Course Title: EDU 6504 Research: Methods and Procedure

Professor Beth Dunigan, Ph.D.

Office - Hederman 104

 Office phone- 925-3972

 Email- dunigan@mc.edu

 Webpage: http://www.mc.edu/campus/users/dunigan/

Prerequisites:

  Graduate standing.

Course Description:

    This course is designed as an introductory course in educational research. Emphasis is placed on reading basic research methodologies in the social and behavioral sciences and critical analysis of published research. The student is required to develop a research proposal.

Rationale:

    The rationale is to familiarize the beginning researcher with the techniques and procedures for conducting an original research project. The focus is on the typical and practical problems encountered in research, beginning with the formulation of the question and continuing through the preparation of a final research proposal.              

Academic Integrity:

 The Mississippi College Graduate Bulletin addresses the University's position on academic integrity on . All students are responsible for knowing the rules and penalties for cheating and plagiarism. See Policy 2.19 on the MC web site for additional information. Copies of the Mississippi College Tomahawk may be obtained in the Office of Student Affairs, Nelson 212. It can also be found on Mississippi College’s website.

Assignments

      Requirements               

1.    Exams:

a.     Each exam will cover lecture notes, hand-outs, and reading assignments .Exam dates are noted on the course calendar.

b.    Questions may be multiple-choice, fill-in the blank or short answer.

c.    These exams are very detailed. Please make sure you know the details when you take the exams.

2.    Research Proposal: Must be quantitative in format. No qualitative papers will be accepted.

a.     The research proposal should be typed using the APA format. The proposal should be 8 to 12 pages in length with 8 to 10 references. The reference list should include some empirical research articles. The student should follow the outline provided by the instructor for completing the research proposal. Students are expected to spend time outside of class hours in the preparation of their proposal. In order to get full credit for the proposal, you must turn in the paper and present the topic to the class on the assigned date. Twenty points will be deducted for late papers.

b.    The instructor will cover parts of APA format but you are expected to refer to the APA guidelines frequently. I will not be able to cover all details of APA in class. Please pay attention to writing numbers, spacing, citations, references, etc.

3.    Article questions: Students will read and answers questions from four research articles. The answers to assigned questions should be typed and double-spaced. This is due on the assigned day. If you are not present on the date they are due, you must make arrangements to get this to me (email). Five points will be deducted if the article questions are turned in late.

4.    Ten-point quizzes will be given. The quizzes will cover information from the previous week. The format will be short answer. One quiz will be dropped. If you miss a quiz, this will count as your drop quiz grade. You cannot makeup a missed quiz.

5.    You are expected to visit the professor's webpage and pull the notes for the next class meeting before you get to class.

a.    Additionally, you are expected to read the assigned chapters and the notes before you get to class.

b.    To find the notes, go to my webpage, http://www.mc.edu/campus/users/dunigan/ , click "Classes" and then click "notes." Then will choose the chapter you need.

c.    These notes are not all inclusive. You will still be responsible for material covered in class.

1.         Evaluation: Students will be evaluated on the assignments listed above. The relative value of each assignment is to the right of each area of assessment. The following grading scale will be used:

A -- 92% - 100%

B+ -- 90-91.99%

B -- 80.0-89.9%

C + – 75.0-79.9%

C -- 70.0-74.9%

D - 60-69%

F – below 59.9

Additional Course Information:

 A. Attendance Policy:

        Class attendance is an essential part of your education at Mississippi College. The 2005-06 Graduate Catalogue provides guidelines for tardies and absences. Each student should familiarize himself/herself with the institution's policy on attendance.

 B. Special Accommodations:

        If you need special accommodations due to learning, physical, psychological, or other disabilities, please contact Dr. Buddy Wagner in the Counseling and Career Development Center. He may be reached by phone at (601)925-3354 or by mail at P.O. Box 4063, Clinton, MS 39058. Dr. Wagner's office is in Lowrey 106. 

Instructional Materials and Bibliography:

 A. Required Textbooks:

1.           Ary, D., Jacobs, L. C., & Razavieh, A. (2002). Introduction to research in education (7th ed.). Fort Worth: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

2.           American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

3.           Lyne. L. S. (1999). A cross-section of educational research: Journal article for discussion and evaluation. Los Angeles CA: Pyrczak.

Quantitative Research Proposal Format. The proposal sections must be in this order and all sections must be in the paper!!!!!!!

Please follow APA guidelines

I.            Title page-

II. Place title in all caps on first page of body.

III.  Introduction

IV.  Problem statement-Needs to be a paragraph leading up to statement.

V.   Hypotheses/purposes/research questions (You will only use one of these)

VI.  Definitions

VII.               Review of pertinent literature

VIII.             Methodology**

A.          Design

B.   Participants

C.   Procedures

D.   Analysis

IX.         Reference page-must be APA format.

Write in third person and in future tense (“The researcher will...”) .