- Air-L - lists.aoir.org

Re: research methods
by Jonathan Sterne 14 Jun '03

14 Jun '03

Hey Andrew, Two books I'd recommend: C. Wright Mills, _The Sociological Imagination_ Bourdieu and Wacquant, _An Invitation to Reflexive Sociology_ (really just the third section for a methods course) Neither is comm or method specific, but they are, in my opinion, two of the most important books ever written on research design. Mills attacks the fetishization of theory and method, and closes with a really derisory description of his work patterns. Some of the book is dated, but it's amazing how much of it ISN'T dated. The third section of the _Invitation_ is about doing research that matters and learning to ask intelligent and important questions before applying method. I've taught both books at the graduate level with great success. You'll need some methodologies as well (remember: a methodology is a theory or description of a method, not the method itself), but these Mills and Bourdieu will give you something many methodologies don't. Best, --Jonathan

1 0

RE: [Air-l] Communication research Methods
by James Watt 14 Jun '03

14 Jun '03

Copies of the text "Research Methods for Communication Science" (Watt and van den Berg), originally published by Allyn & Bacon, are available on-line at http://www.llc.rpi.edu/web/ResearchMethodsForCommunicationScience/. It's aimed at advanced undergraduate or beginning graduate students, and has been used at a number of universities. We have recovered the copyright for this book, and permission for individual use (single copy) is granted on the opening page. It might be useful to students as an on-line resource. I'd like to try an "open source" publishing experiment with this book, expanding it to include many more specialized topics, examples (hopefully, interactive), and teaching aids contributed by users. The model would be the one developed by open-source computing communities: a review board that accepts submissions from developers, verifies their utility and accuracy, and then makes them available to the user community. If anyone is interested in this experiment, please contact me off-list. ======================================================== James H. Watt Professor and Chair, Department of Language, Literature, and Communication Director, Social and Behavioral Research Laboratory Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 110 8th Street, Sage Lab 4708 Troy, NY 12180-3590 email: wattj(a)rpi.edu voice: (518) 276-2784 fax: (518) 276-4092

2 1

Re: [Air-l] Research Methods Texts
by Andrew Herman 13 Jun '03

13 Jun '03

Thanks, Fred. Andrew Herman, Ph. D. Visiting Associate Professor of Sociology College of the Holy Cross Worcester, MA 01610 (508) 793-2531 >>> fturner(a)stanford.edu 06/13/03 02:57 AM >>> Andrew -- For qualitative methods, I like Klaus Bruhn Jensen and Nicholas Jankowski's Handbook of Qualitative Methodologies for Mass Communication Research. Nice clear descriptions and examples of core approaches. Best, Fred ___________________________________________________________________ Fred Turner Assistant Professor Dept. of Communication Building 120 Stanford University Stanford, CA 94305-2050 O) 650-723-0706 Fax) 650-725-2472 fturner(a)stanford.edu

1 0

RE: [Air-l] Communication research Methods
by Andrew Herman 12 Jun '03

12 Jun '03

Nancy- Yes. I quite like their work as well, especially becuase they are attentive to the epistemological issuesw involved with methods. How do comm studies students relate to the sociology involved in therse texts? AH Andrew Herman, Ph. D. Visiting Associate Professor of Sociology College of the Holy Cross Worcester, MA 01610 (508) 793-2531 >>> nbaym(a)ku.edu 06/12/03 13:52 PM >>> A really good qualitative methods book is David Silverstone's _Analysing Qualitative Data_ . For ethnography the various books by Hammersley and/or Atkinson are excellent. -- Nancy Baym http://www.ku.edu/home/nbaym Communication Studies, University of Kansas 102 Bailey Hall, 1440 Jayhawk Blvd., Lawrence, KS 66045, USA Association of Internet Researchers: http://aoir.org _______________________________________________ Air-l mailing list Air-l(a)aoir.org http://www.aoir.org/mailman/listinfo/air-l

