DIGC102 

Week One
Tuesday March 2 , 2010
Dr Chris Moore
Moorenet@gmail . com
uction to Methods in Digital Res
Sources , Knowledge and Identity
 Today’s Lecture


1.
2.
qsummary of the subject outline
qwhat is research?
qblogging and research

Image by Wonderla
 r e n e t )
( m o o
d . c o m r re l t h e o ry /
Scr i b d ou b l e b a
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og l e .c o m

t e s .g o s
http:/
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
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 Course Structure
• 1hr Lecture / 2hr Lab/Seminar
• 100% attendance to Lectures and Labs
• Student Consultation Monday and Thursday by Email
appointment
• Students are required to fulfil the attendance
requirements, the online and class participation
requirements and submit all assessments To Pass
The Course.
•
 Assessments
1 . Information Search Assignment
2 . Information Search Presentation
3 . 2x Blog Report


4 . Group Presentation and Dossier



5 . Online Participation


6 . Class participation

 Assessments
1 . Information Search Assignment – E - waste


Friday, March 26 - Week 4 by 4pm posted to your class blog

and email notification. 15%
 500 words - excludes reference list.

2 . Information Search Presentation



Tuesday April 12 - Week 6 during lab/tutorial. 15%

5 minutes minimum – 10 minutes maximum
 Blog Report
• Week 5, Friday April 2  and Week 10
Friday May 14,  by 4pm. 20%
• Students nominate their strongest post via email and include
provide a short justification for their inclusion.
Students will also nominate the best post and comments
from your peers. (250 words) (10% Total Each Report)

•
 E - waste
Group Presentation
Presentation during Weeks 11 and 12


Tuesday May 18, Tuesday May 25.



Group Research Dossier

(1500 words) submitted in Week 13 Tuesday

June 1, by 4pm


30% (15% presentation, 15% Research



Project Dossier)
•
 Participation
• Participation for the subject is assessed during the class (10%) and
includes an online component (10%).

• Participation in the class includes listening, summarising and asking

questions.

• It also involves establishing links and face-to-face communication with

your fellow students.

• Online participation includes commenting on a minimum of three (3)

blog posts from your peers each week.
 Gmail and
Google Groups

http://groups.google.com/group/digc102
What is Research?
 A Research Process
1.• Deciding what to research: formulate and
revise the research question
•
2. Finding things out: looking up, collecting data,
acquiring knowledge and verification (checking
sources)
3. Putting it together: figuring out the story by
managing, shaping, and analysing the data
4.  Presenting your findings: writing it up, re-
drafting and revisiting the earlier steps where
needed.
research question

image by 
jurvetson
oking Stuff Up and Find
 Types of Sources
1. Primary
•
•
2. Secondary
3. Tertiary
ect of your study: the film or video

r own research i.e. a survey, an inter

and critics.
pes of publication that relates to yo
verified and referenced sources.
versity press publications, online ac
ting it Together
Presenting
Your
Findings
by striati
 Epistemologies and Theoretical
Perspectives
Epistemologies are means of
understanding and explaining theories
of knowledge and ‘ways’ of knowing.
Theoretical Perspectives – Positivism,

Interpretivisim, Systems Theory, Critical

Theory


Weerakkody, Niranjala 2008, Research



methods for media and

communications, Oxford University
Press, South Melbourne.
Methods and Methodologies

• Experimental Research
• Surveys
• Content Analysis
• Ethnography
• Discourse Analysis
tative and Quantitative Res
Quantitative
Quantitative
Qualitative
 Blogging and
The Researcher Identity

 O’Donnell, Marcus, 2006, Marcus

ODonnell Blogging as Pedagogic
Practice Asia Pacific Media Educator,
issue No 17. Dec 2006. [available: 
http://www.marcusodonnell.com/files/APM
http://www.marcusodonnell.com/files/AP
] accessed January 27, 2010.
 Being Critical
• Balanced (Fair)
• Verified (Check Your Sources)
• Hyperbolic (Exaggeration)
•
John Stewart
 Special Topic
 E-Waste and the New Media User –
examining our relationships as
individuals, as a cohort and as a
community of researchers and new
media users to the cycles of
innovation, obsolescence and waste.

by Samuel Mann
 Week One Blog Topic/s
• What is your area of specialised knowledge or expertise?
• Where is your interest most often held in politics, sport, fandom,
technical knowledge or an interest in a particular academic
discipline?
• Consider your own ‘researcher identity’. What do you use research
for in your everyday Internet activities?
• What is your standard practice for finding information online – how
might you improve it?
•
• All Blog topic posts should be a minimum
of 250 words and include examples of
primary , secondary and tertiary sources ,
and be fully referenced .

•
• Ensure to read and posts comments on at
least 3 blogs from peers each week .

•
 Next Week
• Google and You
• Tutorial Labs – WordPress Field Notes
EduBlogs

Tutorial :  No Tutorial/Lab

Seminar for Week one