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II. Detailed Class Descriptions

This section includes detailed descriptions of each class session in the course, Research and Analysis in a Development Context.

The 11 lessons are:

  1. Introductions
  2. The Role of Research in Development
  3. Research Design–Crafting Research Questions
  4. Research Design–Grant Writing and Communication
  5. Data Collection–Media Analysis
  6. Data Collection–Interviews
  7. Analyzing Interview Transcripts
  8. Analyzing Ethical Dilemmas in Development Research
  9. Focus Groups and Facilitation Techniques
  10. Knowledge Mobilization Plans
  11. Conclusions and Reflections

Lesson plans includes instructions and readings for before class, homework activities, and instructions for during class.

Class 1. Introductions

We will use this class to introduce ourselves to one another and learn more about what to expect from the year ahead for this course.

Before Class:

Fill out the introductory survey found at this link below before Monday Sept 13th at midnight

[The survey the students filled out asked them about their plans for their Masters research – e.g. intended methods, data analysis techniques, audiences; their career goals after graduating and any specific skills they hoped to improve through the course. It also included a question: “Is there anything else you want to tell me?”] 

During Class: 

Please come prepared to share a little bit about yourself and engage with other students.

Class 2: The Role of Research in Development

The purpose of this class is to consider the role of research in Development Studies and to consider different types of and purposes of research.

Before class: 

Read: 

  1. Laws, S., C. Harper, N.Jones, and R. Marcus. (2003). “Chapter 2: How is research used in development work?”In Research for Development: A Practical Guide. London, UK: SAGE. Pp 25-48.
  2. Murray, W., & Overton, J. (2014). Designing development research. In R. Scheyvens Development field work. SAGE Pp. 19-38.
  3. What’s happening here?
    • o Read from beginning of chapter and stop reading at the subtitle “How can I think of a research topic?” (pages 1-6 of PDF). Feel free to skim the rest though – lots of great info in here!

Homework activity: Reading reflection

Due by Monday September 27th at midnight in CourseLink Dropbox

Write and submit a reading reflection that is between half a page and one page long (single-spaced). In the reflection answer the following questions:

  1. After doing the assigned reading summarize the role(s) of research in development in your own words.
  2. How would you situate your own research (or research you are familiar with in your discipline) in the context of these readings?[For example, can you identify where you research fits on Figure 2.1 in Laws et al. or Box 2.1 or 2.2 in Murray and Overton?]

During class: 

Be prepared to participate in a discussion-style seminar about the readings and your own experiences related to the role of research in development.

Class 3: Research Design – Crafting Research Questions

The purpose of this class is to practice designing research questions. There are two options below: option one is for those of you who would like to work on designing and refining your own research questions for your Masters work. Option 2 is for those of you who would not find that useful and can instead practice designing research questions for a topic that I have chosen. For both options you will need to read the case study in order to be able to understand the conversations and activities that we will use during the class.

Before class: 

Read/Watch: 

  1. Video: Developing a research question, Laurier University Library: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oJNO6PYZe4
  2. Murray, W., & Overton, J. (2014). Designing development research. In R. Scheyvens Development field work. SAGE Pp. 19-38.
    1. Read pg 26 – 30 (How can I think of a research topic? 🡪 to Box 2.5) Feel free to skim the rest though – lots of great info in here!
  3. Case study: Quinoa: Good, evil or just really complicated? (everyone should read this for context to Option Two)

Homework activity: 

Due by Monday October 25th at midnight in CourseLink Dropbox

OPTION ONE:

  1. Based on the research you have planned for your Masters degree, fill out the “Designing Research Questions Activity Sheet” (found here) and submit it to CourseLink Dropbox. [note: this is just for practice, if your Masters project completely changes after this it is totally fine, you are not bound in any way to these research questions!]

OPTION 2:

  1. Based on the case description above, fill out the “Designing Research Questions Activity Sheet” (found below) and submit it to CourseLink Dropbox. Since this is an activity for practicing research question creation, you do not need to do any additional information about this case. You can make assumptions to the best of your ability about the scenario in order to create good research questions.

During class: 

Be prepared to share your research questions with classmates and receive and provide constructive criticism on how to improve research questions. We will discuss best practices for question design and next steps in terms of broader research design.

