Geoscience Research and Literacy (GEOG500) Fall 2006

Course Meets: Mondays and Wednesdays 5:00 - 6:20 pm

Room: Room 328

Professor: Dr. David Keeling

Email: david.keeling@wku.edu, Phone: 745-4555.

Office Hours: see -- Fall Schedule.

Course Description: The objective of this course is to develop geoscience research skills, with an emphasis on hypothesis and research question formation, documentation, the organization of ideas and data, and the presentation of ideas, results, and analysis. Geoscience research is a creative yet structured activity. It requires the ability to develop and formulate hypotheses and to evaluate them critically in both a quantitative and qualitative context. To achieve this object, each student will (1) participate in critical-thinking discussions relating to different research scenarios and methodologies, (2) complete a research proposal for their thesis or publishable research article, and (3) complete a series of research assignments using the resources available in the Department and the library.

Course Readings: REQUIRED TEXTBOOK: Clifford, N.J. and G. Valentine (2004) Key Methods in Geography. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications (ISBN: 076197492X - paperback).

REQUIRED TEXTBOOK: Janelle, D.G., Warf, B., and Hansen, K. (2004) WorldMinds: Geographical Perspectives on 100 Problems. Boston: Kluwer Academic.
PLUS: Assigned Research Articles (see webpage)

Course Performance Evaluation: Participation in seminars and written assignments (40%), A Midterm Review (20%), a final research proposal (40%). There is no final exam in this course.

Attendance: Regular attendance and participation in class discussions and assignments is required. Unexcused absences merit a failing grade.

Student Disability Services
In compliance with university policy, students with disabilities who require accommodations (academic adjustments and/or auxiliary aids or services) for this course must contact the Office for Student Disability Services in DUC A-200 of the Student Success Center in Downing University Center. Please DO NOT request accommodations directly from the professor or instructor without a letter of accommodation from the Office for Student Disability Services.

Course Outline: Each week is divided into two sections. The first section will address the readings and focus on core theories and paradigms in geoscience. The second section addresses methodology and practice in geoscience and will feature presentations by departmental geoscientists, evaluations of research articles, and general discussions on methodology.

Meeting	Theory and Paradigms	Methodology and Practice
Aug 28 and 30	Course Introduction; Knowledge in Context -- Geoscience, Geoscientists, and Scientific Thinking Assignment # 1 circulated.	Observation, Hypothesis Formation, Literature Reviews. Readings: Clifford: Chapters 1 and 2; WorldMinds: Read articles 1 and 9 in Part 1 - discuss in class August 30.
Sept 6	Theory and Logic in Geoscience - Assignment #1 Due.	Pyramid Approach to Research. Readings: Clifford: Chapter 3; WorldMinds: Read articles 12 and 23 in Part II - discuss in class today.
Sept 11 and 13	Fallacies in Geoscience - Assignment #2 Due.	Developing Research Statements. Reading: Clifford: Chapters 5 and 14 (Secondary Data); WorldMinds: Read articles 25 and 34 in Part III - discuss in class on Sept 13.
Sept 18 and 20	Theory of Qualitative Methods.	Finding Sampling Data, Surveys, and Interviews. Reading: Clifford: Chapters 6, 15, and 30; WorldMinds: Read articles 36 and 40 in Part IV - discuss in class on Sept 20.
Sept 25 and 27	Theory of Qualitative Methods -- Assignment #3 Due.	Historical Data and qualitative materials, text, photos, maps, tables, etc. Reading: Clifford: Chapters 7, 8, and 13; WorldMinds: Read articles 47 and 51 in Part V - discuss in class on Sept 27.
Oct 2	Inductive vs. Deductive approaches to Geoscience -- Assignment # 4 Due.	Writing Essays and Reports. Reading: Clifford: Chapter 29.
Oct 9 and 11	Working in Different Cultures, participant observations. Take homeMidterm Written Review Due by 5:00 pm Wednesday October 11 - submit electronically or manually.	Methods in Research. Reading: Clifford: Chapters 9, 11, and 12; WorldMinds: read articles 55 and 59 in Part VI - discuss in class on October 11.
Oct 16 and 18	Statistical Methods - Physical Geography. Assignment #5 Due.	Sampling and other methods. Reading: Clifford: Chapters 16 and 17; WorldMinds: read articles 66 and 70 in Part VII - discuss in class on October 18.
Oct 23 and 25	Statistical Methods. Assignment #6 Due.	More statistical methods. Reading: Clifford: Chapters 19 and 20; WorldMinds: read articles 80 and 82 in Part VIII - discuss in class on October 25.
Oct 30 and Nov 1	Extensive Research in Geoscience. Assignment #7 Due.	Presentation and graphicacy. Reading: Clifford: Chapters 18 and 23; WorldMinds: read articles 87 and 89 in Part IX - discuss in class on Nov 1.
Nov 6 and 8	Intensive Research in Geoscience. Assignment #8 Due.	Applied Geostatistics. Reading: Clifford: Chapters 21, 22, and 24; WorldMinds: read articles 96 and 97 in Part X - discuss in class on Nov 8.
Nov 13 and 15	Laws and Paradigms in Geoscience I.	Models in Physical and Human Geography. Reading: Clifford: Chapters 25 and 26.
Nov 20	Dominant Paradigms in Geoscience II -	Final Discussion. Reading: Clifford: Chapters 27 and 28.
Nov 27 and 29	No Class meeting	No Class -- Work on the Final draft of the research proposal.
Dec 4 and 6	No class meeting	No class meeting - prepare final copy of the research proposal. Reading: Clifford: Chapters 29 and 30
Friday Dec 15 (remember, no final exam)	Final Research Proposal Due - printed copy to my mailbox in EST 304.	Remember: edit, edit, edit and SPELLCHECK before you submit the final copy!

Last updated on 8/16/06