Professor Wedel – Syllabus – Spring 2018

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DRAFT:

ADVANCED FIELD RESEARCH FOR POLICY:

THEORY AND METHOD

GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY

SCHAR SCHOOL OF POLICY AND GOVERNMENT

Course: 791-001 Dr. Janine R. Wedel

Spring 2018 University Professor

Room: Arlington, Founders Hall 312 Telephone: 703-993-3567

Time: Wednesdays, 7:20-10:00 pm Fax: 703-993-8215

Office Hours: Wednesdays, 4:30-5:30 E-mail: jwedel@gmu.edu

Room 638 in Arlington, and by appointment

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This interactive course provides intellectual grounding in theory and methodology and prepares you to

frame research questions, assess concepts, and critically analyze policy processes—all, by, definition,

“qualitative” endeavors. Grounded in part in social anthropology, the course offers literacy in qualitative

research and practical tools of field research for policy. These tools include exercises in data collection

and mini student workshops in which you “go to the board” to work through research questions and

design and to map out your fieldwork—thereby gaining feedback from the class in real time.

The objectives of the course include learning to:

Frame research questions

Select and employ the methods appropriate to address particular research questions

Know the basics of a range of “qualitative” methods

Design and conduct successful field research

Observe and analyze social, political, economic, and cultural practices

The course covers the following techniques and methods:

Social network analysis

Participant-observation and ethnographic methods

Case study research

Historical and archival research

Document analysis

NVivo

Learning Outcomes include:

Ability to craft a cogent research question and use theory wisely

Familiarity with a range of methods and knowledge of when to apply them

Improved observational and listening skills

Ability to employ some of the methods covered and understanding of what is

required to do so

Professor Wedel – Syllabus – Spring 2018

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REQUIREMENTS:

Summary of Anticipated Fieldwork This Semester: Each student will prepare a short summary (one

paragraph at most) of fieldwork you plan to do this semester. Please also add one sentence about how this

relates to your main research and dissertation interests and one sentence about the methods you may

employ. This is due the second week of class. It is a basis for discussion and not graded.

Biweekly field questions (10%): Each student will note his/her thoughts and e-mail them to me every

two weeks about the practical and theoretical questions that arise for you when you are contemplating or

conducting field work in your organization or venue. These thoughts should also be compiled in

sequential order, emailed to me at the end of the semester, and also included in your final paper as

Appendix 2. Please always use this subject line: Methods Course 791 - Practical Methods Questions.

Exercise: Ethnographic and observational skills within a venue or organization (10%): See Part A of

the Appendix in this syllabus.

Research Design and Fieldwork Paper (35%): Each student will develop a research and fieldwork

paper, hopefully one that is relevant to your dissertation research or job. The fieldwork part must be

substantial and based in significant part on field research conducted this semester (Part B of the

Appendix in this syllabus might be helpful). You will “go to the board” in class to work through your

research, with the class providing constructive questioning and feedback in real time.

Your paper, due at the end of the semester, must be well organized and not exceed 15 pages (not

including bibliography or appendices). The paper should contain these elements and the bulk of the

paper should be made up of III and the appendices that accompany it, specified below:

I. Introduction

II. • Research question

• Data needed to address question and a few sample field questions to ask of different

parties that enable you to address the research question

III. • Approach to fieldwork (how you went about it; methods used, in brief) and description of

fieldwork undertaken (field notes go in appendices)

• Your positionality, methodological dilemmas, and issues faced

• Findings and limitations

IV. Conclusion

V. Bibliography

VI. Appendix 1: Methods employed (A short summary of the methods you employed in your

field research and a one-paragraph abstract of each reference)

VIII Appendix 2: Bi-weekly field questions (see Biweekly field questions above)

VIII. Appendix 3: Any field notes

IX. Appendix 4: Exercise on Ethnographic and observational skills specified above and in

Appendix, Part A

Professor Wedel – Syllabus – Spring 2018

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REQUIREMENTS – Continued:

Effort, Approach, and Exercises (25%): This part of the evaluation is based on your interactions in class

throughout the semester. The criteria include your emphasis on inquiry more than advocacy, on your

presence and participation in class, on the importance of using differing kinds of participation, and your

efforts to practice specific behaviors that may be less well developed. The amount of speaking time needs

to be balanced with the need for others to have air time, the quality of listening, efforts to build on the

contributions of others, thoughtfulness of comments, and other contributions made to the creation of a

mutual learning space. I keep weekly notes on your participation for grading at the end of the semester.

