Faculty Contact Information:
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mcoleman@faculty.ed.umuc.edu
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Consultation:
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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.). Upper Saddle River NJ: 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
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Supplementary Readings:
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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.
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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.
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Course Description:
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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.
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Course Goals:
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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:
Participate in classroom discussions 10%
Write graduate level papers or case studies 30%
Orally/visually present prepared material 20%
Complete one or more written examination(s) 40%
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Description of Course Requirements:
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. Most 14-week graduate distance education courses require at
least 10 hours per week of dedicated time, plus time spent in the virtual classroom.
Participate in classroom discussions: You are expected to log in regularly (3 to 4 times a week) and be 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. Plan on committing approximately 150 hours over the duration of this course to producing professional level deliverables. For this class, each
student will prepare a research proposal.
Research Proposal:
Each student will write a research proposal. It will be a proposal for a future project; therefore, there will not be any actual data collection. The proposal will be between 12 and 15 pages long and will follow APA style. Assignments pertaining to the final proposal will be made throughout the term in order for students to obtain feedback from the instructor and peers. Additional information on the content and format of the proposal will be posted early in the term.
Orally/visually present prepared material: You are required to present your research in a professional manner. In a DE class, this means creating a visual/textual presentation for your instructor and classmates. There will be two assignments that require visual presentation: class briefing on published findings that pertain to a professional issue in a professional setting and a poster presentation on the research proposal.
Class Briefing:
Professionals are often called upon to review published findings and make recommendations for application in a professional setting. The purpose of the briefing is to give students an opportunity to analyze, interpret, and apply published findings to a problem in a professional setting. Students will prepare a brief summary of research findings along with recommendations and present them in study groups. Classmates will then ask the student presenter questions about the research findings and recommendations. Additional
information on content and format will be posted during the term.
Poster Presentation on Research Proposal:
Research is often conducted in a collaborative manner with peers providing constructive feedback on proposed research projects. Each student will present a condensed form of his/her research proposal to the class for discussion. Additional information on the content and format of the poster presentation during the term.
Complete one or more written examination(s): The examination process in this class will assist you in developing the writing and critical thinking skills necessary to successfully passing the comprehensive exam required of all graduate students. There will be two scheduled online exams: a midterm during week 7 and a final during week 14.
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Course Schedule:
1 What is Research? What is Evaluation?
Leedy Ch. 1 and Weiss Ch. 1
2 Tools of Research and the Development of Measures
Leedy Ch. 2 and Weiss Ch. 6
3 The Research Problem
Leedy Ch. 3
4 Literature Reviews
Leedy Ch. 4
5 Research Project Planning and Data Collection
Leedy Ch. 5 and Weiss Ch. 7
6 Writing a Research Proposal and Preparing a Research Report
Leedy Ch. 6 and 12
7 Qualitative Research
Leedy Ch. 7 and Weiss Ch. 11
ONLINE SCHEDULED MIDTERM EXAM (48 hours on Monday and Tuesday)
8 AUG 1 - AUG 20 BREAK
9 CLASS BRIEFING PRESENTATIONS
10 Historical and Descriptive Research
Leedy Chs. 8 and 9
11 Designing Program Evaluation
Weiss Ch. 8 and 10
12 Randomization and Experimental and Ex Post Facto Designs
Leedy Ch. 10 and Weiss Ch. 9
13 Analyzing and Interpreting Data
Leedy Ch. 11 and Weiss Ch. 12
14 POSTER PRESENTATIONS ON RESEARCH PROPOSALS
15 SCHEDULED ONLINE FINAL (48 hours on Monday and Tuesday)
RESEARCH PROPOSAL DUE
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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.
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Faculty Bio:
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My educational background includes a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Hahnemann University and a Master's in Public Policy from the University of Chicago. I completed an APA-Approved clinical psychology internship at Tulane University in New Orleans. I specialize in the assessment and treatment of emotional, learning, and behavioral problems in children and adolescents. My research interests include the educational needs of youth living in foster care and the factors that contribute to the decision to graduate from high school. In addition, I am interested in the cost-effectiveness of programs for children. I have been an Assistant Professor for a program that trained master's and doctoral-level clinical psychology students and was a faculty mentor for a distance education institution. I have been with the University of Maryland University College since March 2003.
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