Methods of Inquiry EDD 705. Summer 2017 Syllabus. Part 1: Course Information. Instructor Information. Course Description. Prerequisite: None

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1 Methods of Inquiry EDD 705 Summer 2017 Syllabus Part 1: Course Information Instructor Information Instructor: Dr. Karen Galardi Office: By Appointment Office Hours: By Appointment Office Telephone: Preferred Contact: Course Description EDD 705: Methods of Inquiry: Designed to provide guidance in the analysis, interpretation, and evaluation of research reports and methods commonly used in education and the social sciences. Students will apply this knowledge in their concept paper as they identify an applied action research area of interest, prepare a literature review, develop researchable questions, and identify appropriate data collection and analysis procedures to answer the questions posed. Prerequisite: None Textbook & Course Materials Required Text John W. Creswell (2015). Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research, Enhanced Pearson etext with Loose-Leaf Version -- Access Card Package, 5th Edition ISBN-13: Galvan, M. & Galvan, J. (2014). Writing Literature Reviews (7 th ed.) Routledge Page 1

2 Rudestam, K. & Newtow, R. (2015). Surviving Your Dissertation (4 th ed.) Sage Publications American Psychological Association. (2009). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association. Part 2: Learning Objectives Program Goals 1. Students will be able to formulate and implement an organizational vision pertinent to their professional practice. 2. Students will demonstrate the ability to manage the organization, operations, and resources of a K-12, higher education, or Jewish education organization in a way that promotes a safe, supportive and effective learning environment. 3. Students will collaborate with all stakeholders to respond to diverse interests and needs of the community and beyond and mobilize resources to meet those needs. 4. Students will act with integrity, fairness, and ethical values. 5. Students will demonstrate the ability to understand, respond to, and influence the larger political, social, economic, legal, and cultural context that influences education. 6. Students will be able to synthesize scholarly learning and prior professional experience to promote practical application. Program Learning Outcomes 1. Students will demonstrate critical thinking skills through mastery of course content and research development. 2. Students will articulate the role of gender, race, religion, economic status, and sexual identity in the educational setting within which they participate. 3. Students will demonstrate the ability to conduct doctoral level research and apply the results to their professional practice. 4. Students will demonstrate an understanding of the value and ethics required to be effective leaders. 5. Students will demonstrate mastery of course content consistent with doctoral level study. Course Learning Outcomes (CLO s) 1. Identify situations appropriate to conduct research activities. 2. Differentiate between quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. Page 2

3 3. Describe the elements of collecting quantitative and qualitative data. 4. Describe different types of quantitative research designs including experimental, correlational and survey research. 5. Describe types of mixed methods and action research designs. 6. Describe the types of qualitative research designs including ethnography, grounded and narrative theory designs. 7. Differentiate between independent and dependent variables and demonstrate the ability to conceptually and operationally define each. 8. Identify and develop a research problem and discuss its relevance. 9. Identify the purpose of a study and develop appropriate research questions. 10. Describe the elements of a literature review and conduct an annotated bibliography on a specific research topic. 11. Develop a quantitative or qualitative methodology to address a specific research topic. 12. Demonstrate effective written communication skills conforming to APA style. Part 3: Topic Outline/Schedule Summer 2017 Schedule Week Start End Week 1 June 21, 2017 June 27, 2017 Week 2 June 28, 2017 July 4, 2017 Week 3 July 5, 2017 July 11, 2017 Week 4 July 12, 2017 July 18, 2017 Week 5 July 19, 2017 July 25, 2018 Week 6 July 26, 2017 July 31, 2017 Week 7 August 1, 2017 August 8, 2017 Week 8 August 9, 2017 August 15, 2017 Assignments Point Value Due Dates Week 1 Discussion 1: Introduction to Educational Research 30 June 25 Discussion 2: Brainstorming Dissertation Topics 30 June 25 Assignment 1: Dissertation Review 100 June 27 Week 2 Discussion 3: Survey Research 30 July 2 Discussion 4: Correlational & Experimental Research 30 July 2 Assignment 2: Article Review 100 July 4 Week 3 Discussion 5: Research Designs 30 July 9 Assignment 3: Independent & Dependent Variables 100 July 11 Page 3

