Syllabus Date: May 30, 2014
Ed.D. Program – Research Sequence
EDUC 3001: Fundamentals of Research
3 credits, Summer 2014
Syllabus
Instructional Team
Tom Akiva, PhD
Assistant Professor
5938 Posvar Hall
412-648-7320
tomakiva@pitt.edu
Office Hours: By appointment
Mike Gunzenhauser, PhD
Associate Professor
5912 Posvar Hall
412-648-2119
mgunzen@pitt.edu
Office Hours: By appointment
Cindy Tananis, EdD
Associate Professor
4314 Posvar Hall
412-648-7171
tananis@pitt.edu
Office Hours: By appointment
Meeting Times
Face-to-Face:
Online:
Tuesday, June 24, 8 am to 5 pm
Thursday, June 26, 8 am to 5 pm
Saturday, June 28, 8 am to 5 pm
Saturday, July 12, 1 to 5 pm
Saturday, August 2, 8 am to 12 noon
Asynchronous, May 31 – August 2
Course Description
This initial course in the research sequence introduces students to disciplined inquiry of problems of
practice through a variety of perspectives, approaches, and methods of planning and conducting
educational research. This course provides a foundation for further study of research topics and the
enactment of educational research.
Objectives of the Course
EDUC 3001 is organized around the following guiding questions:
1. How do you engage as a scholar-practitioner in education? Reading and critically analyzing
examples of studies done in a variety of traditions and methods. Using evidence (analyzed,
interpreted, represented, discussed) to address problems of practice? Accessing and critically
considering research, synthesizing and building conceptual understanding from research, and
conveying what we know in writing.
2. What is the relationship of research with practice in education? Research paradigm/design:
related to framing problems, gathering, analyzing, and representing evidence, toward various
purposes and audiences.
3. How is research defined as inquiry? The role that research plays in educational practice and
policy. Epistemological and theoretical diversity in educational research, including discussion of
different research paradigms or theoretical perspectives.
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4. How is educational research designed? Research design, structure of research method,
including the role of prior research, the forming of a meaningful problem statement and
research question.
5. How is educational research conducted? Overview of multiple methodological forms or
approaches available to educational scholar-practitioners and the different purposes that they
serve.
6. How is educational research evaluated? Important concepts related to the ethics and quality of
educational research, such as validity, reliability, trustworthiness, generalizability, verisimilitude,
and transferability.
Doctoral Milestones
No formal milestones are reached in this course. However, the assignments for this course will help you
develop your final paper for EDUC 3002, the position paper on a problem of practice. This paper serves
as the first-step towards completing the preliminary exam.
Prerequisites
No specific pre-requisites are required for this course.
Texts
This course includes books, book chapters, and journal articles. This course requires two books, both
available for purchase at the University Store on Fifth for the special bundled price of $64 [for the two
bundled books, the special assigned ISBN is 978-1-4833-7212-9]. The texts are also available at
Amazon.com, half.com, and other sources. The McEwan text is on reserve at Hillman Library. The
Menter text has been ordered as a multi-user ebook at the library (to be found by searching the text
name at pittcat.pitt.edu).
McEwan, E.K., & McEwan, P.J. (2003). Making sense of research: What’s good, what’s not, and how to
tell the difference. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. [ISBN 978-0-7619-7708-7] $32.86
Menter, I., Elliot, D., Hulme, M., Lewin, J., & Lowden, K. (2011). A guide to practitioner research in
education. Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications. [ISBN 978-1-8492-0185-8] $44.00
Additional required articles, book chapters, and other readings are posted on CourseWeb.
The following texts are recommended but not required and are also available at the University Store:
American Psychological Association (APA). (2009). Publication manual of the American Psychological
Association, 6th ed. Washington, DC: Author. [ISBN 978-1-4338-0561-5] $29.95 for paperback.
Spiral bound recommended: [ISBN 978-1-4338-0562-2] $36.95 [reference copies in library]
Booth, W.C., Colomb, G.G., & Williams, J.M. (2008). The craft of research, 3rd ed. Chicago, IL: University
of Chicago Press. [ISBN 978-0-2260-6566-3] $17.00 [multi-user ebook via pittcat.pitt.edu]
EDUC 3001: Fundamentals of Research
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Course Requirements and Expectations
Because this class is paired with Foundations 1 and meets in an intensive stretch of back-to-back all day
classes, you will need to plan ahead to meet the reading load for the week of June 23. As indicated on
the course schedule, you are expected to read and take notes on nearly all of the assigned course
readings prior to June 23. You should begin that process well in advance to allow enough time.
