Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Spring 2025 - SA 356W D100

Ethnography and Qualitative Methods (SA) (4)

Class Number: 2544

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Jan 6 – Apr 9, 2025: Wed, 2:30–5:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Instructor:

    Bascom Guffin
    mguffin@sfu.ca
    Office: AQ 5068
    Office Hours: By appointment, in person or online

  • Prerequisites:

    SA 255.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

An examination of qualitative field methods, including participant observation, interviewing, archival research, cross-cultural research, life histories, network analysis, mapping, and ethical problems of fieldwork. Writing.

COURSE DETAILS:

The constellation of qualitative methods that make up ethnographic research are the foundation of inquiry and practice especially for anthropology but also increasingly in sociology and other fields of social science. This course is a broad introduction to qualitative social research methods, centering on the ethnographic. It is designed to give you as a learner an opportunity to be trained with hands-on ethnographic field methods while you construct your own original ethnographic project. Our readings and in-class discussions will focus on cultivating practical qualitative research skills while critically considering the theoretical underpinnings of these various approaches along with important ethical and political questions that ethnographers confront as they engage in research. In the process, you will learn how ethnographers design their research projects, undertake participant observation in their chosen field sites (including online), write fieldnotes, prepare for and conduct interviews, collect and analyze artifacts, use visual and audio tools to experiment with multimodality, and work with archives, both historic and contemporary. This will be a participation- and writing-heavy course, and you will need to keep up with course requirements every week to be successful in it.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

Course-level Educational Goals:
In this course, as a student you will:

• Learn to formulate a compelling social question and design an effective research
approach to answer that question
• Exercise and deepen your qualitative research craft, centering on the core ethnographic
methods of observation (including participant observation) and interviews
• Learn to supplement these core methods with tools such as visual/sonic recording,
archival research, and artifact analysis
• Hone your skills at analyzing and effectively communicating your data and findings
• Consider issues of power in the research context.

Grading

  • Class Participation and Attendance 15%
  • Weekly Responses 15%
  • Research Project Proposal 10%
  • Fieldnotes Writeup 15%
  • Interview Writeup 15%
  • Final Portfolio 30%

NOTES:

Grading: Grades in this class will be based on a percentage scale. Reading responses will not be accepted after 3 p.m. the Tuesday before class; Late submissions for all assignments will result in a grade reduction of 5 percentage points per day, unless due to a medical reason or other significant emergency. The four research assignments must be completed for a final grade other than N to be assigned.

Grading System: The undergraduate course grading system is A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D, F, N (N standing indicates student did not complete course requirements). Intervals for the assignment of final letter grades based on course percentage grades are as follows:

A+ (95-100) | A (90-94) | A- (85-89) | B+ (80-84) | B (75-79) | B- (70-74) | C+ (65-69) | C (60-64) | C- (55-59) | D (50-54) | F (0-49) | N*
*N standing to indicate the student did not complete course requirements

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

All texts will be available through Canvas or the SFU Library.

REQUIRED READING NOTES:

Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

SFU’s Academic Integrity website http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating. Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the university community. Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the university. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the university. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION

Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the term are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.