Argosy University
COURSE SYLLABUS
E7111/R7000/B7001
Introduction to Advanced Academic Study and Writing
Faculty Information:
Faculty Name: Tom Mikolyzk
Campus: Chicago
Contact Information: Phone: 708-263-3973 e-mail:
Office Hours:
Short Faculty Bio:
Course description:
This course demystifies the doctoral level research process and provides a solid foundation for academic writing by analyzing and evaluating current research articles, literature reviews, and dissertations. Emphasis will be placed on APA style guidelines, preparation for the doctoral comprehensive examination, and university publication requirements. It also includes a self-inventory based on state and national standards and develops a self improvement plan that is the basis for activities during internship.
Course Prerequisites: None
Required Textbooks:
Cone, J. D., & Foster, S. L. (2006). Dissertations and theses from start to finish: Psychology and related fields (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association (APA). ISBN: 1591473624Lyne, L. S. (2008). A cross section of educational research: Journal articles for discussion and evaluation (4th ed.). Pyrczak Publishing. ISBN: 1884585809
American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). Washington, D.C.: Author. ISBN: 1557987912
Recommended Textbooks:
DISSERTATION PROCESS
Babbie, E. R. (2001). The basics of social research. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing. ISBN: 0534519040Bryant, T. (2004). The portable dissertation advisor. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. ISBN: 0761946969
Butler, F.P. (1999). Business research sources: A reference navigator. New York, NY: Irwin/McGraw-Hill. ISBN: 025623003X
Galvan, J. (1999). Writing literature reviews. Los Angeles, CA: Prczak Publishing. ISBN: 1884585183
Girden, E. (2000). Evaluating research articles (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. ISBN: 0761922148
Issac, S., & Michael, W.B. (1995). Handbook in research and evaluation: A collection of principles, methods, and strategies useful in the planning, design, and evaluation of studies in education and the behavioral sciences (3rd ed.). San Diego, CA: EdiTS. ISBN: 0912736321
Locke, L. F., Spirduso, W. W., & Silverman, S. J. (1993). Proposals that work: A guide for planning dissertations and grant proposals (3rd ed.). Newberry Park, CA: Sage Publications. ISBN: 0716917071
McNicol, A., & Pexman, P. M. (1999). Presenting your findings: A practical guide for creating tables. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. ISBN: 1557985936
McNicol, A., & Pexman, P. M. (2003). Displaying your findings: A practical guide for creating figures, posters, and presentations. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. ISBN: 1557989788
SURVEY DATA COLLECTION:
Babbie, E. (1990). Survey research methods. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing. ISBN: 0534126723ACTION RESEARCH:
Stringer, E. T. (1999). Action research (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. ISBN: 0761917136Herr, K., Anderson, G. L. (2005). The action research dissertation: A guide for students and faculty. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. ISBN: 0761929916
QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS:
Cramer, D. (1998). Fundamental statistics for social research (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge. ISBN: 0415172039Levine, M., Berenson, M., & Stephan, D. (1999). Statistics for managers. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. ISBN: 0130203122
Sweet, S. (1999). Data Analysis with SPSS. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. ISBN 0205340571
QUALITATIVE METHODS AND ANALYSIS:
Bogdan, R.C., & Biklen, S. K. (2003). Qualitative research for education. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon Publishers. ISBN: 0205375561Creswell, J. W. (2002). Research Design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications ISBN: 0761924426
Creswell, J. W. (1997). Qualitative inquiry and research design. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. ISBN: 0761901442
Delamont, S. (2001). Fieldwork in educational settings: Methods, pitfalls, and perspectives. Falmer Press. ISBN: 041524837X
Merriam, S. (1998). Qualitative research and case study applications in education. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publications.
Merriam, S. & Associates (2002). Qualitative research in practice. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publications. ISBN: 0787958596
Wolcott, H. F. (1990). Writing up qualitative research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. ISBN: 0803937938
Writing Textbooks:
E-JOURNALS, ORGANIZATIONS, AND RESOURCES ON THE WEB
http://aera-cr.asu.edu/links.htmlhttp://www.springeronline.com/sgw/cda/frontpage/0,11855,5-40406-0-0-0,00.html
WEBLIOGRAPHY
Evaluating Internet Sources - http://www.virtualsalt.com/evalu8it.htmPublication Guides - http://www.aresearchguide.com/
US Federal Government and links to State and Local - www.firstgov.gov
Government Printing Office Access - http://www.gpoaccess.gov/index.html
The Grantmanship Center - http://www.tgci.com/
National Council of University Research Administrators - http://www.ncura.edu/
Polaris Grants Central - http://polarisgrantscentral.net/
Proposal Writing and Research Development - http://www.umass.edu/research/ora/dev.html
Online multiple-language dictionaries - http://www.alphadictionary.com/index.shtml
The New Teacher's Guide to the U.S. Department of Education - http://www.ed.gov/pubs/TeachersGuide
ERIC - www.eric.ed.gov
Practical Teaching Ideas - www.ncte.org/teach
Education Resources - www.educationindex.com/educator
Statistical software is helpful for data analysis when they start writing their dissertations.