Class 4: Research Design – Grant Writing and Communication

The purpose of this class is to learn more about best practices in grant writing. Grant writing is crucial to fund academic research and it is also very common to encounter in government, non-governmental and consultant sectors. Some keys to good grant writing include clear research design, and the ability to communicate the relevance and urgency of a research question to a broad audience. We will consider best practices in grant writing by working through some examples of successful research grants.

Before class:

Read through some of these resources on best practices in grant writing:

Homework Activity: Identify Strong Grant Writing Techniques Used

Due by November 8th midnight in CourseLink Dropbox

  • Carefully review the two grant excerpts posted in CourseLink. These are donated from professors at the University of Guelph.
  • Based on the resources above and the evaluation criteria information sheet for SSHRC grants, make a list of, or highlight the places where the applicants excelled. Try to be specific in your analysis of the grants: where did they use techniques mentioned in the resources? Where and how were they concise and clear? Where is the relevance and urgency of the issue discussed? How did they make their research design clear? How did they specifically meet some of the adjudication criteria listed for each grant?
  • You should also highlight/list areas of the grants where you feel improvements could have been make.
  • Submit your marked-up grants/lists with your comments to CourseLink Dropbox.

During class: Come to class prepared to discuss your impressions of the grants in terms of both research design and communication style. We will pay specific attention to how exactly the writers did a good job of highlighting the relevance and urgency of the issue and clearly delineating a research design.

Class 5: Data Collection – Media Analysis

The purpose of this class is to practice designing the data collection phase of a research project. Since many of you are using secondary sources such as documents, discourse, media, etc. for your research we will work independently and together to consider the various practical considerations that are necessary when doing this type of research. The goals of this class are to consider concise and clear research design and to start thinking more broadly about decisions that are necessary as part of data collection in a research project. You will not be expected to become an expert in research design or data collection. This is more of an exploratory exercise to see what researchers planning to do a media analysis should consider.

Before Class: 

Watch short video lecture on research design [This is a video I made summarizing main points of the recommended readings].

Recommended Readings:

These readings are optional because they will be reviewed in the lecture video. 

  1. Stewart-Withers, R., Banks, G., Mcgregor, A., & Meo-Sewabu, L. (2014). Qualitative research. In R. Scheyvens Development field work(pp. 59-80). SAGE Publications, Ltd,
    1. Read from the section “Analyzing Qualitative Data pg 13 of PDF to the end of the chapter.
  2. Hodgetts, D. & Chamberlain, K. (2014). Analysing news media. In The SAGE handbook of qualitative data analysis(pp. 380-393). SAGE Publications Ltd, (Focus on the steps the authors outline).
  3. Sumner, A., & Tribe, M. A. (2008). “What is Rigour in Development Studies?” International development studies: Theories and methods in research and practice. Sage.

Homework Activity: Data Collection Plan Worksheet

Due by midnight November 22nd in CourseLink Dropbox

Fill out and submit the data collection plan worksheet for the fictitious research project for Climate Strike Canada (found here).

You do not need to do any additional research in order to complete this activity. This is meant to be more of a brainstorming and exploratory exercise that will help foster discussion when we meet in class.

During class:

We will discuss/compare our data collection plans. Attention will be paid to specific questions and challenges we faced in decision making and collectively brainstorming how we might overcome those challenges in our own research.

Class 6. Data Collection – Interviews

The purpose of this class is to concentrate on the practical aspects of designing and conducting an interview, as one common form of qualitative data collection. Even if you do not plan to use interviews in your own Masters research it is very likely that you will encounter them as researchers or participants in many professions.

Read:

  1. Mikkelsen, B. (2005) “Data Construction and Analysis of Qualitative Data” In Methods for Development Work and Research: A New Guide for Practitioners. SAGE: New Delhi pp 156-198
  2. (READ from “Interviews – a key source of data” to “notetaking” /Pages 15-30 OF PDF Chapter document)
  3. Laws, S., C. Harper, N.Jones, and R. Marcus. (2003). “Seven Key Research Techniques” In Research for Development: A Practical Guide. London, UK: Sage.
  4. (READ from “Seven Techniques to beginning of “focus groups” sections PAGES 1-13 OF THE PDF Chapter document)
  5. Turner, D. W. (2010). Qualitative Interview Design: A Practical Guide for Novice Investigators. The Qualitative Report, 15(3), 754-760.
  6. McGrath., C., Per J. Palmgren & Matilda Liljedahl (2019) Twelve tips for conducting qualitative research interviews, Medical Teacher, 41:9, 1002-1006.

