Courses | Department of Geography | University of Waterloo

Geography 393

Professional and Scholarly Practice in Geography

Instructor

S. Scott
Room: ES1 236
E-mail: sdscott@fes.uwaterloo.ca
Ext. 7012
Office Hours: T 10:30-11:20
Lectures: T/Th 9:30-10:20 PAS 1241
Tutorials: Th 10:30-11:20 ES2 173
Note: The guidelines in this syllabus are subject to change

Calendar Description

Explores the relationships between the academic content and methodologies of geography and the professional practice of the field. The course emphasizes issues involved in problem identification, research design, thesis proposal preparation, and the fundamentals of scholarly writing. The professional practice of the field examines such questions as ethics, and professional collaboration.
Prereq: Level at least 3A Honours Geography

Detailed description

Geog 393 Professional and Scholarly Practice in Geography introduces students to skills for conducting geographical research and basic principles and methods of analysis. Learning from contemporary examples and practice in human and physical geography, students will formulate appropriate research questions and hypotheses, and design a research project for potential implementation in Geog 490. Literature reviews will be initiated in the students chosen research area.
Research presentations and publications will be reviewed to provide insight on the expression of researchable problems and concise specification of research questions. Upon completion of the course, students should have improved ability to select and apply appropriate analytical techniques in their own research, and to evaluate the research of others. Students should also understand the rationale for when and why certain methods are used, and how to interpret the results.
A further objective of the course is to stimulate a broader intellectual debate about geographic research topics, methods, and design among faculty and students in the geography program. Such debate is vital to the health of our program and the wider geographic community and discipline as a whole.

Learning objectives

introduce students to key methods and tools for data collection and analysis in geography
enable students to identify, formulate, and pursue appropriate and interesting research questions in geography
provide students with the relevant knowledge and skills to design and carry out a geographical research project
provide students with experience of using field methods for original data collection

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course the students will:

have a basic understanding of the connections between different philosophical approaches and research designs and know how this connects with the plural nature of the discipline
be able to design a realistic geographical research project, identifying researchable problems and selecting appropriate research methods
know how to undertake appropriate analysis of information generated from questionnaires, interviews and ethnographies;
be aware of issues of ethics and power relations in the research process
understand the processes of theory-building which arise from data analysis in qualitative and quantitative settings

Discipline specific skills

By the end of the course the students will:

have experience of planning, designing and executing a small-scale research project utilising different research methods
have compared the data collected for a given research problem using different research methods
have selected, critiqued and refined a research problem suitable for an honour’s thesis
have initiated a basic literature review using bibliographic research techniques
have presented their own research proposal to the class, and provided and received feedback
be aware of the moral and ethical issues surrounding the use of different research methods in geography

Class process

I always welcome your participation, comments, and questions, since I believe that student participation contributes to a much more interesting class and valuable learning experience for all. My teaching style is interactive. At some points I will lecture, in order to provide background information and concepts that I think are important for you to develop effective knowledge of environment and development processes. Complementing this, however, most classes will engage students in small group or large group discussions or workshops. These discussions will require you to provide information you obtained from the readings, so if you don't complete the required readings in advance each week, it will affect your grade.

Required readings

A course package will be sold at Express Copy in the Porter Library. Some readings are available on-line or on reserve, as indicated below. Students are expected to complete the assigned readings before the first class each week and to come to class ready and willing to contribute to discussions.

Research skills

Students are expected to already be familiar with how to perform a literature search and express themselves clearly in written form. See the ‘help and instruction’ section of the library website for further tips on library research skills, including http://www.fes.uwaterloo.ca/geography/courses/geog393.html#.

The following sources may also be useful references:

Northey, Margot and David B. Knight. 2000. Making sense in geography and environmental studies: A student's guide to research, writing and style. 2nd edition. Toronto: Oxford University Press.

Kneale, Pauline. 2003. Study Skills for Geography Students. 2nd edition. London: Arnold.

Hart, Chris. 1998. Doing a literature review: Releasing the social science research imagination. London: SAGE.

Northey, Margot and David B. Knight. 2001 Making Sense in Geography and Environmental Studies: A Student's Guide to Research and Writing. (2^nd ed.) Toronto: Oxford University Press.

