EDT 660
Introduction to Educational Research
T 4:30-7:05, CH 208
Fall, 2005
Instructor: Dr. Steve Richards
937-229-4511
Office Hours: Tuesday 3:30-4:30 and by appointment
I EDT 660
II Introduction to Educational Research
III Terms Offered: Fall, Winter, Summer I, Summer II
IV Catalogue Description: This course is a study of key components necessary to understand, analyze, and evaluate research. Emphasis is on understanding the foundational principles of inquiry and related issues. EDT 660 is the first in a series of research courses and is taken during the first half of a student’s program. A major requirement of this course is the development of a paper reviewing related literature.
Syllabus Reference to EDT Theme and SOEAP Theme
The School of Education and Allied Professions in conjunction with the University of Dayton's Vision 2005 has adopted a school wide theme of "Building Learning Communities Through Critical Reflection." The goal for the faculty in the School of Education and Allied Professions is to become a learning community of its own, model that learning community, and mentor others in their quest for a learning community. This can happen when we work with the human services within the larger communities of public, Catholic and private learning institutions.
The University of Dayton's Department of Teacher Education has adopted a theme that is integrated throughout our entire program of study. The theme of "Teacher as Reflective Decision Maker in a Pluralistic Society" is an appropriate choice, considering the complex needs of students from many different backgrounds and the demand that teachers have as much preparation for this challenge as possible.
The department adopted this theme in accordance with the University's Marianist Mission Statement, which encourages student to take an active role in improving the state of the larger community. This attitude is encouraged when professors and teachers embrace and model qualities of character embodied in the Marianist tradition. These values, found as well in student centered classrooms, include faith, community, mission, inclusiveness, respect, acceptance, empathy, authenticity, service, compassion, a sense of humor, expectancy of good, concern for the total development of the child, and commitment of be professional minded.
V 3 semester hours
VI Prerequisites: 6 hours of graduate work
VII Course Goals: This is an introductory course in research. This course is designed to help the educator understand research as professional inquiry and develop the skills and capacity for understanding needed to ground practice in current understandings of our professions. There will be four major areas addressed this semester: general educational research knowledge, writing a literature review, research in your field/interest area, and APA format.
V III Course Objectives:
A. Knowledge
1. Explain principles pertaining to research concepts and interpreting research information.
2. Describe the role of research in educational practice.
3. Describe the various methodologies that are used to address research questions.
4. Recall selected principles pertaining to instrumentation and measurement.
5. Identify appropriate use of statistical procedures.
6. Describe the data collection techniques associated with research that address questions that are qualitative in nature.
7. Articulate the logical framework of a review of literature.
B. Skills
1. Critique published research on the basis of established criteria including evaluating the appropriateness of method used in research and claims made to the questions asked.
2. Learn to employ a variety of data collection techniques.
3. Learn the basics for interpreting numerical data through selected statistical procedures using a computer-based statistical package.
4. Apply interpretive techniques to qualitative data.
5. Employ available Internet sources for literature searches and related tasks.
6. Develop a review of literature focused on a relevant topic or problem of educational significance and importance.
C. Attitudes and Values
1. Value educational research as an important way of gaining knowledge.
2. Appreciate the diverse ways in which all members of a learning community address questions of importance and topics of concern.
IX Course Topics:
APA format and style
The Nature of Educational Research
Research Problems and Questions
Reviewing the Literature
Quantitative Methodologies
Qualitative Methodologies
Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Research
Correlational Designs
Survey Research
Grounded Theory Designs
Ethnographic Designs
Narrative Research Designs
Mixed Method Design
Action Research Design
Computer/Internet Technology and Access
X Instructional Procedures:
Large and small group discussion
Lecture
Team projects/tasks in class
Demonstration of computer applications
Peer conferencing and critiques
XI. Instructional Technology:
Students will be expected to demonstrate through products their ability to wordprocess, use online reference sources, and the text website
XII Student Evaluation Criteria:
You will receive explicit criteria for each written assignment. Quizzes and assignments will be graded on a point system.
Attendance & participation required*
Quizzes 10 points per quiz
Midterm & Final Exams 40 points each
Published research critique #1 10 points
Published research critique #2 10 points
Review of Literature draft 10 points
Review of Literature - Paper 50 points
* Department Guidelines: The student's grade will be impacted with a drop of 5% for each additional absence beyond one. If a student has more than two absences, the instructor may require the student to drop the class.
Grades based on accumulated points will be assigned as follows:
A 95-100% 4.0
A- 92-94 3.6667
B+ 88-92 3.3333
B 83-88 3.0
B- 80-83 2.6667
C+ 78-80 2.3333
C 70-78 2.0
F 0-70 0.0
XIII Field Based Experiences:
Course projects may require the student to draw upon current experiences; there are no specific field hour requirements.