4 Week 4 Discussion 6: Research Problems 30 July 16 Discussion 7: Literature Review Discussion 30 July 16 Week 5 Assignment 4: Dissertation Skills Assessment 80 July 23 Class: Tuesday, July 25 July 25 Week 6 Discussion 8: Purpose Statement 30 July 30 Assignment 5: Practice Writing Research Guiding July Questions Assignment 6: Literature Review 100 August 1 Week 7 Discussion 9: Quantitative and Qualitative Review 30 August 6 Week 8 Discussion 10: Reflection 30 August 13 Assignment 7: Final Project 120 August 15 Total Points 1000 Weekly Learning Modules Week One: Introduction to Educational Research, Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches Learning Objectives CL01 Identify situations appropriate to conduct research activities. CL02 Differentiate between quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. Resources, Activities, and Preparation Utilize these resources and complete these activities in preparation for your graded assignments. Weekly Participation and Discussion The purpose of the weekly discussions is to provide you with a way to synthesize the concepts presented in this course. Each week, you will respond to the discussion questions with a substantive post of 200-to 250-words that addresses all the prompts for the question by 11:59 p.m. EST of the listed due date. By the conclusion of each week, 11:59 p.m. EST, you will make at least two substantive comments of 100-to 150-words to two of your classmates posts for each assigned discussion question. It is recommended that you check in periodically throughout the week to ensure that you are meeting the participation requirement. Week One Readings Read the following chapters in Educational Research Introduction Chapter 1 Read the following chapters in Surviving Your Dissertation Chapter 1, 2 & 3 Review the Final Assignment found in Week 8 Page 4

5 Graded Assignments Complete these graded assessments by the end of the week unless specified otherwise. Discussion Question 1: Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches Respond to the questions of the following scenarios by Sunday. If your last name starts with A- K, answer the questions related to scenario 1, if your last name starts with L-Z, please respond to scenario 2. Scenario 1: You have been reading in the area of online education and have become interested in several articles that deal with the relationship between posting images on line on a course website and the degree to which the class feels connected. Little research has been done in that area so you decide to design a study to test whether there is a relationship between posting personal photos on the course website and the degree of connectedness that the students in class feel. Questions: 1. Will you design a quantitative or qualitative study? 2. What word(s) in the scenario gives you a clue as to whether you would design a quantitative or qualitative study? 3. What are some possible research methods that you might use? Scenario 2: You want to explore how teen smokers describe their family environment to understand the role of parents in their lives. Questions: 1. Will you design a quantitative or qualitative study? 2. What word(s) in the scenario gives you a clue as to whether you would design a quantitative or qualitative study? 3. What are some possible research methods that you might use? Post meaningful feedback, clarification, additional questions, or your own relevant thoughts to two of your classmates posts by Tuesday. Discussion Question 2 Post three preliminary ideas that you may consider as a potential dissertation topics by Sunday. They can be areas of interest in your profession, i.e., adult learning, instructional strategies. Post meaningful feedback, clarification, additional questions, or your own relevant thoughts to two of your classmates posts by Tuesday. Assignment 1: Article Summary Locate two dissertations in the fields of education, health, psychology, or social sciences. Write a 150- to 200-word summary of each dissertation that identifies the following: The research-guiding questions The methodology used The findings Submit the assignment by Tuesday. Page 5

