CONF 797, SECTION 003 - PROPOSAL DEVELOPMENT Fall 2014 - Founders Hall 317 - Thursdays, 7:20pm to 10:00pm
Michael D. English, Graduate Lecturer
[email protected] Office Hours by appointment AIM The purpose of this 1 credit course is to help you develop your thesis proposal and to get you started on a concrete path toward the completion of your Masters thesis at S-CAR. By the end of the semester you are expected to have completed a draft of your thesis proposal. COURSE MEETINGS This course meets in-person on 8/28 and 9/4. Based on the needs of participants we will decide on other in-person meeting times. Discussions will also take place using the S-CAR Community Forum (also called the Ning). Please make sure you register for the site if you have not already. You are responsible for one additional meeting that you will need to arrange on your own and this is a consultation with S-CAR’s liaison librarian Mary Oberlies (
[email protected]). I will discuss this assignment with you in more detail during the first session. ASSIGNMENTS You have one required assignment for this course and that is to produce a thesis proposal of approximately 5000 words (18 double spaced pages). This is due to me on 12/7 via email in Word document format. We will conduct various exercises throughout the course on certain elements to help us with the production of the proposal. MASON HONOR CODE To promote a stronger sense of mutual responsibility, respect, trust, and fairness among all members of the George Mason University community and with the desire for greater academic and personal achievement, we, the student members of the University Community, have set forth this: Student members of the George Mason University community pledge not to cheat, plagiarize, steal, and/or lie in matters related to academic work. A note on the Honor Code. When you enrolled in this course you agreed to abide by the university's Honor Code. The Honor Code does not preclude collaborative work, such as informal discussions and studying in communities. Nor does it preclude assigned group work. The Honor Code does require that work you, as an individual, turn in ultimately be the product of your own individual synthesis or integration of ideas, and that the work a group turns in ultimately be the product of the group's collective ideas. If you are uncertain of the line between collaboration and cheating, see an instructor. As always, cite your sources. If you do not, it is plagiarism. Plagiarism means lifting someone else's ideas or words and presenting them as your own without proper attribution of the source. This is all sources, including the Internet. Use an approved citation method, such as MLA, APA, etc. Commitment to Diversity Statement. S-CAR is an intentionally inclusive community that celebrates diversity and strives to have faculty, staff and students who reflect the diversity of our plural society. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, class, linguistic background, religion, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, ethnicity, age, or physical ability. Disability Services. If you are a student with a disability and you need academic accommodations, please see me and contact the Disability Resource Center (DRC) at 703.993.2474. All academic accommodations must be arranged through that office.
CONF 797, SECTION 003 - PROPOSAL DEVELOPMENT Fall 2014 - Founders Hall 317 - Thursdays, 7:20pm to 10:00pm
RECOMMENDED TEXTS You do not need to purchase any texts for this course. Below are books you might find useful to your project. I may also refer you to parts of these and other texts during the course. Booth, Wayne C., Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams. 2008. The craft of research. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Creswell, John W. 2009. Research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Los Angeles: Sage. Galvan, Jose L. 2012. Writing literature reviews: a guide for students of the social and behavioral sciences. Los Angeles, CA: Pyrczak. Höglund, Kristine, and Magnus Öberg. 2011. Understanding peace research: methods and challenges. London: Routledge. Luker, Kristin. 2008. Salsa dancing into the social sciences research in an age of info-glut. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press. Turabian, Kate L., Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams. 2013. A manual for writers of research papers, theses, and dissertations: Chicago Style for students and researchers. COURSE SCHEDULE 08/28 - Meet in class. Discuss research process, proposal structure, and research question 09/04 - Meet in class. Discuss literature reviews and thesis structure. 09/11 - Post 500 word statement of interest on Ning. 09/18 - Respond* to two of your peers’ interest statements. 09/25 - Develop three possible research questions based on your interest and post to Ning. 10/02 - Respond to two of your peers’ research questions. 10/09 - Post a revised research question. 10/16 - Post your responses to Luker’s daisy exercise. 10/23 - Individual meetings with Mary Oberlies / Work on literature review. 10/30 - Individual meetings with Mary Oberlies / Work on literature review. 11/06 - Individual meetings with Mary Oberlies / Work on literature review. 11/13 - Post initial literature review to Ning 11/20 - Individual meetings with ME / Respond to partner’s literature review 11/27 - Individual meetings with ME / Work on research proposal 12/04 - Individual meetings with ME / Work on research proposal 12/07 - Submit draft research proposal via email to ME * A note on responding to your peers. The purpose of the NING is to provide you with a space to get feedback on your ideas. Working through a range of ideas helps cultivate your critical thinking skills and it also helps your colleagues in the development of their research. Therefore, your responses should be thoughtful and aimed at critiquing the strengths and limitations of the ideas presented as they relate to the development of a successful research project.
