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Harvard Summer School, 2013 Graduate Research Methods and Scholarly Writing in the Social Sciences: Government and History Harvard Summer School: SSCI S-100b Section 2 (32761). Joe Bond Class 3 July 1, 2013. Agenda. Announcements VBA, TPB, Typologies Literature Reviews
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Harvard Summer School, 2013Graduate Research Methods and Scholarly Writing in the Social Sciences: Government and HistoryHarvard Summer School: SSCI S-100b Section 2 (32761) Joe BondClass 3July 1, 2013
Agenda • Announcements • VBA, TPB, Typologies • Literature Reviews • Facilitation (Frankie & Paul) • Research Status • In-Class 3
Volunteers to facilitate next week? • July 8th • July 10th
Verbal Behavior Analysis • Verbal Behavior Analysis (VBA) is a content analytic technique designed to tap "styles of speaking with patterns of thinking and behaving" (Weintraub, 1989: 7). • Weintraub devised a system to analyze samples of speech (monologues elicited by a standardized procedure) to obtain the frequencies of occurrence of members of fourteen categories, not all of which are, strictly speaking, "syntactic" (e.g. long pauses and the rate of speech). • Then groups representing "no pathology" and various psychopathological syndromes are compared with respect to the frequencies with which these categories appear in speech.
VBA, Continued • Fifteen indicators: 1) I, 2) We, 3) Me, 4) Negatives, 5) Qualifiers, 6) Retractors, 7) Direct References, 8) Explainers, 9) Expressions of Feeling, 10) Evaluators, 11) Adverbial Intensifiers, 12) Non-personal References, 13) Creative Expressions, 14) Rhetorical Questions, and 15) Interruptions
VBA, Continued • frequent use of evaluators are indicative of individuals possessing a punitive conscience • frequent use of retractors convey impulsivity • high adverbial intensifier scores indicate persons "who see the world in black and white terms;" • frequent use of explainers signify tendencies toward rationalization • high qualifiers scores indicate anxiety and avoidance to commitment • frequent use of negatives signify negation and denial • frequent use of rhetorical questions indicate aggressiveness • frequent use of direct references indicates that the speaker has difficulty speaking and prefers to divert the attention of the audience • low use expressions of feeling convey an impression of aloofness • frequent use of creative expressions indicate creativity
Typologies • Typologies are a way of sorting out relationships and developing hypotheses • Definition: a way to analyze all of the logical combinations of at least two variables.
Example of a Typology: James David Barber's The Presidential Character. Predicting Performance in the White House Two Baselines: • "activity-passivity” • "positive-negative view“
Presidential Types • Active-Positives: T. Roosevelt, F. Roosevelt, Truman, Kennedy • Active-Negatives: Wilson, Hoover, L. Johnson, Nixon • Passive-Positives: McKinley, Taft, Harding, Reagan • Passive-Negatives: Coolidge, Eisenhower
Presidential Character & Amnesty for the Last 17 Presidents) • Active-positives granted 55% of all amnesties • Active-negatives granted 35% of all amnesties • Passive-positive presidents granted 7.5% of all amnesties • Passive-negatives granted 2.5 % of all amnesties • Active Presidents combined (i.e. both positives and negatives) granted 90% of all amnesties What explains this? • Presidents have averaged over 200 acts of clemency per year
Amnesty by the Numbers: 1900-1993 • Ford: 409 clemency actions taken (382 pardons and 27 commutations) or 35% of all requests • Reagan: 406 (393 pardons, 13 commutations) or 13% of all requests • G.H.W. Bush: 77 (74 pardons, 3 commutations) or 5% of all requests • Wilson: 2550 (995 pardons, 1403 commutations) or 37% of all requests
Literature Reviews • Lit reviews are guided by a general question • By the time you are finished with your review, you will have the answer to your question • You will also have one or more new questions • These questions will [hopefully] serve as the focal point of your ALM thesis
How many sources? It depends. Universe Discipline Y We know a lot Little is known Discipline Z We know less Discipline X
Begin with a dozen sources, if possible • Try not to cite everything under the sun related to your topic • Start broad and shoot for specificity as your review progresses • If little is known, branch out (e.g. interdisciplinary) • If the topic/question has been thoroughly investigated, go for more specificity • Try to stick with “scholarly” books and refereed journal articles • While internet sources are fine for ideas, try to cite a hardcopy, if available (e.g. some online reports are also available in hardcopy; UN documents). • Do not cite an internet source that refers to someone else’s study; rather, cite the study.
