University. It poisons the work and learning environment of the University and threatens the careers,

educational experience, and well-being of students, faculty, and staff.

http://www4.uwm.edu/secu/docs/other/S47.pdf

6. Academic misconduct. Cheating on exams or plagiarism are violations of the academic honor code

and carry severe sanctions, including failing a course or even suspension or dismissal from the

University. http://www4.uwm.edu/acad_aff/policy/academicmisconduct.cfm

7. Complaint procedures. Students may direct complaints to the head of the academic unit or department in

which the complaint occurs. If the complaint allegedly violates a specific university policy, it may be

directed to the head of the department or academic unit in which the complaint occurred or to the

appropriate university office responsible for enforcing the policy.

http://www4.uwm.edu/secu/docs/other/S49.7.htm

8. Grade appeal procedures. A student may appeal a grade on the grounds that it is based on a capricious or

arbitrary decision of the course instructor. Such an appeal shall follow the established procedures

adopted by the department, college, or school in which the course resides or in the case of graduate

students, the Graduate School. These procedures are available in writing from the respective department

chairperson or the Academic Dean of the College/School.

http://www4.uwm.edu/secu/docs/other/S28.htm

9. Other The final exam requirement, the final exam date requirement, etc.

http://www4.uwm.edu/secu/docs/other/S22.htm

Syllabus Addendum:

1 Supplement to UWM FACULTY DOCUMENT NO. 1895, October 21, 1993; Revised March 16, 2006; Revised

January 24, 2008; Editorially Revised, 8/26/11.

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Credit Hours

The university has asked departments to break down for students how much time they will spend

working on various aspects of their classes.

As the UW System assumes “that study leading to one semester credit represents an investment

of time by the average student of not fewer than 48 hours” (UWS ACPS 4), a 3-credit course

such as this one will require a minimum of 144 (3 x 48) hours of your time. You may find it

necessary to spend additional time on a course; the numbers below only indicate that the course

will not require any less of your time.

If this is a traditional, or face-to-face course, you will spend a minimum of

37.5 hours in the classroom

75 hours preparing for class, which may include reading, note taking, completing minor

exercises and assignments, and discussing course topics with classmates and the instructor in

structured settings

31.5 hours preparing for and writing major papers and/or exams.

If this is an online course, you will spend a minimum of

37.5 hours reviewing instructional materials prepared by your instructor and placed online

75 hours preparing for class, which may include reading, note taking, completing minor

exercises and assignments, and discussing course topics with classmates and the instructor in

structured settings

31.5 hours preparing for and writing major papers and/or exams.

If this is a hybrid course, you will spend a minimum of

18.75 hours in the classroom

18.75 hours reviewing instructional materials prepared by your instructor and placed online

75 hours preparing for class, which may include reading, note taking, completing minor

exercises and assignments, and discussing course topics with classmates and the instructor in

structured settings

31.5 hours preparing for and writing major papers and/or exams. Notes

The breakdown above is for a standard 15-week semester. In a 16-week semester, the numbers breakdown above

changes as follows. Traditional: 40 hours in classroom, 80 for preparation, 24 for papers and exams; online: 40

hours of online instruction, 80 for preparation, 24 for papers and exams; hybrid: 20 hours in classroom, 20 for online

instruction, 80 hours for preparation, 24 for papers and exams. Again, these are minimums.

UWM Credit Hour Policy, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Faculty Document No. 2838, can be found at

https://www4.uwm.edu/secu/docs/faculty/2838_Credit_Hour_Policy.pdf.

UWS ACPS 4, the University Of Wisconsin System Policy On Academic Year Definition And Assorted

Derivatives, can be found at http://www.uwsa.edu/acss/acps/acps4.pdf.