Faculty Contact Information:
Dr. JED Riggs
PSC 9 Box 3018
APO AE 09123
EMAIL: jriggs@faculty.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 ed.). Washington DC: Author
Leedy, P.D. & Ormrod, J.E. (2005). Practical research: Planning & design (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
Weiss, C. (1997). Evaluation (2nd ed.). Prentice Hall. --- Chapters 7, 10, 11 are required. Additional chapters may be assigned by the classroom instructor
Citing Electronic Resources: APA Style. Retrieved July 14, 2004 from http://www.umuc.edu/library/guides/apa.html
Online Guide to Writing and Research. Retrieved July 14, 2004 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, 2004 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, 2004 from http://www.ed.umuc.edu/staff/faculty/detech/pedagogy/policy%20manual.html | |
Supplementary Readings:
| Each instructor has his or her preferences for supplementary reading material that may be added here. In addition, 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 Counseling WebBoard at http://webboard.ed.umuc.edu/couns/. and the PA WebBoard at 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:
- Demonstrate
an understanding of the scientific method by distinguishing between applied, basic, quantitative and qualitative research, and descriptive and inferential statistics.
- Demonstrate
an understanding of program evaluation as a research methodology.
- Analyze
professional situations for research/evaluation purposes.
- Generate
research problem statements.
- Develop
research proposals appropriate to problems statements in specific professional settings.
- Execute
literature reviews.
- Formulate
hypotheses.
- Develop
data collection and data analyses strategies.
- Establish
the internal and external validity and the reliability of measurements.
- Analyze, interpret, and apply
published research findings to professional settings.
- Present
research findings in written and graphic or oral formats.
- Define
ethical and legal constraints on research.
- Analyze
the application of information technology in research. | |
Grading Information:
Grades for this course will be assigned as follows:
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, your grade will be determined by three factors:
Mid-Term Examination-----30%
Final Examination--------40%
Research Proposal--------30% | |
Description of Course Requirements:
Successful graduate students in American universities dedicate approximately three hours of preparation/study time for every hour spent in the face-to-face classroom. Thus, the following course requirements were developed on the assumption that students would be prepared to spend approximately 150 hours of their own time working on them. In an 8-week term, that is the equivalent of a half-time job.
Participate in classroom discussions: You are expected to come to class prepared to engage in all discussions in a professional and informed manner.
Write graduate level papers or case studies: You are required to conduct professional-level research, including appropriately citing works of others and avoiding plagiarism. Resubmission of course work from previous classes (whether or not taken at UMUC, UMUC-Europe or BSU), partially or in its entirety, is not acceptable in this course and will result in an automatic failure on the assignment, unless the student receives written permission of the instructor to submit work from other classes.
Specifically for this class, you will have a mid-term examination that will fall on the Sunday of Weekend Two, and will consist of all readings and lectures to date. You will also have a final examination on the Sunday of Weekend Four that will cover all the readings and lectures from the mid-term on.
Each student will also be required to produce an original research proposal between 15-20 pages in length. This proposal will follow the format of standard research proposals, and will feature sections on: Hypotheses, Problems, Sub-Problems, Literature Review and Methodology etc. The student should spend some time reviewing current research, and is strongly urged to acquire a copy of the APA Guide. The student should also feel free to contact the instructor early on about a topic. (Preferably before the start of the term).
By Saturday of Weekend Two, Each student must present a precis of his/her topic to the instructor. This short document will briefly describe the problem one wishes to research, along with a brief discussion of the methodology to be employed. PLEASE NOTE: The student will not be required to execute this research, but will present the proposal as though the research were going to be conducted.
| |
Course Schedule:
WEEKEND ONE:
1. Introduction to Research
Leedy - chps. 1-3.
2. Rules of Evidence.
Same Readings.
3. Same Topic. Same Readings.
4. Research Design. Same Readings.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
WEEKEND TWO:
1. Research Design (cont.)
Leedy - 4-6; Weiss - 6, 7.
2. Literature Reviews/Proposals.
Same Readings.
3. Data Collection Techniques.
Same Readings.
4. MID-TERM EXAMINATION.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
WEEKEND THREE:
1. Data Collection.
Leedy - 7-9; Weiss - 8, 9.
2. Qualitative Techniques.
Same Readings.
3. Same Topic. Same Readings.
4. Data Analysis. Same Readings.
------------------------------------------------------------------
WEEKEND FOUR:
1. Data Analysis (cont.)
Leedy - 10,11; Weiss - 12.
2. Same Topic. Same Readings.
3. Review/Critiques.
4. FINAL EXAMINATION. | |
Academic Policies:
The University has a license agreement with Turnitin.com, a service that helps prevent plagiarism from internet resources. I may be using this service in this class by either requiring students to submit their papers electronically to Turnitin.com or by submitting questionable text on behalf of a student. If you or I submit part or all of your paper, it will be stored by Turnitin.com in their database throughout the term of the University's contract with Turnitin.com. If you object to this temporary storage of your paper, you must let me know no later than two weeks after the start of this class. Please Note: If you object to the storage of your paper on Turnitin.com, I may utilize other services to check your work for plagiarism.
The official university policy on Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty can be found at http://www.umuc.edu/policy/aa15025.shtml. Section I.C. states: "Faculty may determine if the resubmission of course work from previous classes (whether or not taken at UMUC), partially or in its entirety, is acceptable when assigning a grade on that piece of course work. Faculty must provide this information in their written syllabi. If the resubmission of course work is deemed to be unacceptable, a charge may not be brought under this Policy and will be handled as indicated in the written syllabi."
Please refer to Description of Course Requirements for specific information on how resubmissions will be treated in this course and 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 with the University of Maryland/Bowie State University in Europe. He has Taught in the Maryland system since 1993. | |