DUSP Courses 1998

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11.800 Doctoral Research Paper

Department of Urban Studies and Planning

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Fall 1998

11.800: Doctoral Research Paper Seminar

11.800 is a required course for all doctoral students in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning. The goal of the seminar is to move students through the process of writing the required Doctoral Research Paper. The PhD Committee sees this paper as an important indicator of your ability to do the sustained research and writing necessary ultimately to complete your dissertation. The course is two semesters long, beginning in a student's first semester and continuing into his or her second semester in the program.

This course is designed to help students to develop an understanding of, and an ability to do, social science analysis-to appreciate what a research question is, how to pose it, how alternative answers might be found, what the relationship is between the answer you get and the way in which you frame the question, how to find and evaluate relevant evidence to answer the question you pose, and generally to understand the logic of establishing knowledge about how society works. We will look at the roles that theory, academic discipline, methodology, and personal perspective play in shaping research.

We will begin the course with an exercise that we have asked you to complete over the summer. We will ask you to make frequent references back to the articles you have read and to describe their various attributes to us. We will end the semester by discussing research proposals and their components and by asking you to write and get approved a research proposal for your Doctoral Research Paper. An acceptable research proposal is the required first step that will allow you to begin conducting the necessary research during IAP and writing the paper during your second semester in the program.

11.800 will continue to meet during your second semester (Spring 1998) in the doctoral program. During this semester the course faculty will continue to work with you and your paper advisor as you actually conduct the research and write your papers. You will have ample opportunity to develop your ideas by presenting them to one another as part of this seminar; you will be part of a research community designed to help you move through this process.

All students will be expected to do the readings and the exercises and come prepared to discuss them. For specific readings, we typically ask certain students to take particular responsibility for each one and come to class prepared to lead a discussion. With respect to the exercises, we will select two or three students and focus on their written exercises in class. The selected students will be asked to circulate their exercises the day before the class meeting; other students can hand them in the day of the class. We will rotate these opportunities through the semester so everyone will have an opportunity to have the floor to discuss their work. Marty and Mark will provide written comments on all of the submitted exercises.

The course schedule that follows identifies the readings that appear in the course reader. Sections of the three textbooks will be assigned as we progress through the semester.

Course Schedule

Date Topics and Readings

End of August Introductory Class Session during PhD Orientation.

September 9 Puzzles and Questions: Getting Started on Research

Readings: Robert R. Alford, The Craft of Inquiry: Theories, Methods, Evidence (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), Chapters 1 and 2.

Howard S. Becker, Tricks of the Trade: How to Think About Your Research While You're Doing It (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998), Chapters 1 and 2.

Prior to September 16 Formulating Research Questions

Readings: Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams, The Craft of Research (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995), Part Two, "Asking Questions, Finding Answers," pp. 29-63.

Charles C. Ragin, Constructing Social Research (Thousand Oaks, California: Pine Forge Press, 1994), Chapter 1, "What is Social Research?"

Eugene Bardach, The Eight-Step Path of Policy Analysis (A Handbook for Practice) (Berkeley: Berkeley Academic Press, 1996), Chapter 1, "Define the Problem."

Assignment 1: With your research interests in mind, fill in the simple three-part schema in the first paragraph on page 48 of Booth. Write it down on one sheet of paper and hand it in at class on September 16th. Bring copies for all participants (faculty and students) to class. The key here is to be able to identify the puzzle you want to understand and to formulate a research question that will deal with some aspect of that puzzle.

September 16 Formulating Research Questions

Discussion: Come prepared to continue the discussion of the work you completed on the summer assignment in the light of the exercise from page 48 of Booth and these introductory readings.

Prior to September 23 The Academic Literature on Problem Formulation

Reading: Robert R. Alford, The Craft of Inquiry: Theories, Methods, Evidence (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), Chapter 3.

Murray S. Davis, "That's Interesting: Towards a Phenomenology of Sociology and a Sociology of Phenomenology," Philosophy of the Social Sciences,

Vol. 1, No. 4, December 1971, pp. 309-344.

Lloyd S. Etheredge, The Case of the Unreturned Cafeteria Trays: An Investigation Based Upon Theories of Motivation and Human Behavior, monograph of the American Political Science Association, Washington, D.C., 1976.

