Searching for academic articles for ASR essay

Hi all,

If you are still unsure of how to search for academic articles that you can use for your ASR essay, you can do the following:

1) Go to this link:

http://spark.tp.edu.sg/dmr/lib_databases.htm

2) Click 'Academic Search Premier'

3) Log in using your TP id and password

4) Click 'Find journal articles'

5) Click 'Academic Search Premier' and you should be able to handle the rest. Just treat it like a search engine. If you want to broaden your search, you can go to 'advanced search' to expand to other databases.

One key point to note: The article you find must be downloadable (i.e. pdf, txt etc.), in order for you to save it, print it and read it. When you submit your essay, you must attach a copy of the article too.

There is no need to restrict yourself to just gerontology-related articles. You can select articles that deal with other topics. The most important thing is that the article must discuss the data collection method that was used.

Cheers
Kev

ASR Project Presentation - Schedule and Requirements

Hi all,

Each project group will be presenting their research findings on the following days:

1) Project groups from 1B02 - Monday 8th February 2009, 2-4pm at LT43
2) Project groups from 1B01 - Thursday 11th February 2009, 11am-1pm at LT44

Each project group will be given 15-20 minutes to present their findings (using PowerPoint slides) and this will be followed by a short Q and A session conducted by Kevin and Srini.

As time will be limited, please be punctual for your presentation.

The actual line-up as to which project group will present 1st, 2nd and so on during the tutorial will be announced later.

Please note that the tutorial sessions on 1st Feb (for 1B02) and 4th Feb (for 1B01) are consultation sessions. Srini will be present on 1st Feb with 1B02 and Kevin will be present on 4th Feb for 1B01. Students are to make use of these sessions to clarify any doubts or questions they have regarding their project.

On presentation day, each group will have to do the following for the 15-20 minute presentation:

1) Overview of the project - what is it about, why this topic, any related research by others
2) Research methods employed for the project - description of methods, why such methods, any weaknesses and strengths of such methods
3) Description of data collected - Give an overview of the data collected and present it in an organized and coherent manner
4) Analysis of the data - does the data support your hypothesis (if you have one)? What does the data reveal? Does it give you a better understanding of the topic you are investigating?
5) Summary - Summarize the key findings of your project and describe any interesting learning points that your group may have picked up

IMPORTANT Notes:

Please hand Kevin and Srini a copy of your presentation slides BEFORE the presentation

After the presentation, each project group will be required to submit a short report (as detailed in the handbook) to either Kevin or Srini.

The deadline for the report submission is Monday, 22nd February 5pm, via HARDCOPY to the HSS General Office.

ASR Week 12 Online Tutorial

Hi GEMsters,

You would have received in your email soft copies of the following articles:

1) "Race, Cultural Capital, and the Educational Effects of Participation in Sports" by Eitle and Eitle
2) "Mother tongues, English, and religion in Singapore" by Viniti Vaish
3) "Street Prostitution in Scotland: The views of working women" by Neil McKeganey

Select only one article and read it. However, if you want to read all three, you are more than welcome :)

Next, try answering some of the following questions about the article you read:

1) What was the main research question / topic of the article?
2) What were the research methods employed?
3) Why do you think these research methods were used?
4) What are the strengths and weaknesses of the research methods used?
5) What would you suggest to further improve the quality of the data collected?
6) Do you agree with the conclusions of the article? Why?

Each of you are supposed to submit an individual 500 word response (max 2 page A4) to these questions.

1B01 - email your responses to the Kevster
1B02 - email your responses to Dr Srini

The DEADLINE: Monday 2359hrs 18th January 2010

Research Participation Scheme (RPS)

Hi GEMsters,

The RPS sign up sheets should be up this week on notice boards just at the entrance of HSS 6th Floor.

Please note that you need to sign up for TWO surveys/experiments.

Once you are done with each survey/experiment, you will be given a verification slip of attendance by the researchers. So in total you should have TWO verification slips.

Hand them to Kevster once you have collected them during tutorials or lecture. You will then receive a full 5 percent for your overall ASR score.