Homework Activity: Design an Interview Guide 

Due by 11:59pm on Monday Jan 17th in CourseLink Dropbox

  1. You have been hired by the University of Guelph to design and conduct interviews with current students about the “Internationalization of the University of Guelph” (see background information below). The University would like you to conduct interviews with current students to answer the research questions: What experiences do University of Guelph students have with the Internationalization of the University and how do these experiences enhance their learning experiences, if at all?
  2. Following the advice in the readings you did, design and submit an interview guide which includes 10 to 15 questions that you will ask a participation to answer the research questions described above and an introductory/welcome statement and a closing statement that you will read to the participant.

Background Information: Internationalization includes things like: hosting international students and visitors, hiring international faculty, conducting international research, teaching about international issues and organizing student exchanges and international opportunities. According to the website “The University of Guelph has been committed to Internationalization for over 150 years. International students were studying at Guelph from as far away as the West Indies in the late 1800s. Since then our international student population has grown considerably and international research and development activities span the globe. International dimensions can be found in all aspects of the University of Guelph’s strategic framework – Our Path Forward – an institutional planning document that describes who we are, where we will focus and how we will move forward as a University. Internationalization is especially pertinent to the themes of, Connecting Communities, Nurturing a Distinctive University Culture and Stewarding Valued Resources”.

During Class:

Bring your interview guide to class and be prepared to use it!

Class 7. Analyzing Interview Transcripts

The purpose of this class is to allow you to practice inductive qualitative data analysis (grounded theory) of interview transcripts. While we’ll focus on interview data, the readings and processes you use here can also be applied to focus groups, media, social media and other forms of document or discourse analysis. Part of the reason this class is designed this way is because of my own experiences as a student researcher. When I was a student I found it really frustrating that published articles never mentioned anything precise about how interview transcripts were analyzed but usually just mentioned in their methods sections that interviews were done and then analyzed using a qualitative software program (e.g. Nvivo). I was always looking for actual tips on what to do once I had a transcript in front of me. I’ve since learned that qualitative data analysis can take many forms and depends largely on the goals of the project. That said, there are still systematic practices that we can follow to make sure our interview data analysis is thorough and trustworthy and the results reflective of what people are saying.

Before Class:

Short lecture video on qualitative data analysis

Read:

  1. Saldaña, J. (2016). The coding manual for qualitative researchers. Sage.
    1. (Focus on the description of writing an analytical memo pg 41-50 but consider reading/skimming chapter 1 and all of chapter 2 if you will be doing coding for your thesis or if you are new to the idea of qualitative data analysis).

Optional/Recommended Readings:

  1. Mikkelsen, B. (2005) “Data Construction and Analysis of Qualitative Data” In Methods for Development Work and Research: A New Guide for Practitioners. SAGE: New Delhi pp 156-198
    1. (READ from “Analysis and Interpretation of Interview-based data: through “Box 5.13” Pages 30-35 OF PDF Chapter Document)
  2. Laws, S., C. Harper, N.Jones, and R. Marcus. (2003). “Analysis” In Research for Development: A Practical Guide. London, UK: Sage.
    1. (READ PAGES 1-32 OF THE PDF Chapter Document)