Course Format
In addition to the 32 face-to-face hours of class time outlined in the schedule, you are expected to spend
an additional 12 hours online in active discussion and exploration of resources including discussion,
accessing provided and other resources, and completing assignments.
This does not include the time in addition to class that you are expected to spend on reading, studying,
and completing assignments. For doctoral level courses, a minimum of 1.5 hours is required for every
instructional hour.
To adequately manage the content requirements of this course, you should plan for the following, at
minimum: 32 class hours + 12 active online hours + 66 hours class-related work = 110 minimal hours of
active engagement
Grading and Rubrics
We have two types of grading for assignments in this course. First are ungraded assignments that you
are required to complete as part of your participation in the course. Each of these assignments needs to
be completed for you to receive your final grade for the course. Second are graded assignments that
are awarded point values.
In this course and your companion course this summer we will be incorporating the SWoRD system from
Panther Learning to elicit peer feedback on select writing assignments. For assignments submitted
through the SWoRD system, part of your grade will be determined by your participation in providing
feedback on your peers’ papers. We are incorporating this system as a learning tool to enhance
opportunities for improving scholarly writing, one of the most important features of the EdD program.
Details on the SWoRD system will be provided separately. See PantherLearning.com
For each of the graded writing assignments, instructors provide grading rubrics. Instructors will use the
grading rubrics to determine point values and to facilitate communication about the strengths and
weaknesses of student writing. Point values on individual assignments will determine your final grade in
the course. As we will explain more in class, rubrics are intended to facilitate communication and
grading rather than to direct or determine your performance.
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EDUC 3001: Fundamentals of Research
Akiva, Gunzenhauser, Tananis
Graded Assignments and Scale
Assignment Values:
Assignment
1. APA tutorial
2. IRB certification
3. Academic integrity/plagiarism tutorial
4. Library tutorials
5. Introductions: Bio/picture
6. Scholar-practitioner goals statement
7. Course discussions: Blog discussions of readings
8. Problem of practice topic statement
9. Journals and articles collection
10. Annotated bibliography
11. Methods design paper
Total
Points
Possible
required
required
required
required
required
required
10
20
required
35
35
100
Grading Scale:
Point
Total
97-100
94-96
90-93
87-89
84-86
80-83
77-79
74-76
70-73
60-69
59 or below
Final Letter
Grade
A+
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD
F
General Expectations for Assignments
Assignments are to be submitted electronically via Courseweb (except as noted in the assignment
descriptions and on the course schedule). Use APA style, as explained in the APA tutorial, for all
citations and references. Submit work in an easily readable 11- or 12-point font, double-spaced. Attend
to the word ranges specified in the assignments. Late work slows down the process of review and work
on subsequent assignments. As further incentive to complete work on time, late submissions will be
reduced the equivalent of one-third of a letter grade for each day late. Exceptions are granted for
documented illness only.
Assignments submitted through our Courseweb site will be filtered through SafeAssign, a software that
checks for instances of plagiarism and misattribution.
School of Education Statement on Academic Integrity. The integrity of the academic process requires
fair and impartial evaluation on the part of faculty and honest academic conduct on the part of students.
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To this end, students are expected to conduct themselves at a high level of responsibility in the
fulfillment of the course of their study. It is the corresponding responsibility of faculty to make clear to
students those standards by which students will be evaluated and the resources permissible for use by
students during the course of their study and evaluation. Cheating/plagiarism will not be tolerated.
Students suspected of violating the University of Pittsburgh Policy on Academic Integrity, from the
February 1974 Senate Committee on Tenure and Academic Freedom reported to the Senate Council, will
be required to participate in the outlined procedural process as initiated by the instructor. Students in
this course are expected to comply with the University of Pittsburgh Policy on Academic Integrity, which
can be found online at: http://www.provost.pitt.edu/info/ai1.html
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Assignment Descriptions
Several assignments are due prior to the first class. Additional assignments are progressive and focus on
a topic of your chosen interest. Please consult the “Assignments Crosswalk” (handed out at Orientation
and available on Courseweb) and the course schedule (at the end of this syllabus) for due dates.
1.