Thinking Points (20%): Two written thinking points (up to three single-spaced pages, with paragraph

breaks) are expected of each student. The first essay covers Topics 1 & 2 (required readings listed under

both February 1 and 8). The second essay covers a topic of your choice for which at least five readings

have been assigned. Thinking points should critically review the readings. If possible, a hard copy of

your assignment should be given to me by 6:00pm on the day before they are due. Please include the

following information on the top of each assignment: (1) your full name; (2) course number; (3) phone

number and e-mail address; and (4) readings covered in your essay.

Schar School Policy on Plagiarism:

The profession of scholarship and the intellectual life of a university as well as the field of public

policy inquiry depend fundamentally on a foundation of trust. Thus any act of plagiarism strikes at the

heart of the meaning of the university and the purpose of the Schar School of policy and Government. It

constitutes a serious breach of professional ethics and it is unacceptable.

Plagiarism is the use of another’s words or ideas presented as one’s own. It includes, among other

things, the use of specific words, ideas, or frameworks that are the product of another’s work. Honesty

and thoroughness in citing sources is essential to professional accountability and personal responsibility.

Appropriate citation is necessary so that arguments, evidence, and claims can be critically examined.

Plagiarism is wrong because of the injustice it does to the person whose ideas are stolen. But it is

also wrong because it constitutes lying to one’s professional colleagues. From a prudential perspective, it

is shortsighted and self-defeating, and it can ruin a professional career.

The faculty of the Schar School takes plagiarism seriously and has adopted a zero tolerance

policy. Any plagiarized assignment will receive an automatic grade of “F.” This may lead to failure for

the course, resulting in dismissal from the University. This dismissal will be noted on the student’s

transcript. For foreign students who are on a university-sponsored visa (e.g. F-1, J-1 or J-2), dismissal

also results in the revocation of their visa.

To help enforce the Schar School policy on plagiarism, all written work submitted in partial

fulfillment of course or degree requirements must be available in electronic form so that it can be

compared with electronic databases, as well as submitted to commercial services to which the School

subscribes. Faculty may at any time submit student’s work without prior permission from the student.

Individual instructors may require that written work be submitted in electronic as well as printed form.

The Schar School policy on plagiarism is supplementary to the George Mason University Honor Code; it

is not intended to replace it or substitute for it. (http://www.gmu.edu/facstaff/handbook/aD.html)

Professor Wedel – Syllabus – Spring 2018

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Statement on Special Needs of Students:

If you are a student with a disability and you need academic accommodations, please see me and contact

the Disability Resource Center (DRC) at 993-2474. All academic accommodations must be arranged

through the DRC.

New Voices in Public Policy:

I will consider nominating the very best papers in this course for publication in New Voices in Public

Policy. New Voices is a student-and faculty-reviewed journal that shares the Schar School’s finest

student work with the rest of the world.

Style Manual: Please use the most recent version of the Chicago Manual of Style, Publication Manual of

the American Psychological Association, or some similar widely accepted standard.

READING LIST:

Articles and chapters of books: Available on library and e-reserve (Blackboard), as detailed in the

syllabus.

Required Readings are available on Blackboard or the Internet. Selected books also are available on

library hard-copy reserve in the Arlington library and in the Arlington bookstore.

To access e-Reserves, log into your Blackboard account, go to the course page, and then click on the "e-

Reserves" link in the left-hand navigation bar. Further details regarding Reserves are located here:

http://library.gmu.edu/reserves. Should the Blackboard technology fail, please contact Course Support:

http://coursessupport.gmu.edu/Students/. If Blackboard is working and you are not seeing a reserve item

that should be there, please contact ereserve@gmu.edu.