Homework Activity: Coding Interview Transcripts 

Due by 11:59pm Monday Jan 31st in CourseLink Dropbox

  1. Access the interview transcripts excerpts I have posted online. These transcripts are from a research project where the aim of the project was to investigate the embodied work-lives of academics over time.The transcripts you will read are excerpts of interviews with the same participant in 2009, 2014 and 2019. The aim of the interview was to learn about her work-life balance and to learn about how she experienced her position in academia in an embodied way based on her identity and positionality.
  2. Your task is to code these transcripts.Use the readings to guide you in deciding what steps to take. How many rounds of coding to do and what type of coding to do. Figure out some sort of colour or comment system so that you can submit a digital version of the coded transcript (you could even take a photo of it if you want to code a hard copy). Submit the coded transcripts to be graded. 🡪 please note I cannot see comments attached to word document on dropbox, so if you use that option you will need to convert the file to a PDF so I can see the comments.
  3. Write an analytical memo about your data analysis experience thinking of analytical memos as “sites of conversation with ourselves about our data” (Clarke, 2005, p. 202 in Suldaña, 2015). Choose ONE of the following suggestions from Suldaña (pg 44-45) to focus on for the memo. The analytical memo should be less than 1 page single-spaced.
  4. Reflect on and write about your code choices and their operational definitions.
  5. Reflect on and write about emergent patterns, categories, themes, concepts, and assertions.
    Submit the analytical memo for grading

During Class: Come to class prepared to share your coded transcripts, discuss main themes in the data and discuss your experience of coding.

[Note to reader: I don’t reveal this “after class” part until after the class so the students don’t know which project they are coding transcript from].

After Class: If you want to you can read the papers that resulted from the interview transcripts you just analyzed to see how the data was used in the eventual publications.

Hawkins, R., Manzi, M., & Ojeda, D. (2014). Lives in the making: Power, academia and the everyday. ACME: An International Journal for Critical Geographies, 13(2), 328-351.

Manzi, M., Ojeda, D., & Hawkins, R. (2019). “Enough Wandering Around!”: Life trajectories, mobility, and place making in Neoliberal Academia. The Professional Geographer, 71(2), 355-363.

Manzi, M., Ojeda, D., & Hawkins, R. (2024). Creating “wiggle room”: Spaces of care and possibility within the neoliberal academy. Geoforum, 149, 103962.

Class 8. Analyzing Ethical Dilemmas in Development Research

The purpose of this class is threefold. First, we will use the recorded videos and information within them to get to know some of the Professors and research in the GIDS program. Second, we will use the ethical dilemmas presented in these videos to discuss ethics in development research more broadly in our class discussion. Finally, we will take the opportunity of watching these videos to practice a type of deductive content analysis. This is one form of data analysis that you may use in your own research or in future professional work. A deductive approach to qualitative data analysis commonly starts with a pre-determined set of codes. Usually these codes are drawn from theory or the relevant academic literature. In this case, I will supply codes for you to look for within these videos. I draw these codes from many readings of Ethics in Development Research over the years, I specifically reviewed these two chapters for this class (they are available through the library but are not assigned as part of this class due to timing). Laws, S. et al., 2003. “Research Ethics” In  Research for Development: A Practical Guide. London, UK: Sage.; Milkkensen, 2005. “Chapter 8: Conclusion on Ethics and Interventions” In Methods for Development Work and Research a new guide for practitioners. SAGE: New Delhi

If you are unfamiliar with qualitative data analysis you may wish to review the optional readings from Class 2.

Before Class: 

Watch the 4 videos recorded with Development Studies Faculty found on our course website.

Homework Activity: Fill our Analysis Chart on Ethical Dilemmas

Due by 11:59pm Monday Feb 14th in CourseLink Dropbox

As you watch the videos, fill out and submit the coding chart (found here). Note that this is practice in deductive coding and data analysis (sometimes called content analysis). In the chart you will be asked to count how many times specific themes emerge in the videos and to provide examples of how those themes emerge (direct quotes or paraphrased descriptions of situations).

During class: We will discuss the major themes arising from the videos and the process of coding them (data analysis practices). We will also more broadly discuss the ethical dilemmas that arose and the researchers’ responses to them.

For your information: Details of interview invitation and organization

Here is a copy of the email I sent to faculty inviting them to participate in these interviews. I share all of this with you for two reasons: first, so you can see an example of clear instructions and a clear ask of interviewees; and second, so you can see that I gave faculty members some suggested topics to consider and a list of interview questions ahead of time. This may help you interpret the videos of these interviews when you watch them (or at the very least understand why they are so concise and I didn’t have to ask many questions as an interviewer).

Dear [Name]

I’ll be teaching “IDEV*6300 – research in a development context” next semester. Something I would like to include in the course are examples of ‘real life’ research dilemmas that faculty have faced when conducting research. I’m writing to see if you would be willing to participate in a short interview with me, scheduled at your convenience.

