Domain Analysis - Methods Assignment

Greetings all-

First, I want say that Julie and I are thrilled with the way ALL of your projects are progressing. You have all worked very hard and are producing amazing work. This is the last of the four methods exercises. Think of it as one more tool in your research toolbox and as an opportunity to have some fun.

1) Choose a site of social interaction and conduct a domain analysis. Your site of social interaction can be physical, textual, or virtual. The physical can be *any* location where people interact. Textual includes just about any medium, text (from policy to poetry), audio, video, etc. Virtual is anything online (reference Hine’s virtual ethnography). Think broadly—this can be anywhere you find social interaction or the representation of social interaction.

2) Use the structure provided in the Spradley reading. Feel free to interpret this structure liberally—and interpolate freely. This means let the structure inform your approach but take liberties to adapt it to your topic, site, and interests as well as to interpret your findings. Although it is not a requirement, consider a site that is related to your research project.

3) Blog the results from, and your experience with, the assignment. Note the affordances and limitations of the method.

4) Give a group presentation of your findings on Monday.

Our goal with these methods assignments is to equip you with skills that help you achieve success with your research AND to facilitate your exploration of Amsterdam.

We encourage you to work in your research groups for this assignment but it is not a requirement. The results from your last group activity were very exciting, however we recognize you are all busy so you can accomplish this assignment in your groups or individually.

References:

1) Clarke Speed’s Lecture (mp3):
2) Hine (2005) Virtual Methods, Chapters 1 & 2,
3) James P. Spradley, "Making a Domain Analysis" from the book Participant Observation