1GEOG. 5161: RESEARCH DESIGN IN PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY (Spring 2006)Class meets 2:00 to 4:50 Mondays in Hellems 259First meeting is Jan. 23, 2006Instructor: Tom Veblen Office Hours: 2:00-3:00, TuTh; Guggenheim 201. Please emailfor an appointment: [email protected] course is the second semester in the sequence of required courses for first-yeargraduate students. The overall goal of the second semester is for students to define specificresearch questions and develop a research strategy for their masters thesis or doctoraldissertation. We will discuss research methodologies in a general context, but this is not acourse on experimental design or specific research techniques. Those subjects are highlyspecific to sub-disciplines and are treated in numerous other courses in the sub-disciplines andin the techniques area (e.g. quantitative methods, remote sensing, GIS). Instead, themethodological component of this course deals with more general aspects of researchapproaches in physical geography and their relationships to broad issues in scientificmethodology. The course emphasizes practical aspects of getting started in a research careerand a broad range of career development topics including ethical issues in conducting andcommunicating research.The principal written product of this semester will be a research proposal produced inthe format of a proposal for a funding agency. Consequently, the amount of reading assigned inthis course is relatively modest to allow you sufficient time to concentrate on developing yourown research proposal. Early in the semester you need to agree on a research topic with youradvisor and on a reading list appropriate for that topic. We will begin the semester with a consideration of the theories or models which aremost closely related to your thesis or dissertation topics. The following several weeks willconsist of workshops on the writing of grant proposals, strategies for publishing researchresults, and practice in the oral communication of research results. In the middle of the semester there will be presentations by faculty on research frontiersin various sub-disciplines of physical geography. The guest faculty presentations will focus onimportant current research directions in the various subfields of physical geography, andprovide an opportunity for physical geography students to become familiar with researchconducted by faculty working in areas outside of the student’s speciality. The presentations areintended to both inform the non-specialist about contemporary developments in each subfieldand to assist students specializing in that subfield to refine their research questions.The final section of the course will consist of student presentations and discussions ofdrafts of their individual research proposals. Students will receive peer reviews of their research2proposals to aid them in the final version of the proposal. The success of the course obviously depends on each student's identification of an area ofresearch and of specific research questions early in the semester. I expect that there will be asubstantial range in the specificity of students' research plans during their first year in the program,but everyone should have a research proposal completed by the end of this semester. It isessential that you seek an appropriate level of advice from your faculty advisor, especially duringthe early part of the semester, to help you define your thesis topic.Background Reading:R.H. Haines-Young and J.R. Petch. 1986. Physical Geography: Its Nature and Methods. Harperand Row, London. I will only assign a couple of chapters from this text, but I recommend that youuse it as a general reference on philosophy of science as applied to physical geography. Althoughthis book is out of print, there are photocopies in the filing cabinet next to the faculty mailboxes.Forum on Methodology in Physical Geography, Annals of the Association of AmericanGeographers 89: 677-778. This is a useful source on the diversity of methodologies applied tophysical geography. A few of the papers will be assigned and discussed.Required Text: Chapin, Paul G. 2004. Research Projects and Research Proposals: A Guide for Scientists SeekingFunding. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge U.K., 154 pp.Grading:Written critiques, short writing assignments, and class participation 30%Oral (15-minute) professional paper presentation 10%Oral presentation on research proposal 10%Written research proposal 50%COURSE SCHEDULEDateTopic and Assignments1/23 Course OrientationAssignment (due Jan. 25): a 250 to 500 word statement that tentatively definesyour research problems or questions and discusses its significance to your sub-field. Try to justify your research problem in terms of its potential contribution toyour sub-field (e.g. conceptually, methodologically, in terms of new data, a new3application, etc.). If appropriate, also comment on its practical significance andpotential broader impacts for society.1/23 & 30 Conducting Environmental Research in the Context of PolicymakingReading: Lubchenko 1998, Lele and Norgaard 2005, Pielke 2002, Lackey 2001,Wagner 2001, Costanza 2001, Norgaard and Baer 2005, Stern 2005, McCook2005, Mills and Clark 2001.2/6 & 2/13 The Use of Theories and Models in Research DesignReading: Ch. 8-9 of Haynes-Young and Petch; Shrader-Frechette and McCoy1994.Assignment: Select a model or theoretical concept (probably a small part of atheory) which will be important to your thesis or dissertation research. Prepare a250 to 500 word critique of the model or theory and a 30 minute oralpresentation. The goal of the presentation is to provide an opportunity for you toexplore some of the conceptual background to your proposed research. In somecases it may be appropriate to treat your presentation as a tutorial on a keyconcept/model in your field to inform a more general audience. Explain the useand impact of the model in your subfield, and try to identify general questions towhich your research will be related. If your research will be on a method (e.g.remote sensing applications) then your presentation might focus on the theoryunderlying relevant methods. The presentation is not intended to be a summaryof the thesis or dissertation