In the interview I will ask you to tell me about a specific research dilemma you have faced, what happened and what you did in response.

Details:

  • The video interview will be about 20 minutes long
  • The research dilemma you choose to discuss can be about any part of the research process (see below for ideas)
  • I will ask you the questions below as part of the interview

Please let me know if you are available and willing to participate in this and suggest some times that will work for your interview over the next few weeks.

Thank you very much for considering this request!

Roberta

Possible research dilemma themes: 

  • technical (loss of data on hard drive);
  • cultural (issues of translation or misunderstanding);
  • methodological (method doesn’t work or capture what you expect);
  • ethical (concern about researcher positionality or power);
  • political (lack of access to participants or policy makers);
  • communicative (dealing with conflict among community or research team members);
  • personal (friendships and relationships ‘in the field’);
  • procedural (following REB guidelines as research changes in real time);
  • environmental (facing difficult weather or poor accessibility);
  • collaborative (working with corporate or NGO partners);
  • analytical (poor data availability for analysis);
  • conceptual (framing your research questions in a way that misaligned with community/local interpretations);
  • or of any other type…

Interview Questions:

  1. Please set the stage for the research dilemma you will talk about – what was the research project, where were you and what was the goal?
  2. What research dilemma did you face? Please be specific. Try to avoid telling me what happened next/solutions.
  3. What happened after that dilemma – how was it resolved (if it was)?
  4. What would you do differently next time, if anything? [If time permits in interview]

Class 9. Focus Groups and Facilitation Techniques

In this class we will work together to practice some common group facilitation techniques. These can be used for data collection (e.g. in a focus group), group data analysis, knowledge mobilization, or more general strategic planning workshops, meeting coordination etc. In seminar and class situations these may be referred to as active learning activities used to lead and encourage class discussions. Bottom line: Developing your skills in facilitating workshops and group discussions can be very useful!

Before class: 

Read: 

Explore all of the following websites (after you read the homework instructions below). The websites includes tips for facilitation and some of them have templates for facilitation plans. The websites also list various facilitation activities (e.g. think-pair-share/1-2-4-all; four corners; TRIZ; 9 whys;  brain drain; how, now, wow), how to do them and when/why to use them.

– McGill University Skills21 facilitator guide and activities: https://www.mcgill.ca/skills21/facilitator-guide/about

– Liberating Structures: https://www.liberatingstructures.com/ls-menu/

– Seeds for change: https://www.seedsforchange.org.uk/shortfacilitatingworkshops

– Session lab: https://www.sessionlab.com/library

Homework Activity: 

Due by 11:59 9:00 am by March 7th in CourseLink Dropbox

You have been hired by the Guelph Institute of Development Studies (GIDS) to host a three-hour focus group workshop with graduate students. By the end of the workshop the GIDS Director would like you to have an answer/answers to the following question:

What qualities should a successful graduate of a Development Studies Masters program have and how can the Guelph Institute of Development Studies (GIDS) specifically help students gain/foster these qualities? 

For your homework I would like you to design a 3-hour facilitated workshop that helps our group work towards answering the above question. You will not actually be facilitating this workshop. Your facilitation plan (details below on what to include) will be submitted for homework. I will use your plans to design a workshop that we will then all participate in during our class meeting. We will answer the main research question through our workshop AND discuss the pros and cons to various facilitation techniques used.

You can design a plan for an in-person or a virtual workshop – whichever would be more useful for you to think about. For your facilitation plan you will need to choose at least three facilitation techniques from the resources above or from other resources you are familiar with (if you use another resource please put it as a footnote citation in your plan). You workshop plan must be no longer than 3 pages and can include bullet points, diagrams, flow charts, tables, etc.

The facilitation plan must include:

  1. A plan for the workshop flow including the order with which you will use each technique, the time each will take. Keep in mind the entire workshop will be 3 hours long and should include some time for introductions, a short break and conclusions.
  2. The name of each facilitation technique you will use
  3. A brief description of the general purpose of each facilitation technique (e.g. to generate ideas, to hear from everyone, to plan out next steps, to build consensus, to practically move forward etc.)
  4. A brief description of the steps or practices that each technique entails.
  5. A description of why you chose each technique, what it can be used for and how it will help you answer the main question or a sub-question that will lead to answering the main question.
  6. A list of materials you need to do this technique (e.g. markers, google jam board)
  7. Any other relevant planning notes (e.g. a list of prompt questions you will ask participants, researcher positionality considerations, ethical considerations, etc.)