September 23 The Academic Literature on Problem Formulation

Discussion: Do these readings help you to formulate your research question? How?

Prior to September 30 Situating Your Research Question in a Body of Literature

Readings: Daniel Cohen, The Misfortunes of Prosperity: An Introduction to Modern Political Economy (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1995), Chapter 1, "Slowdown in Growth," pp. 3-30. [Example of a good and readable literature review.]

Anne E. C. McCants, "Charitable Behavior and the Rise of Capitalism," Chapter 1 of Civic Charity in a Golden Age: Orphan Care in Early Modern Amsterdam (Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press, 1997), pp. 1-21. [Another good example, but very different in style.]

September 30 Situating Your Research Question in a Body of Literature

Discussion: What is a good literature review? Make sure you have read Cohen and McCants carefully. We consider them to be prototypes, but of rather different sorts. Why are they prototypical?

Prior to October 7 Modifying Your Research Question in Light of "the Literature"

Assignment 2: Revise your research question, if necessary, and write a review of how the literature deals with your question. This review should be no longer than ten pages in length. An annotated bibliography is not acceptable. Follow the models of interconnecting ideas that are used by Cohen and/or McCants in the reading we have assigned. Bring copies for all participants (faculty and students) to class. If you do not change your research question over the course of the semester, this review (with revisions) should be able to be used in your final Doctoral Research Paper proposal.

October 7

Modifying Your Research Question in Light of "the Literature"

Discussion: We will select two or three of the student literature reviews for discussion.

Prior to October 14 The Literature on Ideas, Concepts, and Theory

Readings: Charles C. Ragin, Constructing Social Research (Thousand Oaks, California: Pine Forge Press, 1994), Chapter 3, "The Process of Social Research: Ideas and Evidence."

Howard S. Becker, Tricks of the Trade: How to Think About Your Research While You're Doing It (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998), Chapter 4.

Diane Vaughan, "Theory Elaboration: The Heuristics of Case Analysis," in Charles C. Ragin and Howard S. Becker, eds., What is a Case? Exploring the Foundations of Social Inquiry (Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1992), pp. 173-202.

David Thacher, dissertation proposal, DUSP, May 1997.

[to be distributed in class]

October 14 The Literature on Ideas, Concepts, and Theory

Discussion: Come prepared to discuss the role of theory in research (and in your research in particular). Think back to the readings that you did over the summer and in September. What are the ideas, concepts, and theories implicit in these articles? Think also about the bridge between this material and your evolving ideas concerning your Doctoral Research Paper.

Prior to October 21 Situating Your Research Question in a Body of Theory, Ideas, and Concepts

Assignment 3: In any research project you always have a framework within which you interpret the evidence that you have gathered. Write 2-3 pages specifying what theories, concepts, or ideas seem, at this point, to be most relevant as a guide to the framing of the question you are considering and to the interpretation of the evidence you will gather. Which disciplines do these come from? What will you need to do to develop your familiarity with and command of them? Bring copies for all participants (faculty and students) to class.

A warning. Avoid a very abstract theoretical formulation that will give you little leverage on the problem you are considering. The readings should be helpful to you in this regard.

October 21 Situating Your Research Question in a Body of Theory, Ideas, and Concepts

Discussion: What is the conceptual framework that seems to be most appropriate for addressing your question? Is your question animated by a policy problem and a desire to do something about it? Or by a more general desire to improve one's knowledge about how society works without a particular focus on what it might be good for? How does this affect your choice of underlying ideas, concepts, and theories?

Prior to October 28 Gathering Evidence to Answer Your Research Question-Methodology

Reading: Because of the amount of reading we have assigned for November 4, you should begin that material this week.

Assignment 4: What kind of evidence will you need to answer your question? Is it already available in some form or will you have to gather it yourself? What kind of evidence will be most appropriate to your question? What kind of evidence are you able to access? What method will you use for the collection and analysis of that evidence? Write a 2-3 page paper. Bring copies for all participants (faculty and students) to class.

October 28 Gathering Evidence to Answer Your Research Question-Methodology

Discussion: What are you going to do to answer your question?

Prior to November 4 The Literature on Research Methodology

Reading: Charles C. Ragin, Constructing Social Research (Thousand Oaks, California: Pine Forge Press, 1994),

Part II, "Strategies of Social Research."