If you encounter further problems, please contact the Arlington Campus library. Megan McDonnell is the

Access Services Supervisor (kmcdonn1@gmu.edu). Required Books: Available in the bookstore, on e-

reserve, or from me.

Professor Wedel – Syllabus – Spring 2018

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TOPICS AND READINGS:

January 24 – Overview of Course

January 31 – Topic 1 Scientific Method and Ideology

Film: Kitchen Stories

Required Readings – to be discussed Feb. 7

Scientific Method

- Grix, Jonathan. “Introducing Students to the Generic Terminology of Social Research,”

Politics, 2002, vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 175-186.

- Moses, Jonathan W. and Torbjorn L. Knutsen, Ways of Knowing: Competing

Methodologies in Social and Political Research, Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan,

2007, Chapter 1 (required), Chapters 2 & 7 (recommended), Chapter 8 (required).

- Brown, Phil. “Popular Epidemiology and Toxic Waste Contamination: Lay and

Professional Ways of Knowing,” Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 1992, vol. 33,

no. 3, pp. 267-81.

Further Resources:

- Classic work: Feyerabend, Paul. Against Method. London: Verso, 1975.

Mandatory assignment: GMU Office of Research Integrity and Assurance: Human Subjects Training.

To access, go to: http://oria.gmu.edu/research-with-humans-or-animals/institutional-review-

board/human-subjects-training/

Assignment due: Summary of research and fieldwork idea (one paragraph or less)

Professor Wedel – Syllabus – Spring 2018

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February 7 – Topic 1 – continued and Topic 2

Topic 1: Scientific Method and Ideology - continued; Methods and Public Policy Schools

Topic 2: Structure and Culture and Scientific Advancement

Required Readings

Scientific Method – Continued

- della Porta, Donatella and Keating, Michael. “How many approaches in the social

sciences? An epistemological introduction,” Approaches and Methodologies in the

Social Sciences: A Pluralist Perspective: Cambridge University Press, 2008, Chapter 2.

- Burawoy, Michael. The Extended Case Method: Four Countries, Four Decades, Four

Great Transformations, and One Theoretical Tradition, University of California Press,

2009: Introduction and Chapter 1.

Discussion of Required Readings from Jan. 31 & Feb. 7

Methods and Public Policy Schools

Further Resources:

- Morçöl, Göktuğ, and Nadezda P. Ivanova. 2010. “Methods Taught In Public Policy

Programs: Are Quantitative Methods Still Prevalent?” Journal of Public Affairs

Education, vol. 16, no. 2, April 1, 2010, pp. 255–277.

- National Academies. 2012. Using Science as Evidence in Public Policy. Kenneth

Prewitt, Thomas A. Schwandt, and Miron L. Straf, Eds. Committee on the Use of

Social Science Knowledge in Public Policy; Center for Education; Division of

Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education; National Research Council, 2012,

http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13460 (free pdf available).

Structure and Culture of Scientific Advancement

- Sarewitz, Daniel. “Saving Science,” The New Atlantis: A Journal of Technology &

Society, Spring/Summer 2016, pp. 5-40,

http://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/saving-science.

Assignment due: Thinking Points for Topics 1 & 2

Professor Wedel – Syllabus – Spring 2018

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February 14 – Topics 3 & 4

Topic 3: Concept Formation; Conceptualizing Policy and Policy Processes;

Topic 4: Introduction to Research Design

Required Readings:

Concept Formation

- Classic Article: Giovanni Sartori, “Concept Misformation in Comparative Politics,”

The American Political Science Review, vol. 64, no. 4, Dec., 1970, pp. 1033-1053.

Conceptualizing Policy and Policy Processes

- Rittel, Horst W.J. and Melvin M. Webber. “Dilemmas in a General Theory of

Planning,” Policy Sciences 4 (1973), pp. 155-169.

- Cris, Shore. “Introduction (Chapter 1): Conceptualising Policy: Technologies of

Governance and the Politics of Visibility,” Policy Worlds, Shore, Cris, Susan Wright,

and Davide Però, eds., Berghahn Books, 2011, pp. 1-25.