2 1

RE: [Air-l] Communication research Methods
by Kumiko Aoki, Ph.D. 12 Jun '03

12 Jun '03

I've been teaching communication research methods courses for five years and found the following textbooks useful. Wimmer, R.D. and Dominick, J.R. (2003). Mass Media Research: An Introduction. 7th ed. * Good introductory textbook with ample examples of practical applications in mass media research. I use this textbook for my undergraduate research course. Frey, L R., Botan, C. H., and Kreps, G L. (2000). Investigating Communication: An Introduction Research Methods. 2nd Ed. * Introductory, but comprehensive textbook with detailed explanation of statistical analyses. I used to use this book for my graduate research course. Reinard, J.C. (2001). Introduction to Communication Research. 3rd ed. * Another introductory textbook focusing on quantitative research in communication. Babbie, E. (2004). The Practice of Social Research. 10th ed. * This is more for sociological research than communication research. But, the author explains concepts well in a friendly manner. I use this textbook for my graduate research course. Hope this helps. Kumiko Aoki, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Communication Boston University 640 Commonwealth Ave. Boston, MA 02215 tel: 617/358-1305 fax: 617/358-1301 email: kaoki(a)bu.edu homepage: http://people.bu.edu/kaoki "If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door." > Date: Wed, 11 Jun 2003 15:13:50 -0400 > From: "Andrew Herman" <aherman(a)holycross.edu> > To: <air-l(a)aoir.org> > Subject: [Air-l] Communication research Methods > Reply-To: air-l(a)aoir.org > > Friends- > > I wil be teaching a graduate level course on communications research = > methods next year for the very first time. Can any of you > recommend some = > good texts to use? > > Thanks, > > AH > > Andrew Herman, Ph. D. > Visiting Associate Professor of Sociology > College of the Holy Cross > Worcester, MA 01610 > (508) 793-2531 >

2 1

The Cyberculture Canon
by Matthew Jason Eliot 12 Jun '03

12 Jun '03

Thanks to everyone who responded to my question about cyberculture anthologies. In case you wanted a summary, I've attached my responses below. As the cyberculture field develops toward being a discipline, thoughts of a disciplinary canon are perhaps inevitable. I am curoisu to what people feel/think about the list. Too broad? Needs to be stratified? I'm doing an analysis of this literature as a group and am intersted in your opinions... Grazie, Matt Eliot Doc Student Technical Communication University of Washington Here are the 20 anthologies that folks on this list suggested as being central to or defining of the field: 1) Communication and Cyberspace: Social Interaction in an Electronic Environment, edited by Lance Strate, Ron L. Jacobson, and Stephanie Gibson. (Hampton Press, 2003). 2) Communities in Cyberspace, edited by Marc Smith and Peter Kollock (Routledge, 1997). 3) Computers and Technical Communication, edited by Stuart Selber. (Ablex/ATTW Studies in Technical Communication, 1997). 4) Cultures of Internet: Virtual Spaces, Real Histories, Living Bodies, edited by Rob Shields. (Sage, 1996). 5) The Cybercultures Reader, edited by David Bell and Barbara M. Kennedy. (Routledge, 2000). 6) CyberSociety: Computer-Mediated Communication & Community, edited by Steven Jones. (Sage, 1995). 7) CyberSociety 2.0: Revisiting CMC and Community, edited by Steven Jones. (Sage, 1998). 8) Cyberspace, First Steps, edited by Michael Benedikt. (MIT Press, 1991). 9) Electronic Literacies in the Workplace, edited by Patricia Sullivan & Jennie Dautermann. (NCTE and Computers and Composition, 1996). 10) Global Literacies and the World Wide Web, edited by Gail Hawisher and Cynthia Selfe. (Routledge, 1999) 11) High Wired: On the Design, Use, and Theory of Educational MOOs, edited by Cynthia Haynes and Jan Rune Holmevik. (University of Michigan Press, 1998). 12) Internet Culture, edited by David Porter. (Routledge, 1997). 13) The New Media Reader, edited by Noah Wardrip-Fruin and Nick Montfort. (MIT Press, 2003). 14) Processed Lives: Gender and Technology in Everyday Life, edited by Jennifer Terry and Melodie Calvert. (Routledge, 1997). 15) Race in Cyberspace, edited by Beth Kolko, Lisa Nakamura and Gil Rodman. (Routledge, 2000). 16) Reading Digital Culture, edited by David Trend. (Blackwell, 2001). 17) Resisting the Virtual Life: The Culture and Politics of Information, edited by James Brook and Ian Boa. (City Lights Press, 1995). 18) Virtual Culture: Identity and Communication in Cybersociety, edited by Steven Jones. (Sage,1997). 19) Wired Women: Gender and New Realities in Cyberspace, edited by Lynn Cherny and Elizabeth Reba Weise. (Seal Press, 1996). 20) The World Wide Web and Contemporary Cultural Theory, edited by Andrew Herman and Thomas Swiss. (Routledge, 2000).