SPSS 11.0 FOR Mac OS or SPSS 13.0 Graduate Version. Software for statistical analysis of data in table format. Able to compute parametric and non-parametric tests of significance, compute effect size and create graphs or figures. Available at www.spss.com, at local college books stores (such as University of California), online campus bookstores or through E-Bay. About $190
Endnote 8 for Students Only [Endnote 7.0 for Mac] Software to create reference databases, create and format in-text citations and reference lists. Available at Amazon.com for $94.99. http://www.endnote.com/
PERIODICALS
Kappan - www.pdkintl.orgJournal of Research on Technology in Education (JRTE) - www.iste.org
Journal of Information Systems Education - www.jise.appstate.edu
Learning and Leading with Technology - www.iste.org/LL
Journal of Computing in Higher Education - www-unix.oit.umass.edu/~carolm/jche/
Educational Leadership - www.ascd.org
Reading online - www.readingonline.org
Teachers College Record - www.tcrecord.org
Current Issues in Education -http://cie.asu.edu
DeLiberations - www.city.londonmet.ac.uk/deliberations
Harvard Educational Journal - http://gseweb.harvard.edu/~hepg/her.html
Education Next- www.educationnext.org
Academic Leadership- www.academicleadership.org
Journal for Research in Mathematics Education – http://my.nctm.org/eresources/journal_home.asp?journal_id=1
IEJ International Education Journal - http://eij.cjb.net
National Forum Journal- www.nationalforum.com
Journal of Higher Education Policy & Management – www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/1360080x.asp
Course Length: 7.5 weeks
Contact Hours: 45
Credit Value: 3
Program Outcomes:
Course Objectives:
- Become adept at using APA style formatting. (Program Outcomes in EL: 2.1; Program Outcomes in IL: 2.1; Program Outcomes in CCExL: 2)
- Critically evaluate prior research that supports or confirms the proposed study. (Program Outcomes in EL: 1.2, 3.1; Program Outcomes in IL: 1.2, 3.1; Program Outcomes in CCExL: 3, 6, 9)
- Evaluate current literature and compile reference list. (Program Outcomes in EL: 2.1, 3.2; Program Outcomes in IL: 2.1, 3.2; Program Outcomes in CCExL: 2, 6)
- Critically discuss expected results in the context of knowledge of relevant theory, policy and practice. (Program Outcomes in EL: 1.4, 2.1, 3.1, 9.1; Program Outcomes in IL: 1.4, 2.1, 3.1, 9.1; Program Outcomes in CCExL: 1, 3, 7)
- Consider possible conclusions that take into account limitations of their research. (Program Outcomes in EL: 1.4, 3.1; Program Outcomes in IL: 1.4, 3.1; Program Outcomes in CCExL: 3, 7, 9)
- Develop a perspective for a dissertation. (Program Outcomes in EL: 3.1; Program Outcomes in IL: 3.1; Program Outcomes in CCExL: 3)
- Complete a self-inventory based on state and national standards. (Program Outcomes in EL: 3.1, 4.2, 5.6; Program Outcomes in IL: 3.1, 4.2, 5.6; Program Outcomes in CCExL: 6, 10)
- Develop a self-improvement plan that is the basis for activities during field experience. (Program Outcomes in EL: 1.4, 3.1; Program Outcomes in IL: 1.4, 3.1; Program Outcomes in CCExL: 3, 7)
- Understand the major prospects of the dissertation process. (Program Outcomes in EL: 3.1; Program Outcomes in IL: 3.1; Program Outcomes in CCExL: 3, 9)
Assignment Table:
Week / Topics / Readings / Assignments1 / Field and Internship Experience
The Comprehensive Examination
Field Experience
The Dissertation Guide
Article and Electronic
Dissertations Online Search
/ Cone & Foster
§ Chapter 1: What are Theses and Dissertations and Why Write a Book about Them?
Lyne
§ Article 1: Involving Students in School Violence Prevention: Are They Willing to Help?
§ Article 8: The Significance of Language and Cultural Education on Secondary Achievement: A Survey of Chinese-American and Korean-American Students.
§ Article 29: Program to Reduce Behavioral Infractions and Referrals to Special Education.
Guide to Dissertation / Discussion Questions:
1.1. A classmate asks you to critique the first draft of a literature review she has written for a class assignment. While reading the draft, you realize that she has, for the most part, simply summarized one study after another—each summarized in its own paragraph. Based on the information in this chapter, what advice would you give her? Justify your answer.
1.2. Do you have any specific future goals and/or activities that might influence your selection of a topic? If so, describe them.
1.3. Suppose the topic you are considering is “career counseling.” At the time of this writing, 2,038 journal articles were retrieved via a basic ERIC keyword search. Name a demographic variable that could be used to delimit the topic and, hence, retrieve a more manageable number of references.