Introduction to Research Design

- Maxwell, Joseph A., Qualitative Research Design, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage

Publications, 2013, Chapters 1-4.

- Schwartz-Shea, Peregrine, and Dvora Yanow. Interpretive Research Design: Concepts

and Processes. New York, NY: Routledge, 2012, Chapters 1 and 2.

Further Resources:

- Bloomberg, Linda Dale and Marie Volpe. Completing Your Qualitative Dissertation:

A Road Map From Beginning to End. SAGE Publications, 2012.

- Irvine, Helen and Gaffikin, Michael, “Methodological Insights: Getting In, Getting On

and Getting Out: Reflections on a Qualitative Research Project,” Accounting, Auditing

& Accountability Journal, 2006, vol. 19, no. 1; ABI/INFORM Global, pp. 115-145,

www.emeraldinsight.com/0951-3574.htm. Direct link:

http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=26EF3B72

726B0058CD4AF2C8AE3B97B3?contentType=Article&contentId=1545315

Professor Wedel – Syllabus – Spring 2018

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February 21 – Topics 5 & 6

Topic 5: Introduction to Field Research; Interview and Ethnographic Methods

Topic 6: Paying Attention to Language; Framing of Language

Required Readings:

Introduction to Field Research; Interview and Ethnographic Methods

- Agar, Michael H. The Professional Stranger. New York: NY: Academic Press, 1996:

Chapters 4, 6, and 7.

- Schensul, Stephen L., Schensul, Jean J., and Le Compte, Margaret. “Entering the

Field,” Ethnographer’s Toolkit 2: Essential Ethnographic Methods, Altamira Press,

1999, pp. 69-89.

- Briggs, Charles. “Listen Before You Leap: Toward Methodological Sophistication,”

Learning How to Ask, Cambridge University Press, 1986, pp. 93-111.

- Spradley, James P. “Interviewing an Informant” and “Making an Ethnographic

Record,” The Ethnographic Interview, Fort Worth, TX, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich

College Publishers:1979, pp. 54-77

- Denzin, Norman K. “Thick Description,” Interpretive Interactionism, SAGE

Publications, 2001, pp.99-118.

- Schensul, Stephen L., Schensul, Jean J., and Le Compte, Margaret. “Structured

Ethnographic Data Collection: Ethnographic Surveys,” Ethnographer’s Toolkit 2,

Altamira Press, 1999, pp. 165-197.

- Hammersley, Martyn and Atkinson, Paul. “The Process of Analysis,” Ethnography:

Principles in Practice, 3rd Edition, New York: Routledge, 2007, pp. 158-190.

- GAO Report: Ethnographic Studies Can Inform Agencies’ Action. GAO-03-455,

March 2003, GAO website. http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d03455.pdf

- Wedel, Janine R. “Appendix Two: Methodology” and “Appendix Three: Interviews:

How to Interpret this List,” Collision and Collusion: The Strange Case of Western Aid

to Eastern Europe, New York, NY: Palgrave, 2001, pp. 219-225.

Paying Attention to Language; Language Framing

- Lakoff, George, and Mark Johnson, Metaphors We Live By. Chicago: University of

Chicago Press, 1980, pp. 3-34, 156-158, 159-184, 185-194 (pp. 3-34 only on e-reserve).

- Lakoff, George. “Frames and Brains,” Thinking Points: Communicating Our American

Values and Vision. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2006, pp. 25-48.

Further Resources: Ethnography, Focus Groups, and Oral History

Shantz, Edward. Political Ethnography: What Immersion Contributes to the Study of

Power, Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2009, Introduction and Chapter 1.

Yauch, Charlene Krueger, R.A., & Casey, M.A. Focus Groups: A Practical Guide for

Applied Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2000: Chapters 1, 2, and 11.

