CITY 7020 Research Methods Department of City Planning University of Manitoba Class meets: Office hours: Thursday Wednesday

Please make an appointment. iskelton@umanitoba.ca 8:30 11:30 2:00 4:00 474-6417 Ian Skelton Winter 2012 320 Russell 414 Architecture 2

Background
The course is intended to help build a strong background in three areas: ! ! ! methods of social research; methods that utilize and extend the outputs of social research; and the application of the above to policy and design situations.

There are four phases of work over the term. During the first three weeks we will examine introductory material on three major branches of social science, and on the utilization of research in policy and design problems. Over the following three weeks we will study three key tools in social research: surveys, interviews and group work. The third phase of the course examines a number of complex research and planning situations: social impact analysis, research with indigenous communities and scenario work. The final phase of the course focuses on empirical studies that students will carry out over the term, with one session on data analysis and writing and two on project presentations. The course design is underlain by the pedagogical position that a clear understanding of key conceptual issues, together with intensive practice in a small number of procedures, will enable students to learn new techniques and to assess empirical work critically.

Readings
Please read the assigned articles before each class. Several readings are drawn from the course text: Zeisel, J. 2006. Inquiry by design: Environment/behavior/neuroscience in architecture, interiors, landscape and planning. New York: W. W. Norton and Company.

Format
The course will be carried out in seminar format. In the first phase classes will consist of the instructors introduction and then discussion based on the readings. In the second two phases classes will consist of the introduction to the particular method under consideration, followed by student critiques (described below; see Assignments 1 and 2) of articles from the planning and design literature and / or professional reports that have used the method formally introduced in the previous week. The final three sessions will be devoted to students empirical studies in Assignment 3.

Student Evaluation
Work for grading must be submitted as a Word file by e-mail. It should be single spaced with a font size of 12. The evaluation will include three elements. Assignment 1 and 2 (20% each = 40%) Critique of a Method Introduction This assignment is intended to help familiarise class members with how methods have been used recently in the planning and design literature. Any two times over phases two and three of the course you will select a method you would like to work with, and share your observations on its use with the group during the session that follows the class in which the method is covered. Steps 1. Find an article in the planning and design literature or a professional report from the last five years, not included in this course outline, that has used the method. The document you choose must provide a description of the application of the method for it to be of use in this assignment. It may not be a University of Manitoba thesis or practicum. 2. Prepare a brief report (about 1,500 words) contextualising the document, reporting on why the authors selected the method, how it was applied and how the results were used. Report also on any research questions posed explicitly, or on how the research interests were expressed. Convey any indications that link the document to one or more of the three branches of science discussed in the course. 3. Circulate your report to class members by e-mail by 5:00 pm on the day before the class. Send it to the instructor as a Word file at the same time. 4. Give a brief oral report in the class.

3 Assignment 3 (60%) A small scale empirical study Introduction This assignment is intended to provide experience of working with a method covered in the course, or another method of your interest. You are asked to undertake a small study creating and analysing empirical information, or, alternatively, using existing empirical data in analysis. Steps 1. Select a method you would like to work with and a topic area you are interested in for the assignment. You may use a pilot study for your Major Degree Project or for other purposes (be sure to get all instructors consent). 2. Review a set of readings that describe the method and the context for your study. 3. Conduct a small scale study. The meaning of small scale will depend on the type of method and the context you have adopted. 4. Prepare a report of about 5,000 words describing the nature of the study, the method and your results. The report is due at 5:00 pm Central on 12 April. 5. Give a report on your study to the class in the last two weeks of the term. What method? The range of methods and approaches for this assignment is intended to be broad enough to suit students needs and interests. Please confirm your selections with the instructor by 15 March. Note on research ethics Research involving human subjects normally requires approval from the JointFaculty Research Ethics Board (JREB). However, course work in which the student is in a relationship typical of professional practice can be considered professional education / development and therefore does not require JREB approval. Three strings: 1. JREB review is required to publish results outside of the class; 2. The application required for JREB review must be completed for the instructors review; and 3. Students must undertake the online tutorial of the Interagency Advisory Panel on Research Ethics and submit the certificate along with their application. See the ethics page at http://umanitoba.ca/research/orec/ethics/human_ethics_index.html.

