MB 870
Spring 2006 Schedule
Prof Steve Borgatti MB 870 Home

Legend

Assignments are due on the day they are listed (except for the very first class -- those readings should be read immediately after class). All items subject to change without notice. Please check the schedule frequently. Before printing articles, try reading them online. Is all that ink and toner really necessary?

Please note that all handouts are required reading, in addition to the articles and books listed in the "readings" sections. Most of the links for journal articles require you to be logged in via your BC id in order to recognize you as legitimate members of the community.

Note: "TASS" stands for the Roberts text book. A notation like "TASS 1,3" means read chapter1 and chapter 3 of the Roberts book.

Shortcuts

18-Jan  Introduction
25-Jan  Participant observation
1-Feb  Grounded theory
8-Feb  Content Analysis
15-Feb  Computer-aided coding
22-Feb  Semantic analysis
1-Mar  Ethnographic interviewing
8-Mar  Spring break
15-Mar  Discussion of interviews
22-Mar  Decision modeling
29-Mar  Boolean induction
5-Apr  Cultural domain analysis
12-Apr  Freelisting
19-Apr  Pilesorts
26-Apr  Projects
3-May  Wrap-up

 

18 January. Introduction to the Course
Topics:
  • Introduction to the course. 
  • Notion of measurement
  • Variables and cases
  • Emic & etic, insider and outsider
  • Culture
Readings:
  • Pfeffer, J. 1993. Barriers to the advance of organizational science: Paradigm development as a dependent variable; The Academy of Management Review,  Vol. 18, Iss. 4; pg. 599, 22 pgs [^pdf]
  • Van Maanen, J. 1995."Style as theory." Organization Science,   Vol. 6, Iss. 1; pg. 133-143 [^pdf]
  • Valdes-Perez on Herb Simon [pdf] (sorry for lousy scan)
Handouts:
Optional:
  • Boje, D. M.  1995.  Stories of the storytelling organization: a postmodern analysis of Disney as "Tamara-Land".  Academy of Management Journal, 38: 997-1035
  • Martin, J., & Frost, P.  1996.  The organizational culture war games: A struggle for intellectual dominance.  In S. Clegg, C. Hardy & W. Nord (Eds.), Handbook of organization studies: 599-621.  London: Sage.
  • O'Reilly, C., Chatman, J., & Caldwell, D.  1991. People and organizational culture: a profile comparison approach to assessing person-organization fit.  Academy of Management Journal, 34: 487-516
  • Sackmann, S. 1992.  Cultures and subcultures: an analysis of organizational knowledge.  Administrative Science Quarterly, 37: 140-161.
  • Sørenson, J. B.  2002.  The strength of corporate culture and the reliability of firm performance.  Administrative Science Quarterly, 2002, 47: 70 – 91.

 

25 January. Participant Observation
Topics:
  • Strategies for understanding context & process
  • Issues in "just hanging out"
  • Theory construction
  • Using the recording & transcribing equipment
Readings:
Handouts:
Due:
  • 5-page concise write-up of a focused ethnography of your department (or any group). Can be written in bullet points. The assignment can be done by groups of any size (including 1 person). Please email me the write-up by 8am.

 

1 February. Grounded Theory
Special Note:
  • Class starts at 1pm today and runs until about 3pm
Topics:
  • The grounded theory approach
  • categories, properties, dimensions
  • open coding, selective coding
Readings:
  • Van Maanen, J. Fact or Fiction. Administrative Science Quarterly; Dec79, Vol. 24 Issue 4, p539, 12p [pdf link]
  • [optional] Glaser, B. 2002. Constructivist grounded theory? FQS 3(3). [pdf]
  • Strauss & Corbin. Basics of of Qualitative Research  (whole book)
  • Reynolds. Bloody stumps. [pdf]
  • Reynolds. Galileo. [pdf]
Handouts:
Optional:
  • Fiona Scheibl and Andrew Wood Investment sequencing in the brick industry: an application of grounded theory. Camb. J. Econ. 2005 29: 223-247; doi:10.1093/cje/bei028 [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

