Ed 603 Home Page

Methods of Educational Research - An Internet Based Course

Please note: This course will offered for the last time Spring Semester 2008. Students registering for the course at that time and students who are already taking the course will have until May 15, 2009 to complete all course requirements. The course will be closed at that time, but the web pages will remain but not be maintained.

Course Description

The role of educational research in educational practice, types of educational research, the process of conducting educational research (2 semester credits).

Ed 603 will be offered through Minnesota State University Moorhead, as an internet based course. The course will assist graduate students in education and related fields to achieve the following objectives.

Course Objectives

1. Understand the role of educational research for educational practice.
2. Understand the major types of educational research.
3. Understand the process involved in setting up an educational research project.
4. Understand how to conduct a review of related literature.
5. Ability to prepare a research plan or proposal.

Course Registration

The online version of Ed 603 is a self paced course, you can register for the course at any time and proceed through the lessons at your own pace.

To register for this course click on registration form, print out a copy of the registration form, fill out the form, and mail it to

Ed 603 Registration
Continuing Studies
Minnesota State University Moorhead
811 11th Street South
Moorhead, MN 56563

Or Fax the registration form to Continuing Studies at 218-477-5030

If you have questions about registration, you may call the Continuing Studies office at Minnesota State University Moorhead at 218-477-5862

Course Topics

Click on a lesson to go to that topic.

• Lesson 1. Introduction to Educational Research
• Lesson 2. Types of Research Studies
• Lesson 3. Selecting a Research Topic
• Lesson 4. Conducting a Review of Related Literature
• Lesson 5. Preparing an Outline and Writing the Literature Review
• Lesson 6. Formulation and Statement of a Research Hypothesis
• Lesson 7. Developing a Research Plan
• Lesson 8. Subjects and Instruments
• Lesson 9. Historical and Qualitative Research
• Lesson 10. Descriptive Research
• Lesson 11. Correlational Research
• Lesson 12. Causal-Comparative Research
• Lesson 13. Experimental Research
• Lesson 14. Threats to Internal and External Validity
• Lesson 15. Preparing the Research Report
• Final Project

Course Requirements

For each of 15 lessons, review the world wide web pages associated with the lesson, and complete the associated readings in one of the required texts for the course (Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application (Seventh Edition) by L. R. Gay and Peter Airasian, 2003, Merrill/Prentice Hall, ISBN 0-13-099463-4

OR (Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application (Eighth Edition) by L. R. Gay, Geoffrey E. Mills, and Peter Airasian, 2006, Prentice Hall, ISBN 0-13-118534-9)

OR Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research, 3^rd Edition by John W. Creswell, 2008, Merrill/Prentice Hall, ISBN-13: 978-0-13-613550-0

You may order the textbook through any bookstore or call the Minnesota State University Moorhead Bookstore and have them order it for you (phone number 218-477-2111) or go to the bookstore website at http://bookstore.mnstate.edu/

The most recent edition of the text is also available as an electronic text you can access over the internet. There is a one week free trial period so that you can try it out and see if you like to read a text in this way. You can check it out at www.safarix.com

You can also use early editions of the Gay and Airasian text if you wish to. Click Here to see assignments in the earlier editions.

Complete the assignment associated with each lesson. Send the completed assignment by electronic mail, to the course instructor. Send electronic mail to instructor with any questions or concerns about any lesson.

Complete the brief, web based quiz associated with each lesson.

Complete the applied, final project for the course and send the completed final project to the course instructor.

Course Grade

A grade for the course will be based primarily on the final project, a research plan you will be developing throughout the course. Your performance on the individual assisgnments will also be taken into consideration. Your performance on the quizzes are for your information only and do not count on the final grade. You can check your progress in the course by going to the current gradebook Ed 603 Gradebook where your grades on assignments are posted by your MSUM Student ID Number.

Course Instructor The online version of this course was prepared by the course instructor, John Wasson, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Special Education at Minnesota State University Moorhead, Moorhead, Minnesota, USA. John has taught courses in statistics, research design, learning disabilities, educational psychology, and information literacy for teachers at Minnesota State University Moorhead for over twenty-five years. John can be reached through electronic mail at wassonj@teleport.com

Please send electronic mail to the course instructor with any concerns, ideas, or questions you might have about this course.