LIBR 285-03
LIBR 285-12
Research Methods in Library and Information Science
Topic: Ethnography (with a focus on technology)
Fall 2012 Greensheet

Dr. Kristen Radsliff Rebmann
E-mail
Office: Hayden, Idaho (same timezone as CA - pacific time)
Office Hours: By appointment.
Panopto Lectures: Lectures will be recorded using Panopto.  Transcripts will be available for all lectures.  See news section of our D2L course page for details and access to Panopto URLS.   
Collaborate Help Sessions (NOT MANDATORY): Several Mondays 12:00 pm to 12:30 pm or 8:00 pm - 8:30 pm.  See news section of our D2L course page for details on times and access to Collaborate URLs.

This is an online-only class using D2L, Panopto, and Collaborate. Students will be automatically enrolled in the D2L class site on the first day of the semester.

The course begins via D2L on Wednesday August 22nd. Collaborate sessions will begin on Monday, August 27th at 12:00 pm pst. I will send more information about the first session as we approach this date through D2L news and via email.

***Student attendance at the Elluminate lectures is not mandatory - recordings will be available. HOWEVER... This is a GROUP-INTENSIVE class where collaboration and participation in joint Collaborate sessions (scheduled by student groups) is mandatory.***

Course Description

Principles of ethnographic research methods and their application to technology-rich contexts. This introductory course emphasizes models of ethnographic methods of data collection and analysis. Class activities will be carried out in D2L, Elluminate, video, and audio formats. Enrollment in the D2L class is mandatory.

Course Requirements

Assignments and Exams
Students will complete a short introduction of themselves via Discussion Forum, 3 fieldnotes, and 2 field reports. I will assign 1% extra credit if students complete SOTES. Simply complete the survey and post a message (to let me know) in the SOTES-Extra Credit discussion forum at the end of the semester. More specific information regarding all assignments and extra credit will be made available on the course website.

D2L and Collaborate Participation
***Please note: This course WILL NOT PLAY OUT VIA DISCUSSION FORUM but I will use the discussion forum in D2L to discuss course key concepts and issues beyond the scope of the course. Posting in the discussion forum is not mandatory.***  I also Prepare lectures in Panopto (with transcripts) and hold Collaborate help sessions.  Attendance at the Collaborate sessions is also not mandatory - recordings will be available. ***Part of participation in this course includes listening well to others and engaging with opposing viewpoints. You are expected to be respectful and thoughtful in responding to each other and in responding to the course materials.***

Help! How do I …?
I will create a discussion forum in D2L for general questions regarding due-dates, structure of assignments, and clarification of concepts. Please post your general questions here so that all students may benefit. Feel free to contact me via email at kristen.rebmann@sjsu.edu. Placing the words: LIBR 285 and your section number in the subject field will guarantee that your email will get to my high priority folder so that I can get back to you promptly (usually within 24 to 48 hours). Sometimes you might see me in BlackboardIM or GoogleChat - feel free to talk with me this way as well.

Course Calendar

Subject to change with fair notice

Week 1 - (8/22-9/1)

Ideas

Topics: Introduction to Ethnography and Qualitative Research Documents: Greensheet, Readings, Assignment Handouts. Readings:  Completely read the following as soon as possible: Book: Fetterman, D. M. (2009)  Ethnography: Step-by-Step (3rd ed).  Newbury Park, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. EBook: Kozinets, R. (2010) Netnography: Doing Ethnographic Research Online.Thousan Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.  ***Please purchase this ebook: http://www.ebooks.com/480095/netnography/kozinets-robert-v/*** Article: Dent-Goodman, V. (2011) Applying Ethnographic Research Methods in Library and Information Science, Libri 61(1), p. 1-11.

To Do (Assignments):

View LIBR 285 QUICK START Lecture and Transcript in Panopto (See D2L News Section for Access). Attend Collaborate Help Session: Monday (8/27) @ 11:00 am pacific.

Week 2 - (9/2-9/8) 

Ideas	Topics: Ethnographic Roots in Anthropology
To Do (Assignments):	By Tuesday of this week: Brief introduction via Discussion Forum. Please follow the guidelines in the handout to introduce yourselves! View Lecture and Transcript in Panopto. Attend Collaborate Help Session: Monday - Check News in D2L for time.

Week 3 – (9/9-9/15)

Ideas	Topics: Methods and Techniques; Classic Ethnographies
To Do (Assignments):	By Saturday of this week: Send email confirmation of IRB completion of the National Institute of Health’s online workshop titled: "Protecting Human Research Participants."  The course can be located at: http://phrp.nihtraining.com/users/login.php View Lecture and Transcript in Panopto. Attend Collaborate Help Session: Monday - Check News in D2L for time.

