for
EDU 7710
Box 4009
Clinton, Mississippi 39058
601-925-7731

EDU 7710
QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE
RESEARCH DESIGNS IN EDUCATION
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course is designed to provide the student with the tools necessary to design and to conduct valid, applied educational research.
PREREQUISITES:
Admission to the Graduate School Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership Program.
MISSION:
Perhaps the most significant redemptive spiritual symbol of the Christian Church, and therefore, the
Christian College is the cross. As a distinctly Christian university, Mississippi College is determined to fulfill its historic mission and its contemporary mission in such a way as to apply this redemptive symbol through practical and temporal programs. A very early stated mission for the college is still etched on the entrance and exit portals: “Enter Here to Increase in Stature, Knowledge, and Wisdom” and “Depart to
Share Your Culture with All Mankind”.
The contemporary mission statements of the University, as well as the School of Education and the
Department of Teacher Education and Leadership are much more comprehensive in nature but still adhere to the basic purpose of ministering to society. It is our contention that “Reflective Practitioners” who are caring and competent and who are undergirded by Christian principles are excellent examples of program completers who can effectively personify the intersection of the institution’s historic and contemporary missions. We believe that placing an image of the cross behind the teacher education/leadership program model sets a suitable and coherent philosophical framework for teacher education and leadership at
Mississippi College.
The image in the foreground of the model representing the conceptual framework represents the temporal nature of teacher educator and leadership programs at Mississippi College. The symbolic architecture suggests that Mississippi College graduates serve mankind in time and that their ministry is meant to be a beacon in society. The Mississippi College magazine is The Beacon . We believe that teachers and other school leaders will become beacons in their communities when they are, in fact, “competent, caring,
Christian reflective practitioners”.
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The vision of the educational leadership faculty is to produce the best prepared educational leaders in the history of Mississippi.
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The vision of Mississippi College is to be a university recognized for academic excellence and commitment to the cause of Christ.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY:
The integrity of an educational leader must be beyond reproach. This expectation cannot be stressed enough. It is expected that a student attending Mississippi College will be scrupulously honest.
Therefore, plagiarism, cheating, or any form of dishonesty, such as furnishing false information, including forgery, alteration or misuse of college documents, records, or identification will be regarded as a serious offense subject to a severe penalty. The penalty may include, but not be limited to, loss of credite and possible dismissal. These policies are stated in the Graduate School Catalogue. Copes of the catalogue are available in the Office of Student Affairs, Nelson Hall, Room 212 and are also available on the
Mississippi College web-site.
COURSE VALUES/EXPECTATIONS:
Plagiarism: Presenting someone else’s ideas as your own. You must acknowledge the author of the research or boy of knowledge in your text and in your bibliography.
Ethical Behavior: Required of every student. Class discussion will reveal ethical policies and procedures.
Diversity: Learning to work with, appreciate, and value the differences in others. You are expected to show an appreciation for multicultural and gender differences in the classroom.
Civility: Learning to work together in a civil, tolerant, and respectful manner for each other and for the professor. Guidelines to following oral and written situations include but are not limited to:

Show respect for conflicting/differing opinions than your own.

Pay attention when someone else is speaking. Avoid side conversations or other distracting behaviors during lectures, class discussions, and presentations.

Avoid offensive comments, language, or body language. Presenting your view of a situation is appropriate when done with respect.
INSTRUCTIONAL PROCEDURES/ACTIVITIES:
A variety of instructional strategies will be utilized during the course to enhance students’ knowledge and skills. Strategies may include but not limited to: seminar, direct instruction, cooperative learning and other group activities, research, and active class participation. Students will practice skills in locating and using on-line resources critical to dissertation research.
REQUIRED PRACTICES:
Required practices, such as research assignments, oral presentations, and computer analysis used in the course are outlined below:

Objective
Number
1
The Student Will … ELCC
Standard(s)
2
3
Demonstrate an understanding of the benefits and limitations of various qualitative and quantitative research methods.
Identify a topic for research and state the problem, purpose, and need for the research.
Design and conduct a relevant and thorough literature search and review to support his/her research.
2.3, 3.1, 6.1
1.0, 2.0, 3.0
4.0, 5.0, 6.0
3.1
4
5
6
Demonstrate knowledge and appreciation of the elements required to conduct ethical and valid applied research, including sampling, measurement, data collection, and analysis techniques.
Demonstrate an understanding an appreciation of the benefits and limitations of various qualitative and approaches to conducting research.
Demonstrate an understanding of and an appreciation for
2.2
3.2
7 the ethical principles, legal constraints, and human relations in designing and conducting educational research.
Produce a viable research proposal for dissertation research.
3.3
4.1
INSTRUCTIONAL GOALS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES:
GOAL #1: Students will demonstrate an understanding of the benefits and limitations of various qualitative and quantitative research methods.
Learning Outcome: Students will be able to critique the methods used in published qualitative and quantitative research studies.
Learning Activities: The class will examine and critiques the research designs of several qualitative and quantitative studies in small groups, using the criteria provided by the professor and outlined in class handouts. Each student will critique the research designs for a qualitative and quantitative research study he/she plans to include in his/her dissertation literature review. The class will discuss these critiques.
Learning Assessment: Written/oral critiques of the research designs from a qualitative and quantitative research study.
GOAL # 2: Students will identify a topic for dissertation research and state the problem, purpose, and need for the dissertation research.
Learning Outcome: Students will be able to describe a research problem, state the purpose for a specific research study, and provide a rationale for conducting the specified research.