Howard S. Becker, Tricks of the Trade: How to Think About Your Research While You're Doing It (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998), Chapters 3 and 5.

Robert R. Alford, The Craft of Inquiry: Theories, Methods, Evidence (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), Chapters 4, 5, 6, and 7.

Once again, Bardach offers a useful quick guide to the issues: Eugene Bardach, The Eight-Step Path of Policy Analysis (A Handbook for Practice) (Berkeley: Berkeley Academic Press, 1996), Chapter 2, "Assemble Some Evidence."

November 4 The Literature on Research Methodology

Discussion: Continuing discussion on the fit between your question, your problem formulation, and your chosen method. Does the method you have selected permit you to answer your question?

Preparation for oral presentations. Draft: Write a draft of your Doctoral Research Paper proposal. Begin with a summary of the literature that you now believe to be most relevant to your question. Then specify how you propose to frame your research question and what concepts, theories, and ideas you expect will prove most useful. What data or evidence will you use or collect to answer your question? How will you analyze that evidence. What are the policy or theoretical implications of the question that you propose to address?

November 11 Veterans Day-Holiday

November 18 Guest Lecturer: Charles Ragin

Reread Chapter 3 of Ragin carefully and come prepared with questions

November 25 No Class-Thanksgiving Holiday

December 2 Presentation and Discussion of Final Research Paper Proposals

Formal, oral presentation of your final research paper proposal. Whole class discussion and feedback. Paper advisors and PhD Committee invited.

December 9 Presentation and Discussion of Final Research Paper Proposals

Formal, oral presentation of your final research paper proposal. Whole class discussion and feedback. Paper advisors and PhD Committee invited.

[Note: We may have to schedule a third session to give everyone ample opportunity to present their work.]

Prior to December 11 Proposal: Write your final Doctoral Research Paper Proposal taking account of class discussions and have it approved and signed by your Doctoral Research Paper advisor.

Jim Morrison is available to assist you with your writing as your develop your final Doctoral Research Paper Proposal.

December 11 Final Date for submission of your final Doctoral Research Paper Proposal. Please provide three copies to your paper advisor. One copy is for your advisor's files. The other two copies must be approved and signed by your advisor and given to Mark on Marty on Monday, December 14 so that they can review them and approve and sign them by the time that grades are due on Tuesday, December 15.

Course Logistics

Professors: Marty Rein

9-549

x 3-2047

Office hours Tuesdays 10:00-12:00

mrein@mit.edu

J. Mark Schuster

10-485

x 3-7323

Office hours by appointment

jonmark@mit.edu

Units: 3-0-9 H-Level Credits

All Ph.D. students who were admitted for September 1998 must register for 11.800 in their first and second semesters in the Ph.D. program in order to receive credit for the Doctoral Research Paper.

Time and Location: Wednesdays, 10:00-12:00, 3-401.

Course Communications: By far the easiest way for us to communicate with one another will be by e-mail. The e-mail mailing list for first year doctoral students is: phd1@mit.edu. Add Marty (mrein@mit.edu) and Mark (jonmark@mit.edu) to any distribution of materials that you want to go to everyone in 11.800.

Texts: We have asked the Coop to order three textbooks for this course:

Charles C. Ragin, Constructing Social Research (Thousand Oaks, California: Pine Forge Press, 1994).

Howard S. Becker, Tricks of the Trade: How to Think About Your Research While You're Doing It (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1998).

Robert Alford, The Craft of Inquiry: Theories, Methods, Evidence (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998).

We strongly urge you to buy and read these books.

Other readings have been collected into a course reader that is available from CopyTech. Occasionally we will distribute a reading in class.

Grading Policy

By policy of the PhD Committee, the grading policy for 11.800 is somewhat stricter than is generally the case for other MIT subjects. Please read this policy carefully and make sure that you understand it. This policy will also be provided to your paper advisor.

