CSU, Long Beach -- Geography 200 (Introduction to Research Methods for Geographers)

Geography 200-001 (seminar) -002 (lab activity) Fall 2011

California State University, Long Beach

Introduction to Research Methods for Geographers

(seminar, class #12689: 2-2:50 MW; lab activity, class #12690: 3-3:50 MW, in LA5-352)

Instructor Information:

: Instructor: Dr. C.M. Rodrigue
: E-mail Address: rodrigue@csulb.edu
: Home Page: http://www.csulb.edu/~rodrigue/
: Course Home Page: http://www.csulb.edu/~rodrigue/geog200/
: Telephones: (526) 985-4895 or -8432
: Office: LA4 103W
: Mailbox: LA4 106
: Office Hours: Monday/Wednesday 4-5:20 p.m. and by appointment or e-mail

Course Description:

An introduction to the scientific method in geography, with an emphasis on basic quantitative and qualitative techniques and their applications (lecture 2 hours, lab 2 hours). Note: This course is not open for credit for those who already have completed a first course in statistics.

Course Objectives:

Understanding of the scientific method in geography
Ability to design effective graphic presentations of data
Competence in selecting techniques for a given research problem
Skill in basic statistical and spatial analytic methods
Practice in qualitative approaches to data collection and interpretation
Experience in field collection of data
Ability to interpret the results of these methods correctly
Proficiency in the use of spreadsheet software and Internet functions

Required Course Materials:

Text: McGrew and Monroe, An Introduction to Statistical Problem Solving in Geography, 2nd ed. $44.90 new, $33.70 used, rental options available in the $25.00 - $40.00 range.

Recommended Course Materials and Resources:

Text Trochim, The Research Methods Knowledge Base, 2nd ed. Available from: Dr. Trochim's web page
Calculator with bivariate statistical functions (TI-36X or comparable)
Online text: Lane, HyperStat Online or Online Statistics
Online text: StatSoft, Electronic Statistics Textbook
A collection of statistics class notes (.doc format): Dr. Wuensch's Statistics Lessons
And, if your math has thoroughly oxidized, an online encyclopædia: Weisstein, Wolfram MathWorld
A nice collection of online calculators for a wide variety of purposes: Calculators.com
A book on the basics of spreadsheeting, such as Getting Started with OpenOffice.org 3.0, available at Amazon

Grading:

I grade on a modified curve, based on several 50 point labs; a midterm and a final, each worth 200 points; and 50 points for attendance.

Attendance is crucial in a course of this nature: If you miss something at one point in time, it can easily prevent you from understanding subsequent concepts that build on it. Because of its importance, I will intermittantly and unpredictably take attendance. Your attendance score will be proportionate to the number of roll calls in which your (timely) presence has been recorded. Participation in a self-directed small group field excursion to ground-truth demographic data in Long Beach is also required.

Tentative Course Outline:

Introduction

: Statistics and geography
: Spreadsheet boot camp

Data types

: Primary and secondary data sources
: Levels of measurement
: "Quantitative" and "qualitative"
: Basic graphic conventions

Descriptive statistics

: Central tendency
: Dispersion and variability
: Shape and position

Inference and research design

: Hypotheses and logic
: Probability distributions
: Point and interval estimation
: Sampling methods

Midterm

Qualitative approaches to data analysis

Richness versus generalizability trade-offs

Participant observation

Reflexivity

Thick description

Some options:

: Ethnographic field work
: Interviews
: Coding and content analysis (can also be quantitative)

Inferential statistical techniques

Single sample tests

: Means and proportions
: Point, quadrat, and area pattern analyses
: Techniques for handling qualitative data

Multiple sample tests

: Means and proportions
: Contingency tests for nominal data
: Analysis of variance
: Correlation
: Regression

Final

Accessibility Policy:

If you have a documented disability, it is vital that you contact me as soon as possible, so that I can work with you to arrange appropriate accommodations for tests or labs ahead of time. I am personally committed to making my classes accessible and providing accommodations that will help everyone have the same chance at success. I need to know about the issue at the beginning of the semester, though, so that we can work out a mutually reasonable and satisfying accommodation. Check out the Disabled Student Services web site to learn about services available to you: http://www.csulb.edu/depts/dss/.

Related to accessibility, this course will be set up on BeachBoard mainly to enable convenient contact. You will need to have a CSULB e-mail account to use BeachBoard, however. Announcements and messages from me to the class may come by e-mail. If you do not check your CSULB e-mail account regularly but use another account instead, please set your CSULB account so that it will automatically forward messages to your preferred account (click here to learn how). Alternatively, you can use web-mail to check your CSULB e-mail, the way many of you use Hotmail, Yahoo, or Gmail. The web page is http://beachmail.csulb.edu. The CSULB Technology Help Desk is available for students, by the way. The URL for the Help Desk is http://helpdesk.csulb.edu. Their telephone number is (562) 985- 4959.

Makeup Policy:

Makeups are possible in the event of a documented unexpected emergency in a student's life or through prior arrangement with the instructor when the student has advance knowledge of a compelling conflict in schedule, including religious obligations and observances. Makeups under these two circumstances will not be penalized. All other makeup requests are subject to denial or serious penalty.

Withdrawal Policy:

It is the student's responsibility to withdraw from classes. Instructors have no obligation to withdraw students who do not attend classes and, because of the bureaucratic difficulty involved, may choose not to do so. This often catches transfer students by surprise, because community colleges require instructors to drop non-attending students and provide easy and routine mechanisms for them to do so. If you've been "spoiled" by that system, please be aware that it doesn't work that way here.

The deadline to withdraw from a class without a "W" showing up on your transcript is 12 September. You can withdraw until 10 p.m. that night through My CSULB. You can withdraw later, until 18 November, but you'll have a "W" show up on your transcript. From 18 November to 9 December, you can only withdraw for a documented serious and compelling emergency, with the approval of the dean's office, which expects that you are dropping all of your classes because of the seriousness of the emergency. Note: "I'm failing this class, so I have to drop it" is not regarded as a serious and compelling emergency.

Cheating and Plagiarism Policy:

Written work that you hand in is assumed to be original unless your source material is documented appropriately. Using the ideas or words of another person, even a peer, or a web site, as if it were your own, is plagiarism. Cheating and plagiarism are serious academic offenses: They represent intellectual theft. Students should read the section on http://www.csulb.edu/divisions/aa/catalog/current/academic_information/cheating_plagiarism.html

Furthermore, students should be aware that faculty members have a range of academic actions available to them in cases of cheating and plagiarism. At a minimum, I will fail a student cheating or plagiarizing on a particular assignment, but only if I think that there was some misunderstanding about what these offenses are; if I feel that the decision to cheat or plagiarize was intentional, I will fail a student in the course. I also may then refer the student to Judicial Affairs for possible probation, suspension, or dismissal.

That said, a lot of this course is based on lab assignments, and I do not consider students working together to figure the labs out or how an equation works as cheating, as long as all students contribute equally to the discussion and then turn in their own separate work based on their individual understanding of the material they and their peers worked on together.

When in doubt, ask me if you think you're getting into a grey area. To learn a little more about plagiarism, take a look at this workshop on ethics in science that several faculty put together: The second section is about plagiarism. http://www.csulb.edu/geography/gdep/ethics.html.

General Policies and Regulations:

Students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the general policies and regulations of the University. These are available in the catalogue and may be accessed here: http://www.csulb.edu/divisions/aa/catalog/current/general_policies/index.html. .