6 Week Two: Quantitative and Mixed Methods Research Designs Learning Objectives CL02 Differentiate between quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. CL04 Describe types of quantitative research designs including experimental, correlational, survey research methods. Resources, Activities, and Preparation Utilize these resources and complete these activities in preparation for your graded assignments. Week Two Readings Read the following chapters in Educational Research Chapter 10, 11 & 12 Read the following chapters in Surviving Your Dissertation Chapter 3 Graded Assignments Complete these graded assessments by the end of the week unless specified otherwise. Discussion Question 3: Read the following: Chapter 13 discusses the difference between a sample and a population. The population is the entire group of individuals to be studied however; it is usually not feasible to collect data from the entire population. Therefore, researchers may choose to take a representative sample (subset) from the population, collect data on this group, and then generalize the results obtained from the sample to the entire population. Ideally, researchers want the sample to mirror those characteristics of the population. Respond to the questions of the following scenarios by Sunday. After reading about the different types of Survey Designs in the text, describe which design (cross-sectional or longitudinal) and what type of survey (i.e., how would you collect the date) (e.g., focus groups, instruments) you would use for Scenario 1 addressed in Week 1, Discussion 2 How would you go about doing this? Post meaningful feedback, clarification, additional questions, or your own relevant thoughts to two of your classmates posts by Tuesday. Discussion Question 4: Respond to the following by Sunday: From Educational Research, read one article from the end of the chapter of Correlational Research or Experimental Research. Discuss why the researchers chose the design that was implemented. Post meaningful feedback, clarification, additional questions, or your own relevant thoughts to Page 6

7 two of your classmates posts by Tuesday. Assignment 2: Article Review Each student is asked to find a recent (past 6 months) journal article, review the article, and then write a 2-3 page paper divided into 4 sections: Introduction, Methods, Analysis, and Findings. The journal article should be an example of survey research, experimental research, or correlational research design. Submit the assignment by Tuesday. Week Three: Mixed Methods, and Action Research and Qualitative Research Designs; Independent and Dependent Variables Learning Objectives CLO5 Describe types of mixed methods and action research designs. CL06 Describe the types of qualitative research designs including ethnography, grounded and narrative theory designs. CL07 Differentiate between independent and dependent variables and demonstrate the ability to conceptually and operationally define each. Resources, Activities, and Preparation Utilize these resources and complete these activities in preparation for your graded assignments. Week Three Readings Read the following chapters in Educational Research Chapter Graded Assignments Complete these graded assignments by the end of the week unless specified otherwise. Discussion Question 5: Respond to the following by Sunday: From Educational Research, read one article from the end of the chapter of Grounded Theory, Ethnographic, Narrative Designs, Mixed Methods and Action Research. Discuss why the researchers chose the design that was implemented. Post meaningful feedback, clarification, additional questions, or your own relevant thoughts to two of your classmates posts by Tuesday. Assignment 3 Read: Independent and Dependent Variables (Appendix A) Introduce a (hypothetical) research question and include at least 2 variables within the question. Page 7

8 Discuss the conceptual and operational definitions of the variables. Submit the assignment by Tuesday. Week Four: Identifying a Research Problem and Review of the Literature Learning Objectives CL08 Identify and develop a research problem and discuss its relevance. CLO10 Describe the elements of a literature review and conduct an annotated bibliography on a specific research topic. Resources, Activities, and Preparation Utilize these resources and complete these activities in preparation for your graded assignments. Week Four Readings Read the following chapters in Educational Research Chapters 2 & 3 Read the following chapters in Writing Literature Reviews Chapter 1 Graded Assignments Complete these graded assessments by the end of the week unless specified otherwise. Discussion Question 6: Read one of the research articles found at the end of the chapters that you have not read from the Educational Research textbook. Post your synopsis to the discussion board by Sunday. Include the title of the reference of the article, the chapter the article is found in, and then summarize and discuss the research problem that drove the study. Post meaningful feedback, clarification, additional questions, or your own relevant thoughts to two of your classmates posts by Tuesday. Discussion Question 7: Post your response to the following questions by Sunday: During this semester you will be gathering publications for your annotated bibliography for the final assignment. How do you personally conduct a literature review or annotated bibliography? What steps do you take? Where do you start? What types of sources do you use? Do you find certain sources to be better than others? What does referred publications mean? Why are these Page 8

