January 9: Plan for the
quarter
Overview of the EDS 261B, &
C
Review of Ed.D. norms and Ed.D
timeline
Introduction to
WebBoard
Review of
other
Ed.D. resources
Previous cohort
proposals
Previous cohort IRB forms and
responses
Discussion of your timelines
For next week:
Review the UCSD human subjects website
http://irb.ucsd.edu
Prepare a first draft of an IRB submission, and
post it on Webboard and Google Docs
January 16: Human Subjects Protection
Discussion of general Human Subjects Protection issues
Examination of draft human subjects forms
Introduction to concept mapping of research questions and lines of
argument
For next week: Read Maxwell, Chapter 3 "Conceptual
Framework"
Download
a
free trial version of Inspiration
Create a concept map of your research questions, their interrelationships, and
their relations to the broader field and post it to Webboard or Google
Docs
January 23: Concept map representation of research questions and their justification
For next week: Read Maxwell, Chapter 7 "Research
Proposals"
Describe the line(s) of argument you're planning to include in your proposal
and post that on Google Docs
January 30: Research Proposals, their structure and the process of writing them
For next week: Read Chapter 6 of Mertens "Survey
Research"
Post on Google Docs a survey or questionnaire you're planning to use
February 6: Surveys and questionnaires
For next week: Read Chapter 13 of Mertens "Data Analysis,
Interpretation, and reporting"
February 13: Data analysis, interpretation, and
reporting
Prepare for the EdS Winter Methodology conference on
Saturday
February 20: EdS Winter Methodology conference on February 16th
For next week: Scan through "Guidelines for Video Research in Education: Recommendations from an Expert Panel"
February 27: Video and audio data analysis
For next week: Post some writing on Google Docs for
comment
March 5th: The role of theory in
dissertation proposals
For next week: prepare a presentation of the current state of your thesis proposal / research
March 12th: Final Project
Presentations
Course evaluations
Presentation by each seminar member of
the current state of their proposal / research
March 19th: Final Project Paper due
(11:59 pm PST)
no class meeting
Other Potential topics:
Sharing/critiquing one another's data-collection instruments
Focus groups vs. interviews
Pilot testing
The dissertation process: From proposal to completed dissertation – tips
and warnings
Guest speakers from the earlier cohorts
Description:
In this course we will:
Survey a variety of research methods (including qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods),
Garner hands-on experience analyzing and managing data sets,
Complete the IRB approval process,
Complete your dissertation proposal.
This course addresses advanced topics in research design
and methodology. You will hone the requisite research skills to conduct
dissertation research and to be a critical user of research both in your
professional work as well as in the design and implementation of your
dissertation. You will gain varied hands-on experiences in collecting and
analyzing data relevant to schooling, as well as learn how to develop, manage
and analyze large data files. You will create a research agenda and develop
skills needed in proposal writing: development, organization and coherence,
conceptualization of research design, and attention to audience and writing
style.
In your graduate education as well as in your professional
life and day-to-day living, you will be faced with making decisions and
judgments about evidence that is presented to you in the form of numbers. For
your dissertation you will gather data (quantitative and/or qualitative),
process it, and make sense of these numbers. Beyond this, you will need to be
"critical users" of research to know how to make accurate assessments of
findings that are presented to you on a daily basis.
The main course objective is to encourage you to gain
knowledge of which research methods are suitable to both the type of data that
will be collected in your dissertations and the nature of the research
questions the data must address. You will be expected to lead a presentation
dedicated to your own data analysis and research design as well as present a
final project poster presentation outlining the research design methodology
and analysis plan to be used in your dissertation. Finally, you will be
expected to write every week and to bring your writing to class for peer
review.
Required text books:
Maxwell, J. A. (2005). Qualitative research design: An interactive approach (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Mertens, D. M. (2005). Research and evaluation in education and psychology: Integrating diversity with quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods, 2nd edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Swales, J., & Feak, C. B. (2004). Academic writing for graduate students: Essential tasks and skills (2nd ed.). Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
Tashakkori, A., & Teddlie, C. (1998). Mixed methodology: Combining qualitative and quantitative approaches. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage.
In addition, you will need access to the APA Style manual: Publication manual of the American Psychological Association, fifth edition (2002). American Psychological Association: Washington, DC.
Recommended references:
Creswell, J. W. (2003). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approach. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Jaeger, R.M. (1990). Statistics: A spectator sport. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Sternberg, R. J. Guide to publishing in psychology journals. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Final products:
Your dissertation proposal
Your IRB form
Foci:
Each week a seminar member can have some "focus time" to bring before the
seminar something of their choice.
Weekly assignments:
Post message including questions, responses, or critiques of class process and material presented.
Bring writing to class for peer review.
Find articles relating to individual research topics that utilize methods presented in class/reading. (or bi-weekly)