Undergraduate Research Methods
Course Documents
Research Methods Course, Spring 2012.pdf
Spring 2012 Sessions, Readings, & Assignments
|
Topic(s) |
Date |
Readings & Assignments |
|
Review of the Course |
January 10 |
Overview of the course, student expectations, & introductions |
|
Overview of the Research Process |
January 17 |
Reading: Chapter 1: Investigating the Social World (Schutt) Chapter 1: Practical Research (Leedy, Ellis, Ormrod) Assignment: Research Topic & Question(s) |
|
Research Topics, Questions, & Proposal Sections |
January 24 |
Reading: Chapter 3-4: Craft of Research (Booth, Colomb, & Williams) Chapter 6: Practical Research (Leedy, Ellis, Ormrod) Recap on Proposal Sections: Introduction, Question(s), Problem Statement, Significance of Study, Literature Review, Methodology, References, & Timeline Assignment: Faculty Advisor/Mentor List (2 - 3 potential faculty) |
|
Literature Review, Conceptual Framework, & Research Design |
January 31 |
Reading: Chapter 2: Research Design (Creswell) Chapter 1: Qualitative Research Design (Maxwell) Assignment: Sample Research Proposals (2 - 3 proposals for reference) |
|
Library Research & Resources |
February 7 |
Reading: Library Research & References Guide (USC Libraries) Assignment: Introduction & Problem Statement (Significance of Study) Section (1 - 3 pages) |
|
Research Ethics & Protocols Involving Human & Animal Subjects; Introduction to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) |
February 14 |
Reading: Chapter 3: Investigating the Social World (Schutt) Assignment: Discipline Citation Format & References List (1- 3 pages) |
|
Research Methods Part I: Interviews, Focus Groups, Observation & Ethnography, Document & Text Analysis |
February 21 |
Reading: Chapter 9: Research Design (Creswell) Chapter 9: Investigating the Social World (Schutt) Assignment: Faculty Advisor/Mentor Update IRB Certification Course & Application Process |
|
Research Methods Part II: Survey Development, Implementation, & Data Management; Introduction to Qualtrics Survey Software |
February 28 |
Reading: Chapter 4: Surveys (Fowler) Chapter 8: Research Design (Creswell) Qualtrics Handout (Corsbie-Massay) Assignment: Literature Review Section (3 - 5 pages) |
|
Research Methods Part III: Quantitative Analysis & Statistical Procedures; Introduction to Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) |
March 9 |
Reading: Chapter 11: Practical Research (Leedy, Ellis, Ormrod) Basic Statistics & SPSS Overview (Corsbie-Massay) Assignment: Review Sample Data Sets Set up Qualtrics Account & Sample Survey |
|
Research Methods Part IV: Qualitative Analysis, Data Collection Procedures, & Mixed Method Approaches |
March 20 |
Reading: Chapter 10: Research Design (Creswell) Chapter 8-9: Analytic Techniques (Patton) Assignment: Faculty Advisor/Mentor Update IRB Certification Course & Application Process |
|
Writing the Research Proposal |
March 27 |
Reading: Writing Article/Guideline (Darley, Zanna, Roediger) Assignment: Research Methodology Section (3 - 5 pages) |
|
Working with Faculty Advisors & Cultivating a Mentor-Mentee Relationship |
April 3 |
Reading: Mentors, Faculty, & Advisors (University of Michigan) Assignment: Faculty Advisor/Mentor - Scholar Agreement |
|
Presenting the Research Proposal Orally & Using PowerPoint |
April 10 |
Reading: As assigned Assignment: Draft of Research Proposal: Introduction, Question(s), Problem Statement, Significance of Study, Literature Review, Methodology, References, & Timeline (8 - 16 pages) |
|
Research Proposal Presentations (Group A) |
April 17 |
Reading: As assigned Assignment: PowerPoint Presentation (3 - 6 slides) |
|
Research Proposal Presentations (Group B) |
April 24 |
Reading: As assigned Assignment: PowerPoint Presentation (3 - 6 slides) |
|
No Class: Independent Study |
May 1 - 8 (available submission dates) |
Reading: As assigned Assignment: Final Research Proposal: Introduction, Question(s), Problem Statement, Significance of Study, Literature Review, Methodology, References, & Timeline (8 - 16 pages) |