Research Portfolio

(20% of final course grade)

Portfolio: "A collection of material artifacts that demonstrates a learning process and includes a reflective analysis.A portfolio can be used to evaluate progress in a fieldstudy and can be cited as source material." (

FieldWork

, 503)

Description

: Your Research Portfolio “house[s] both the process and the product of [your] fieldwork.” Think of it asa "behind-the-scenes" account of the field research process that led to the write up of your final project. “Naturally,the research portfolio will include your final ethnographic essay, but your selection will also show artifacts from thethinking process that led to this project (

FieldWorking

, 56-57). “To keep track of your project,” Sustein and Chiseri-Strater suggest, “you’ll move back and forth among four key activities: collecting, selecting, reflecting, and projecting” (57).

Portfolio contents:

For the Research Portfolio you display at the end-of-term Celebration of Student Writing andsubmit to your instructor, you should select “artifacts from the thinking process that led to this project. You’ll wantto represent selections from the reading, writing, and materials you’ve relied on along the way: writing exercises,fieldnotes, interview questions, charts, methods of analysis, and whatever helped you think your way through thefinal written project” (

FieldWorking

, 57). The following table includes the items you are required to include in your Research Portfolio, which will be presented entirely online through Wordpress or another free site for sharing your fieldwork and the resulting project. placementdescriptionother relevantdetailsHome (Page 1)Abstract of research project. What is your key research question? Howdid your research project work to address this question? What are your findings?Abstract should beless than 250 wordstotalTable of Contents(page 2)Annotated Table of Contents (see instructions for WA5, attached): Theannotated table of contents is a list of the artifacts and other itemsincluded in the portfolio in the order in which they make the most sensegiven the direction taken in your final project. For your ResearchPortfolio posted online, you should include a 3-5 sentence summary for each item listed, followed by 2-3 sentences explaining the item’scontribution to your overall project and a link to the item itself. Your list should include at least 25 items, from the most relevant ResearchJournal entries to fieldnotes taken in your own hand to artifactscollected to summaries of each of your completed writing assignments.The first page is meant to guide visitors to relevant artifacts, so eachitem listed should link to the relevant item contained in your collection.Each item should include a complete citation, followed by a shortdescription of the item itself and how it contributes to your overall project.See WA5assignment detailsfor more.Final Project(page 3)Post your Final project here, deeply revised and ready for eyes beyondthose of your classmates and instructor.Research Tools(page 4)For this section, you should include your complete codebook, digitalcopies of signed consent forms, interview script, survey questions, andother relevant research tools.codebook consent formsinterview scriptsurvey questionsDr. Carter English 102-H, Fall 2009

placementdescriptionother relevantdetailsArtifacts (page5)Scan or photograph all artifacts you collected in the process of your field research. Remember that an artifact is “a material object that belongs to and represents a culture” (FW, 499). Artifacts collected inyour research portfolio might include photographs, brochures, pamphlets, letters written from one member of the community toanother, menus, time sheets, employee reports, church bulletins,newsletters, sketches, songs, advertisements, and so on. Also includedhere are fieldnotes taken in your own hand (especially double-entryfieldnotes), transcriptions from interviews, recordings from interviews,maps you created as visual representation of the physical space, and anyother item collected during the research process.ResearchJournal(page 6)Include all of your RJ entries here. By the end of the term, you shouldhave 25 complete entries.You’ve beenwriting this allterm. Should begood to go here!WAs (page 7)Include links to all your major writing assignments here, including ashort description of WA1-WA5 . You can repeat the description offeredin the Annotated Table of Contents above but you should make obviousthe multiple writing assignments you developed to prepare for your final research project.WA1 (LiteracyHistory), WA2(Found Literacies),WA3 (ResearchProposal), WA4(EthnographicInterviewing),WA4 (Annotated Bibliography)

Evaluation

In evaluating your final portfolio, I will be looking for all of the above elements. The following questions will guidemy evaluation:

‣

Does your Research Portfolio contain all of the required artifacts (see above)? Remember, I am lookingfor at least SIX sets of fieldnotes expanded and reflected upon multiple times and numerous artifactsrepresenting a rigorous research process including loads of reflection and lots of time spent collecting,selecting, coding, and interpreting these data in terms of your final research project.

‣

Does the Research Portfolio offer evidence of a meticulously researched project filled with obviousreflection?

‣

Is the Research Portfolio organized in such a way that a visitor completely unfamiliar with the project caneasily navigate it and learn about the research question, context, methods, findings, and implications (seesyllabus for more).Be certain your Research Portfolio meets these criteria.

A draft of your research portfolio is due bynoon 12/4/09.

Send a link to your completed, online portfolio via email to Shannon_Carter@tamu-commerce.edu or cartershannon@gmail.comDr. Carter English 102-H, Fall 2009