During Class: 

Roberta will lead us through a facilitated workshop taking elements from each of your plans and calling on students to help with the facilitation when appropriate. We will try to answer the main question and we will reflect on and evaluate the various facilitation techniques used.

Class 10. Knowledge Mobilization Plans

The importance of knowledge mobilization is becoming more and more evident as a fundamental aspect of research. Whether or not you continue in a career as a researcher, it is very likely that you will need to communicate knowledge to relevant audiences in a variety of formats. As I was designing this course I connected with the folks at the Community Engaged Scholarship Institute (CESI) at the University of Guelph to learn more about current practices of knowledge mobilization. Their advice was that our class should first focus on best practices in engagement and impact for knowledge mobilization, and then work on creating one specific knowledge mobilization ‘output’ (the Infographic Assignment due in April). This module was designed in collaboration with experts at the Community Engaged Scholarship Institute (CESI).

Before Class:

Watch/Listen: Check-out the powerpoint lecture (with audio) from of guest experts describing best practices for engagement and impact and the construction of a knowledge mobilization plan for research.

Read: 

  1. Bannister, J. & Hardill, I. (2013). Knowledge mobilisation and the social sciences: dancing with new partners in an age of austerity. Contemporary Social Science 8(3):167-175.
  2. Lavis, J.N. et al. (2003) How can research organizations more effectively transfer research knowledge to decision makers? The Milbank Quarterly81(2): 221-248.
  3. Knowledge mobilization template and toolkits found on CourseLink

Homework Activity: Knowledge Mobilization Plan

Due by 11:59pm on March 21st in CourseLink Dropbox

  1. Based on the readings and the tips provided in the lecture, create a knowledge mobilization plan for your own research project.
  2. I realize that following the best practices for knowledge mobilization with your Masters research might not be possible for a variety of reasons (finances, time-line, advisor’s project plans, covid-19, project-based Masters) so it is okay if your plan is more ideal/fictitious than based in reality. That said, I still want your plan to seem realistic.
  3. I will be referring to the IDEV*6300 Introductions Fall 2021Survey answers you filled out in the past to remind myself what your research entails as I read through your submission. If your Masters research plan has changed significantly since you filled out the Introductory Survey or if you are doing a course-based Masters and have designed a fictitious project for this assignment then please feel free to submit an extra half-page document summarizing your new/fictious research project to provide me with more context.
  4. You can follow the format of one of the templates on CourseLink for your knowledge mobilization plan or you can combine them or create your own as you see fit. Your plan should be less than 3 pages single spaced. It can be formatted in any useful format (tables, bullet points, flow charts etc.) You plan should include the following:
  5. What (main messages, research, purpose)
  6. Why (relevance, meaning, goals)
  7. Who (partners, supporters, audiences)
  8. How (format, products, events, opportunities, barriers, measuring impact)
  9. When (timeline, frequency)

During Class: Come to class prepared to share your knowledge mobilization plan and discuss any questions or challenges you faced while creating it. Together, we will discuss best practices in knowledge mobilization. An expert will join us for our class discussion this week.

Class 11. Conclusions and Reflections

In this class we will review the activities we have completed this year together.

Before class:

Read: 

  • Scheyvens, R. (2014). Ways forward. In R. Scheyvens Development field work (pp. 253-257). SAGE Publications, Ltd,

Homework Activity: Reflective Statement

Due by 11:59pm Monday April 4th in CourseLink Dropbox

Write and submit a reflective statement that is between half a page and one-page, single-spaced. In this statement answer the following questions (you can interpret these questions as broadly as you like):

  1. What is one thing you learned in this course that was new to you and that you think you will still remember next year at this time?
  2. Why do you think that ‘thing’ stood out to you and is relevant to you as a person/student/researcher?

During class: We will share some of our take-away messages from the class. You will not be asked specifically to share the details of your own reflective statement.

 

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