The grade for your first semester in 11.800 is based on a number of assignments, beginning with the summer assignment and leading up to a final proposal for your Doctoral Research Paper. At the end of the first semester of 11.800 students will receive one of two grades, a "J" or a "U." A grade of "J" indicates that a student is making satisfactory progress toward the timely completion of the Doctoral Research Paper. You will receive a grade of "J" only if (1) you successfully complete all of the assignments during the semester, (2) you submit a final Doctoral Research Paper proposal to your paper advisor by Friday, December 11, (3) your paper advisor approves the proposal by Monday, December 14, and (4) the proposal is deemed satisfactory by the faculty members in charge of 11.800. Otherwise, you will receive a grade of "U" indicating unsatisfactory progress in the Doctoral Research Paper. A grade of "U" is a sign that you might have difficulty in completing your doctoral studies, and any student receiving a "U" in 11.800 will automatically receive a Warning from the Dean of Graduate Education. Note that even though your paper advisor approves the proposal, we may conclude that it is not sufficiently well developed to be considered satisfactory progress. In other words, the final determination of a grade for the fall semester is the responsibility of the faculty for 11.800.

Your final Doctoral Research Paper is due at the end of the second semester of 11.800 (the end of your second semester in the program). This year your paper must be submitted to your paper advisor no later than Friday, May 14, 1999. This will give your paper advisor sufficient time to grade your paper by the time that grades must be submitted to MIT on Tuesday, May 18, 1999. Your grade for the second semester of 11.800 will be the grade given to your Doctoral Research Paper by your paper advisor. A grade of "A" or "B" is necessary to fulfill the Doctoral Research Paper requirement. If you have not completed your Doctoral Research Paper by Friday, May 14, or if your advisor is not willing to give your paper a grade of "A" or "B," you will be given a grade of "U" for the second semester of 11.800.

If this is the second "U" that you have received for 11.800, the Committee on Graduate School Policy will probably vote to deny you further registration as a graduate student at MIT based on your inability to make successful progress in your doctoral work. If this is the first grade of "U" that you have received for 11.800, you will receive a Warning from the Dean of Graduate Education, and the PhD Committee of the Department of Urban Studies and Planning will not allow you to register for your third semester in the program until you complete the paper with a grade of "A" or "B." If you are unable to register, you will be ineligible to collect any financial aid from MIT.

No grades of incomplete ("I") will be given in either semester of 11.800. In each semester your grade will be based on the work completed by the respective due date.