O.A. Ogunbameru. “Focus Groups: Issues and Approaches,” Anthropologist, vol. 5, no. 1,

2003, pp. 1-8. http://www.krepublishers.com/02-Journals/T-Anth/Anth-05-0-000-000-2003-Web/Anth-05-1-001-

066-2003-Abst-PDF/Anth-05-1-001-008-2003-Ogunbameru-O-A/Anth-05-1-001-008-2003-Ogunbameru-O-A-Text.pdf

Assignment due: Human subjects training certificate

Assignment due:

• Exercise, Part A

• Outline for Field Research papers

Professor Wedel – Syllabus – Spring 2018

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February 28– Topics 7 & 8 Grounded Theory; Employing Theory and Method

Topic 7: Grounded Theory

Topic 8: Employing Theory and Method and Discussion of Model Dissertations

Required Readings:

Grounded Theory

- Classic Book: Glaser, Barney G., and Strauss, Anselm L. The Discovery of Grounded

Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research, Chicago, IL: Aldine Publishing Company,

1967, Chapters 1 and 9-11.

Employing Theory

- Janine R. Wedel, “From Power Elites to Influence Elites: Resetting Elite Studies for

the Twenty-First Century,” Theory, Culture, and Society, forthcoming.

OR

Employing Method

- Janine R. Wedel. “The Privatizers,” Shadow Elite, New York, NY, Basic Books: 2009,

pp. 111-146.

Employing Theory and Method: Model dissertations in the realms of health and drug

policy, finance, social movements, and auditing – Choose one of the following:

- Ozierański, Piotr, Who Rules Postcommunism? The Case of Drug Reimbursement

Policy in Poland, University of Cambridge (UK) Doctoral Dissertation, 2012.

- Lepinay, Vincent Antonin, 2011. Codes of Finance: Engineering Derivatives in a

Global Bank. Columbia University Doctoral Dissertation, 2011. Available through the

Columbia Uni. Commons.

- Volpe, Michael Smollar, 2015. Frame Resource and Failure in the Thai Red Shirts and

Yellow Shirts Movements. George Mason University Doctoral Dissertation. Available:

http://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/9870

- Afaqi, Mian Muhammad Jamil, 2015. The Effect of Culture on the Workings of

Bureaucracy: A Comparison of U.S. and Pakistani Audit Bureaucracies. George Mason

University Doctoral Dissertation. Available: http://hdl.handle.net/1920/9685

March 7 – Topic 9 Mixed Methods: Combining Quantitative and Qualitative Research

Guest Lecture: Dr. Jill Rough - TBC

Required Readings:

Yauch, Charlene A. and Steudel, Harold J., “Complementary Use of Qualitative and

Quantitative Cultural Assessment Methods,” Organizational Research Methods, 2003,

vol. 6, pp. 465-481.

R. Burke Johnson, Anthony J. Onwuegbuzie and Lisa A. Turner, “Toward a Definition of

Mixed Methods Research,” Journal of Mixed Methods Research April 2007, vol. 1, no. 2,

pp. 112-133, http://mmr.sagepub.com/content/1/2/112.

Professor Wedel – Syllabus – Spring 2018

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March 14 – SPRING BREAK

March 21 – Topic 10 Case Study Design and Research; Covariational, Process Tracing, Congruence,

And Other Approaches

Guest Speaker: Dana Dolan

Case studies, despite their timeless appeal and widespread use, occupy a fuzzy position in social

science research due to the diversity of research approaches that fall under the broad label. The

chapter by Collier and Elman sets the stage by exploring several cleavages that underpin debates

about the nature of case studies, and how best to "do" them. Blatter and Haverland's book turns

this conflict into opportunity, by differentiating three approaches to explanatory case study

research which can be combined. Table 1.1 in Chapter 1 summarizes their analysis. The next three

expand on Blatter & Haverland's three approaches. Gerring's article draws upon the logic of

statistical reasoning to show how independent and dependent variables can be observed to co-vary

as an indicator of causality. George and Bennett's chapter encourages researchers to strengthen

their explanations by "opening the black box" of causality to trace the processes through which

causes create effects. Blatter and Haverland label these two approaches "COV" for covariational

and "CPT" for causal process tracing. Their third approach, "CON" for congruence, cites Graham