1 0

Research Methods Texts
by Fred Turner 12 Jun '03

12 Jun '03

Andrew -- For qualitative methods, I like Klaus Bruhn Jensen and Nicholas Jankowski's Handbook of Qualitative Methodologies for Mass Communication Research. Nice clear descriptions and examples of core approaches. Best, Fred ___________________________________________________________________ Fred Turner Assistant Professor Dept. of Communication Building 120 Stanford University Stanford, CA 94305-2050 O) 650-723-0706 Fax) 650-725-2472 fturner(a)stanford.edu

1 0

Re: [Air-l] Communication research Methods
by Andrew Herman 12 Jun '03

12 Jun '03

Thank you very much--it looks like it just about covers everything? Andrew Herman, Ph. D. Visiting Associate Professor of Sociology College of the Holy Cross Worcester, MA 01610 (508) 793-2531 >>> ccourtri(a)indiana.edu 06/12/03 08:22 AM >>> I like this one for qualitative methods - has quite some relationship to the bodies of evidence used in the field of communications: Bauer, M. W., & Gaskell, G. (Eds.). (2000). Qualitative researching with text, image and sound: A practical handbook. London: Sage. List of chapters: Introduction - Bauer & Gaskell 1 Quality, quantity and knowledge interests: avoiding confusions - Bauer, Gaskell, Nicholas C. Allum Part I Constructing a research corpus 2 Corpus construction: a principle for qualitative data collection - Bauer & Bas Aarts 3 Individual and group interviewing - Gaskell 4 Narrative interviewing - Sandra Jovchelovitch & Bauer 5 Episodic interviewing - Uwe Flick 6 Video, film and photographs as research documents - Peter Loizos 7 Bemetology: towards continuous (self-) observation and personality assessment - Gerhard Faßnacht Part II Analytic approaches for text, image and sound 8 Classical content analysis: a review - Bauer 9 Argumentation analysis - Miltos Liakopoulos 10 Discourse analysis - Rosalind Gill 11 Analysis of conversation and talk - Greg Myers 12 Rhetorical analysis - Joan Leach 13 Semiotic analysis of still images - Gemma Penn 14 Analysis of moving images - Diana Rose 15 Analysing noise and music as social data - Bauer Part III Computer assistance 16 Computer-assisted analysis: coding and indexing - Udo Kelle 17 Keywords in context: statistical analysis of text features - Nicole Kromberger & Wolfgang Wagner Part IV Issues of good practice 18 Fallacies in interpreting historical and social data - Robert W.D. Boyce 19 Toward public accountability: beyond sampling, reliability and validity - Gaskell & Bauer Glossary Andrew Herman wrote: > Friends- > > I wil be teaching a graduate level course on communications research methods next year for the very first time. Can any of you recommend some good texts to use? > > Thanks, > > AH > > Andrew Herman, Ph. D. > Visiting Associate Professor of Sociology > College of the Holy Cross > Worcester, MA 01610 > (508) 793-2531 > _______________________________________________ Air-l mailing list Air-l(a)aoir.org http://www.aoir.org/mailman/listinfo/air-l