9 important? Post meaningful feedback, clarification, additional questions, or your own relevant thoughts to two of your classmates posts by Tuesday. Week Five: Residency Review of the Concept Paper and Dissertation Skills Assessment Learning Objectives CL01 Identify situations appropriate to conduct research. CL08 Identify and develop research problem and discus its relevance. CL09 Identify the purpose of a study and develop appropriate research questions. CL012 Demonstrate effective written communication skills conforming to APA style. Week Five Readings Read the following chapters in Surviving Your Dissertation Chapters 4, 5, & 6 Class Session Tuesday, July 25, 2017 Graded Assignments Complete these graded assessments by the end of the week unless specified otherwise. Assignment 4 Respond to the following by Sunday: Complete the skills assessment: Skills Assessment Document (Appendix B) Based on the skills assessment and readings, what skills do you bring to research? What skills do you need to learn? What, if any, preconceived notions do you bring to the study of research? Submit the Assignment by Sunday. Post your Skills Assessment to the Skills Assessment Discussion Board and provide meaningful feedback, clarification, additional questions, or your own relevant thoughts to two of your classmates posts by Tuesday. Week Six: Purpose Statement and Research Questions Learning Objectives Page 9

10 CL09 Identify the purpose for the study and develop appropriate research questions. CL010 Describe the elements of a literature review and conduct an annotated bibliography on a specific research topic. Resources, Activities, and Preparation Utilize these resources and complete these activities in preparation for your graded assignments. Week Six Readings Read the following chapters in Educational Research: Chapter 4 Graded Assignments Complete these graded assessments by the end of the week unless specified otherwise. Discussion 8: Discuss the reason for the Purpose Statement by Sunday. Provide meaningful feedback to two of your classmates posts by Tuesday. Assignment 5: Practice Writing Research Guiding Questions Read the following sections of the Developing a Research Question website from The Writing Studio at Colorado State University located at Introduction Brainstorming Size up the More Promising Questions Honing Your Question Note. These sections can be found to the right of the page, under the Content heading. Post two possible research-guiding questions on the topic you may choose for your dissertation by Sunday. Provide meaningful feedback to two of your classmates posts by Tuesday. Assignment 6: Literature Review Create an annotated bibliography of at least 5 sources, such as journal articles, books, electronic media, and edited works, related to your topic. You may include the sources used in the previous week s activities you identified in support of your topic. Submit the assignment by Tuesday. Week Seven: Collecting and Analyzing Quantitative and Qualitative Data Learning Objectives CL011Develop a qualitative or quantitative methodology to address a specific research topic. Page 10

11 Resources, Activities, and Preparation Utilize these resources and complete these activities in preparation for your graded assignments. Week Seven Readings Read the following chapters in Educational Research Chapters 5 8 Continue working on the Final Assignment due Week Eight. Graded Assignments Complete these graded assessments by the end of the week unless specified otherwise. Discussion 9 For your educational project, design the steps you would take in conducting a quantitative analysis or a qualitative analysis. For quantitative analysis: Discuss how you would select a statistical program or research tool for collecting quantitative data. Discuss how you would select the appropriate statistics to use. Describe how you would analyze your data descriptively and inferentially to answer your research questions or hypothesis. For qualitative analysis: Determine the people and research sites you would consider studying and the type of purposeful sampling you would use. Identify the types of qualitative data you will collect and the forms for recording information. Week Eight: Final Project Learning Objectives CL01 Identify situations appropriate to conduct research activities. CL08 Identify and develop a research problem and discuss its relevance. CL09 Identify the purpose of a study and develop appropriate research questions. CL010 Describe the elements of a literature review and conduct an annotated bibliography on a specific research topic. CL011 Develop a quantitative or qualitative methodology to address a specific research topic. CL012 Demonstrate effective written communication skills conforming to APA style. Resources, Activities, and Preparation Utilize these resources and complete these activities in preparation for your graded assignments. Week Eight Readings Read the following chapters in Educational Research Chapter 9 Graded Assignments Complete these graded assessments by the end of the week unless specified otherwise. Page 11

