COMM 840.002 / SI 755.001 -- Fall 2013
Prof. Sandvig, University of Michigan
http://840.niftyc.org/

Weekly Questions

Please post answers to our class forum on CTools. Answers must be at least 250 words. They are not graded, but are instead intended to prepare everyone for in-class discussion.

• Due Week 2: What is the role of method?
  What is the role of method in research? Draw from one (or more) of the assigned readings when discussing this question.
• Due Week 3: How do we argue that one method is better than another?
  What grounds can be used to argue that one method is better than another? Remember to draw from one (or more) of the readings when discussing this question.
• Due Week 4: How are specific statistical methods justified?
  Make an insightful observation about the way specific statistical methods are justified, drawing from more than one reading. For instance, you could compare or contrast an earlier methods debate with a later one, or you could compare or contrast Fisherian (frequentist) vs. Bayesian methods. Or feel free to do something else that answers the prompt in the first sentence.
• Due Week 5: Sit on a dissertation committee.
  Lesy's method in Wisconsin Death Trip produces results that are quite different from the other things we call "history books" or "PhD theses in history." If you were on a PhD dissertation committee and this was submitted to you, how would you respond to this work? This is meant to mean: How would you respond to Lesy's argument? But also, How would you respond to his method?
• Due Week 6: Design your own measure.
  A measure is a value computed as a gauge or quantification of something else. Invent a creative new unobtrusive measure that can be used in social research. Briefly discuss the trade-offs of your measure using materials from Webb book that you have read so far and, optionally, readings from earlier weeks of the course. Note 1: Please don't regurgitate an example from the book. Note 2: To help the reader understand your measure, it may help to specify a question you are trying to answer, an instrument that will be required, another measure that your measure could be associated with, or other details of a research design -- otherwise your measure may seem pointless and there will be no way for you to discuss its trade-offs.
• Due Week 7: Design your own statistic.
  As discussed in class last week, for the purpose of this question, a statistic is the combination or transformation of one or more measures so as to make them more useful. Create your own applied statistic that is useful for a research problem of your choice. Briefly discuss the properties of your statistic and its pros and cons, referencing the Webb book. Please name your statistic after yourself and gratuitously use a Greek letter to represent it (as is traditional). Tip: The point of this question is not meant to be a demonstration of your math skills, but your creativity (after Webb et al.).
• Due Week 8: You Interventionist!
  Michaels's work has been described as "interventionist." This could have either a positive or negative connotation depending on the commentator. Please use one or more details about Michaels's approach to either attack or defend "intervention" and relate it to an issue of research practice, design, or method. Please avoid taking an easy moral stance and try grappling with a harder one. (In other words, try to avoid taking a position on intervention that everyone would already agree with.)
• Due Week 9: Design your own visualization
  Propose a new visualization that is relevant to your research interests and does not currently exist. If you like, you can adapt a specific example from the readings. You don't have to actually draw the visualization but feel free to include a simple sketch or links to related examples (e.g., cell phone photo of a paper and pencil sketch, a simple drawing created with the "insert shapes" functions in PowerPoint, etc.). It may be interactive if you wish. In addition to a description of what you propose, also please argue briefly for the value of your visualization decisions using specific concepts from the readings where applicable.
• Due Week 10: Seminar paper proposal
  Introduce or write an abstract for your seminar paper topic. Please be sure to mention (1) which assigned course readings you will be building on, and (2) what literature you will search in order to find additional, outside readings.
• Due Week 11: A Substantial Grant
  Congratulations! You have just graduated! Your work is so remarkable that the prestigious Digital Humanities Institute has just offered you a substantial grant to lead a research project that extends your current topic. Write an abstract presenting the design of this project, mentioning its goal, who you will need to hire in your team, the sources of data, the method(s) you will use, the expected results and how you will communicate them. Note that all this must be recognizable as "Digital Humanities" to the Digital Humanities Institute, or they will cut your funding. The Burdick et al. piece may be a good source of ideas.
• Due Week 12: Strange Research Maps
  Briefly propose a project that would either (1) use a map to visualize something that is not usually represented spatially (see Dodge or "Strange Maps"). Or, (2) describe how you would map something spatial that is not usually mapped (see Denis Wood and the Jack-o-Lantern Map of Boyle Heights). Note that you might have to come up with a research problem in order for your proposal to make any sense.
• No Question Due Week 13 (Thanksgiving Break)
  
• Due Week 14: Teaching Method
  A graduate degree qualifies you to teach at the college level. One of the hardest topics to teach to undergraduates is research methods. Please review the work we have done this semester and select an important concept related to methods that you learned in this course, then propose a way that you might teach this material to undergraduates. Your proposal could take the form of a single day's lesson plan, a (brief) lecture outline, a small group in-class exercise, a homework assignment / problem set / or a writing assignment, or something else. NOTE: If your chosen product is very brief, please also write about your thought process in designing it so that this weekly question is a similar length to the others.) Please do not design an entire syllabus -- focus instead on teaching a small amount of material well.