1 0

CfP Designing for Civil Society Workshop
by Walker, Steve [IES] 12 Jun '03

12 Jun '03

CALL FOR PARTICIPATION DESIGNING FOR CIVIL SOCIETY WORKSHOP AT HCI 2003 MONDAY 8TH SEPTEMBER 2003, UNIVERSITY OF BATH, UK Andy Dearden Computing Research Centre Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield UK, S1 1WB Tel: +44 114 225 2916 Fax: +44 114 225 3161 email: a.m.dearden(a)shu.ac.uk Steve Walker School of Information Management Leeds Metropolitan University Beckett Park, Leeds, LS6 3QS Tel: +44 113 283 7448 Fax: +44 113 283 7599 email: s.walker(a)lmu.ac.uk 1. INTRODUCTION This workshop will bring together campaigners, practitioners and researchers to examine the use of technology by the organisations of civil society, such as trade unions, NGOs, campaign groups and charities. The workshop will explore how existing knowledge of Human Computer Interaction (HCI), in its broadest senses, can be applied by such groups, and what questions such groups pose for our emerging understanding of HCI. We invite submissions from practitioners, designers, campaign organisers, activists and researchers who are: * involved in designing for, or supporting NGOs, trade-unions, community, campaigning or voluntary groups; * concerned with the relationship between 'the network society', democracy and the capabilities of socially excluded groups and people in developing countries; * interested in understanding the impact of electronically mediated communication on the development of civil society. If you are interested in participating, please email an expression of interest to the organisers (at s.walker(a)lmu.ac.uk) by July 4th. Participants will be asked to submit a 1-4 page statement which may take the form of: - case studies of design experiences (successful or unsuccessful) or innovative applications and campaigns; - discussions or examples of current issues and challenges; - position papers on development or evaluation methods - discussions of the relation between on- and offline organising; - relevant personal experiences. Statements should include a short paragraph detailing relevant personal experience. 2. IMPORTANT DATES * Expressions of interest - 4th July 2003 * Position papers/statements - 14th July * Notification of acceptance - 17th July * Workshop - 8th September 2003, at HCI 2003 University of Bath 3. WHY A WORKSHOP The development of the internet has opened up many opportunities for a range of progressive social movements and organisations. Groups promoting (for example) women's rights, human rights, disability rights, community development, third world development, industrial democracy and more recently anti-globalisation and global justice groups are all developing ways of using technology to further social ends, as have others with less desirable ends such as hate groups and a variety of cults. The use and development of information systems amongst these groups raise both practical and theoretical challenges for HCI and related disciplines. We know that social and organisational context are critical in designing appropriate technology. Therefore, methods developed for the needs of commercial organisations may not be appropriate to support socially-oriented organisations in their use of information and communication technology. Indeed, such methods may be antithetical to their values. Many social organisations may want to develop and apply design methodologies which more closely reflect their own values. The needs of such social movements differ from industrial applications of HCI because they: * rely heavily on the work of volunteers who are not professionally trained in their area of work; * may involve groups of individuals who are very widely distributed with limited opportunities for face-to-face communication; * exhibit complex interwoven value systems beyond commercial profit and 'efficiency'; * typically suffer from extreme shortages of resources; * may be engaged in conflict with other social actors; * often aim to reach individuals with limited access to information and communication technology (e.g. in developing countries, in disadvantaged areas of the developed world, or people with disabilities or suffering other forms of social exclusion). 4. THE AIMS OF THE WORKSHOP This workshop posits a number of key questions for practitioners and researchers, including but not limited to: * How can we design systems to enable and encourage fair access and participatory democracy in a world of computer mediated communication and digital divides? * How might practitioners maximise the impact of electronic tools on their campaigning goals? * Which HCI techniques are appropriate for such movements and organisations, and is there a need to develop new methods and techniques? * What kinds of design and development tools can be made available for (generally inexperienced) volunteers to make best use of available technologies? * How can we study the interactions between participants in social movements and systems designed to support them? * How does engagement with electronic campaigns relate to 'real world' activism? * What are the challenges in attempting to counter undesirable developments, e.g. campaigning by racist or sectarian groups, and how might this differ when computer mediated methods are used? * Can open-source be used to support such groups, without technical and usability challenges undermining dissemination? * How can campaigns integrate electronic and physical information systems to maintain involvement? * How can social movements organise across boundaries of language, organisations and culture? * How does the globalisation and computerisation of campaigning impact on the developing world? * How might different developments of internet governance arrangements and intellectual property rights relate to such groups? 5. PROPOSED WORKSHOP STRUCTURE The morning session will consist of a short introduction, followed by an opportunity for each participant to present their initial position statements / case studies. The afternoon session will consist of a set of break-out groups to address selected topics from those above. The groups will report back and the final part of the workshop will be given over to planning future activities and support networks. 6. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION http://www.bcs-hci.org.uk/hci2003/confprog-wk.asp

1 0

Communication research Methods
by Andrew Herman 12 Jun '03

12 Jun '03

Friends- I wil be teaching a graduate level course on communications research methods next year for the very first time. Can any of you recommend some good texts to use? Thanks, AH Andrew Herman, Ph. D. Visiting Associate Professor of Sociology College of the Holy Cross Worcester, MA 01610 (508) 793-2531

2 1