Ed 603 Educational Research Methods, Revised Version
Ed
603 Educational Research Methods, 2 credits, Minnesota State University
Moorhead, an online course offered through Continuing Studies at MSUM. This
is an experimental version of this course and it may not be offered for credit.
However, you are welcome to explore what we have done with this revised version
of Ed 603 which is under developement.
Instructor:
John
Wasson , PhD. (wassonj@teleport.com)
Course
Text: Creswell, John W. Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and
Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research, 3nd Edition, 2008 Prentice
Hall.
Course
Assignments and Evaluation: During this course you will be guided through the
preparation of a quantitative research plan (assignments 2- 8) and a
qualitative research plan (assignments 9-15). Your submitted assignments will
be posted on the assignment web page (without your name or with a coded name)
for peer and instructor review. Your final grade for the course will be
determined by the rated quality of the two research plans you produce.
Educational Research Today
Educational
Research Today is a series of audio podcasts looking at current research in
education. Each episode will look at a recent research article in education,
educational psychology, or educational technology. The implications of the
research for teachers and learners will be explored. The article reviews will
seamlessly (I hope) be extended to illustrate a topic in educational research
methods. These podcasts will be integrated with a two semester credit, graduate
level, course in educational research methods, offered through the Continuing
Studies Department at Minnesota State University Moorhead (Moorhead, Minnesota,
USA).
Links
to these podcasts will be provided on this web page when they become available.
I will have the podcasts for a given week available by that week of the course
(or sooner). You however are free to proceed through the course of study at
your own pace.
Preliminary Course Outline
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Week
1 (August 25, 2008)
Educational
Research Today Episode 01 online
participation protocols what is educational research
Educational
Research Today Episode 02 factors influencing online learning what are the steps in conducting research
Educational
Research Today Episode 03 computer
based reading instruction
what are the similarities and differences in quantitative and qualitative
research
Text
assignment: Read selections from Creswell (2008) Chapter 1. The Process of
Conducting Research,
(pages 2-11) and Chapter 2. Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches (pages 45-59).
Assignment 1 Submit the title of a research oriented,
peer reviewed journal, a text, and a research article in a unified area of
research interest.
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Week
2 (September 1, 2008)
Educational
Research Today Episode 04 Special
Education and Birth Season identifying a research problem
Educational
Research Today Episode 05 Television
Viewing and Reading
writing a quantitative research topic statement using a formulaic model.
Text
assignment: Read selections from Creswell (2008) Chapter 3. Identifying a
Research Problem (pages
68-71).
Assignment
2: Submit a quantitative research problem in the area of your research
interest written in formulaic style.
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Week
3 (September 8, 2008)
Educational
Research Today Episode 06 gender
salience in online discussions
how does the research problem differ in quantitative and qualitative research
Educational
Research Today Episode 07 using embedded questions - selecting keywords for a
literature search
Text assignment:
Read selections from Creswell (2005) Chapter 4. Identifying a Research
Problem (page 71-74).
Assignment
3: Add keywords for a literature search and a references section to assignment
2 with 10-12 references in APA style, the majority of which are from peer
reviewed journals.
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Week
4 (September 15, 2008)
Educational
Research Today Episode 08 <article topic here> what is a literature reviw
Educational
Research Today Episode 09 <article topic here> what is the difference
between a literature review for a quantitative study and a qualitative study
Text
assignment: Read selections from Creswell (2008) Chapter 4. Reviwing The
Literature. (pages
88-115).
Assignment
4: Write a 5-7 page literature review for your quantitative research study. End
your review with a summarizing paragraph that leads in to your research
hypothesis. Insert your literature review into assignment 3 following the
keywords. Submit assignment to your instructor as assignment 4.
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Week
5 (September 22, 2008)
Educational
Research Today Episode 10 <article topic here> how do you design
quantitative purpose statements, research questions, and hypotheses
Educational
Research Today Episode 11 <article topic here> writing quantitative
research hypotheses
Text
assignment: Read selections from Creswell (2008) Chapter 5. Specifying a
Purpose and Research Questions or Hypotheses. (pages 120-138)
Assignment
5: Add your research hypothesis with operational definitions of variables to
assignment 4 (right after the literature review) and submit it to your
instructor as assignment 5.
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Week
6 (September 29, 2008)
Educational Research
Today Episode 12 <article topic here> - whom will you study and what
information will you collect
Educational
Research Today Episode 13 <article topic here> - what instruments will
you use to collect data
Text
Assignment: Read selections from Creswell (2008) Chaper 6. Collecting
Quantitative Data,
(pages 150-178).
Assignment
6: Add a participants (subjects) and instruments sections to your quantitative
research plan (assignment 5) and submit it to your instructor as assignment 6.