APA tutorial (Complete online)
Before class begins, all students are required to complete the online tutorial at apastyle.org. Nearly all
scholarship in education is presented in the standard writing style of the American Psychological
Association (APA). You will find that some journals, particularly work influenced by humanities
disciplines, follow the Chicago Manual of Style. For this course, you will be expected to demonstrate
facility with APA in all of your written work. Of particular importance are the citation and reference
conventions of APA. You are encouraged to purchase the 6th edition of the APA manual in spiral-bound
form to use as a desktop reference throughout your doctoral studies. The APA also maintains a helpful
website as a resource, including a tutorial that runs about 21 minutes. Go to
http://www.apastyle.org/learn/tutorials/basics-tutorial.aspx to begin the tutorial.
2.
IRB certification (Bring paper copies to class)
The University requires that all researchers complete human subjects research training before
submitting any studies for review. This is accomplished through a comprehensive online instructional
program. By the date indicated on the syllabus, present a copy of your certification for the University of
Pittsburgh Institutional Review Board. Begin training here: http://www.citi.pitt.edu. For more
information about the IRB and your expectations as a student researcher, see the Education section of
the IRB website: http://www.irb.pitt.edu/student-research. Complete the two required modules if you
haven’t already and present certificates on the date indicated on the course schedule. The modules can
be difficult to reach on the website. You need to complete the modules on Social & Behavioral
Research – Basic/Refresher and Social & Behavioral Responsible Conduct of Research. Allow at least 6
hours to complete the modules and quizzes. You are required to be IRB certified in order to receive a
grade for the course.
Additional modules relevant to social science research are recommended but not required. If you
already have IRB certification through Pitt’s CITI portal, print your certificates and bring to class. If you
have Pitt IRB certification through the previous system, that certification is now obsolete. If you have
CITI certification outside the Pitt system, you are still required to complete the C ITI certification through
the Pitt portal.
3.
Academic integrity/plagiarism tutorial (Bring printed certificate to class)
All students’ work from the very beginning of the course is expected to reflect the highest standards of
academic integrity. From time to time, we all need reminders on how to cite and reference prior work
with integrity. Everyone in the course is required to complete this online tutorial by the first class
meeting. http://www.umuc.edu/writingcenter/plagiarism/index.cfm
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Library tutorial (Complete online)
Prior to our first class, you need to become familiar with the following library resources. As you proceed
through the following information, post any lingering questions or concerns that you have about these
areas of competency in the “Course Questions” Blog on Courseweb. You will be expected to engage
with them as soon as the course starts.
a. EZ-Proxy. Become familiar with the EZ-Proxy service, which connects your computer to the
University system and allows you nearly the same access to library resources that you obtain
from a PC sitting in Hillman Library. http://www.library.pitt.edu/offcampus
b. PittCat. Bookmark http://pittcat.pitt.edu as your library search interface. This original
PittCat is more appropriate for graduate students than the default interface, called PittCat+.
c. Libguides. Visit the Educational Research Libguide developed by Marnie Hampton for
graduate students in the School of Education. http://pitt.libguides.com/education
d. Mendeley and EndNote. Mendeley and EndNote are the two citation management tools
that are supported by the university. Library search pages are integrated with these tools to
make keeping track of sources and citation. Start at the following website:
http://www.library.pitt.edu/mendeley-and-endnote-citation-tools. Become familiar with
these two choices. Then, select which one you would like to learn and use as part of the
course.
e. ERIC. ERIC is the online Education Abstracts depository and indexing service maintained by
the U.S. Department of Education. It is the leading search tool for educational research, but
not the only tool you’ll need to find education documents and articles. Start here:
http://www.library.pitt.edu/eric-education-abstracts and become adept at (i) conducting
searches; (ii) evaluating sources; (iii) interfacing with citation management tools; (iv)
locating articles and documents in the Pitt library system; and (v) locating resources through
Pitt library services such as Inter-Library loan.
f.
ProQuest Dissertations. Another source for scholarship in education is the dissertations
database. Do not complete a literature search without also checking the dissertation
database. Keep in mind that most dissertations do not get published in any other form.
Start here to find this database: http://www.library.pitt.edu/db/p.
g. Library of Congress. Keep in mind that the Pitt libraries contain excellent resources but
neither contain nor catalogue nearly all the relevant books and other documents that you
will need to access. Visit and bookmark http://loc.gov as your primary source for
comprehensively locating books and other documents. Amazon.com is also a surprisingly
reasonable resource as well for finding titles. Use the Pitt Interlibrary Loan service to obtain
the titles you need.
h. Google Scholar. Become familiar with the features of http://scholar.google.com/ that make
it a useful tool for some aspects of library searching. Especially handy are the links from
documents to future work that has cited the source. Also helpful are author links so that
you can discover the entire body of work of a key author in your area of interest. On a
University computer, or with EZ-Proxy currently enabled, Google Scholar interfaces directly
with the Pitt library system.
