Introduction to Research Methods18 EDFN 755Winter 2009

Course Description: This course introduces the fundamental concepts of research methodology in education and related social/behavioral fields that involve human subjects. Research methodology refers to the general principles and specific procedures in designing, conducting, and evaluating a research study. It provides an overview of the research process from identifying a research problem to making recommendations for future research. While the course encompasses a broad spectrum of research methods and techniques, its main focus is on empirical research that involves data collection and analysis.

This course deals with the mechanics, not the content issues, involved in a research endeavor. As such, while the application is typically set in education, the principles and techniques of research methodology discussed in this class are applicable to many diverse disciplines such as business, communication, medicine, and psychology. All of the credit for this course description should be given to Dan Wheeler.

Instructor Office HoursRyan Adams T: 4-6:20PM*Office: 7150F Edwards One T: 3:00-4:00 PM* Also by appointmentEmail: ryan.adams@uc.edu *To ensure that I will be in my office,

please make an appointment.

Weekly Assignment: There will be seven assignments. Each assignment is worth 10 points and must be turn in before class begins. Late assignments will not be accepted.

Assignments will be completed and submitted in groups. Each member is expected to contribute equally on each assignment. Two safe guards will be used to ensure this is the case. First, pop quizzes based on the assignments are a possibility. In this case, each person’s score on the pop quiz will replace their score for the assignment. Second, members of the group will rate how much each member (including a self-rating) contributed to the assignments on the last day of class. See “Calculating Final Assignment Score” below for details.

Final Exam: There will be a take-home final exam. Details concerning the exam will be discussed on the last day of class.

Course Grade: Weekly Assignments 70% Final Exam 30%

Schedule for the Term

Date Topic Assignment Due

January 6 First class

January 13 Nature and Basics of Research

January 20 Sampling, Instrumentation, Validity, Reliability 1

January 27 Sampling, Instrumentation, Validity, Reliability 2

February 3 Sampling, Instrumentation, Validity, Reliability 3

February 10 Sampling, Instrumentation, Validity, Reliability 4

February 17 Quantitative Research Designs

February 24 Quantitative Research Designs 5

March 3 Qualitative Research Methodologies/Designs 6

March 10 Last Class 7

March 20 Take-home Final Due

Note. The dates listed for each topic could change.

Calculating Final Assignment Scores

Each member of the group will rate all of the members of the group, including themselves, concerning the level of contribution on the assignments. Accompanying each rating, will be an explanation of why that person deserves this rating.

Ratings will range from 0 to 1 on a continuous scale and each person’s final rating score will be an average of all of the ratings for them. Here is an example:

Person 1 Person 2 Person 3Raters Scores Scores Scores

Person 1 1.00 .95 .70

Person 2 .90 .96 .70

Person 3 .92 .96 .80

Final Rating .94 .9567 .7333

Each person’s average rating will then be used to multiply against their final assignment score for the group. Using the same example, let say this group scored 55 points out of the possible 70 points for the assignments. The scores would then be as follows: Person 1 51.7 (i.e., 55 X .94), Person 2 52.6 (i.e., 55 X .9567), and Person 3 40.3 (i.e., 55 X .7333).

To calculate your final grade, you will add your assignment score, as described above, to your score for the take-home final. For instance person if person 1, scored a 27 (out of a possible 30 points) on their final they would have a 78.7 for their final grade.