Download Dec30_revisedQuirke_2016Winter_SY309F

Wilfrid Laurier University
Course Outline
SY 309F – Diaries and Big Data
Instructor: Dr. L. Quirke
Class times: Mondays and Wednesdays, 2:30-3:50pm, Arts 2C16
(519) 884-1970 ext. 2378
e-mail: lquirke_at_wlu.ca
Office Hour: Wednesdays, 1-2pm
Course Description: Online data and people’s everyday lives provide large repositories of data that
sociologists can use to study social patterns. This course examines two nuanced and vast sources of
data: time use research and “big” data. Online sites, including social media sites have generated vast
swaths of data; analyzing these data help scholars to illuminate social patterns that explain the data,
in light of relevant theoretical frameworks. This course will sensitize students to questions of using
obtrusive time diary data and unobtrusive “big” data in an ethical manner. This course intends to
provide students with a deeper understanding of research methods through learning about two
methods of data collection and analysis: time use data and text mining. This course aims to provide
a practical data analysis skills that students can later use to understand time use data (i.e. to collect
data about how much time is spent on different daily activities) and text analysis. This course
focuses on providing an introduction to time use patterns as they specifically relate to family life, as
well as sociological text analysis methods.
Learning Objectives
To become familiar with time use data as a way
of collecting information about how individuals
and families spend their time
To identify and evaluate ways of representing
time use data
Students will become familiar with methods
scholars use to analyze textual online sources
To learn how to mine data from online sources
using text mining packages such as Chrome Web
Scraper or similar programs
To glean and critically analyze larger social
patterns by looking at online textual data
Learning Outcomes
Students will collect primary data about their
own time use through a time use diary, and will
analyze these and their peers’ daily activities
Students will compare and discuss different ways
of presenting data
Students will complete a review assessing the
writings of three authors who have used these
methods to collect data.
Students will complete a final assignment that
requires them to use a text mining package to
collect data from textual online sources
Students will critically analyze social patterns
found within the content they have scraped
from the internet as a component of their final
assignment
1
Required Readings: Michelson, W. (2006) Time Use: Expanding Explanation in the Social
Sciences. St. Paul, MN: Paradigm Publishers.
Also, other assorted readings (see “lecture schedule” below)
Evaluation
Weight
Diary/Journal Assignment
Time Diaries Analysis
1-page Update on Final Presentation
Group Presentations
Participation
15%
25%
5%
30%
25%
Due
January 20th
February 8th
March 9th
Weeks 11 and 12
-10% = weeks 2-6
-15% = weeks 7-12
Participation
Students are expected to complete all required readings before class, attend all classes, actively
participate in groupwork, computer work and class activities. Students are expected to
communicate in a professional manner both online and in person, and contribute to class
discussions with insightful and thoughtful comments based specifically on the readings in
this class; not to simply express opinions, anecdotes or views on the topic of discussion.
Participation grades will be based on the quantity and quality of each student’s respectful
participation, including discussion (which must be informed by the readings) and effort in
working with text mining software, which requires tenacity.
You may receive up to 2% (for weeks 2-6) or 2.5% (for weeks 7-12) of your participation
grade for each class you attend. If you miss a class, you will receive a zero for that day. Simply
attending does not guarantee you full marks; students who aim to earn full or nearly full mark
should participate fully, e.g. make numerous insightful comments which demonstrate that they
have not only read the readings, but that they understand them, drawing links between that
week’s readings, and readings from previous weeks. For working with text mining software,
putting in time both in and outside of class will be rewarded, as students who make more than a
minimal effort to understand and use text mining software and techniques will not only get
more out of the course, but will be seen to be participating fully. In short, simply showing up to
most classes and making a minimal effort will result in a mediocre participation grade. More
information will be provided in class about how this professionalism/participation grade will be
assessed.
2
Late Policy
More information about assignments will be provided in class. No extensions will be granted;
students are expected to plan ahead for this assignment. Penalty for lateness: 10% for
weekdays, 20% per weekend. Students must keep a copy of assignments submitted in this
course.
Lecture Schedule:
Week
Week 1
Jan. 4/6
Topic
Introduction to
Time Use Data
Reading
Michelson, Chapter 1
Zuzanek, J. (2009). Time Use Research in Canada – History,
Critique, Perspectives. Electronic International
Journal of Time Use Research 6(2), 178-192.
Young, C. and C. Lim (2014). “Time as a Network Good:
Evidence from Unemployment and the Standard
Workweek.” Sociological Science. Volume 1: 10-27.
Week 2
Jan.