 

8 February. Content Analysis
Topics:
  • True coding versus tagging 
  • Reliability
  • Statistical analysis of coded data
  • EZTEXT tool
Readings:
  • Jehn, Karen "Ettie". 1997. A qualitative analysis of conflict types and dimensions in organizational groups. Administrative Science Quarterly 42: 530-557. [link to pdf]
  • Gersick, Bartunek & Dutton. 2000. Learning from Academia: The importance of relationships in professional life. Academy of Management Journal 43(6): 1026-1044. [link to pdf],
  • Overview of content analysis [html]
  • Jang, H. & G.A. Barnett, "Cultural Differences in Organizational Communication: A Semantic Network Analysis," Bulletin de Methodologie Sociologique, 44, 31-59, 1994 [PDF]
  • Nolan & Ryan. (n.d.). Fear and Loathing at the Cinemaplex: Gender Differences in Descriptions and Perceptions of Slasher Films 
  • TASS 1,2,5
Handouts:
Recommended:
Download:
  • EZ-TEXT software from the CDC [html]
  • Spreadsheet for calculating agreement statistics [xls]

 

15 February. Computer-Aided Coding.
Topics:
  • Class is at 2pm today
  • Introduction to coding & tagging
  • Binary coding
  • Valued coding (ratings)
  • HyperResearch software package
Readings:
  • Karen Staller. Musings of a skeptical software junkie and the HyperRESEARCH fix. [pdf]
  • Lewis, R. Barry. 2004. NVivo 2.0 and ATLAS.ti 5.0: A Comparative Review of Two Popular Qualitative Data-Analysis Programs. Field Methods, 16(4):  439–469  [pdf]
  • Info on qualitative software
  • TASS 12,4 (you remember, TASS is the Roberts textbook)
Handouts:

 

22 February. Cultural and Semantic Analysis.
Topics:
  • Strategies for unstructured analysis of textual data: developing ethnographic sensitivity
  • Finding themes
  • Metaphors
  • Verbs, nouns and modifiers
  • Chains of binary oppositions
  • Culture as grammar
Articles:
  • Goodwin, C.1994.  "Professional vision." American Anthropologist, 96(3), pp. 606-633. [link to pdf]
  • Shweder, R.A. and R.G. D'Andrade. 1980. "The systematic distortion hypothesis." New Directions for Methodology of Social and Behavioral Science 4: 37-58 [pdf]
Handouts:
Due:
  • Each person in the class should bring in an academic article that can be analyzed from Levi-Straussian point of view. I.e., where the authors believe their insights come from the data or deduced from theory, but could in fact be just a semantic extrapolation from their culture (read the Levi-Strauss handout and the Goodwin and Shweder et al papers for more info).
Optional:
  • Bibliography of culture and cognition texts
  • D'Andrade, R.G. "Cultural Constructions of Reality," in Anthropology and Mental Health, L. Nader and T. Maretzki (eds.), Anthropological Studies, American Anthropological Association, 9:115-127, 1973
  • Gilovich. How we know what isn't so. Free Press.
  • Pullum, G. The great Eskimo vocabulary hoax. [pdf]
  • Ryan & Bernard. Finding themes
  • Excerpt from Atran's Grammar of Culture [html]

 

1 March. Ethnographic Interviewing
Topics:
  • Semi-structured interviewing
  • Ethical issues
  • Cultural/cognitive domains
  • Uncovering cultural grammars
Readings:
  • Spradley. The Ethnographic Interview.
  • Flanagan, JC 1954. The critical incident technique. Pych Bull 51: 28-35. [pdf]
Handouts:
Optional:
  • Sackmann, SA 1991. Uncovering culture in organizations. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 27: 295-317
  • Ryan & Martinez. 1996 Can we predict what mothers do?: Modeling childhood diarrhea in rural Mexico. Human Organization 55(1):47-57 [pdf]

 

8 March. Spring Break -- NO CLASS
Readings:  
Due:
  •  

 