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This syllabus may have been updated. To ensure that you're looking at the most recent version, please hit "Reload."
11.800 Doctoral Research Paper
Department of Urban Studies and Planning Massachusetts Institute of Technology Fall 1998 11.800: Doctoral Research Paper Seminar 11.800 is a required course for all doctoral students in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning. The goal of the seminar is to move students through the process of writing the required Doctoral Research Paper. The PhD Committee sees this paper as an important indicator of your ability to do the sustained research and writing necessary ultimately to complete your dissertation. The course is two semesters long, beginning in a student's first semester and continuing into his or her second semester in the program. This course is designed to help students to develop an understanding of, and an ability to do, social science analysis-to appreciate what a research question is, how to pose it, how alternative answers might be found, what the relationship is between the answer you get and the way in which you frame the question, how to find and evaluate relevant evidence to answer the question you pose, and generally to understand the logic of establishing knowledge about how society works. We will look at the roles that theory, academic discipline, methodology, and personal perspective play in shaping research. We will begin the course with an exercise that we have asked you to complete over the summer. We will ask you to make frequent references back to the articles you have read and to describe their various attributes to us. We will end the semester by discussing research proposals and their components and by asking you to write and get approved a research proposal for your Doctoral Research Paper. An acceptable research proposal is the required first step that will allow you to begin conducting the necessary research during IAP and writing the paper during your second semester in the program. 11.800 will continue to meet during your second semester (Spring 1998) in the doctoral program. During this semester the course faculty will continue to work with you and your paper advisor as you actually conduct the research and write your papers. You will have ample opportunity to develop your ideas by presenting them to one another as part of this seminar; you will be part of a research community designed to help you move through this process. All students will be expected to do the readings and the exercises and come prepared to discuss them. For specific readings, we typically ask certain students to take particular responsibility for each one and come to class prepared to lead a discussion. With respect to the exercises, we will select two or three students and focus on their written exercises in class. The selected students will be asked to circulate their exercises the day before the class meeting; other students can hand them in the day of the class. We will rotate these opportunities through the semester so everyone will have an opportunity to have the floor to discuss their work. Marty and Mark will provide written comments on all of the submitted exercises. The course schedule that follows identifies the readings that appear in the course reader. Sections of the three textbooks will be assigned as we progress through the semester. Course Schedule Date Topics and Readings End of August Introductory Class Session during PhD Orientation. September 9 Puzzles and Questions: Getting Started on Research Readings: Robert R. Alford, The Craft of Inquiry: Theories, Methods, Evidence (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), Chapters 1 and 2. Howard S. Becker, Tricks of the Trade: How to Think About Your Research While You're Doing It (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998), Chapters 1 and 2. Prior to September 16 Formulating Research Questions Readings: Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams, The Craft of Research (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995), Part Two, "Asking Questions, Finding Answers," pp. 29-63. Charles C. Ragin, Constructing Social Research (Thousand Oaks, California: Pine Forge Press, 1994), Chapter 1, "What is Social Research?" Eugene Bardach, The Eight-Step Path of Policy Analysis (A Handbook for Practice) (Berkeley: Berkeley Academic Press, 1996), Chapter 1, "Define the Problem." Assignment 1: With your research interests in mind, fill in the simple three-part schema in the first paragraph on page 48 of Booth. Write it down on one sheet of paper and hand it in at class on September 16th. Bring copies for all participants (faculty and students) to class. The key here is to be able to identify the puzzle you want to understand and to formulate a research question that will deal with some aspect of that puzzle. September 16 Formulating Research Questions Discussion: Come prepared to continue the discussion of the work you completed on the summer assignment in the light of the exercise from page 48 of Booth and these introductory readings. Prior to September 23 The Academic Literature on Problem Formulation Reading: Robert R. Alford, The Craft of Inquiry: Theories, Methods, Evidence (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), Chapter 3. Murray S. Davis, "That's Interesting: Towards a Phenomenology of Sociology and a Sociology of Phenomenology," Philosophy of the Social Sciences, Vol. 1, No. 4, December 1971, pp. 309-344. Lloyd S. Etheredge, The Case of the Unreturned Cafeteria Trays: An Investigation Based Upon Theories of Motivation and Human Behavior, monograph of the American Political Science Association, Washington, D.C., 1976. September 23 The Academic Literature on Problem Formulation Discussion: Do these readings help you to formulate your research question? How? Prior to September 30 Situating Your Research Question in a Body of Literature Readings: Daniel Cohen, The Misfortunes of Prosperity: An Introduction to Modern Political Economy (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1995), Chapter 1, "Slowdown in Growth," pp. 