Assessment

Learning Task 1	10%
Learning Task 2	15%
Learning Task 3	15%
Learning Task 4 (Data collection and analysis exercise)	15%
Peer review exercise	10%
Presentation of research plan to students and faculty members	10%
Complete research proposal	25%

All materials submitted must be typed; both paper copy and electronic version are required, unless otherwise noted. Work will not be considered submitted until both versions are received.
Samples of students’ work may be made available to future classes. If you would not like your work to be considered for this purpose, please inform the instructor.

Guidelines for Submitting Assignments

A cover page is optional. Please ensure that the front page of your assignment (at the top, if you don’t use a cover page) lists your name, student number, the course number, name of instructor, and date.
Be environmentally conscious; use both side of a page where possible, and use 1.5 line spacing instead of double-spacing (this leaves some room for markers to make comments).
Write in your own words, using proper referencing style and providing references for all information obtained from external sources. See the course website for links on proper referencing and how to avoid plagiarism.
Please ensure the pages of your assignment are securely stapled. Folding page corners and using paper clips may not hold the pages together!

Late policy

Students are expected to take account of the possibility of computer or printer failure in planning their time. Emailed or faxed assignments will not be accepted.
The penalty for other late assignments is 5 % of the total possible mark per day, including weekends and holidays. There will be no unpenalized extensions on assignments except for illness, severe personal extenuating circumstances, or weather emergencies. Any such circumstances should be made known to the instructor as soon as possible before the deadline.

Using UW-ACE course website

We will be using a new UW ANGEL Course Environment (UW-ACE) system for the course website. To sign on, go to http://www.fes.uwaterloo.ca/geography/courses/geog393.html# and follow the instructions on the screen. In case of difficulties, contact http://www.fes.uwaterloo.ca/geography/courses/geog393.html#. Since this is the first time this system has been used in this course, the instructor, and the university’s Learning and Teaching Through Technology team, are particularly keen to hear your feedback and suggestions for improvements (for use this term or next year).

Email communication

Please direct all course-related questions to me through the UW-ACE ‘Q&A’ webboard. I prefer to handle questions through this board than in my email inbox, where they may get lost amongst other messages. Please use the board for general questions, after you have checked the course website and ensured that the answer is not there. Any questions related to your personal grade or a personal matter (e.g. health issue) may be sent to my direct email address.
The University of Waterloo, through its faculties, provides an e-mail address and account to all students for the receipt of official communications and their participation in an academic program at UW. The university uses an e-mail address like _@uwaterloo.ca in official correspondence with students. An appropriate forwarding capability is provided so that students may, if they wish, redirect mail to an alternate account. Students should configure their email client programs to include their preferred given name and surname.

Avoidance of Academic Offences

Students are expected to know what constitutes academic integrity, to avoid committing academic offences, and to take responsibility for their actions. Students who are unsure whether an action constitutes an offence, or who need help in learning how to avoid offences (e.g., plagiarism, cheating) or about rules for group work / collaboration should seek guidance from the course professor, TA, academic advisor, or the Undergraduate Associate Dean. For information on categories of offences and types of penalties, students should refer to Policy #71, Student Academic Discipline, http://www.fes.uwaterloo.ca/geography/courses/geog393.html# Students who believe that they have been wrongfully or unjustly penalized have the right to grieve; refer to Policy #70, Student Grievance, http://www.fes.uwaterloo.ca/geography/courses/geog393.html#

Course schedule & readings

Week 1. Sept. 14/16 (no tutorial)

Introduction to the course; Themes in contemporary geography
Honour’s thesis project ideas (Brent Doberstein and Judi Cukier)

Readings
• Carefully read course outline and guidelines for Learning Tasks 1-3
• Review listings of faculty research interests on UW’s Dept of Geography website
• Review notes on scholarly writing and referencing on UW-ACE (course website)

Livingston, D.N. 2000. “Geography, The History of.” In Johnston, R. J., Gregory, D., Pratt, G. and Watts, M. Eds. The Dictionary of Human Geography. 4th Edition. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 305-308. [UW Porter Library Reference. Main Floor]

Johnston, R.J. 2000. “Human Geography.” In Johnston, R. J., Gregory, D., Pratt, G. and Watts, M. Eds. The Dictionary of Human Geography. 4th Edition. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 353-360. [UW Porter Library Reference. Main Floor] [*Skim other key words of interest in this volume]

Week 2. Sept. 21/23 (+ tutorial)

“11 arguments for doing a geography honour’s thesis” (Jean Andrey and others)
Themes in contemporary geography, cont.; Narrowing the scope: From research fields to research projects

Web-board task (for 1% participation mark)
• Before Monday, Sept 20 at 4pm, log onto UW-ACE, browse the course webpage, and give a statement of 2-3 sentences about a geographical research area or potential research question you might like to pursue for your thesis proposal; report any difficulties with accessing the system to tech support.