Week 4 – (9/16-9/22)

Ideas	Topics: Ethnographic Equipment; Classic Ethnographies cont.
To Do (Assignments):	Attend Collaborate Session: NO HELP SESSION THIS WEEK.

Week 5 – (9/23-9/29)

Ideas	Topics: Anaylsis; Cognitive Ethnography; Cultures and Communities Online
To Do (Assignments):	By Saturday of this week: Send completed Fieldnote/Transcription #1 to me via D2L dropbox.  View Lecture and Transcript in Panopto. Attend Collaborate Help Session: Monday - Check News in D2L for time.

Week 6 – (9/30-10/6)

Ideas	Topics: Writing and Reports; Understanding Culture Online
To Do (Assignments):	View Lecture and Transcript in Panopto. Attend Collaborate Help Session: Monday - Check News in D2L for time.

Week 7 – MIDTERM WEEK (10/7-10/13)

Ideas	Topics: Writing and Reports; Researching Online
To Do (Assignments):	By Saturday of this week: Send completed Fieldnote/Transcription #2 to me via D2L dropbox. View Lecture and Transcript in Panopto. Attend Collaborate Help Session: Monday - Check News in D2L for time.

Week 8 – (10/14-10/20)

Ideas	Topics: Ethics; Ethnographic Research in the Classroom; Method of Netnography
To Do (Assignments):	Attend Collaborate Session: NO HELP SESSION THIS WEEK.

Week 9 – (10/21-10/27)

Ideas	Topic: Netnography: Planning Entree
To Do (Assignments):	By Saturday of this week: Send completed Literature Review to me via D2L dropbox.  View Lecture and Transcript in Panopto. Attend Collaborate Help Session: Monday - Check News in D2L for time.

Week 10 – (10/28-11/3)

Ideas	Topics: Ethnographic Approaces to LIS Evaluation; Netnography: Data Collection
To Do (Assignments):	View Lecture and Transcript in Panopto. Attend Collaborate Session: NO HELP SESSION THIS WEEK.

Week 11 – (11/4-11/10)

Ideas	Topics: Ethnographic Approaches to Studying Information Science; Netnography: Data Analysis
To Do (Assignments):	View Lecture and Transcript in Panopto. Attend Collaborate Help Session: Monday - Check News in D2L for time.

Week 12 – (11/11-11/17)

Ideas	Topics: Ethnographic Research in Online Contexts; Netnography: Representation & Evaluation
To Do (Assignments):	View Lecture and Transcript in Panopto. Attend Collaborate Help Session: Monday - Check News in D2L for time.

Week 13 – (11/18-11/24)

Ideas	Topic: Course Key Concepts.
To Do (Assignments):	Attend Collaborate Session: NO HELP SESSION THIS WEEK.

Week 14 – Catch-up & Review (11/25-12/1)

Ideas	Topic: Course Key Concepts.
To Do (Assignments):	By Monday of this week: Send Ethnographic Research Proposal to me via D2L. View Lecture and Transcript in Panopto. Attend Collaborate Help Session: Monday - Check News in D2L for time.

Week 15 – Wrap-Up (12/2-12-10)

Ideas	Topic: Course Key Concepts.
To Do (Assignments):	By Monday 12/10 (11:59 pm) of this week: Complete Quiz - Key Semester Concepts. Attend Collaborate Session: NO HELP SESSION THIS WEEK.

SJSU 2012-2013 Academic Calendar

http://www.sjsu.edu/provost/Academic_Calendars/2012-13_AY_Calendar_REVISED..pdf

top

Course Workload Expectations

Success in this course is based on the expectation that students will spend, for each unit of credit, a minimum of forty-five hours over the length of the course (normally 3 hours per unit per week with 1 of the hours used for lecture) for instruction or preparation/studying or course related activities including but not limited to internships, labs, clinical practica. Other course structures will have equivalent workload expectations as described in the syllabus.

Instructional time may include but is not limited to:
Working on posted modules or lessons prepared by the instructor; discussion forum interactions with the instructor and/or other students; making presentations and getting feedback from the instructor; attending office hours or other synchronous sessions with the instructor.

Student time outside of class:
In any seven-day period, a student is expected to be academically engaged through submitting an academic assignment; taking an exam or an interactive tutorial, or computer-assisted instruction; building websites, blogs, databases, social media presentations; attending a study group;contributing to an academic online discussion; writing papers; reading articles; conducting research; engaging in small group work.

Course Prerequisites

LIBR 200, LIBR 202, LIBR 204. 

