Syllabus

Course Description

This course reviews sources of instructional technology research information, a review of research terminology and procedures, a review of historically significant research in the field, and the evaluation of current research related to the field.

Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course, students will:

• Construct research questions to successfully lead to appropriate sources that will provide an answer.
• Identify and utilize appropriate sources of information to find answers to research questions in areas related to instructional technology.
• Discuss relevant historical research in areas related to instructional technology.
• Critique strengths and weaknesses in published research.

Curriculum Design

This course will emphasize the development of insights and understandings of research in the area of instructional technology with students designing and critiquing various research studies.

This course is a 45 hour 3 credit graduate course. Modules will be completed one per week.

Time Requirements

This course is offered over a period of 15 weeks. Modules are completed over the 15-week period pending length of assignments per week.

Skill and Hardware Requirements

Students may use either a Macintosh computer or a PC with Windows 2000 or higher. Students should possess basic word processing skills and have Internet access as well as an active email account. Students also are expected to have a basic knowledge of how to use a Web browser, such as Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, etc.

Course Materials

Research in Education: Evidence-Based Inquiry by James McMillan and Sally Schumacher (2006) is the required textbook for this course. Online readings and Web site reviews (including journal articles and best practices from the body of educational research) will be assigned during the course to enhance learning. These readings will be presented as annotated Web sites within the course content.

Course Outline

Module One: Locating Information Resources

Objective:Students will model methods to locate credible information resources.
Contents:

• Critique sources using Research Navigator
• Articulate the importance of educational research
• Compare and contrast scientific, evidence-based, quantitative, and qualitative research.
• Demonstrate using the Internet for educational research

Module Two: Research Designs

Objective: Students will differentiate research design methods.
Contents:

• Compare and contrast quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method research designs.
• Outline process of reading and understanding research reports

Module Three: Research Problems and Literature Review

Objective: Students will form a problem and conduct a literature review.
Contents:

• Formulate an appropriate problem statement.
• Explain the function of literature review
• Critique sources  for a literature review
• Conduct a literature review

Module Four: Descriptive and Inferential Statistics

Objective: Students will illustrate the relationship between descriptive and inferential statistics.
Contents:

• Compare and contrast uses for graphic portrayals of data
• Explain measures of central tendency, variability, and relationship
• Generate an example of both null and alternative hypothesis
• Interpret level of significance.
• Compare and contrast uses of parametric and nonparametric tests
• Explain the use of multivariate analysis

Module Five: Designing Quantitative Research and Collecting Data

Objective: Students will incorporate appropriate methods to describe a quantitative research project.
Contents:

• Plan a method of selecting subjects and procedures for collecting data.
• Compare and contrast the four types of design validity
• Illustrate research techniques that demonstrate an understanding of ethical and legal issues.
• Explain methods of measuring technical adequacy.
• Devise a questionnaire using appropriate guidelines.
• Outline proper observation and interview techniques.
• Critique examples of personality, attitude, interest, and value inventories

Module Six: Experimental and Non-experimental Research Designs

Objective: Students will devise a plan to conduct both experimental and non-experimental research.
Contents:

• Explain processes for descriptive research.
• Compare and contrast comparative and correlational designs
• Compare methods and sequence of conducting survey research
• Explain the purpose of ex post facto designs
• Explain the process of experimental research.
• Compare and contrast types of experimental validity
• Explain the purpose of using randomized experimental designs
• Compare types of quasi-experimental designs
• Describe characteristic of and circumstances for single subject designs

Module Seven: Qualitative Research and Strategies

Objective: Students will incorporate appropriate methods to describe a qualitative research project.
Contents:

• Validate purposes, research questions, and case study design for qualitative research.
• Compare methods of sampling strategies
• Describe the stages of data collection and analysis
• Compare strategies to validity of qualitative designs
• Explain the importance of reflexivity in qualitative research
• Apply an extension of qualitative findings from an existing study.
• Outline proper observation and in-depth interview techniques.
• Critiques examples selected for a documents and artifact collection

Module Eight: Qualitative Data Analysis

Objective: Students will plan summarize the process and techniques of qualitative data analysis.
Contents:

• Compare and contrast inductive analysis and interim analysis.
• Devise a process to organize, code, and categorize data
• Evaluate data for patterns
• Critique electronic qualitative data analysis programs
• Create variations in narrative structure and representation for different audiences.

Module Nine: Emerging Methods of Research

Objective: Students will evaluate emerging educational research techniques.
Contents:

• Critique the use of mixed-method designs
• Defend the use of secondary data.
• Formulate an action research plan.

Module Ten: Historical Research, Evaluation Research, and Policy Analysis

Objective: Students will describe characteristics of historical research, evaluation research, and policy analysis.
Contents:

• Defend the analysis of historical events in education
• Justify using oral history in research.
• Model using credibility standards.
• Explain the purposes for and definition of evaluation research
• Critique approaches to evaluation.

Course Requirements:

1. Students write and submit weekly reflections. 30 points.
2. Students formulate a problem and conduct a literature review relating to the problem. 100 points
3. Students perform simple statistical analysis of data. 50 points.
4. Students design a research study based on an experimental research design. 100 points.
5. Students design a research study based on a non- experimental research design. 100 points.

Grades
100-93 - A
  92-85 - B

Student Academic Integrity

Participants guarantee that all academic class work is original. Any academic dishonesty or plagiarism (to take ideas, writings, etc. from another and offer them as one's own), is a violation of student academic behavior standards as outlined by the Teacher Education University catalog and is subject to academic disciplinary action.

Bibliography

Online Resources

Research Navigator

Institute of Education Sciences

American Educational Research Association

Educational Research Service

Glossary of Research Terminology

Center for Applied Research in Educational Technology

Introduction to Designing Qualitative Research

QualPage

Choosing A Research Design

How to Write a Literature Review

How to Write a Critical Review

Formulating the Research Question

Teacher Education University reserves the right to adjust and adapt this syllabus as necessary.