11/13
Looking
Sociologically at
Time Use
Michelson, Chapter 2
Hilbrecht, M. J. Zuzanek and R. Mannell (2008) “Time Use,
Time Pressure and Gendered Behaviour in Early and
Late Adolescence” Sex Roles 58 (5): 342-357.
Bianchi, S. M., Milkie, M. A., Sayer, L. C., & Robinson, J. P.
(2000). Is anyone doing the housework? Trends in
the gender division of household labor. Social forces,
79(1), 191-228.
Week 3
Jan.
18/20
Time Diary Data:
It’s Complicated
Kahneman, D. et al. (2004) “A Survey Method for
Characterizing Daily Life Experiences: The Day
Reconstruction Methods” (DRM) Science 306: 17761780.
Michelson, Chapter 7 “Patterns beneath the Surface: The
Texture of Multitasking”
Kenyon, S. (2008). Internet Use and Time Use: The
importance of multitasking. Time & Society, 17(2-3),
283-318.
3
Week 4
Jan.
25/27
Time Use and
Families
Michelson, Chapter 8 “Social Contact and Family Dynamics
in Temporal Perspective”
Graesch, A. (2009). “Material Indicators of Family
Busyness”. Social Indicators Research. 93(1): 85-94.
Week 5
Feb. 1/3
Time Use and
Families,
continued.
Cawley, J. and F. Liu (2012). “Maternal Employment and
Childhood Obesity: A Search for Mechanisms in Time
Use Data” Economics & Human Biology. 10(4): 352364.
Pacholok, S. and A. Gauthier (2010). “Non-Participant
Fathers in Time-Use Studies: Uninvolved or Data
Artifact?” Social Indicators Research 96(2): 249-66.
Week 6
Feb.
8/10
Time Diary
Workshop: What
Does This All Tell
Us?
Daly, K. J. (2001). Deconstructing family time: From ideology
to lived experience. Journal of marriage and family,
63(2), 283-294.
Michelson, Chapter 3 “Directions of Analysis and Their
Implications”
Week 7
Feb.
22/24
Time Data Wrap Up Duncheon, J. C., & Tierney, W. G. (2013). Changing
and
conceptions of time implications for educational
Introduction to
research and practice. Review of educational
Text Mining
research. 83(2): 236-72.
Stemler, S. (2001). An overview of content analysis. Practical
Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 7(17).
Bail, C. (2014). “The Cultural Environment: Measuring
Culture with Big Data” Theory and Society, vol. 43.
Week 8
Feb.
29/Mar.
2
Text Mining
MacMillan, K. (2005) “More than Just Coding? Evaluating
CAQDAS in a Discourse Analysis of News Texts”
Forum: Qualitative Social Research 6(3).
http://www.qualitativeresearch.net/index.php/fqs/article/viewArticle/28
McLevey, John (reading TBA)
4
Week 9
Mar. 7/9
Computer Assisted
Qualitative Data
Analysis Software
Monday, March 7th: Lab Workshop
Weisz, D. (2013) “Top Tools for Grabbing Data, No Coding
Necessary” Reporters’ Lab: Tools, Techniques &
Research for Public Affairs Reporting
http://www.reporterslab.org/scraping-roundup/
March 9th:
White, M., M. Judd and S. Poliandri (2012). “Illumination
with a Dim Bulb? What do Social Scientists Learn by
Employing Qualitative Data Analysis Software (QDAS)
in the Service of Multi-Method Designs?” Sociological
Methodology 42(1): 43-76.
Week 10
Mar.
14/16
Text Analysis
Workshop
Carley, K. and M. Palmquist (1992). “Extracting,
Representing, and Analyzing Mental Models” Social Forces
70(3): 601-36.
Ignatow, G. (2009) “Culture and Embodied Cognition: Moral
Discourses in Internet Support Groups for Overeaters” Social
Forces 88(2): 643-69.
Bail, C. (2012) “The Fringe Effect: Civil Society Organizations
and the Evolution of Media Discourse about Islam since the
September 11th Attacks” American Sociological Review 77(6):
855-879.
Week 11
Mar.
21/23
Semantic and
Sentiment Analysis
Manovich, L. (2012). Trending: The Promises and the
Challenges of Big Social Data in Gold, M. (ed.) Debates in the
Digital Humanities. Minneapolis, MN: University of
Minnesota Press: 460-75.
Data Presentations: What can Text Mining Tell You?
Job Talk Presentations: What can you Tell me about Text
Mining?
Week 12
Course Wrap-Up
Presentations (continued)
Mar.
28/30
Please contact me promptly if you are struggling in the course, or if you need some assistance.