3-30. [Example of a good and readable literature review.] Anne E. C. McCants, "Charitable Behavior and the Rise of Capitalism," Chapter 1 of Civic Charity in a Golden Age: Orphan Care in Early Modern Amsterdam (Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press, 1997), pp. 1-21. [Another good example, but very different in style.] September 30 Situating Your Research Question in a Body of Literature Discussion: What is a good literature review? Make sure you have read Cohen and McCants carefully. We consider them to be prototypes, but of rather different sorts. Why are they prototypical? Prior to October 7 Modifying Your Research Question in Light of "the Literature" Assignment 2: Revise your research question, if necessary, and write a review of how the literature deals with your question. This review should be no longer than ten pages in length. An annotated bibliography is not acceptable. Follow the models of interconnecting ideas that are used by Cohen and/or McCants in the reading we have assigned. Bring copies for all participants (faculty and students) to class. If you do not change your research question over the course of the semester, this review (with revisions) should be able to be used in your final Doctoral Research Paper proposal. October 7 Modifying Your Research Question in Light of "the Literature" Discussion: We will select two or three of the student literature reviews for discussion. Prior to October 14 The Literature on Ideas, Concepts, and Theory Readings: Charles C. Ragin, Constructing Social Research (Thousand Oaks, California: Pine Forge Press, 1994), Chapter 3, "The Process of Social Research: Ideas and Evidence." Howard S. Becker, Tricks of the Trade: How to Think About Your Research While You're Doing It (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998), Chapter 4. Diane Vaughan, "Theory Elaboration: The Heuristics of Case Analysis," in Charles C. Ragin and Howard S. Becker, eds., What is a Case? Exploring the Foundations of Social Inquiry (Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1992), pp. 173-202. David Thacher, dissertation proposal, DUSP, May 1997. [to be distributed in class] October 14 The Literature on Ideas, Concepts, and Theory Discussion: Come prepared to discuss the role of theory in research (and in your research in particular). Think back to the readings that you did over the summer and in September. What are the ideas, concepts, and theories implicit in these articles? Think also about the bridge between this material and your evolving ideas concerning your Doctoral Research Paper. Prior to October 21 Situating Your Research Question in a Body of Theory, Ideas, and Concepts Assignment 3: In any research project you always have a framework within which you interpret the evidence that you have gathered. Write 2-3 pages specifying what theories, concepts, or ideas seem, at this point, to be most relevant as a guide to the framing of the question you are considering and to the interpretation of the evidence you will gather. Which disciplines do these come from? What will you need to do to develop your familiarity with and command of them? Bring copies for all participants (faculty and students) to class. A warning. Avoid a very abstract theoretical formulation that will give you little leverage on the problem you are considering. The readings should be helpful to you in this regard. October 21 Situating Your Research Question in a Body of Theory, Ideas, and Concepts Discussion: What is the conceptual framework that seems to be most appropriate for addressing your question? Is your question animated by a policy problem and a desire to do something about it? Or by a more general desire to improve one's knowledge about how society works without a particular focus on what it might be good for? How does this affect your choice of underlying ideas, concepts, and theories? Prior to October 28 Gathering Evidence to Answer Your Research Question-Methodology Reading: Because of the amount of reading we have assigned for November 4, you should begin that material this week. Assignment 4: What kind of evidence will you need to answer your question? Is it already available in some form or will you have to gather it yourself? What kind of evidence will be most appropriate to your question? What kind of evidence are you able to access? What method will you use for the collection and analysis of that evidence? Write a 2-3 page paper. Bring copies for all participants (faculty and students) to class. October 28 Gathering Evidence to Answer Your Research Question-Methodology Discussion: What are you going to do to answer your question? Prior to November 4 The Literature on Research Methodology Reading: Charles C. Ragin, Constructing Social Research (Thousand Oaks, California: Pine Forge Press, 1994), Part II, "Strategies of Social Research." Howard S. Becker, Tricks of the Trade: How to Think About Your Research While You're Doing It (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998), Chapters 3 and 5. Robert R. Alford, The Craft of Inquiry: Theories, Methods, Evidence (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), Chapters 4, 5, 6, and 7. Once again, Bardach offers a useful quick guide to the issues: Eugene Bardach, The Eight-Step Path of Policy Analysis (A Handbook for Practice) (Berkeley: Berkeley Academic Press, 1996), Chapter 2, "Assemble Some Evidence." November 4 The Literature on Research Methodology Discussion: Continuing discussion on the fit between your question, your problem formulation, and your chosen method. Does the method you have selected permit you to answer your question? Preparation for oral presentations. Draft: Write a draft of your Doctoral Research Paper proposal. Begin with a summary of the literature that you now believe to be most relevant to your question. Then specify how you propose to frame your research question and what concepts, theories, and ideas you expect will prove most useful. What data or evidence will you use or collect to answer your question? How will you analyze that evidence. What are the policy or theoretical implications of the question that you propose