Listening to Our Students: Understanding How They Learn Research Methods in Geography

Abstract

How undergraduate students learn research methods in geography has been understudied. Existing work has focused on course description from the instructor’s perspective. This study, however, uses a grounded theory approach to allow students’ voices to shape a new theory of how they themselves say that they learn research methods. Data from two focus groups, a survey, and in-depth interviews with undergraduates taking a research methods course suggests that students perceive that they learn best when research methods are taught in ways similar to the faculty research process. The conclusion is that students learning research methods need clear illustrations of process, a community setting that facilitates discussion, instruction in theory, and an extended period of time to complete effective projects.

Key Words:

• undergraduate research methods
• active learning
• teaching research design
• geographic research methods

Notes

1. Research methods are defined as the basic guidelines, principles, and techniques that researchers use to formulate and seek answers to questions about the world around them (Singleton and Straits 2005).

2. Constructivist approaches place priority on the phenomena of study and use both data and analysis as created from shared experiences and relationships with participants. Constructivist approaches encourage researchers to think critically about their own interpretations of social phenomena, the creation and dissemination of meaning as well as how their research participants do these things (Charmaz 2006).

3. Our approach to grounded theory is informed by Charmaz (2006). We draw from her articulation of a constructivist approach to interpreting grounded theory as methodology and method, as well as the data acquired and interpreted through grounded theory.

4. The goals of this particular course are to enable students to: (1) develop an appreciation for how geographic knowledge is created; (2) learn how to evaluate empirical research conducted by others; (3) conduct their own original research, and (4) write a research proposal and research report in clear and direct prose.

5. Our course was capped at thirty students.