A “Researchable” Topic • In the Extension School, just about anything is fair game • Most ALM theses proposals start out overly ambitious • DO NOT CHOOSE A TOPIC BASED ON WHAT YOU THINK WILL MAXIMIZE YOUR CHANCES OF GETTING A PARTICULAR FACULTY MEMBER TO SERVE AS YOUR ADVISOR • If it doesn’t interest you, you will never finish • AND IF YOU ARE SATISFIED WITH YOUR THESIS WHEN YOU FINISH, IT PROBABLY ISN’T VERY GOOD
Should I bother? • A research topic should add to the pool of research knowledge available on the topic • Question to ask: • Does the study address a topic that has yet to be examined, extend the discussion by incorporating new elements, or replicate a study in new situations or with new participants? • Is the topic salient? Does it appeal to a broad audience? Is the topic timely? Is the topic non-trivial? • In the context of the Extension School, your research topic should have something to do with government and/or history broadly defined
Purpose of a Literature Review • To share with the reader the results of other studies that are closely related to an area of interest • Relate your research to the larger ongoing dialogue in the literature, filling gaps and extending prior studies • Provide a framework for establishing the importance of your study with other findings SYNTHESIS IS KEY
What it is NOT • The literature review is not the place to analyze your research questions - those adopting an historical approach are particularly susceptible to falling into this trap • Only review what has already been reported and/or is known about the topic • By the time that you finish your literature review, you may find that your preliminary questions have already been addressed by others but additional, more interesting questions have been left unanswered
A Lit Review IS NOT an Annotated BibliographyThis is an annotated bibliography and yes, it is 204 pages long:
# 1 • Identify key words useful in locating materials using Hollis, for example • Key words may help you identify a suitable topic of interest and will assist you in finding preliminary books in the library or e-journals
# 2 • Focus initially on refereed journals and books • Search databases typically reviewed by social science researchers include ERIC (http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/Home.portal), the Social Science Citation Index, etc.
The Social Sciences Citation Index • Covers 1969 through the present • Available in most academic libraries • Covers 5700+ journals that represent virtually every discipline in the social sciences • Useful in locating studies that have referenced an important study • Allows the user to “trace” all studies since publication of a “key” study that contain the cited work • Allows the user to develop a chronological list of references that document the historical evolution of an idea or a study
# 3 • Locate a dozen books, journal articles, reports, etc. related to your topic • Avoid shortcuts! Start now! Reading material on the web may be convenient but it is rarely adequate • Start with the most recent publications and work backwards
# 4 • Identify an initial group of books and articles that are central to your topic • Review abstracts and skim the articles or chapters • Get a sense of whether the article or chapter will make a useful contribution to your understanding of the literature • Don’t reinvent the wheel! • Use the bibliographic information (i.e. references) contained in the articles and books to extend your search
Abstracting Studies A Good review summary might include the following: • Mention the problem being addressed. • State the central purpose of focus of the study. • State the underlying assumptions. • Briefly state information about the sample, population, and/or participants. • Review the key results. • Point out any technical or methodological flaws. • Be sure to jot down full citations even if you do not ultimately incorporate the piece into your review • Read “Doing a Literature Review” article -required reading for Wednesday’s class (posted on the course website. • Review the sample literature review posted on the course website. Questions?
Individual/Research Interests/Projects/Brainstorming • Purpose
Tonight’s Readings Frankie & Paul