Assignment: Over the course of the semester, you will write a series of memos reflecting on your research process/progress in light of class readings and discussions. The memos will be in response to a prompt provided each week that may ask you to perform a particular writing task or engage a particular reading. You may be asked to share your memo with other students in class. Each memo should be 2-3 pages, double-spaced (400-750 words). You may send the memo by email or turn in hard copy. They are due by our class meeting on the date listed in the daily syllabus.
Purpose: As Joseph Maxwell notes in Qualitative Research Design, "Memos do for ideas what fieldnotes and transcripts do for perception: they convert thought into a form that allows examination and further manipulation. . . . Not writing memos is the research equivalent of having Alzheimer's disease; you may not remember your important insights when you need them" (12). Memos will help you reflect on the research process rather than getting bogged down in the details of research.
Evaluation: Memos will be marked with a check (fulfills the assignment), check-plus (engaged analysis of the research process in response to the assignment), or check-minus (does not fulfill the assignment, minimal engagement or analysis). In the final calculation of grades, check-plusses will count as an A, checks as a B, and check-minuses as a C. The memos are worth 20% of your total grade.