Readings
Cutter, L., Golledge, R. and Graf, W.L. 2002. “The Big Questions in Geography.” Professional Geographer. 54(3): 305-317. [on-line]

Reed, Maureen and Bruce Mitchell. 2003. “Gendering Environmental Geography.” The Canadian Geographer, 47(3): 318-337. [on-line]

*Read the Reed and Mitchell article as an example of a review of the development of a specific research field; look for other such review articles in Progress in Human Geography, Progress in Physical Geography, or another journal. For a provocative discussion of physical geography, see Phillips, J.D. 2004. “Laws, Contingencies, Irreversible Divergence, and Physical Geography.” The Professional Geographer, 56(1): 37-43.

Tutorial prep: Go to the library and find a journal article in your particular field that you consider an example of good research. Be prepared to outline the research project and what makes it a good piece of research. See further guidelines on UW-ACE.

Week 3. Sept. 28/30 (no tutorial)

Debating the relevance of geographical research
The relevance of philosophy in geographic research: Research traditions and methodologies (The scientific paradigm)

Readings (come to class prepared to take a position!)
Martin, Ron. 2001. “Geography and Public Policy: The Case of the Missing Agenda.” Progress in Human Geography, 25(2): 189-210. [all are on-line]

Lee, Roger. 2002. “Geography, Policy, and Geographical Agendas – A Short Intervention in a Continuing Debate.” Progress in Human Geography, 26 (5): 627-628.

Dorling, Danny and Mary Shaw. 2002. “Geographies of the Agenda: Public Policy, the Discipline and its (re)‘turns’.” Progress in Human Geography, 26 (5): 629-641.

Martin, Ron. 2002. “A Geography for Policy, or a Policy for Geography? A Response to Dorling and Shaw.” Progress in Human Geography, 26 (5): 642-644.

Massey, Doreen. 2002. “Geography, Policy and Politics: A Response to Dorling and Shaw.” Progress in Human Geography, 26 (5): 645-646.

Week 4. Oct. 5/7 (+ tutorial)

Research traditions and methodologies, cont. (Behaviouralist and humanist geography)

Readings
Unwin, Tim. 1992. The Place of Geography. London: Longman. [ch.5: “From region to process: The emergence of geography as an empirical-analytic science,” pp.106-135 and ch.6: “Geography and historical-hermeneutic science: The quest for understanding,” pp.136-157.]

Tutorial prep: Bring your research question to class and be prepared to share your questions with your peers. You will need to explain the who, what, when, where, and why of your research question, as well as the how. Most importantly, explain how answering your question will be of value to others (theoretically and/or practically).

Week 5. Oct 12/14 (no tutorial)

Research traditions and methodologies, cont. (Critical, postmodernist, and feminist, and postcolonial geography)
Linking research philosophies, questions, and methods: Qualitative, quantitative, intensive, and extensive research design

Readings
Hubbard, Phil, Rob Kitchin, Brendan Bartley, and Duncan Fuller. 2002. Thinking Geographically: Space, Theory and Contemporary Human Geography. London: Continuum. [ch.3 “New Theories, New Geographies?” pp. 59-93]

Mattingly, Doreen and Karen Falconer-Al-Hindi. 1995. “Should Women Count? A Context for the Debate.” Professional Geographer, 47(4): 427-435.

McLafferty, Sara. 1995. “Counting for Women.” Professional Geographer, 47(4): 436-442.

Shurmer-Smith, Pamela. 2002. “Postcolonial Geographies.” In Pamela Shurmer-Smith (ed.), Doing Cultural Geography. London and Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, pp. 67-77.

Week 6. Oct. 19/21 (+ tutorial)

Conducting a literature review; Formulating a research proposals
Data sources and methods of data collection; Sampling; Survey Research
Evaluation research (Mekonnen Aragaw)

Readings
Healey, Mick. 2003. “How to Conduct a Literature Search.” In Nicholas Clifford and Gill Valentine (eds.), Key Methods in Geography. London and Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, pp. 17-36.