15 March. Ethnographic Interviewing - continued
Topics:
  • Semi-structured interviewing
  • Ethical issues
  • Cultural/cognitive domains
  • Uncovering cultural grammars
Readings:
  • Spradley. The Ethnographic Interview.
Handouts:
Optional:
  • Sackmann, SA 1991. Uncovering culture in organizations. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 27: 295-317
  • Ryan & Martinez. 1996 Can we predict what mothers do?: Modeling childhood diarrhea in rural Mexico. Human Organization 55(1):47-57 [pdf]
  • Borgatti & Molina, 2003. Ethical and strategic issues in organizational network research. [pdf]
  • Borgatti, S.P. and Molina, J-L. 2005. Toward Ethical Guidelines for Network Research in Organizations. Social Networks (in press) [pdf]
Due:

 

22 March. Ethnographic Decision Modeling
Topics:
  • Ethnographic decision modeling (EDM)
Readings:
  • Gladwin. Ethnographic decision modeling. Sage
  • EDM and Boolean Induction (will make more sense after reading Ragin book)
  • Notes on EDM
  • 1980 A model of illness treatment decisions in a Tarascan town. American Ethnologist 7:106-151 [^PDF] {this was added late -- read when you have a chance}
Data:
Optional:
  • References for EDM (by Gery Ryan)
  • Mathews and Hill. 1990 Applying cognitive decision theory to the study of regional patterns of illness treatment choice. American Anthropologist 91:155-170 [^PDF]
  • Ryan and Martinez. 1996 Can we predict what mothers do?: Modeling childhood diarrhea in rural Mexico. Human Organization 55(1):47-57
  • Weller, Susan C., Trenton K. Ruebush II and Robert E. Klein. 1997 Predicting treatment-seeking behavior in Guatemala: a comparison of the health services research and decision-theoretic approaches. Medical Anthropology Quarterly 11(2):224-245 [^PDF]

 

29 March. Boolean Induction.
Topics:
  • Formal approach to describing results of coded qualitative data
Readings:
  • Ragin, C. The comparative method.
  • Stevenson & Greenberg. 2000. Agency and Social Networks: Strategies of Action in a Social Structure of Position, Opposition, and Opportunity. Administrative Science Quarterly 45(4):651+ [^pdf]
Handouts:
Due:

 

5 April. Cultural Domain Analysis
Topics:
  • Overview of cultural domain analysis
  • Intro to freelists
Readings:
  • Weller & Romney. Systematic data collection.
  • Borgatti, S. 1998. Elicitation Techniques for Cultural Domain Analysis. In Ethnographer`s Toolkit, edited by J. Schensul. Newbury Park: Sage [html] [pdf]
Handouts:
Due:

 

12 April. Freelisting. NOTE: CLASS BEGINS AT 12PM TODAY
Topics:
  • Freelisting technique
  • Intro to pilesorts
Articles:
  • "Structure and Meaning in Models of Breast and Cervical Cancer Risk Factors: A Comparison of Perceptions among Latinas, Anglo women, and Physicians." [by Leo Chavez, authored with F. Allan Hubbell, Juliet M. McMullin, Rebecca G. Martinez, and Shiraz I. Mishra]. Medical Anthropology Quarterly 9:4--74, 1995. [^pdf]
Handouts:
Due:
Software:
Data:
  • Occupations freelist in new format [txt]

 

19 April. Judged Similarities (e.g., Pilesorts & Triads).
Topics:
  • Analysis of Pilesort data
  • Structure of cognitive domains
  • Triads
  • Property fitting (hypothesis testing using PROFIT)
Readings:
  • [optional] Kruskal and Wish. Multidimensional Scaling. Sage.
Handouts:
Due:
Data:

 

26 April. Project Work -- NO CLASS
Topics:
  • Finish up CDA
  • Qualitative research in perspective
Readings:
Handouts:

 

3 May. Wrap-Up
Topics:
  • Finish up CDA
  • Qualitative research in perspective
Readings:
Handouts:
Due:

 

Copyright ©1997-2005 Stephen P. Borgatti Revised: April 19, 2006 Home