EDLD 549: Research Design and Methodology for Leaders University of San Diego School of Leadership and Education Sciences Fall 2009 Instructor: Mary Mc Donald, Ph.D. E-mail: marymc@sandiego.edu Phone number: 619 260-2747 or 231 740-8887 Office: 275 D Mother Rosalie Hill Hall Meeting time: Tue 5:30-8:20 p.m
Meeting location: Olin Hall, Room 228
Office Hours – Monday 1-5, Tuesday 1-5, Wednesday 10-1 or by appointment. Please schedule appointments in class, via e-mail or by phone Summary Description EDLD 549 is an introductory course designed to prepare students to be successful consumers of leadership research. The course will use readings and discussions to delineate the fundamental principles of research and to support the application of those principles to research topics of relevance to leadership studies. The course is designed to accommodate the students’ interests by supporting the development of an interest in to researchable problems and questions. To be successful consumers, students need to have a basic understanding of the limitations of research design. Students will learn the various criteria that should be used in reviewing the literature of their discipline and will synthesize that literature as part of a research proposal. This course will provide students with the tools needed to design a research project proposal that could be developed in to a full empirical study. Course Objectives Upon completion of this course, students will be able to: Identify a researchable problem, based on the kind and scope of project under consideration; Describe the difference between methods and purposes of qualitative, quantitative and action research, and identify differences in research designs, as well as when to use one type of methodology or the other; Form appropriate research questions for a qualitative, quantitative and/or action research project; Locate and gather appropriate data from a research library as well as other public sources of information and data; Identify the elements and structure of a research article; Understand the difference between non-experimental and experimental research, and methodologies that apply to each;
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Apply appropriate evaluation criteria for quantitative, qualitative and action research; Critically analyze and interpret published research in their area of specialization, through literature review; Complete a well-written and documented literature review according to APA style guidelines; Texts David Coghlan and Teresa Brannick (2004). Doing Action Research in your own organization. 2nd edition. Sage Publications Ltd Isbn# 9781412902472 (Required) James H. McMillan (2008). Educational research. Fundamentals for the consumer (5th edition). Publisher: Addison, Wesley, Longman Isbn# 9780205508303 (Required) Jose L Galvan (1999). Writing literature reviews (3rd edition). Publisher: Pyrczak Publishing Isbn# 9781884585661 (Required) American Psychological Association Manual (5th edition) (Recommended) Course Expectations and Assignment Descriptions Research project proposal 35 points All papers will be graded using a grading rubric. Late papers will be graded using the rubric and then will be downgraded for each week they are late (e.g., if one week late, the grade will be a “B” assuming that it would have been an “A” paper had it been handed in on time). A paper is considered to be one week late if it is handed in after Monday night’s class. Oral presentation of research project 10 points Quiz 1 15 points Quiz 2 10 points Quiz 3 15 points Attendance and participation 15 points Research proposal and oral presentation description (45 points) This project will be a written proposal of research you intend to conduct in the future. It may be qualitative, quantitative, or action research that may include qualitative and/or quantitative measures, and will include an overview of the literature on the subject you explore. Your topic must be approved by the instructor by the fourth class meeting. (You will hand in a summary of the topic to your peers and instructor for discussion in
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Week Nine.) Topics should be related to leadership in the context of your chosen specialization but they need not be education-focused. You are expected to turn in hard copies of a topic summary in Week Nine of class. The summary should include the topic, the statement of the problem, the research questions and the literature being reviewed. The summary will be the basis of both small group and class discussion during the Week Nine class session. The goal of the discussion is to provide feedback and guidance to the student. The summary will not be graded but is required. Research project proposals will be graded on the following criteria as described in the grading rubric: Criteria
Unacceptable Introductory D range C range
Displays one or more of the characteristics described below: Quality of No to little study design work submitted
Weak presentation of the research problem; less than comprehension and thoughtful selection of the design
Competency B range
Mastery A range
Displays some but not all of the characteristics described below: Clear presentation of the research problem; an indication that the author has a comprehensive understanding of the research design selected; design is appropriate to the problem
Displays all of the characteristics described below:
100 Points Possible
Clear presentation of the research problem; n indication that the author understands the design; design is appropriate to the problem; study limitations as well as significance are clearly presented 35
Literature No to little Selection work submitted and Presentation
Little evidence that the student if familiar with the methods or measures of previous research; weak
Strong evidence of familiarity with major literature, methods, measures and theoretical
Strong evidence of familiarity with major literature, methods, measures and theoretical 3
summary of the theoretical framework of the study
frameworks; review is a critical analysis of relevant literature;
frameworks; review is a critical analysis of relevant literature and shows how the proposed research will build on previous work 30
Organization No to little work of Writing submitted
No or little flow of ideas or logic. Paper lacks components such as citation page, APA format or does not meet the required page length
Ideas are presented but do not flow logically in the construction of the paragraphs and/or the entire paper. Lacks citation page or does not meet the required page length.
Ideas flow throughout paragraphs and the paper in a logical manner. The paper has a citation page, uses APA format and meets the page length requirement. 20
Grammar No to little work and Mechanics submitted
Significant spelling, grammatical, punctuation, and/or capitalization errors. Little evidence of coherence and following appropriate writing standards
Minor spelling, grammatical, punctuation, and/or capitalization errors were noted.
Essay is without typos and spelling errors and is grammatically correct.