So PLEASE do not forget to do this. It's easy money.... :)

Cheers
Kevster

Submission of Ethics Application for Research Project

Dear GEMsters,

Please note that the deadline for your submission of your Ethics Application for approval by the HSS Ethics Committee is due by 2359hrs on 31st December 2009 - Yes, NEW YEAR'S EVE!

All submissions are to be sent to me (Kevster) via email.

You can read all about the HSS Ethics Committee here:
http://www-hss.tp.edu.sg/hss_home/hss_about_us/hss_ethics.htm

Before you set out on what to do for your project, your research methods have to be evaluated and approved by the HSS Ethics Committee. Essentially, we want to ensure that all of your projects abide by the following four ethical principles:

(a) adequacy of the informed consent,

(b) minimum risk evaluation,

(c) appropriate briefing and debriefing, and

(d) appropriate handling of research data and the maintenance of confidentiality.

Once your project is approved by the Ethics Committee, your group will be allowed to go ahead with your research.

As discussed in your tutorials, the themes of your projects should be gerontologically-based.

You can use one of the following research methods (or a combination of two):

1) Intensive and open-ended interviews

2) Questionnaires (online surveys, telephone surveys, postal surveys, classroom surveys etc.)

3) Face-to-face short interviews in public

There is a specific ethics application form that all groups have to fill up, along with a template for a research proposal that you need to complete.

You can find them here:

http://www-hss.tp.edu.sg/hss_home/hss_about_us/hss_ethics/hss_ethics_res_children.htm

At this page, all you need to do is to download the following:

1) The Ethics Approval Form in ITEM 3.

2) The Research Proposal template in ITEM 3 - you can also find samples for consent forms, questionnaires, briefing and debriefing scripts here.

Finally, all you need to do next is to fill them up and submit them by NEW YEAR'S EVE.

I will be emailing the class a sample of how this has been done. So please check your mail.

Answers to questions from Lecture on Focus Groups and Interviews

1. Why is qualitative research appropriate to research topics that defy simple quantification?
A.field research is appropriate to the study of those attitudes best understood within their natural setting.
B.field research is well suited to the study of social processes over time.
C.all of these choices



2. When you use field research, you’re confronted with:
A.decisions about the role you’ll play as an observer
B.your relations with the people you’re observing
C.both a and b
D.none of these choices


3. __________ is an old tradition in qualitative research based on the assumption that an objective social reality exists and can be observed and reported accurately.
A.naturalism
B.ethnography
C.ethnomethodology
D.none of these choices


4. A ______________ is an interaction between an interviewer and a respondent in which the interviewer has a general plan of inquiry, but not a set of questions that must be asked with particular words in a particular order.
A.questionnaire project
B.field research project
C.quantitative interview
D.qualitative interview
E.none of these choices

GEM1011 RESEARCH PARTICIPATION SCHEME

Research Participant Scheme for
GEM1011 Applied Social Research

Requirement:

As part of your subject requirements, you are required to participate in 2 research studies. These studies are conducted by students from the HSS Diploma in Psychology Studies. Your participation in a research study will typically be in the form of answering some research surveys. Each survey session will last 30 minutes or less.

Your participation in these 2 studies will grant you 5% participation mark for GEM1011.

Participation Period:

28 Dec 2009 – 15 Jan 2010. (These are the 3 weeks immediately after the Term Break.) You will sign-up for, and participate in the 2 research studies during this participation period itself.


Where to Sign up for your Research Studies:

The sign-up location is along the corridor just outside IT8-6-29. Just take the lift at Lift Lobby B to Level 6, and you should see it. At this location, you will see a large board on which details of the many different research studies have been posted up (e.g. details of the research, timings of slots that you can sign up for, and location to report). You only need to sign up for 2 of these studies. Pick 2 studies which interest you, and for which the timing of the sessions are suitable for you. Sign up for the studies. Note the location that you will need to report at to participate in the studies.


After Participating in the Research Study:

After you have participated in a session, the researcher will hand you a “Receipt of Participation”. You will need to participate in 2 sessions, hence you will need to collect 2 of these Receipts. Please do not lose these Receipts! Pass the Receipts to your tutor, who will then record your participation in the research study and grant you your 5% participation marks.

If you have any further questions, you can contact the Kevster.