XIV Program Approved Texts:
Creswell, J. W. (2005). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating
quantitative and qualitative research. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice-Hall.
American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.) Washington, DC: Author.
XV. Resources:
ERIC
PsycInfo
Various education journals as relevant to assignments
XVI. To request academic accommodations due to a disability, please contact the Office for Students with Disabilities, 002 Albert Emanuel Hall, (937) 229-3684. If you have a self identification form from the Office for Students with Disabilities indicating that you have a disability which requires accommodation, please present it to me so we can discuss the accommodations you might need in class.
XII. Absences beyond 13% of the class meetings can result in lowering of grade and/or the student being dropped from the class.
XV Date of Syllabus Revisions:
Summer, 2001; August, 2001; August, 2002; May, 2003; June 2003, April 2004, Fall, 2005
Assignments:
1. Each class session will involve some interactive, small-group discussion or task. Homework assignments and group work might be used as quiz grades in addition to in-class, planned quizzes during any given class session. We will work to develop an atmosphere of sharing ideas and mutual respect as we critically analyze theory, practice, conclusions, and opinions. For this to be successful, attendance is a very important factor as well as promptness.
2. Quizzes will be based on readings, lectures, and class discussion. The goal of the instructor is not to have students to just memorize the language of research but to understand and apply concepts and principles related to research. Nevertheless, new terminology and material should be learned and become part of a working vocabulary. The instructor anticipates that a combination of multiple-choice, matching, fill-in the blank, and open-ended questions will be used for quizzes. In class quizzes may not be made up.
3. A midterm and final exam will be administered. These will be similar in format to any quizzes given but of greater length and scope.
4. The journal article critique assignments will enhance the graduate student’s ability to critically read and analyze published research. The student will select an article from a refereed or scholarly journal, identify the major components of the article, and assess whether or not the authors have clearly described and supported each element. A handout will explain the assignment in more detail.
5. The Review of Related Literature or the Synthesis Paper will integrate the current research on a specific topic of interest to the writer. Each student will select an area of current research in education and conduct a thorough review of the appropriate literature pertaining to the topic. Sources must include current research and discussion (within the past five years) as well as any seminal work (widely cited). It is to the student’s advantage to read widely to ground understanding before selecting pieces to integrate into the review. Topics should be approved by the instructor.
The review should incorporate three sections. First, there should be an introduction to the topic with an accompanying statement of why this topic is timely and merits review. Second, there will be a review of selected research literature. The review should contain both theoretical pieces as well as reports of empirical studies. The process requires the combination of separate articles into a coherent whole. Articles should not be stacked on top of each other, but a logical framework should be woven so that the reader can better understand the current knowledge of the topic. The coherent integration, with the accompanying transitions, will be the most challenging aspect of this assignment. There should be at least 10 sources, six of which must be reports of research from research journals.
The final section of this paper should include what the student has learned from the review. This personal statement is not what would be found in a review of literature in a thesis. However, this is being included in this EDT 660 paper so that the student has an opportunity to reflect on what has been learned about the topic and the process. What questions did the review generate for the author? Were there any surprises? Did this assignment prompt any thinking about what topics the author might research for either EDT 667?
EDT 660
Fall, 2005
Planned Schedule (This may be adjusted as we progress through the course)
Aug. 23 Welcome, Introductions
What is Research?
Introduction to the Process of Research Ch. 1
Aug. 30 Introduction to the Process of Research Ch. 1
Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches Ch. 2
APA format
Sept. 6 Roesch Library Reference Librarian
Identifying a Research Problem Ch. 3
Sept. 13 Reviewing the Literature Ch. 4
Specifying a Purpose Ch. 5
Sept. 20 Collecting, Analyzing, and Interpreting Quantitative Data
Computer lab Chs. 6 & 7
Sept. 27 Collecting, Analyzing and Interpreting Quantitative Data continued
Oct. 4 Collecting, Analyzing, and Interpreting Qualitative Date
Chs. 8 & 9
Oct. 11 Mid-Term Break
Oct. 18 Collecting, Analyzing, and Intepreting Qualitative Data continued
Oct. 25 Mid-Term Exam
Computer Lab
Nov. 1 Action Research Designs Ch. 18
Computer lab
Critique #1 Due
Nov. 8 Experimental & Quasi-Experimental Designs Ch. 11
Nov. 15 Correlational Designs Ch. 12
Critique # 2 Due
Lit Review Draft Due
Nov. 22 Survey Designs Ch. 13
Nov. 29 Grounded Theory Designs Ch. 14, 15,
Dec. 6 Narrative Designs Ch. 16, 17
Mixed Method Designs
Final Paper Due
Dec. 13 Final Exam