Learning Activities: Examples will be provided and discussed in class and in small groups. Each student will present an initial problem statement, purpose and need for research which the professor and class members will discuss and help to refine.
Learning Assessment: Acceptable statement of problem, purpose and need in outline of proposal/research framework submitted for faculty review/approval.
GOAL # 3: Students will design and conduct a relevant and thorough literature search and review to
Support their dissertation research.
Learning Outcome-A: Students will specify the inclusion criteria for the literature search and review the plan to conduct for their dissertation research.
Learning Outcome-B: Students will present the inclusion for their dissertation review (Chapter 2) of their dissertation proposal. The review/analysis of at least 10 sources to be used in Chapter 2 of their dissertation research will be included in the outline.
Learning Assessment-A: Students will present the inclusion for the dissertation research in class for
Critique and discussion in class.
Learning Assessment-B: Students will provide an outline of the literature review (Chapter 2) of their dissertation proposal. The review/analysis of at least 10 resources to be used in Chapter 2 of the dissertation research will be included in the outline.
GOAL # 4: Students will demonstrate knowledge and appreciation of the elements required to conduct ethical and valid applied research, including sampling, measurement, data collection, and analysis techniques.
Learning Outcome: Students will be able to clearly describe the appropriate data sources, sampling strategy, measurement instruments, data collection, and data analysis procedures for their dissertation research.
Learning Activities: Issues related to selecting data sources, devising an appropriate sampling strategy, developing or using appropriate measurement instruments, data collection and analysis procedures will be discussed in class. Small group exercise will be used to give students practice in developing instruments for collecting questionnaire/interview, observational, and content analysis data. Measurement validity and reliability will be reviewed, as well as internal validity concerns associated with various data collection and analysis techniques and external validity concerns associated with different sampling strategies.
Learning Assessment: Chapter 3 of the dissertation proposal/framework will provide a well-reasoned discussion of research methods and design choices, including sampling, measurement, data collection, and analysis. A detailed discussion of measurement validity and reliability, and threats to internal and external validity will be presented as part of Chapter 3.

GOAL # 5: Students will demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of the benefits and limitations of various qualitative and quantitative approaches to conducting research.
Learning Outcome: Each student will develop an appropriate research plan/design to answer the research questions posed for his/her dissertation research.
Learning Activities: Examples of taking different qualitative and quantitative approaches to answer a specific research question will be presented. The class will discuss the benefits and limitations of the various design approaches. The value of multi-method approaches to research design will be discussed.
Students will present a critique of the research design used in one of the studies reviewed for their dissertation research.
Learning Assessment: An oral presentation of dissertation research design, class/professor feedback and critiques will be part of the assessment. A written presentation of the proposal/research framework outline will be submitted for faculty review/approval at the end of the term.
GOAL # 6: Students will demonstrate an understanding of an appreciation for the ethical principles, legal constraints, and human relations in designing and conducting social science research.
Learning Outcome: Students will be able to formulate a list of necessary approvals needed to conduct their dissertation research, to create and/or complete the appropriate consent forms, and to secure the necessary approvals from the IRB and participating entities.
Learning Activities: The class members will participate in discussions of different research studies and the ethical issues, legal constraints, and human relations elements that need to be considered.
Learning Assessment: A statement of the approvals required to conduct the proposed dissertation research and draft copies of the consent forms will be submitted with a proposal/framework outline by the end of the course.
GOAL # 7: Students will produce a viable research proposal for dissertation research.
Learning Outcome : Students will complete the program proposal/research design framework outline, which includes: a problem statement, research purpose, the need for research (rationale), research questions or objectives, a description of inclusion criteria for the literature search/review, a preliminary literature review, a description of data sources, participants, data collection and analysis methods and how the research design addresses measurement validity and reliability, internal and external validity concerns.
Learning Activities: Through the class, students will work on developing the various sections of the proposal/research framework. Weekly assignments/reports/class review and discussions will enable students to refine each component of the proposal (Chapters, 1, 2, 3) for their dissertation research.
Learning Assessment: Students will submit a polished and detailed outline of their dissertation proposal/research framework to the EDD program faculty for review/approval. This must be prepared in accordance with the latest APA manual and Mississippi College formatting requirements.

EVALUATION:
Evaluations will be objective and subjective. Subjective scoring will be based on professional judgment and high expectations for doctoral students.
GRADING SYSTEM:
Mississippi College uses the following grading system for graduate school work:
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A reserved for work which is definitely superior in quality
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B+ intermediate grade
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B work which is consistently good and which manifests sufficient interest, effort, or originality
 to lift it above average work
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C+ intermediate grade
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C average work and shows that basic requirements in class assignments have been met (work
 at this level is considered unsatisfactory for graduate students)
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D earns credit but is below the standard required for graduation
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F indicates failure and carries no credit
OTHER INFORMATION:
Class Attendance: Each student is expected to be in class each meeting and on time. Points will be deducted from the final grade for absences. Any student who misses three or more classes will not receive credit for the course. Graduate students are to be commended for pursuing an advanced degree.
Before committing to take this class, carefully consider family, job, and other responsibilities that might affect attendance.
Special Accommodations: Students needing special accommodations due to learning, physical, psychological, or other disabilities should contact:
To Be Announced
Food and Drinks : The policy prohibiting food and drinks in Lowrey Hall must be strictly observed.
Classroom Expectations:
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Be present, on time, and prepared.
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Actively participate in class activities.
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Turn off cellular phones and pagers.
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Respect others and their right to express their opinions and feelings.
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Listen and refrain from talking when others are talking.
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Remove hats or other head gear in class.
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Leave children, family, and friends at home.
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Eat, drink, smoke, and chew outside the building.

Orientation Information for Graduate Students: Graduate students should read the Graduate
Orientation Manual in its entirety. This is an important part of the orientation for graduate students. A hard copy can be obtained from the Graduate Office in Nelson Hall 202.