Allison's Conceptual Models and the Cuban Missile Crisis as a study that applies multiple

theoretical lenses to provide a deeper analysis of a single case study. Paul Cairney's article

usefully expands on how this "multiple lenses" approach to case study research can work in

practice. Not only are these three approaches far from the only possibilities, different case study

approaches can be combined, as Eisenhardt’s highly cited article demonstrates. Her approach

blends aspects of Robert Yin’s deductively-oriented case approach with aspects of Grounded

Theory, an inductively-oriented approach. The final reading offers an overview of process tracing

from the perspective of policy studies, including an extensive bibliography of further readings.

Required Readings:

Collier, David, and Colin Elman. “Qualitative and Multi-Method Research: Organizations,

Publication, and Reflections on Integration.” In Oxford Handbook of Political

Methodology, 780–95. Chapter 34, 2008.

Blatter, Joachim, and Markus Haverland. Designing Case Studies: Explanatory

Approaches in Small-N Research. Palgrave Macmillan, 2012. Chapter 1, pages 1-32

The prior week, students should have selected one of the following; with at least two

students for each reading. Be prepared to discuss it in light of the readings above:

Gerring, John. “What Is a Case Study and What Is It Good For?” The American Political

Science Review 98, no. 2 (May 1, 2004): 341–54.

George, Alexander L., and Andrew Bennett. 2005. Case Studies and Theory Development

in the Social Sciences. MIT Press. Preface and Chapter 1 can be downloaded at

http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/case-studies-and-theory-development-social-sciences .

Chapter 2 is optional. (this is a reading for your March 18 class) You may also want to

review Prof. Bennett's seminar last month, available at: https://vimeo.com/119138545.

The password is 2374 .

Professor Wedel – Syllabus – Spring 2018

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March 28 – Topic 10 Case Study Design and Research; Covariational, Process Tracing, Congruence,

And Other Approaches – Continued

Cairney, Paul. “Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: How Do We Combine the Insights of

Multiple Theories in Public Policy Studies?” Policy Studies Journal 41, no. 1 (2013): 1–

21.

Eisenhardt, Kathleen M. “Building Theories from Case Study Research.” The Academy of

Management Review, vol. 14, no. 4, Oct. 1989, pp. 532-550.

Thinking points: In what ways does case-based research differ from variables-based research?

Under what conditions would a researcher use deductive research, and when would an inductive

approach be more useful? Which approaches are better aligned with positivist methodological

commitments, and which with interpretivist ones? Which approaches and variations fit your own

views of the way the world works, and which are more likely to answer the research questions you

are developing?

Further Reading: Alternative Case Study Approaches

Engeli, I and C. Rothmayr . 2014. Comparative Policy Studies. Conceptual and

Methodological Challenges. Houndsmills Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan

Gerring, John. 2007. Case Study Research: Principles and Practices. New York: Cambridge

University Press.

Gomm, Roger, Martyn Hammersley, and Peter Foster. 2000. Case Study Method: Key Issues,

Key Texts. SAGE.

Ragin, Charles C. 2014 (1987). The Comparative Method: Moving Beyond Qualitative and

Quantitative Strategies. Univ of California Press.

Ragin, Charles C., and Howard S. Becker. 1992. What Is a Case?: Exploring the Foundations

of Social Inquiry. Cambridge [England]; New York: Cambridge University Press.

Lange, Matthew. 2012. Comparative-Historical Methods. SAGE.

Evera, Stephen Van. 1997. Guide to Methods for Students of Political Science. Cornell

University Press.

Further Reading: Process Tracing

Bennett, Andrew, and Jeffrey T. Checkel. 2015. "Process tracing: from philosophical roots to b

est practices." In Process Tracing. From Metaphor to Analytic Tool, ed. A. Bennett and J. T. C

heckel. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.

Collier, David “Understanding Process Tracing,” PS: Political Science and Politics 44(4)

(October 2011): 823‐ 830, and associated exercises (online at

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1944646)

Falleti, Tulia G. 2016. "Process tracing of extensive and intensive processes." New Political Ec

onomy, 1‐ 8.