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Introductions: Bio/picture (Post on Courseweb)
The EdD cohort (mixed across six areas of concentration: Educational Leadership; Higher Education
Management; Language, Literacy and Culture; Science and Mathematics Education; Social and
Comparative Analysis in Education; Special Education) is intentionally designed to be a large, diverse
group representing a variety of experience and perspective related to education. All of you share a
common goal: to achieve the highest degree available in the field of education as you become expert
scholar-practitioners.
One challenge in such a large group is coming to know all of the folks who share the experience. Toward
that end, we ask that each of you upload a brief bio and a picture to the INTRODUCTIONS area of the
Courseweb site so that we can begin to come to know this shared community.
6.
Scholar-practitioner goals statement (1000-1250 words; 4-5 pages)
Your choice to obtain an Ed.D. degree is an indication that you not only wish to extend and polish your
practice as an educational leader, but also wish to enter the world of scholarship to both inform your
practice and to bring knowledge from your practice to the field, at large, through applied research. This
first Fundamentals of Research course provides you a platform to explore the role of scholarship as it
informs your practice, and the role of practice as it informs your scholarship, and the methods of
research that you might consider applying to your problem of practice across the next three years of
academic work.
As such, we ask you to begin the course by reflecting on your past and current practice and scholarship,
and to envision the relationship of practice and scholarship as you continue your studies. Write a
relatively brief paper addressing these issues prior to the first day of class. One of our class activities will
be to share your paper with colleagues and discuss both current/past activities and your aspirations for
the future. Some of the following questions may help you to jumpstart the process --- they are
suggestive only --- feel free to organize your thoughts and writing as best suits your own choices for
organization:
a. How do you use research to inform practice?
b. Do you conduct research? Have you considered research of your practice?
c. How do you encourage others to make use of research or to conduct research?
d. What informs your practice? How often do you seek new information or refined
information? From where?
e. How do you envision yourself as a doctoral scholar?
f. In what areas of education do you want to develop expertise? How will you do that?
g. How do you conceive of research integrated with your practice?
7.
Course discussions: Blog discussions of readings
In addition to the written assignments for this course, students are expected to add substantive
contributions to online discussion of concepts and issues related to the main texts. Approximately 20%
of this course’s class time occurs online. We will use the Blogs tool on Courseweb to organize this
discussion (found under the tab, “Course Discussions”). We intend this space to be a place for YOUR
voice and meaningful exchange with colleagues. Since instructors have ample time to make comments
or insert thoughts during instruction, we will refrain from entering our own discussion points in the
blogs, although we will regularly read them and consider your contributions for assessment purposes.
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The course texts are easily accessible and quite readable. We request that you fully read all texts prior
to the first class sessions. You should also discuss via the blogs prior to class. This will reduce the need
for close reading during a very busy week (June 23-28, 2014) when you will be attending class all day
and will likely have little energy or time for further work in the evening. Our hope is that each evening
you will review both the course texts sections that will apply to the topics to be covered the next day.
Reviewing the discussion via the blogs will also help you to focus on the most important elements from
the readings to be ready for activity in class.
In this course, there are five possible Blogs. Your input is not required for every question posed, or even
every area of discussion. We expect everyone to find at least one discussion across the five blogs to add
to substantively. Further instructions are posted in the blog section of our Courseweb site.
8.
Problem of Practice Topic Statement (1000-1250 words, 4-5 pages, double-spaced, 11- or 12point font)
You will submit this assignment for credit in both EDUC 3001 and EDUC 3002. This is a brief paper in
which you describe a research topic you are interested in pursuing. The topic you identify in your topic
statement will be used for all subsequent assignments in both courses. This should be a problem that
you are familiar with, have encountered, and have thought about in your own work or experience. You
may even have a tacit theory (See Ravitch & Riggan, Ch. 2) of where this problem comes from or how to
solve it. As you progress through this course, you will be working towards a more formal, elaborated
conceptual model of this educational problem, which is situated in the existing literature in your
program area. You will also receive a Problem of Practice Framework (see Session I notes) as a guide for
drafting an initial model.
