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Geography 200-001 (seminar) -002 (lab) Fall 2008

California State University, Long Beach

Introduction to Research Methods for Geographers

(seminar, class #5778: 12:30-1:20; lab, class #5779: 1:30-2:20, in LA5-352)

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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 106
Mailbox: LA4 106
Office Hours: Tuesday/Thursday 3:30-4:45 p.m. and by appointment

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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.

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Course Objectives:

  • Understanding of the scientific method in geography
  • Ability to design effective graphic presentations of data
  • Competence in research design
  • 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

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Required Course Materials:

  • Text: McGrew and Monroe, An Introduction to Statistical Problem Solving in Geography, 2nd ed. (hardback new = ~$157.90 and used = ~$118; new at Amazon = $123.00, used from ~$47; new at B & N $154, less if you're a "member," used from ~$104)
    Available from:
    Associated Students Bookstore
    Amazon
    Barnes & Noble

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Recommended Course Materials:

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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 presence has been recorded. Participation in a self-directed small group field excursion to ground-truth demographic data in Long Beach is also required.

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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

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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. Check out the Disabled Student Services web site to learn about services available to you: http://www.csulb.edu/depts/dss/.

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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.

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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, 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 15 September. You can withdraw until 10 p.m. that night through My CSULB or IVR. You can withdraw later, until 21 November, but you'll have a "W" show up on your transcript. From 21 November to 12 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.

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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 cheating and plagiarism in the CSULB catalog.

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 the understanding they and their peers worked out 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.

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This document is maintained by Dr. Rodrigue
Last Updated: 09/01/08
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