UMUC-EUROPE GRADUATE PROGRAMS
BOWIE STATE UNIVERSITY

PUAD502 Syllabus

Course Title Qualitative Research Methods
Term TERM 3, 2003/2004
Education Center KAISERSLAUTERN-KAP-GRAD
Faculty Member John Riggs - jriggs@faculty.ed.umuc.edu

Faculty Contact Information:

Dr. JED Riggs
PSC 9 Box 3018
APO AE 09123

EMAIL: jriggs@ed.umuc.edu

Consultation:

One-Half Hour before class, and by appointment.

Required Texts and Readings:

American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th Edition. Washington DC:  Author

Leedy, P.D. & Ormrod, J.E. (1985). Practical research: Planning & design (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall.

Weiss, C. (1997). Evaluation (2nd ed.). Prentice Hall. --- Chapters  7, 10, 11 only

Citing Electronic Resources: APA Style. Retrieved July 14, 2003 from http://www.umuc.edu/library/guides/apa.html 

Online Guide to Writing and Research. Retrieved July 14, 2003 from
http://www.umuc.edu/prog/ugp/ewp_writingcenter/writinggde/welcome.shtml

Procedures for Completing the Research Project Notification and Human Subjects Protection Form. Retrieved June 16, 2003 from http://www.ed.umuc.edu/staff/faculty/detech/pedagogy/proceduresform.html

University Of Maryland University College Policy Manual Policy 130.25: Conducting Research Involving Human Subjects. Retrieved June 16, 2003 from http://www.ed.umuc.edu/staff/faculty/detech/pedagogy/policy%20manual.html

Supplementary Readings:

All graduate students should be prepared to utilize the UMUC online library. The library contains a large number of full text academic journals that are free of charge and immediately available. The library homepage also contains a number of links related to improving students' research and writing skills

Recommended Journals:

A variety of full-text, online, free-of-charge and pay-per-view academic journals are listed on the PA Webboard (http://webboard.ed.umuc.edu/~pa). The Qualitative Report, a peer-reviewed, on-line journal devoted to writing and discussion of and about qualitative, critical, action, and collaborative inquiry and research, is especially useful for this course.

Course Description:

Prerequisite: Undergraduate American political science or American government. This course focuses on the study and application of research methodology for organizations for use as a tool in decision-making. Emphasis is on applied research theories and designs for methodological approaches that apply non-experimental and quasi-experimental research designs as part of the research strategy.

Course Goals:

As one of two research methods courses in the MPA program, this course provides graduate students with the conceptual and practical tools to develop proposals for and conduct non-experimental research projects, policy analyses, and program evaluations, as well as to evaluate and incorporate the implications of published reports into their practice as professionals.  M.P.A. students are actively encouraged to use this class to develop the proposal for the professional paper required in PUAD 604.

Course Objectives:

At the conclusion of this course the student will be able to
  1. Demonstrate an understanding of the scientific method by distinguishing between applied, basic, quantitative and qualitative research, and descriptive and inferential statistics.
  2. Demonstrate an understanding of program evaluation as a research methodology.
  3. Analyze professional situations for research/evaluation purposes.
  4. Generate research problem statements.
  5. Develop research proposals appropriate to problems statements in specific professional settings.
  6. Execute literature reviews.
  7. Formulate hypotheses.
  8. Develop data collection and data analyses strategies.
  9. Establish the internal and external validity and the reliability of measurements.
  10. Analyze, interpret, and apply published research findings to professional settings.
  11. Present research findings in written and graphic or oral formats.
  12. Define ethical and legal constraints on research.
  13. Analyze the application of information technology in research.

Grading Information:

Grades for this course will be assigned as follow:
A 90%+
B 80% - 89%
C 70% - 79%
 F        Below 70%

Please note that Bowie State University does not use "D" for graduate students. The grade F(a) is used to designate academic failure. F(n) is used to designate failure for non-completion.  Grades of Incomplete or Withdrawal are governed by UMUC-Europe policies. For further details, please refer to the UMUC-Europe Graduate Catalog. Hard copies of the catalog are available in your local Education Center.

Course Requirements:

Graduate school at the masters level focuses on helping students obtain the education needed for success as professionals in their chosen fields. Thus, UMUC-Europe Graduate Programs and Bowie State University share the common goals of promoting excellence in academic scholarship through thoughtful inquiry and the skillful application of knowledge and theory for the betterment of society.

In order to maximize your graduate educational experience in general and this course in particular, you are required to complete a mid-term examination, a final examination, and a research proposal.

Description of Course Requirements:

Your grade will be determined by three factors:
1. A mid-term examination (30% of total grade).
2. A final examination (40% of total grade).
3. A research proposal (30% of total grade).

The mid-term exam will fall on the Sunday afternoon of weekend two, and will consist of all readings and lectures to date. The final exam will fall on the Sunday of weekend four and will consist of all readings and lectures since the mid-term.

In addition, each student will be responsible for creating a research proposal. This paper will be written as a professional document and will consist of research design and literature review elements. The student will not be expected to carry out this research; therefore, the data, and data analysis sections will be absent.

By the Saturday of weekend two, I expect each student to present to me a simple half-page to one-page sheet identifying his or her topic.

This paper should be no less than 15 pages, and is due on the final day of class. Failure to submit this paper on time will result in aa automatic 20% reduction in the paper's value.

Course Schedule:

WEEKEND ONE:

1. Topic Readings
Intro to Research. Leedy: chps 1, 3.

2. Rules of Evidence. SAME.

3. SAME TOPIC. SAME.

4. Research Design. SAME.
------------------------------------------------------------------

WEEKEND TWO:

1. Research Design (cont.). Leedy: Chps 4-6.
Weiss: Chps 6,7.

2. Lit. Review/Proposals. SAME.

3. Data Collection techniques. SAME.

4. MID-TERM EXAMINATION.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

WEEKEND THREE

1. Data Collection (cont). Leedy: Chps 7-9.
Weiss: Chps 8,9.

2. Qualitative Techniques. SAME.

3. SAME TOPIC. SAME.

4. Data Analysis. SAME.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

WEEKEND FOUR:

1. Data Analysis (cont). Leedy: Chps 10-11.
Weiss: Chp 12.

2. SAME TOPIC SAME.

3. Review/Class Critiques. None.

4. FINAL EXAMINATION.

Academic Policies:

Please refer to the UMUC-Europe Graduate Catalog for information on the following:

Academic Integrity
Course Load
Exception to Policy
Grade Appeal Process
Make-up Examinations
Nondiscrimination
Students with Disabilities

Hard copies of the catalog are available at your local Education Center.

Faculty Bio:

Dr. JED Riggs is Collegiate Professor of Public Administration with the University of Maryland University College-Europe/ Bowie State University. He has taught with the University since 1993.


Last updated by John Riggs: November 21, 2003, 2:46 pm
Find this syllabus linked from the schedule at: http://www.ed.umuc.edu/schedule