Nic Spaull

Economic and Development Problems in Sub-Saharan Africa

Session 2 : Research Methods

(AKA Academic skills)

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Outline for today + tomorrow

Referencing• Tutorial

Reviews• Quick practice example

Presentations• Allocate groups for weekly presentations

Admin: Wed 9-11AM avoids more clashes than Wed (12-1)+ Thurs(10-11)

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Referencing

• What is referencing?• Referencing is the acknowledgement of books, articles,

websites and any other material used in the writing of an academic paper, essay, project or thesis

• Why do we reference?• To give credit for work that is not our own.• To enable the reader to find the sources we are referring to.• To substantiate claims we are making and demonstrate

that we are aware of the existing research (credibility)

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Referencing

• How do we reference?• In-text

• This is supported by the notion that “nations are defined by a combination of cultural and political factors” (Heywood, 2002: 123).

• Florin (2003: 375) illustrates the importance of social capital to all modern corporations, particularly high growth ventures.

• End-text• Heywood, A. 2002. Politics. 2nd edn. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.• Florin, RB. 2003. A social capital model of high-growth ventures.

Academy of Management Journal, 46(3): 374-384.

• When do we need to reference?

{Using the DVD}Cite-it-Right

Practicality!

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Reviews

• 5/12 weeks you will be expected to do a review (best 4 for marks)

• If the week’s review is a journal article or book chapter, I expect you to

1) Firstly, present a short and concise summary of the main arguments presented in the paper/chapter – you must decide what you think are the three or so main points that are raised by the author(s).

2) Secondly, you must present a critique of these arguments – do you agree/disagree? Why? Is the author biased? Etc. I will give you some examples of previous students reviews.

If the week’s review involves a case study, I will assign some questions the week before which you will have to answer.

• Each review should be not more than 650 words, 1.5 line spacing, 12 font. You will be penalised if you do not adhere to these specifications. If you cite readings other than the prescribed reading include a bibliography – the bibliography does not count towards the word count.

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Practice makes perfect

• What is the point of summarising?• Do we need to try and represent everything that

was said/written?• How do you summarise?

• Read with a pen/highlighter

• Not all information is of equal value

• Summarising is NOT the same as evaluating!• Value judgements

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Practice makes perfect…

• Foreign aid (Sess 3) articles (2)

1) 40 words2) 12 words

“Helping Africa Help Itself”

“$25 Billion question”

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Your essay

• You WILL draft your essay.• It WILL be interesting.

Length? 8 pages-quality not quantity-succinctness is a valuable skill

Make sure you read the course outline for guidelines as to what (and how) to write this essay.

40%

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Writing is more of a skill than a talent

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George Orwell

“Objective consideration of contemporary phenomenon compels the conclusion that success or failure in competitive activities exhibits no tendency to be commensurate with innate capacity, but that a considerable element of the unpredictable must inevitably be taken into account.”

“I returned and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all” (Ecclesiastes 9:11)

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• Font size 11 ( Arial or Gill Sans MT)• 1.5 line spacing• Deadlines are deadlines (-10% per day

late)• Proper referencing • Spelling mistakes are unforgiveable

(given spell-check!)

Miscellaneous

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Miscellaneous

• Just because you’re at university doesn’t mean you can’t be

Controversial /

INNOVATIVE /

PROVOCATIVE /

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Just some things to think about...

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Some things to think about

• Ask questions• Think critically

1) Post hoc ergo propter hoc• “Bowls is the most dangerous sport on the planet

because more people die playing bowls than any other sport”

• “…[E]vidence shows that even state and local handgun control laws work. For example, in 1974 Massachusetts passed the Bartley-Fox Law, which requires a special license to carry a handgun outside the home or business. The law is supported by a mandatory prison sentence. Studies by Glenn Pierce and William Bowers of Northeastern University documented that after the law was passed handgun homicides in Massachusetts fell 50% and the number of armed robberies dropped 35%. “

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Some things to think about

• Sample selection• A recent voluntary survey has found that pregnant

women drink less and smoke less than non-pregnant women

• If I administered an anonymous feedback form to this class on the last day of the semester, would that be a valid way to determine if this course met it’s objectives?

• Could we survey this class and ask about your perceptions of South Africa and then generalise those results to:

• All exchange students around the world?

• Sample Population (?)

• Representivity

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Think…

• “The matric pass-rate in SA improved from 1999-2003 therefore the education system improved”

• “More and more young people are attending high schools and colleges today than ever before. Yet there is more juvenile delinquency and more alienation among the young. This makes it clear that these young people are being corrupted by their education.”

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Statistics vs distributions

Primary school: Gr.6 reading test scores by SES quintile

18 Poverty estimates (Rich and poor?) Stock and flow (Matric pass rate “improvements”)

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A picture is worth a thousand words…

- 5% of FINAL mark (group-work mark)- 20 minutesThings to discussi. Brief history/backgroundii. Political environmentiii. Economyiv. Social + cultural contextv. 3 main problems (+Solutions?)

Countries1. Nigeria (3rd Aug)2. Zimbabwe (10 Aug)3. Angola (17 Aug)4. South Africa (24 Aug)5. Uganda* (31 Aug)6. Ghana (14 Sept)7. Rwanda* (21 Sept)8. Algeria (28 Sept)

Marking criteria: Presentation (20%), Content (50%), Interesting (30%)2

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Group assignment 1 - presentations 7.5%