4 Computer-assisted data analysis Computerization can give very useful support to data analysis. There will be opportunity to learn software suitable for quantitative and qualitative analysis with assistance from the instructor, though you must begin early because the learning curve is steep. Demonstration software is available free of charge. For quantitative data use SPSS: http://www.spss.com/downloads/Papers.cfm?ProductID=00035&Name=SPSS_B ase&DLType=Demo This program is available in some computer labs on campus, though not in CADLAB. For qualitative data use Atlas-ti: http://www.atlasti.com/demo.html This program runs on Windows only; Mac users will need to install an interface. It is available on certain machines in CADLAB.

Weekly Outline
Jan 5 Introduction Overview of the course; organization; ethics approval procedures Paradigms / methods / data: What they are, how to link them Guba, E., & Lincoln, Y. (1989). Paradigms and methodologies. In Fourth generation evaluation, 156-83. Newbury Park: Sage. Neuman, W. L. (1997). The meanings of methodology. In Social research methods: qualitative and quantitative approaches, Third Edition, 60-87. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Research in policy and design Florida, R. (2008). Financial recovery needs money and a massively different mindset. The Globe and Mail 29 November. Innes, J. (1990). Introduction. In Knowledge and public policy, 1-47. London: Allen and Unwin. Zeisel, J. (2006a). Design: images, presentations, tests; Research: concepts, hypotheses, tests; Research and design cooperation; Side effects of cooperation. In Inquiry by design, 19-90.

Jan 12

Jan 19

5 Jan 26 Surveys Zeisel, J. (2006b). Standardized questionnaires; Asking questions: topics and format. In Inquiry by design, 257-310. See also: Statistics Canada survey instruments at: http://www.statcan.ca/english/concepts/index.htm Analysis of Quantitative Data Del Balso, M., & Lewis, A.D. (1997). What are the results? In First steps: A guide to social research, 255-297. Toronto: International Thomson Publishing. Feb 2 Feb 9 CAPS Conference No class Interviews Zeisel, J. (2006c). Focussed interviews. In Inquiry by design, 227256. Analysis of Qualitative Data Mason, J. (2000). Organizing and indexing qualitative data; Making convincing arguments with qualitative data. In Qualitative researching, Second Edition, 147-204. London, Thousand Oaks and New Delhi: Sage Publications. Neuman, W. L. (2000). Analysis of qualitative data. In Social research methods: qualitative and quantitative approaches, Fourth Edition, 417-443. Boston: Allyn and Bacon Feb 16 Group Work Kruger, R. (1988). The process of conducting focus groups. In Focus groups: A practical guide for applied research, 49105. Newbury Park: Sage. See also: Hopkins, P. E. (2007). Thinking critically and creatively about focus groups. Area, 39 (4), 528-532. Reading Week No class Social Impact Analysis Burdge, R. J. (1987). The social impact assessment model and the planning process. Environmental Impact Assessment Review 7, 141-50.

Feb 23

March 1

6 Burningham, K. (1995). Attitudes, accounts and impact assessment. The Sociological Review 43, 100-22. March 8 Research with indigenous communities Jojola, T. (n.d.) LLBO final report draft. Unpublished document provided by the author. Leech Lake Indigenous Planning Working Group. (2008). Organizational planning session meeting summary. Unpublished document provided by Ted Jojola. Patterson, M. (2010). Cybercircles: Internetworking for Aboriginal community research. Pimatisiwin: A Journal of Aboriginal and Indigenous Community Health, 8(2), 133-143. Weber-Pillwax, C. (2001). What is indigenous research? Canadian Journal of Native Education, 25(2), 166-174. Scenarios Smith, E. (2007). Using a scenario approach from business to regional futures. In L. D. Hopkins & M. A. Zapata (Eds.), Engaging the future: Forecasts, scenarios, plans and projects, pp. 79-101. Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, Cambridge, MA. Harwood, S. A. (2007). Using scenarios to build planning capacity. In L. D. Hopkins & M. A. Zapata (Eds.), Engaging the future: Forecasts, scenarios, plans and projects, pp. 135-153. Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, Cambridge, MA. Data analysis and writing workshop Student Presentations 1 Student Presentations 2

March 15

March 22 March 29 April 5