Please do not wait until the end of the semester! Feel free to approach me to chat if you have
any questions, need clarification, or are having trouble in the course. My aim is for each
student to do well in this course – please come and see me if you need help.
5
Grade Appeals
Assignments will be returned in class, and correct answers will be reviewed. If you have missed
taking up an assignment in class, be sure to get the notes from a classmate before coming to
discuss your exam results with me. I am happy to meet with you to discuss your grade – please
wait for 24 hours before approaching me, either in person or over e-mail, to arrange to meet
to discuss your grade. This allows for time to review or go over the correct exam answers taken
up in class. Students who would like something re-graded must detail in writing (i.e. 1/2 page or
so) exactly why they deserve a higher grade. An exam cannot be remarked without valid
reason, such as errors in addition. Students must approach me to discuss/appeal their exam
within 3 weeks after assignments have been returned, students’ class absences
notwithstanding.
Students’ Responsibilities
Class Participation and Attendance:
Students are responsible for all course material, including announcements made in lecture,
information posted on My Learning Space, all course readings (textbook, reserve readings). To
do well in this course, you should attend all lectures, complete all readings and assignments. If
you do not attend a lecture, you are responsible for obtaining notes from a classmate. Please
don’t contact the instructor about this. Lecture notes are not provided online. I do not post
lecture notes in advance of the class, or after the class has finished.
Classroom Disruptions
Please be respectful of other students and myself. Please don’t talk while other students are
talking or trying to listen. Please come to class on time.
Mobile devices of any kind are not permitted in this course except for accessibility
reasons or extenuating situations. The latter will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Failure to comply with this policy will result in you being asked to leave the classroom
for all or part of the course. Students must place their phones on a desk at the front of
the classroom each lecture, and leave them there for the duration of class, each week.
Communication
The best way to communicate with me is in person (i.e. before or after class). My office hours
are listed at the beginning of this syllabus. At any time, feel free to meet with me to discuss
readings, lectures, assignments, or other matters relevant to this course.
My Learning Space:
Course information (except for lecture notes) will be available on My Learning Space. Check the
6
course website for information updates. Please only send me messages through my
GroupWise e-mail account, not through MyLS.
Sending e-mail:
 please send all e-mail from your official Laurier e-mail address (hotmail, yahoo, gmail
messages, etc. may get caught in our spam filters) to my Groupwise WLU account, not
MyLS
 Be sure to include “SY 309F” in the subject line, so that I know that your message is
course-related.
 Please be patient when waiting for e-mail responses - I do my best to respond quickly
(i.e. within 24 hours on weekdays)
Fall/Winter 2015-2016 Additional Information
Student Awareness of the Accessible Learning Centre: Students with disabilities or special
needs are advised to contact Laurier’s Accessible Learning Centre for information regarding its
services and resources. Students are encouraged to review the Calendar for information
regarding all services available on campus. Guidelines regarding the consideration of such
students can be obtained by contacting the Accessible Learning Centre, ext. 3086,
http://waterloo.mylaurier.ca/accessible/info/home.htm
Academic and Research Misconduct: Academic misconduct is an act by a student, or by
students working on a team project, which may result in a false evaluation of the students(s), or
which represents a deliberate attempt to unfairly gain an academic advantage. Academic
misconduct includes: please refer to web site:
http://www.wlu.ca/page.php?grp_id=2505&p=11452
Wilfrid Laurier University uses software that can check for plagiarism. Students may be required
to submit their written work in electronic form and have it checked for plagiarism.
Examination Deferrals: The academic date section of the 2015/2016 calendar:
https://legacy.wlu.ca/calendars/section.php?cal=1&s=702&sp=2508&ss=2960&y=65#Deferred_
Examination_Policy (Deferred Examination Policy section) clearly states the examination policy
and date period for each semester. Students must note that they are required to reserve this
time in their personal calendars for the examinations. The examination period for this school
year is: April 7 - 23. Students who are considering registering to write MCAT, LSAT or GMAT or a
similar examination, should select a time for those examinations that occurs outside the
University examination period.
For additional information regarding special circumstances for examination deferment, consult
the Examination Policy web site and check the Deferred Examination Policy section:
https://legacy.wlu.ca/calendars/section.php?cal=1&s=702&sp=2508&ss=2960&y=65#Deferred_
Examination_Policy (Special Examinations section) of the 2015/2016 University on-line calendar.
7
The up to date, official Academic Calendar is posted on Wilfrid Laurier University’s web site at
http://legacy.wlu.ca Go to Academic Info/Academic Calendars/Undergraduate Academic
Calendar/2015/2016
8