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Week
7 (October 6, 2008)
Educational
Research Today Episode 14 <article topic here> how do you analyze the data
Educational
Research Today Episode 15 <article topic here> - how do you report and
discuss the results
Text
Assignment: Read selections from Creswell (2008) Chapter 7. Analyzing and
Interpreting Quantitative Data
(pages 182-208).
Assignment
7: Add a data collection methods section to your quantitative research
plan (assignment 6) and submit it
to your instructor as Assignment 7.
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Week
8 (October 13, 2008)
Educational
Research Today Episode 16 <article topic here> - what are the key
characteristics of experiments
Educational
Research Today Episode 17 <article topic here> - what are the types of
experimental designs
Text
Assignment: Read selections from Creswell (2008) Chapter 11 Experimental
Designs (pages 298-328).
Assignment
8: Add a data analysis section to your quantitative research plan (assignment 7) and submit it to your
instructor as Assignment 8
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Week
9 (October 20, 2008)
Educational
Research Today Episode 18 <article topic here> - what is correlational
research and what are the types of correlational designs
Educational
Research Today Episode 19 <article topic here> - what is survey research
and what are the types of survey designs
Text
assignment: Read selections from (Creswell (2008) Chapter 12. Correlational
Designs (pages 355-370),
and Chapter 13. Survey Design (pages
387-392).
Assignment
9: Check your submitted assignment 8 online. Do a final review of your
quantitative research plan and submit it as assignment 9.
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Week
10 (October 27, 2008)
Educational
Research Today Episode 20 <article topic here> what are the research
designs associated with qualitative research
Educational Research
Today Episode 21 <article topic here> - how do you design qualitative
purpose statements and research questions
Text
assignment: Read selections from Creswell (2008) Chapter 2. Quantitative and
Qualitative Approaches
(pages 44-53), Chapter 3 Identifying a Research Problem (page 65), and Chapter 5. Specifying a
Purpose and Research Questions or Hypotheses (pages 132-140).
Assignment
10: Submit a qualitative research problem in your area of research interest.
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Week
11 (November 3, 2008)
Educational
Research Today Episode 22 <article topic here> what are the types and characteristics of grounded theory
designs
Educational Research
Today Episode 23 <article topic here> - what are the steps in conducting
grounded theory research
Text
assignment: Read selections from Creswell (2008) Chapter 14. Grounded Theory
Designs (pages 395-413).
Assignment
11: Specify a list of key words to use for your search for articles. Add your
reference list of 8-10 items in APA style. The majority of your references
should be from refereed professional journals. Add your key words and reference
list to assignment 10 and submit it as assignment 11.
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Week
12 (November 10, 2008)
Educational
Research Today Episode 24 <article topic here> - what are the differences
between a literature review for a quantitative and a qualitative study
Educational
Research Today Episode 25 <article topic here> - what is ethnographic
research, what are the types of ethnographic research
Educational
Research Today Episode 26 <article topic here> what is narrative
research, what are the types of narrative research
Text
assignment: Read selections from Creswell (2008) Chapter 4. Reviewing the
Literature (pages
79-80), Chapter 15. Ethnographic Designs (pages 435-442), and Chapter16. Narrative Research
Designs (pages 473-477,
484-487).
Assignment
12. Add a 3-5 page literature review to your assignment 11, right after the
keywords, and submit it as assignment 12.
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Week
13 (November 17, 2008)
Educational
Research Today Episode 27 <article topic here> - what participants and
sites will you study for your qualitative research project
Educational
Research Today Episode 28 <article topic here> - what information will
you collect and how do you record data
Text
assignment: Read selections from Crewell (2008), Chapter 8. Collecting
Qualitative Data (pages
202-207, 209-224).
Assignment
13: Add the selection of participants to your assignment 12 and submit is as
assignment 13.
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Week
14 (November 24, 2008)
Educational
Research Today Episode 29 <article topic here> how do you analyze
qualitative data
Educational
Research Today Episode 30 <article topic here> - how do you prepare and
organize the data for analysis; how do your represent,
report, and interpret findings
Text
assignment: Read selections from Creswell (2008) Chapter 9. Analyzing and
Interpreting Qualitative Data (pages
230-237, 247-252).
Assignment
14: Add the methods for data analysis and the presentation of results sections
to your qualitative research plan and submit it as assignment 14.
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Week
15 (December 1, 2008)
Educational
Research Today Episode 31 <article topic here> - what are mixed methods
research, what are the types of mixed methods designs
Educational
Research Today Episode 32 <article topic here> what is action research,
what are the types of action research
Text
assignment: Read selections from Creswell (2008) Chapter 17. Mixed Methods Designs (pages 509-517), and Chapter 18. Action
Research Designs (pages
549-560).
Assignment
14: Check your submitted assignment 14 online. Do a final review of your
qualitative research plan and submit it as assignment 15.
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This
webpage revised by John Wasson on 9/13/07