15 All final research proposals must follow APA format. Any paper that does not will receive a final grade penalty of one full letter grade. We will review the details of APA format in class; however, if you miss this class session, you are responsible for learning it independently. The maximum length of the proposal is 15 pages. Proposals of less than 10 pages in length will not be accepted. 4
You will do a 10-minute presentation of your proposal at the end of the semester. Your peers will evaluate your performance anonymously and provide written feedback to you so that you can work on your presentation skills. Research project proposal presentations will be graded on the following criterion: Clarity and organization of the presentation Presentation contains all of the elements of the proposal in sufficient detail Presentation is completed within the allotted time Quizzes (Two quizzes will have a potential of 15 points each and one will have the potential of 10 points) The quizzes will cover readings and course content as specified by the instructor. The quizzes will be given at the beginning of the class in which it is scheduled. Attendance and Participation (15 points) Due to this course being discussion-based, attendance is required and expected for this course. Your attendance will contribute to both your learning and the learning of the other students in the class. Similar to attending class, arrival to class on time is expected. Arriving to class late (or leaving early) for three class periods will count as an absence. Missing more than one session of this course will result in a lowered grade in this category. Participation and attendance will be graded on the following criteria: Timely arrival to class and staying for the duration of class sessions as required Preparation for class, including the completion of all readings by the start of the class for which they are assigned Engagement with peers as required, contributions to class discussions Demonstrated respect for peers and instructor as expressed through comments, disposition, eagerness to learn, and tolerance for different opinions Listening attentively to instructor and peers. Requests for Accommodation Reasonable accommodations in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) will be made for course participants with disabilities who require specific instructional and testing modifications. Students with such requirements must identify themselves to the University of San Diego Disability Services Office (619-260-4655, www.sandiego.edu/disability) before the beginning of the course. Every effort will be made to accommodate students’ needs. However, performance standards will not be modified in considering specific accommodations.
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Academic Integrity Responsibility: Students are responsible for doing their own work, and academic dishonesty of any kind will not be tolerated. Violations of academic integrity include, but are not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, or misrepresentation of information in oral or written form. Such violations will be dealt with severely by the instructor and the dean. Plagiarism: Plagiarism consists of using another author's words without proper identification and documentation. The fabrication of sources, or the act, deliberately or unconsciously, or passing another author's work off as your own are also considered to be plagiarism. Falsification: Falsification consists of deliberately changing results, statistics, or any other kind of factual information to make it suit your needs. It also consists of deliberately changing a sources' intent by misquoting or taking out of context. This includes falsifying signatures or letterhead for use to verify volunteer work at an agency and unauthorized use of an agency's letterhead. Multiple submission: If you wish to turn in the same work or use the same research, in whole or in part, for more than one course, you must obtain permission to do so from all professors involved. Failure to obtain this permission constitutes academic dishonesty. Grade of Incomplete The grade of incomplete (“I”) may be recorded to indicate (1) that the requirements of a course have been substantially completed but, for a legitimate reason, a small fraction of the work remains to be completed, and (2) that the record of the student in the course justifies the expectation that he or she will complete the work and obtain the passing grade by the deadline. It is the student’s responsibility to explain to the instructor the reasons for non-completion of work and to request an incomplete grade prior to the posting of final grades. Students who receive a grade of incomplete must submit all missing work no later than the end of the tenth week of the next regular semester, otherwise the “I” grade will become a permanent “F”.
Schedule of Sessions, Assigned Readings, and Assignment Deadlines Session & Date Discussion Topics Due Dates for Reading and Assignments 1 9/8 Introduction to the course and syllabus review 2 9/15 Introduction to research Research problems, variables, and hypotheses Participants, subjects and sampling ER, (McMillian) Chapters 1, 2, 3 & 5
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DAR, (Coghlan and Brannick) Chapter 1 Quiz #1 on the 9/15 readings 3 9/22 General guidelines for searching and analyzing literature. Using the Internet for Educational Research ER, Chapter 4 WLR, (Galvin) Chapters 1, 2, 3& 4 and Model Literature Reviews A Intro to library searches with Jade Winn 4 9/29 Educational measurement Measurement, descriptive statistics, validity and reliability Tests, questionnaires and interviews “Student topic� discussion ER, Chapters 6 & 7 WLR, Chapters 4, 5 & 8 5 10/6 Action research Lecture by Dr. Lonnie Rowell -Introduction to Action Research DAR, Chapters 2, 3 & 4; ER, Chapter 12 pages 329-342 : Exhibit 12-2 (analyze) 6 10/13 Doing action research DAR, Chapters 5, 6, 7 & 8 Quiz #2 on the 10/6 and 10/13 readings 7 10/20 Nonexperimental quantitative / experimental research designs/statistical inference Analyzing quantitative research literature ER, Chapters 8, 9 & 10, Exhibit 9.1 (analyze) WLR, Chapter 5 8 10/27 Qualitative research designs Analyzing qualitative research literature ER, Chapters 11, Exhibit 11.1 (analyze) WLR, Chapter 6 & Model literature reviews C & E; WLR Chapter 1113 recommended 9 11/3 Synthesizing literature and writing Using class project summaries to apply research design principles. Project summaries due in class. Please bring five copies of the summary with you to class. WLR, Chapter 8
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10 11/10 Mixed Methods ER, Chapter 12 pages 309-329: Exhibit 12-1 (analyze) Quiz # 3 will be cumulative. Students will be expected to be able to compare and contrast quantitative, qualitative and action research designs. 11 11/17 Implementation and Interpretations ER, Chapter 13 DAR, Chapter 9 & 10 12 11/24 No class independent work on proposals 13 12/1 Proposal presentations - Group One 14 12/8 Proposal presentations - Group Two Research proposals are due on December 15 by 5:00 pm.
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