Kay, Adrian, and Phillip Baker. 2015. “What Can Causal Process Tracing Offer to Policy

Studies? A Review of the Literature.” Policy Studies Journal 43 (1): 1–21.

Tansey, Oisín. 2007. “Process Tracing and Elite Interviewing: A Case for Non-Probability

Sampling.” PS: Political Science & Politics 40 (04): 765–72.

doi:10.1017/S1049096507071211.

Professor Wedel – Syllabus – Spring 2018

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April 4 – Topic 11 Introduction to Social Network Analysis AND Net-Map Demonstration

Guest Speaker: Amitaksha Nag

Required Readings:

History and basic tools of social network analysis; networks within and across

organizations, communities, groups, and nations

- Freeman, Linton C. The Development of Social Network Analysis: A Study in the

Sociology of Science, Empirical Press, Book Surge, 2004, Introduction.

- Avenarius, Christine. The Structure of Constraints: Social Networks of Immigrants

from Taiwan, Ph.D. thesis, 2003: pp. 157-165. Available:

kups.ub.unikoeln.de/1158/1/avenarius_dissertation.pdf

Uses of social network analysis: from sexually transmitted disease to terrorism to business-

government networks and global governance

- “New teen study could help stop spread of sexually transmitted disease,” Kristina

Goetz, Columbia News Service, 2005/03/15,

http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051122/NEWS/51122030

8/1027

- Castells, Manuel. “Culture, Institutions, and Economic Organization: East Asian

Business Networks,” End of Millenium, vol 1, pp. 188-215.

- Diane Stone, “Transfer Agents and Global Networks in the ‘Transnationalisation’ of

Policy,” Journal of European Public Policy, vol. 11, issue 3, 2004.

Further Resources:

- Schiffer, E. and Hauck, J. (2010) Net-Map: “Collecting Social Network Data and

Facilitating Network Learning through Participatory Influence Network Mapping,”

Field Methods, August 2010, vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 231-249,

http://fmx.sagepub.com/content/22/3/231.abstract.

- Hanneman, Robert A. and Mark Riddle, Introduction to Social Network Methods.

Riverside, CA: University of California, Riverside, 2005, Introduction, Chapter 1, and

Chapter 10 (optional), http://faculty.ucr.edu/~hanneman/nettext/.

- Buchanan, Mark. Nexus: Small Worlds and the Groundbreaking Theory of Networks.

New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, 2002, Chapter 2: “The Strength of Weak

Ties.”

Thinking points:

What are the basic tools of social network analysis? Is network analysis a theory or a

method? What kinds of problems is it suited to address? How can studying social networks

help us understand the spread of disease or the workings of terrorism or organized crime?

How can social network analysis shed light on governance?

Professor Wedel – Syllabus – Spring 2018

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April 11 – Topic 12 Verification and Triangulation; Student Workshop

Required reading:

• Maxwell, Joseph A., Qualitative Research Design, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications,

2013, Chapters 5-6.

April 18 – Topic 13 Historical and Archival Research

Guest Speaker: Dr. Helen McManus

Required Reading:

Phelps, Christopher. “My Dream Archive.” The Chronicle of Higher Education, January 2,

2007. http://www.chronicle.com.mutex.gmu.edu/article/My-Dream-Archive/46646/.

Further Resources:

Collingwood, R.G. The Idea of History. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1992.

High, Jack and Clayton A. Coppin. "Wiley, Whiskey, and Strategic Behavior: An Analysis

of the Passage of the Pure Food Act," Business History Review (Boston: Harvard Business

School Press) vol. 62, Summer 1998.

Ronald Grele, “On Using oral History Collections: An Introduction,” The Journal of

American History, vol. 74, no. 2, September 1987, pp. 570-578.

April 25 – Topic 14 Introduction to NVivo

Guest Speaker: Sahar Haghighat

May 2 – Wrap Up: Field Research and Your Career

Final assignments due:

Field Research papers, incorporating Parts B & C, if applicable

Written discussion of method