to address? November 11 Veterans Day-Holiday November 18 Guest Lecturer: Charles Ragin Reread Chapter 3 of Ragin carefully and come prepared with questions November 25 No Class-Thanksgiving Holiday December 2 Presentation and Discussion of Final Research Paper Proposals Formal, oral presentation of your final research paper proposal. Whole class discussion and feedback. Paper advisors and PhD Committee invited. December 9 Presentation and Discussion of Final Research Paper Proposals Formal, oral presentation of your final research paper proposal. Whole class discussion and feedback. Paper advisors and PhD Committee invited. [Note: We may have to schedule a third session to give everyone ample opportunity to present their work.] Prior to December 11 Proposal: Write your final Doctoral Research Paper Proposal taking account of class discussions and have it approved and signed by your Doctoral Research Paper advisor. Jim Morrison is available to assist you with your writing as your develop your final Doctoral Research Paper Proposal. December 11 Final Date for submission of your final Doctoral Research Paper Proposal. Please provide three copies to your paper advisor. One copy is for your advisor's files. The other two copies must be approved and signed by your advisor and given to Mark on Marty on Monday, December 14 so that they can review them and approve and sign them by the time that grades are due on Tuesday, December 15. Course Logistics Professors: Marty Rein 9-549 x 3-2047 Office hours Tuesdays 10:00-12:00 mrein@mit.edu J. Mark Schuster 10-485 x 3-7323 Office hours by appointment jonmark@mit.edu Units: 3-0-9 H-Level Credits All Ph.D. students who were admitted for September 1998 must register for 11.800 in their first and second semesters in the Ph.D. program in order to receive credit for the Doctoral Research Paper. Time and Location: Wednesdays, 10:00-12:00, 3-401. Course Communications: By far the easiest way for us to communicate with one another will be by e-mail. The e-mail mailing list for first year doctoral students is: phd1@mit.edu. Add Marty (mrein@mit.edu) and Mark (jonmark@mit.edu) to any distribution of materials that you want to go to everyone in 11.800. Texts: We have asked the Coop to order three textbooks for this course: Charles C. Ragin, Constructing Social Research (Thousand Oaks, California: Pine Forge Press, 1994). Howard S. Becker, Tricks of the Trade: How to Think About Your Research While You're Doing It (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1998). Robert Alford, The Craft of Inquiry: Theories, Methods, Evidence (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998). We strongly urge you to buy and read these books. Other readings have been collected into a course reader that is available from CopyTech. Occasionally we will distribute a reading in class. Grading Policy By policy of the PhD Committee, the grading policy for 11.800 is somewhat stricter than is generally the case for other MIT subjects. Please read this policy carefully and make sure that you understand it. This policy will also be provided to your paper advisor. The grade for your first semester in 11.800 is based on a number of assignments, beginning with the summer assignment and leading up to a final proposal for your Doctoral Research Paper. At the end of the first semester of 11.800 students will receive one of two grades, a "J" or a "U." A grade of "J" indicates that a student is making satisfactory progress toward the timely completion of the Doctoral Research Paper. You will receive a grade of "J" only if (1) you successfully complete all of the assignments during the semester, (2) you submit a final Doctoral Research Paper proposal to your paper advisor by Friday, December 11, (3) your paper advisor approves the proposal by Monday, December 14, and (4) the proposal is deemed satisfactory by the faculty members in charge of 11.800. Otherwise, you will receive a grade of "U" indicating unsatisfactory progress in the Doctoral Research Paper. A grade of "U" is a sign that you might have difficulty in completing your doctoral studies, and any student receiving a "U" in 11.800 will automatically receive a Warning from the Dean of Graduate Education. Note that even though your paper advisor approves the proposal, we may conclude that it is not sufficiently well developed to be considered satisfactory progress. In other words, the final determination of a grade for the fall semester is the responsibility of the faculty for 11.800. Your final Doctoral Research Paper is due at the end of the second semester of 11.800 (the end of your second semester in the program). This year your paper must be submitted to your paper advisor no later than Friday, May 14, 1999. This will give your paper advisor sufficient time to grade your paper by the time that grades must be submitted to MIT on Tuesday, May 18, 1999. Your grade for the second semester of 11.800 will be the grade given to your Doctoral Research Paper by your paper advisor. A grade of "A" or "B" is necessary to fulfill the Doctoral Research Paper requirement. If you have not completed your Doctoral Research Paper by Friday, May 14, or if your advisor is not willing to give your paper a grade of "A" or "B," you will be given a grade of "U" for the second semester of 11.800. If this is the second "U" that you have received for 11.800, the Committee on Graduate School Policy will probably vote to deny you further registration as a graduate student at MIT based on your inability to make successful progress in your doctoral work. If this is the first grade of "U" that you have received for 11.800, you will receive a Warning from the Dean of Graduate Education, and the PhD Committee of the Department of Urban Studies and Planning will not allow you to register for your third semester in the program until you complete the paper with a grade of "A" or "B." If you are unable to register, you will be ineligible to collect any financial aid from MIT. No grades of incomplete ("I") will be given in either semester of 11.800. In each semester your grade will be based on the work completed by the respective due date.