12 Discussion10 As you think about this course, what do you see as areas of strength and what areas do you believe you still have work to do. Post by Sunday. Post constructive criticism, clarification, additional questions, or your own relevant thoughts to at least three classmates responses by Tuesday. Capstone Assignment: Create a 6-8 page paper including the following components: Title Page Introduction Statement of the Problem Research Problem Background Purpose of the Study Literature Review Research Questions Methodology Participants The paper must be in APA Format including a minimum of 10 external references. Submit your assignment to your instructor no later than 11:59 p.m. [EST] on Tuesday. Page 12

13 Gratz College Part 4: Grading Policy Graded Course Activities Discussion Posts Assignments Skills Assessment Final Assignment The points assigned to each assignment are found on page 3-4. Late Work Policy Be sure to pay close attention to deadlines found on the schedule on page 3 of the syllabus. I understand that you are professionals and I will allow an extension one time during the semester. If you require an extension, please contact me prior to the day the assignment is due. A second request for an extension may be granted for extraordinary situations however; 5 points will be taken off of an assignment for every week the assignment is late. Letter Grade Assignment Final grades assigned for this course will be based on the percentage of total points earned. Letter Grade Percentage Performance A % Excellent Work A % Nearly Excellent Work B % Very Good Work B 83-86% Good Work B % Mostly Good Work C % Above Average Work C 73-76% Average Work C % Mostly Average Work D % Below Average Work D 60-66% Poor Work F 0-59% Failing Work Important note: For more information about grading at Gratz College, visit the academic policies and grading section of the college catalog. Page 13

14 Gratz College Methods of Inquiry EDD 705 Part 5: Course Policies Attend Class This is an online course with one (1) class session scheduled for Tuesday, July 25, 2017, as a part of the summer residency for doctoral students. Students are expected to attend the class session as listed on the course syllabus. Guidelines for Online Forum Discussions The following is the policy concerning Forum Participation in online courses and should be copied into all syllabi for online courses: 1. Forum Participation Requirements a. Students are expected to participate in a minimum of 75% of online Forums b. If a student participates in less than 75% of the Forums, it will affect the final grade c. Forums will be open for at least two weeks from the start of each session d. NO credit will be given for a course if a student misses 50% or more of the Forums e. EXCEPTION: Consideration will be given for those students who experience a dramatic personal emergency during the semester, such as illness in the family or disruption due to weather or other issues that impede Internet access. In the event of an emergency, it is the student s responsibility to notify the instructor as soon as possible. Assessment of Student Learning Building Rapport If you find that you have any trouble keeping up with assignments or other aspects of the course, make sure you let me know as early as possible. Make sure that you are proactive in informing me when difficulties arise during the semester so that we can help you find a Page 14