This paper should be clear and coherent and include all of the following:
a. Identify the background and rationale for pursuing research in this area;
b. Name the specific educational practices that need to be informed by new knowledge;
c. Briefly situate your inquiry within your own experience/interests;
d. Describe the professional expertise/knowledge that you would use to inform a systematic
inquiry in this area;
e. Based on the existing literature, briefly summarize a theoretical framework and/or
conceptual model relevant to understanding your problem of practice;
f. Begin to describe the forms of existing evidence on this problem using sources you’ve
identified for your annotated bibliography; and
g. Name potential research questions that would be relevant to the topic, being clear on what
new knowledge it would be necessary to obtain in order to address.
9.
Collect two journals and two articles (have paper or electronic copies available for class; bring
detailed notes to class)
For a class exercise (date specific on the Course Schedule), identify two journals relevant to your
program, specialization, and/or research interest and review it. It may also form the basis for the next
assignments. Follow these steps:
a. RESEARCH JOURNAL. Select a recent issue (in the last five years) of a commonly used and
highly valued research journal in your field (program/specialization) that include(s) at least
two empirical research studies (studies for which quantitative or qualitative data is the
fundamental source of data). This exercise will be more beneficial to you if you are able to
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obtain a journal relevant to your field. General educational research journals may also be
relevant, such as the premier journals Harvard Educational Review, Teachers College Record,
and American Educational Research Journal.
b. PRACTITIONER JOURNAL. Select a recent issue (in the last five years) of a commonly used
and highly valued practitioner journal in your field (program/specialization) that include(s)
at least two articles that report quantitative or qualitative data on a problem of practice.
This exercise will be more beneficial to you if you are able to obtain a journal relevant to
your field. General educator journals may also be relevant, such as the widely-read journals
Phi Delta Kappan and Theory Into Practice.
For both journals, make notes about the following:
i.
Find information about the quality of these journals, their mission, sponsorship,
readership, frequency of publication, and (if possible) acceptance rate. Start with the
masthead, then try the publisher’s website, the Social Sciences Citation Index, and
Scholar.Google.com.
ii.
On the basis of your reading of each article and published information about the
journal, prepare notes on your impressions of the journal; the kinds of research it
includes; the variety of epistemologies, theoretical perspectives, methodologies and
methods presented; and any other issues that reading the journal raises for you.
c. ARTICLES. From each journal, select one article. The article from the research journal
should be an empirical research study (not a literature review, essay, or conceptual article).
The article from the practitioner journal should be on a specific problem of practice for
which data of some sort (quantitative or qualitative) were collected and reported.
For both articles, make notes about the following:
i.
The purpose of the study;
ii.
The conceptual problem and practical problem(s) named or implied;
iii.
The design of the study (specific approaches to data collection) and the procedures
used by the researchers to analyze the data;
iv.
The major conclusions/insights reached and the evidence on which conclusions are
based (be specific);
v.
The connections the researchers make between their conclusions and
theory/literature;
vi.
The conceptual framework (assumptions/conceptualization) on which the study is
built;
vii.
The paradigm or theoretical perspective in which the methodological approach is
located, including evidence of epistemology, stated or implied;
viii.
Your assessment of the validity of the study and conclusions – strengths and
weaknesses as you see them;
ix.
The audience for the article – who will read it, who should read it, and how difference
audiences might ready the study differently.
10.
Annotated bibliography (At least eight annotations: at least five of those must be annotations
of empirical research articles or book chapters; each annotation should be at least 200 words).
Writing annotations is an underappreciated part of the research process and a difficult art to master.
Further complicating the process is that if you seek advice on how to write an annotation, you will get
EDUC 3001: Fundamentals of Research
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varied and conflicting advice. Mostly that is because annotations serve many different purposes for
different audiences, including librarians, book sellers, and other researchers. The annotations you’ll
write have a precise audience – yourself, and more precisely your future self. Write your annotation so
that when you need to refer to a source in a few years (whether it’s an article, book, book chapter,
monograph, etc.) the annotation contains all the information you need to (a) mention the source
competently and accurately, (b) cite its results to warrant a claim; and/or (c) determine quickly if you
need to return to the article for more specific information. Relevant to your topic, select and carefully
read at least five empirical research sources, either articles from scholarly journals or chapters from
edited books. Required course readings cannot be included in this assignment.