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

1. Understand the difference between primary and secondary research.
2. Demonstrate knowledge of fundamental principles and processes of conducting research.
3. Articulate the research method(s) covered in the course, appropriately apply them, and understand their strengths and liabilities.
4. Understand appropriate data collection/analysis tools, and ethical concerns related to research.

Core Competencies (Program Learning Outcomes)

LIBR 285 supports the following core competencies:

top

Textbooks

Required Textbooks:

• Fetterman, D. M. (2009). Ethnography: Step-by-Step (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc. Available through Amazon: 1412950457.

top

Grading Scale

The standard SJSU School of Information Grading Scale is utilized for all iSchool courses:

In order to provide consistent guidelines for assessment for graduate level work in the School, these terms are applied to letter grades:

• C represents Adequate work; a grade of "C" counts for credit for the course;
• B represents Good work; a grade of "B" clearly meets the standards for graduate level work;
  For core courses in the MLIS program (not MARA) — INFO 200, INFO 202, INFO 204 — the iSchool requires that students earn a B in the course. If the grade is less than B (B- or lower) after the first attempt you will be placed on administrative probation.  You must repeat the class the following semester. If -on the second attempt- you do not pass the class with a grade of B or better (not B- but B) you will be disqualified.
  
• A represents Exceptional work; a grade of "A" will be assigned for outstanding work only.

Students are advised that it is their responsibility to maintain a 3.0 Grade Point Average (GPA).

University Policies

General Expectations, Rights and Responsibilities of the Student

As members of the academic community, students accept both the rights and responsibilities incumbent upon all members of the institution. Students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with SJSU's policies and practices pertaining to the procedures to follow if and when questions or concerns about a class arises. See University Policy S90-5 at http://www.sjsu.edu/senate/docs/S90-5.pdf. More detailed information on a variety of related topics is available in the SJSU catalog at http://info.sjsu.edu/web-dbgen/catalog/departments/LIS.html. In general, it is recommended that students begin by seeking clarification or discussing concerns with their instructor. If such conversation is not possible, or if it does not serve to address the issue, it is recommended that the student contact the Department Chair as a next step.

Dropping and Adding

Students are responsible for understanding the policies and procedures about add/drop, grade forgiveness, etc. Refer to the current semester's Catalog Policies section at http://info.sjsu.edu/static/catalog/policies.html. Add/drop deadlines can be found on the current academic year calendars document on the Academic Calendars webpage at http://www.sjsu.edu/provost/services/academic_calendars/. The Late Drop Policy is available at http://www.sjsu.edu/aars/policies/latedrops/policy/. Students should be aware of the current deadlines and penalties for dropping classes.

Information about the latest changes and news is available at the Advising Hub at http://www.sjsu.edu/advising/.

Consent for Recording of Class and Public Sharing of Instructor Material

University Policy S12-7, http://www.sjsu.edu/senate/docs/S12-7.pdf, requires students to obtain instructor's permission to record the course and the following items to be included in the syllabus:

• "Common courtesy and professional behavior dictate that you notify someone when you are recording him/her. You must obtain the instructor's permission to make audio or video recordings in this class. Such permission allows the recordings to be used for your private, study purposes only. The recordings are the intellectual property of the instructor; you have not been given any rights to reproduce or distribute the material."
  • It is suggested that the syllabus include the instructor's process for granting permission, whether in writing or orally and whether for the whole semester or on a class by class basis.
  • In classes where active participation of students or guests may be on the recording, permission of those students or guests should be obtained as well.
• "Course material developed by the instructor is the intellectual property of the instructor and cannot be shared publicly without his/her approval. You may not publicly share or upload instructor generated material for this course such as exam questions, lecture notes, or homework solutions without instructor consent."

Academic integrity

Your commitment, as a student, to learning is evidenced by your enrollment at San Jose State University. The University Academic Integrity Policy F15-7 at http://www.sjsu.edu/senate/docs/F15-7.pdf requires you to be honest in all your academic course work. Faculty members are required to report all infractions to the office of Student Conduct and Ethical Development. The Student Conduct and Ethical Development website is available at http://www.sjsu.edu/studentconduct/.

Campus Policy in Compliance with the American Disabilities Act

If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, or if you need to make special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please make an appointment with me as soon as possible, or see me during office hours. Presidential Directive 97-03 at http://www.sjsu.edu/president/docs/directives/PD_1997-03.pdf requires that students with disabilities requesting accommodations must register with the Accessible Education Center (AEC) at http://www.sjsu.edu/aec to establish a record of their disability.

Download Adobe Acrobat Reader to access PDF files.

More accessibility resources.