Krathwohl, D.R. 1988. How to Prepare a Research Proposal. 3rd edition. New York: Syracuse University Press. [“A Checklist for Critiquing Proposals,” pp. 146-153]

Miner, L.E. and J. Griffiths. 1993. Proposal Planning and Writing. Phoenix: Oryx Press. [ch.8, pp. 93-98 “Objectives”]

Holmes, David. 1999. “Practical Geography: Designing Questionnaires and Interviews.” Geography Review, 13(1): 29-31.

Parfit, Julian. 1997. “Questionnaire Design and Sampling.” In Robin Flowerdew and David Martin (eds.), Methods in Human Geography: A Guide for Students Doing Research Projects. Essex, UK: Longman, pp. 76-109.

Tutorial prep: Using Krathwohl’s criteria, review and critique a sample research proposal (a selection are on reserve in UMD; you may also critique a proposal in poster format from past Geog 393 students). Come to class ready to discuss your assessment!

Week 7. Oct. 26 (no tutorial; Oct. 28 lecture shifted ? attend Oct 29/30 CAGONT conference instead)

Data sources and methods of data collection, cont.; Qualitative research designs

Readings
Winchester, Hilary. 2000. “Qualitative Research and its Place in Human Geography.” In Iain Hay (ed.), Qualitative Research Methods in Human Geography. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 1-22.

Crang, Mike. 1997. “Analysing Qualitative Materials.” In Robin Flowerdew and David Martin (eds.), Methods in Human Geography: A Guide for Students Doing Research Projects. Essex, UK: Longman, pp.183-196.

Week 8. Nov. 2/4 (+ tutorial)

Interview-based research; Participatory action research

Readings
Dunn, Kevin. 2000. “Interviewing.” In Iain Hay (ed.), Qualitative Research Methods in Human Geography. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 50-82.

Kesby, Mike. 2000. “Participatory Diagramming: Deploying Qualitative Methods through an Action Research Epistemology.” Area, 32(4): 423-435.

Tutorial prep: focus group activity

Week 9. Nov. 9 (Nov. 11 holiday; no tutorial)

Focus Groups and Observation Techniques

Readings
Bedford, Tracey and Jacquelin Burgess. 2001. “The Focus-group Experience.” In Melanie Limb and Claire Dwyer (eds.), Qualitative Methodologies for Geographers: Issues and Debates. London: Arnold, pp. 121-135.

Palys, T. 1997. Research Decisions: Quantitative and Qualitative Perspectives. 2nd ed. Scarborough, ON: Nelson. [ch.9, pp.191-214, “Observation and Ethnography.”]

Week 10. Nov. 16/18 (+ tutorial)

Ethics, Reflexivity, and Power in the Research Process; challenges of doing research abroad (Adina Gillespie)
Research Funding

Readings
Hay, Iain. 2003. “Ethical Practice in Geographical Research.” In Nicholas Clifford and Gill Valentine (eds.), Key Methods in Geography. London and Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, pp. 37-54.

Smith, Fiona. “Working in Different Cultures.” In Nicholas Clifford and Gill Valentine (eds.), Key Methods in Geography. London and Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, pp. 179-193.

Consult the UW Research Ethics (Research with Human Subjects, student research) home page and associated forms at http://www.fes.uwaterloo.ca/geography/courses/geog393.html#
For sources of funding for student research, consult http://www.fes.uwaterloo.ca/geography/courses/geog393.html#.and http://www.fes.uwaterloo.ca/geography/courses/geog393.html#. For more information, contact David Wood, Administrative Director, Research and International Development, Faculty of Environmental Studies, ext.3591 or http://www.fes.uwaterloo.ca/geography/courses/geog393.html#

Tutorial prep: TBA

Week 11. Nov. 23/25 (*extra tutorial scheduled for student presentations)

Writing and Presenting Research Results; Student presentations of research plan (schedule TBA)

Readings
Kitchin, Rob and Nicholas Tait. 2000. Conducting Research into Human Geography: Theory, Methodology & Practice. Essex, UK: Prentice Hall. (Chapter 10: Writing-up and dissemination, pp. 270-289)

Week 12. Nov. 30/Dec. 2 (no tutorial)

Philosophy and history of Geography: Perspectives from 1900 to the present (Len Guelke)
Jobs and/or future studies in geography (Andrew Smith and Adina Gillespie)

Readings
Hanson, Susan. 2000. “Networking.” Professional Geographer, 52(4): 751-758. [special issue on “The Shaping of The Professional Geographer”]