To write effective annotations, follow these steps:
a. Write in complete sentences.
b. Use active voice, precise nouns and verbs, and no vague evaluative language.
Counterexample: This is an excellent study with lots of good information.
c. Define any key terms that are unfamiliar or that are used in unfamiliar ways.
d. Name the theoretical perspective and conceptual framework. Avoid summarizing the
author’s literature review. Example: Harris draws from Mary Douglas’ (1982) grid-andgroup typology to classify each school’s cultural context in one of four categories:
bureaucratic, corporate, individualist, or collectivist. This would be an appropriate sentence
in an annotation for this article: Harris, E.L. (1995). Toward a grid and group interpretation
of school culture. Journal of School Leadership, 5(6), 617-646.
e. Identify by name the overall methodology of the study.
f. Describe each of the research methods used in the study.
g. Identify the sample and the population.
h. Clearly summarize the results of the study.
i. Identify the specified and unspecified implications of the study.
j. Name the specified and unspecified limitations of the methodology used in the study.
k. As relevant, mention how the author relates the study to prior research on the topic.
l. Capture any additional information that makes the article helpful to your project.
11.
Methods Design Paper (2000-2500 words, 7-9 pages, double-spaced, 11- or 12-point font)
This assignment allows you to consider benefits and tradeoffs of multiple methodological approaches by
creating and contrasting three mini-research designs for your research topic.
Describe three separate ways you could investigate your topic. As different methods produce different
types of information, your research questions may differ across each approach. Your designs may
involve qualitative or quantitative methods and should include enough detail to be understood. That is,
if you are using questionnaires you do not have to list or write every item; however, you should list
scales or constructs, and perhaps provide an example item for each. Similarly if you will employ semistructured interviews you do not have to list every question but you should provide the topics that will
be covered.
We recommend keeping each research design relatively simple in order to compare across approaches.
For example, the best way to address your question may be a quasi-experimental, mixed-methods study
with multiple design elements; however, for this assignment you may break apart manageable
components of this design (e.g., quasi-experimental, pre-post questionnaire design for one method,
focus group interviews for another).
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The paper should include two parts. In Part 1, choose three approaches. For each approach include:
a.
b.
c.
d.
Your research question
The method(s) you will use to address this approach.
Details about these methods: scales, topics, purpose, rationale, etc.
Your target sample (who? How many? What type of person? What do you expect your
response rate will be and why?)
e. Advantages and disadvantages of this approach
In Part 2, compare and contrast your three approaches. How do the approaches compare? What are the
tradeoffs in choosing one over another? State which approach you would ultimately choose and why.
Instructor Policies that Apply in this Course
Communication:
Sending emails: Because of the short and intense nature of the course, we are setting up specific
guidelines for email communication.
 Pose questions of general interest and information via the “Course Questions” Blog on
Courseweb. Answers will be posted there. General questions sent via email will be reposted
and answered there also.
 Contact instructors by email only with questions of specific interest that cannot be shared with
the whole class.
 When emailing, please use your pitt.edu email address. You can email directly from the course
web site or from your username@pitt.edu email. Please be careful about this; Pitt has an
aggressive spam filtering system, and many students emailing from gmail accounts, etc., find
their emails do not reach faculty.
 Tell us who you are and help us figure out what you need: In the subject line, indicate the
course number. Be descriptive. To avoid confusion, please remember to sign your email with
your first and last name.
Telephone calls or office appointments: You may need to have a conversation about something in the
course. We will arrange either a telephone “office hours” or meetings on an as needed basis. Just email
one of us and let us know your available time/days. We will be glad to schedule a conference between 9
am and 5 pm Monday through Friday, at a mutually convenient time.
Attendance Policy:
Attendance is required at all scheduled classes. As a doctoral student, you are expected to be present,
to be on time, to be prepared for every class, and to remain for the duration of the class. In the event of
an emergency (emergency is defined as a crisis, tragedy, and/or disaster), please contact your
instructors by email to notify them that you will not be present in class. When you return to class,
please provide the instructors with documentation concerning your emergency.
There are no make up days or additions in the EdD program. Unexcused absences will require that you
drop out of the current cohort to join the next year’s cohort at the point in the program that you had
the unexcused absence.
Incomplete Grades:
For this course, an I-Grade will be granted only if the student has actively attended to the course
requirements but needs extended time to complete the required work to meet minimum expectations.