Assignments:
1.1. Application
Write very brief descriptions of at least two preliminary topic ideas in which you have a personal interest. Explain why you think these topics are suitable for your study. Search all relevant sources for a survey article or study on the topic that you have chosen for your project. Identify sources (Websites, journals etc.) that are useful, summarize the article, and discuss your thoughts in approximately two pages. Be sure to submit your preliminary topic ideas in a Word document, with 12 pt font and double spacing.
1.2. Field Experience
Task# 1
Before the end of this course, attend a proposal or dissertation defense and observe the process. Note the elements of the defense such as the students’ presentation strategies, the approach of the faculty, and the standard procedural guidelines. Write a reflective paper on your experience and reaction after attending a defense, and submit it as a two–page, double-spaced document.
Task#2:
By Week 5, visit five different sites (school districts or appropriate organizations) where you could possibly do your internship in E7233 and analyze these sites. Submit this assignment as a Word document using 12 pt font and double-spacing. Make sure it does not exceed two pages. Also read the guidelines in and complete the Internship Form before beginning the assignment.
1.3. See Course Project toward the end of the syllabus.
2 / APA formatting, Review
Paraphrasing, Summarizing, and Analyzing
Citations, Footnotes, and Bibliographies
APA - Title page
Prospectus v. Dissertation
Dissertation Sections / Cone & Foster
§ Chapter 2: Starting Out: Assessing Your Preparation for the Task Ahead
§ Chapter 5: Formulating and Communicating Your Plans: An Overview of the Proposal
APA
· Quality of Content, Characteristics of Articles, and Parts of a Manuscript in Chapter 1: Content and Organization of a Manuscript
· Chapter 5: Manuscript Preparation and Sample Papers to be Submitted for Publication / Discussion Questions:
2.1. You are writing a paper and are faced with an ethical dilemma about citing a source for an idea (such as not being able to recall the source but wanting to use the idea anyway)? How will you resolve this situation? Justify your response.
2.2. Identify at least five facts, concepts, or ideas you believe are “common knowledge” whose sources do not need to be cited. Provide reasons for your selections. Discuss them with your classmates to see if they agree with you.
2.3. The authors of a certain literature review wrote the statement: “Providing for defense and security is a singular and defining purpose of national government.” The context in which this sentence appears makes it clear hat the authors are referring to the national government of the United States. However, the authors do not cite a reference for the sentence. Do you believe they should have cited a reference, or do you think the sentence makes a statement that is common knowledge? Justify your response.
2.4. Interview someone who has successfully completed their doctoral degree and write a synopsis of your learning. After providing a brief overview of the person and their dissertation, share with us what advice they have for you as a new doctoral student.
2.5. This week, you learned that a literature review synthesizes the literature on a topic. In your own words, how would you define a “synthesis”? What features, in your opinion, constitute a good synthesis?
2.6. Consider a topic on which you might write a literature review. At this point, can you think of any criteria that you might use for the inclusion (and/or exclusion) of literature? Explain.
2.7. Speculate the three major reasons why you believe methodologically weak articles are sometimes published (even in highly respected journals.)
Assignments:
2.1. Application
Locate a dissertation in a library or the Argosy Online library and evaluate the literature review chapter.
2.2. See Course Project toward the end of the syllabus.
3 / Evaluating Prior Studies
Problem
Purpose
Background and Need for the Study / Cone & Foster
· Chapter 4: Finding Topics and Faculty Collaborators
Lyne
§ Article 33: Urban School Principals and Their Role as Multicultural Leaders Urban Education (Observation, collection of documents and interviews)
§ Article 6: A Comparison of How Textbooks Teach Mathematical Problem Solving in Japan and the United States
§ Article 10: The Effects of Computer-Assisted Instruction on First-Grade Students' Vocabulary Development / Discussion Questions:
3.1. One of your colleagues states that the study on psychoanalysis “proves” hypnosis works in cases of Multiple Personality Disorder. After this week’s lecture on evaluating studies, are you still inclined to take this statement at face value or would you be cautious about believing such a statement? Support your response with examples.
3.2. Debate: If a difference is statistically significant, is it necessarily large? If not, what does the fact that a difference is statistically significant tell you?
3.3. In your opinion, should writers of literature reviews state their own conclusions drawn from literature, or should they describe the literature in a cohesive essay but “let the facts speak for themselves” instead of stating their own conclusions? Discuss the pros and cons of both views. Support your response with appropriate scenarios.
3.4. Visit your library and investigate a topic of your choice using the databases available there.
Assignments:
3.1. Application
In the samples given below, the authors’ have clearly stated the background and need for their own studies.
a. Can you isolate and identify each of them?
b. If you were to conduct research on the same topics, how would your phrasing and approach be different?
c. The paper should not exceed 3 pages and must be submitted as a Word document. It should be double-spaced and in 12pt font. Include an additional page that lists your citations. The paper should be written in APA style.