15 solution. Complete Assignments All assignments for this course will be submitted electronically through Moodle unless otherwise instructed. Deadline dates are found on page 3 and 4 of the syllabus. Understand When You May Drop This Course Withdrawal from a Course Students who wish to drop a class after the drop/add period has ended must contact their academic advisor. Withdrawal from the College Students wishing to withdraw from Gratz College must notify their academic advisor. Students who withdraw from courses later than the Withdrawal deadline found in the College Academic Calendar will receive an F for the course. Incomplete Policy Under emergency/special circumstances, students may petition for an incomplete grade. If granted an Incomplete, students will have one semester to complete their Incompletes. Beyond that one-semester deadline, students must petition in writing to their academic advisor for a further extension. Faculty will no longer be authorized to grant individual extensions beyond the deadline. If no written request is given, students who do not complete their Incompletes by the end of the following semester will receive an F. Incomplete grades will be approved by the instructor only under extreme emergencies. You will have two weeks to complete all required assignments with a 10% deduction in points for each week the assignment is late. Inform Your Instructor of Any Accommodations Needed Gratz College is committed to equal educational opportunities for qualified students with disabilities in compliance with Section 504 of the Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of Any students needing accommodation should contact disabilities@gratz.edu. All requests for accommodations need appropriate advance notice by the student and require supporting documentation from appropriate professionals testifying to the disability. If approved, you are responsible for discussing approved accommodations with faculty. Page 15

16 Commitment to Integrity As a student in this course (and at this college) you are expected to maintain high degrees of professionalism, commitment to active learning and participation in this class and also integrity in your behavior in and out of the classroom. Academic Dishonesty Policy 1. Academic dishonesty includes such things as cheating, inventing false information or citations, plagiarism and helping someone else commit an act of academic dishonesty. It usually involves an attempt by a student to show possession of a level of knowledge or skill that he/she does not possess. 2. Course instructors have the initial responsibility for detecting and dealing with academic dishonesty. Instructors who believe that an act of academic dishonesty has occurred are obligated to discuss the matter with the student(s) involved. Instructors should possess reasonable evidence of academic dishonesty. However, if circumstances prevent consultation with student(s), instructors may take whatever action (subject to student appeal) they deem appropriate. 3. Instructors who are convinced by the evidence that a student is guilty of academic dishonesty shall assign an appropriate academic penalty. If the instructors believe that the academic dishonesty reflects on the student's academic performance or the academic integrity in a course, the student's grade should be adversely affected. Suggested guidelines for appropriate actions are: an oral reprimand in cases where there is reasonable doubt that the student knew his/her action constituted academic dishonesty; a failing grade on the particular paper, project or examination where the act of dishonesty was unpremeditated, or where there were significant mitigating circumstances; a failing grade in the course where the dishonesty was premeditated or planned. The instructors will file incident reports with the Vice Presidents for Academic Affairs. These reports shall include a description of the alleged incident of academic dishonesty, any relevant documentation, and any recommendations for action that he/she deems appropriate. 4. The Vice President for Academic Affairs shall maintain an Academic Dishonesty File of all cases of academic dishonesty with the appropriate documentation. 5. Student may appeal any actions taken on charges of academic dishonesty to the "Academic Appeals Board." 6. The Academic Appeals Board shall consist of faculty and at least one student. Page 16

17 7. Individuals may not participate as members of the Academic Appeals Board if they are participants in an appeal. 8. The decision of the Academic Appeals Board will be forwarded to the President of Gratz College, whose decision is final. Important Note: Any form of academic dishonesty, including cheating and plagiarism, may be reported to the office of academic affairs. Course policies are subject to change. It is the student s responsibility to check Moodle for corrections or updates to the syllabus. Any changes will be posted in Moodle. PART 7: COURSE RUBRIC FOR ASSESSMENT RUBRIC TEMPLATE FOR: Final Assignment Elements Mastery (30 points each) Proficiency (20 points each) Needs Improvement (10 points each) Content and Originality Topic appropriate, strong use of terms, Good use of terms, somewhat lacking in Isolated use of terms, insufficient content, concepts and development of ideas context of topic practices Organization Strong organization of ideas, a welldeveloped thesis. Concepts illustrated in logical format/sequence Adequate statements, organized thesis present, concepts present No thesis, poor organization of thoughts, concepts and sequences Grammar and Mechanics Grammar or spelling errors are absent, A few errors, sentence Spelling and punctuation issues, excellent sentence structure, fluent development structure could be improved poor sentence development, structure Scoring (used for Assessment purposes only) points = A points = B points = C Page 17

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