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Akiva, Gunzenhauser, Tananis
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If an Incomplete grade becomes necessary, the instructors will require you to propose a plan of action
outlining how you will complete the work within no more than one term from the end of the course
(and preferably a shorter period of time).
School of Education Policies that Apply to this Course
Grievance Procedures:
The purpose of grievance procedures is to ensure the rights and responsibilities of faculty and students
in their relationships with each other. When a student believes that a faculty member has not met his or
her obligations (as an instructor or in another capacity) as described in the Academic Integrity
Guidelines, the student should follow the procedure described in the Guidelines by (1) first trying to
resolve the matter with the faculty member directly; (2) then, if needed, attempting to resolve the
matter through conversations with the chair/associate chair of the department; (3) if needed, next
talking to the associate dean of the school; and (4) if needed, filing a written statement of charges with
the school-­­level academic integrity officer. [Dr. Jere Gallagher is the Associate Dean and Integrity
Officer.]
Academic Integrity:
Please see the policy on academic integrity as explained earlier in the syllabus.
Disability Services:
If you have a disability that requires special testing accommodations or other classroom modifications,
you need to notify both the instructor and Disability Resources and Services no later than the second
week of the term. You may be asked to provide documentation of your disability to determine the
appropriateness of accommodations. To notify Disability Resources and Services, call (412) 648-7890
(Voice or TTD) to schedule an appointment. The Disability Resources and Services office is located in 140
William Pitt Union on the Oakland campus.
Statement on Classroom Recording:
To ensure the free and open discussion of ideas, students may not record classroom lectures, discussion
and/or activities without the advance written permission of the instructor, and any such recording
properly approved in advance can be used solely for the student’s own private use.
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EDUC 3001: Fundamentals of Research
Akiva, Gunzenhauser, Tananis
EDUC 3001 Schedule
DATE
Saturday,
May 31
Between
orientation
and first
class
TOPIC
Orientation
 Overview of syllabus and
assignments
 APA
 IRB
 Academic integrity
 Library searches
 Reading and blogging
MCEWAN & MENTER
MCEWAN
ET AL.
OTHERS
Read:
complete
text
Read:
complete
text
Read:
Mertens,
Chapter 1
Review:
Chapters 1,
2
Review:
Chapters
1, 2, 3, 6
Review:
Mertens
Chapter 1
Review:
Chapters 3,
4, 5
Review:
Chapter
10
Review:
Rivera (action
research
dissertation
exemplar)
Review:
Chapters 6,
7, 8
Review:
Chapters
8, 9
Review:
Paredes
(evaluation
research
dissertation
exemplar)
 Introductions via bios/photos
Tuesday,
June 24
8am-5pm
Thursday,
June 26
8am-5pm
Saturday,
June 28
8am-5pm
Large Group:
 Recap of APA, IRB, Academic
integrity, library searches
 Practitioner Research
 Scholar/practitioner goals
Rotations:
 Literature Review & Annotations
 Research Design: Problems,
Questions, & Sampling
 Paradigms & Epistemologies
Large Group:
 Evaluating Research Studies
 Research to Practice
Rotations:
 Experiments & Quasi-Experiments
 Action Research
 Observational Methods
Large Group:
 Overview
Rotations:
 Interviews & Focus Groups
 Evaluation Research
 Correlational Research
Between
classes
Saturday,
July 12
1-5pm
Large Group:
 Overview, Journal/articles exercise
Rotations:
 Secondary Data Bases
 Survey Research
 Ethics
Review:
Chapters
4, 5, 7
Between
classes
Saturday,
August 2
9am-12pm
Large Group:
 Overview
Rotations:
 Case Studies
 Qualitative Analysis & Reporting
 Quantitative Analysis & Reporting
Read:
Chapters
11, 12, 13
ASSIGNMENTS







APA tutorial
IRB certification
Academic integrity/plagiarism tutorial
Library tutorials
Bio & photo posted
Blog discussions of readings
Scholar-practitioner goals statement
due Sunday, June 22
(11:59 pm via Courseweb)
 Topic statement due Monday, July 7
(11:59 pm via SWoRD)
 Peer review via SWoRD
 Locate practitioner journal, scholarly
journal, and two articles; have available
for class (along with your notes)
 Annotated bibliography due Friday, July
18
(11:59 pm via Courseweb)
Review:
 Methods design paper due Sunday,
Philadelphia
August 3
(case study
(11:59 pm via Courseweb)
dissertation
exemplar)