Primary Research?

I love this meme.

As we wrap up our secondary research, it's time to begin shifting gears and moving on to Stage IV which involves primary research. In class, we'll be discussing the different ways we can choose to conduct primary research, ethical considerations, and some general strategies/advice. Your task for the next week is to create your survey instrument and... begin researching! Deadlines are really going to start sneaking up on us; don't put this off!


Here's some required reading on creating instruments and conducting research.

Use that as a guide when conducting your own. You don't need to read the entire thing; first decide what type of research you'll be conducting, and read/absorb what's relevant to you and your project. If you decide not to go with a survey/interview and prefer to do an observation or analysis, you'll be turning in your raw results (A typed version of your observation notes, for example, or a typed analysis of a paper). If you're doing a survey/interview, your results don't need to be ready yet -- you'll be turning in your questions. If you've already gotten some preliminary results, though, you're welcome to hand those in, too, for some additional feedback.

For TR Students:

Drafts of your instrument are due Tuesday. Since we're a little short on time, your instrument doesn't have to be beautiful and perfect. Just bring something to class on Tuesday so you can benefit from feedback on it. 3 copies! Your finalized draft will be due Thursday, March 7th (our last meeting before spring break -- woot woot!).

For MWF Students:

Drafts of your instrument are due Wednesday, March 6th. Bring 3 copies to class for peer review. It doesn't have to be perfect at that point, but do come with something so you'll benefit from feedback. Revisions will be due on Friday, March 8th (our last meeting before spring break -- woot woot!).

AN AMENDMENT TO STAGE IV: Please also include a brief explanation about your primary research plans and your process so  far. This doesn't have to be hugely long or elaborate, but it will help me to better access what you're doing.