ILD625 Educational Research
Lead Faculty: Dr. Donna Elder
Course Description
An introductory educational research course designed to provide knowledge, skills, and dispositions required for students to understand and demonstrate knowledge of quantitative, qualitative and action research. Emphasis is on the knowledge and skills required of a competent consumer and producer of educational research. The course requires that students utilize a high level of library skills and computer technology to locate relevant research and literature. (Scheduled for two months and meets once a week.).
Learning Outcomes
- Use library resources, including electronic databases, to establish a historical overview of a topic that includes major research, relevant research trends, appropriate statistics, and model programs or studies.
- Critically evaluate a published qualitative and quantitative research study.
- Interpret t test, analysis of variance, chi-square, analysis of covariance, parametric and non-parametric tests, and correlational statistics.
- Understand the application of statistical and practical significance.
- Utilize correct form and style according to the American psychological association manual with all written papers.
- Describe how to establish and implement a research plan.
- Explain the difference between qualitative, quantitative and action research and when each type is appropriate.
- Describe the ethical considerations and appropriate precautions involved with research on human subjects including the NU policy on research involving human subjects, the need for informed consent, student assent, and institutional Review Board approval.
- Describe the difference between population and sample and identify the characteristics of a sample that make it representative of the population.
- Discuss the advantages and disadvantages or limitations of different sampling techniques for quantitative and qualitative research.
- Identify the major types and threats to instrument validity (content, criterion-related, construct and consequential) and reliability (stability, equivalence, equivalence and stability, internal consistency, and inter-rater reliability).
- Explain the difference between action, single-subject, descriptive, causal-comparative, correlational, quasi-experimental, experimental and evaluation research and the advantages and disadvantages of each and when each of the methodologies is appropriate.
- Describe different types of variables including nominal , ordinal, interval, ratio; categorical and qualitative; and dependent and independent.
- Describe the various types of tests and instruments used to collect data and the advantages and disadvantages of each.
- Explain the factors that influence the interpretation of qualitative and quantitative research results.
- Discuss the advantages and limitations of qualitative data collection techniques, factors influencing validity and reliability and processes for analysis and interpretation.
- Describe common problems made when conducting educational research and how they can be avoided.
- Identify the major threats to research design validity.
- Evaluate if there is evidence-based support for a particular teaching or intervention strategy.
- Discuss how to prepare a research report both orally and in writing.
