NEIU 241 Skills for Inquiry

JUST 241

NEIU JUSTICE STUDIES

SKILLS FOR INQUIRY

Fall 2008

DR. JUNE TERPSTRA

Course Description

Development of analytic and writing skills. Introduction to the methodology of the social sciences. Students develop research designs and initiate studies on justice studies topics Should be taken immediately after JUST 101 or JUST 201. Prereq: JUST-101

This class focuses on inquiry skills in conducting ethnographies.  Ethnographic studies focus on how people practice their cultural, spiritual, economic and organizational values and beliefs in everyday life.  These research projects are concerned with documenting the effects of economic, political, and social constructions of power as they manifest in class, race and gender relations. Ethnographic data is typically gathered at the "grass roots" or local level.  In this case, it will be our class--up close in a familiar field. Our studies will capture your experiences of the realms of the familiar and biographical as you examine your concepts and practices of justice.

The ethnographic research question we pose asks what is the praxis of Justice Studies students.  Does praxis (theory informed action and action informed by theory) as defined facilitate the production of knowledge necessary for students to engage in work for social justice? 

An autoethnography is:

• An analytical/objective personal account
• About the self/writer as part of a group or culture
• Often a description of a conflict of cultures
• Often an analysis of being different or an outsider
• Usually written to an audience not a part of the group
• An attempt to see self as others might
• An opportunity to explain differences from the inside

• Always an attempt to explain one element of self to other
• An explanation of how one is

Course Objective: 

Students will learn and practice the skills of sociological research design, interviewing, surveying, and reflexive journaling with a focus on ethnographic and auto-ethnographic methods.

Course Requirements

Class attendance and participation=200

Field Note and observation Journal=300 points, 150 each

Mid-term = self studies surveys and peer questionnaires= 2 required =200

Final Research Project = You may choose either a 15-20 minute power point presentation of findings or a 10-15 page research report of findings.  = 300

Total= 1000

Tentative Syllabus

Week 1   8/26  Conducting Engaged Research in a Familiar Field

Read and respond: 

1.  An Auto-ethnography on Learning About Autoethnography

http://www.ualberta.ca/~iiqm/backissues/5_2/HTML/wall.htm

• 2. Field Notes by John Ishaq at http://juneterpstra.com/about_1.html

3.  Through the looking glass: being a critical ethnographic researcher in a familiar nursing context By Heather Cudmore and Juliet Sondermeyer

http://juneterpstra.com/about_1.html

Week 2  Ethnographies and auto-ethnographies

Read and respond: 

Engaged Research Methods for Social Justice, Part I by Dr. June Terpstra

Do We Practice What We Preach? By Wayne Nguyen at http://juneterpstra.com/custom_4.html

Week 3  Designing interviews, surveys and questionnaires

Choose your topic and construct your thesis statement

Designing interviews, surveys and questionnaires

Read and respond: 

Design your surveys and questionaires --http://www.statpac.com/surveys/

Week 4  Producing Dangerous Knowledge

Read and Respond

Rich White Girls by Sally Galman at http://juneterpstra.com/custom_4.html

Week 5 Revolutionary Research

Read and Respond:

Sharing Power with Students by Isabel Moreno-Lopez

http://radicalpedagogy.icaap.org/content/issue7_2/moreno.html

Weeks  6&7 PRESENTATION OF RESEARCH DESIGNS

Weeks 7& 8  Action Research

Where do you stand and what will you do?

Weeks 9-11  Conducting Your research

Weeks 12-14

FINAL PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS

EXAMS WEEK

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