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

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.

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 eight-week Term, that is the equivalent of a half-time job.

1.Participate in classroom discussions (10% of final grade)
You are expected to come to class prepared to engage in all discussions in a professional and informed manner. The “give & take” of the class discussion is a key learning experience and cannot be fully experienced unless the student regularly attends and contributes to the discussion. Unexcused absence/poor participation may negatively impact your grade.

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 assignmentunless an unusual circumstance has been recognized and allowed in writing by the instructor before theassignment is due Plan on committing approximately 150 hours over the duration of this course to producing professional level deliverables.

Expectations for Written Work
APA style should be followed including 12pt font, double-spacing, and one-inch margins. No elaborate bindings, a staple in the top left corner is sufficient. It is the instructor’s expectation that all writing will be of graduate level quality

2. Journal Article Reviews (15% of final grade)
Students will select two articles (1 predominantly qualitative; 1 predominantly quantitative) from academic journals to review. Students will choose articles of interest to them that also will be used in support of their research proposal. Students should be prepared to share their article reviews with the class. The purpose is to give students an opportunity to critique, analyze, interpret, and apply published findings to a problem in a professional setting. Students will prepare a brief summary of research findings from these two articles and present them in class study groups. Group participants will ask the presenter questions about the research findings, critiques, and recommendations. Guidelines for the article reviews and brief summaries will be provided in class.

3. Research Proposal (25% of final grade)
Students will prepare a research proposal as a part of this class. There are 3 parts to the proposal assignment, each of which is described briefly below. Handouts providing more detailed descriptions and guidelines for all 3 parts will be provided.

The three parts are:

Research Précis. The purpose of the research précis is to help you begin to organize your ideas about your research project and to enable you to receive feedback on what you are planning to do. Thoughtful consideration at this stage will increase the likelihood that the project will progress smoothly.

Literature Review. Students will construct an outline of their review of the literature relevant to their topic. Students will be expected to identify at least ten articles relevant to their particular research or evaluation topic. Additionally, students will summarize the 10 articles/citations identified.

Final Research Proposal. In the context of completing a proposal leading to carrying out the actual research, the purpose of the proposal is to ensure that you are progressing in a productive direction and maximizing the potential for success. Keep in mind that an actual project would also be reviewed by the Institutional Review Board before the researcher begins. The student will not be expected to carry out the research; therefore, the data, and data analysis sections will be absent. Instead, students will discuss methodology and results based on principles learned in this course.

Orally/visually present prepared material: You are required to present your research in a professional manner. In a face-to-face course, this typically means an oral presentation accompanied by appropriate visual material. In a DE class, this means creating a visual/textual presentation for your instructor and classmates.

4. Research Proposal Poster Session and Class Presentation (10% of final grade)
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 will be provided 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. The questions used for this course will either be taken directly from past comprehensive exams or written as though to be included on a comprehensive exam.

5. Midterm Examination(20% of final grade)

The mid-term will be distributed online on September 11 and will consist of all readings, handouts, and lectures to date.  Students must return midterm exam via email to mguindon@faculty.ed.umuc.edu within 48 hours and no later than midnight, September 13.

6. Final Examination (20% of final grade)
The final exam will fall on the Sunday of weekend four, and will consist of all readings, handouts, and lectures since the mid-term.

The course is scheduled over only three weekends from August 27-October 9.    NOTE:  There will be no class meeting on the weekend of September 10/11. You will be expected to use this weekend for completing class assignments and for online classroom discussions: You are expected to log in at prearranged times and to be prepared to engage in all discussions in a professional and informed manner. It is strongly suggested that you use the week before the September 11 conference to complete your research précis and begin work on your journal article review assignment and literature review.

FIRST WEEKEND: Saturday, August 27

1. Introduce ourselves, possible research interests

2. Review and clarification of syllabus

3. Clarification of goals, objectives and requirements

4. What is Research? What is Evaluation?

5. Tools of Research and the Development of Measures

6. Ethical Issues for the Evaluator

Assignments Due PLEASE READ BEFORE THE START OF CLASS:

Leedy Ch. 1, 2,Pp.101-104 \

Weiss Pp. 1-19, 20-45

Homework: Proposal Précis Guidelines

FIRST WEEKEND: Sunday, August 27

1. Tools of Research and the Development of Measures (cont)

2. The Research Problem

3. Literature Reviews

Assignments Due:

Leedy Ch. 3, 4

Weiss Ch. 6

HOMEWORK:
Literature Review Assignment

Journal Article Review Guidelines

Research Proposal Guidelines

Proposal Précis - Email to mguindon@faculty.ed.umuc.edu by Wednesday, September 7. Be prepared to discuss via WebBoard on September 11.

SECOND WEEKEND: NO FACE-TO-FACE CLASS.  WebBoard Conference – Sunday, September 11 - time TBA

1. Research Project Planning and Data Collection

2. Writing a Research Proposal and Preparing a Research Report

3. Elements of a final report

4. Discuss individual Précis online.

5. Take Midterm Exam. It will be posted online. You will have 48 hours to return to mguindon@faculty.ed.umuc.edu via email.

Assignments Due:

Leedy Ch. 5, 6 and 12

Weiss Ch. 7

THIRD WEEKEND: Saturday, September 24

1. Journal Article Reviews due

2. Qualitative Research

4. Methodology, Tools, Data Collection and Interpretation

Assignments Due:

Leedy, Ch. 7

Weiss, Ch. 11

HANDOUTS

THIRD WEEKEND: Sunday, September 25

1. Literature Reviews due

2. Qualitative Research: Historical

3. Quantitative Research: Descriptive Methods

4. Designing Program Evaluation

Assignments Due:

Leedy, Ch. 8, 9

Weiss, Ch.10

HANDOUTS

FOURTH WEEKEND: Saturday, October 8

1. Quantitative Research Methods: Experimental, Quasi-

    experimental and Ex Post Facto Designs

2. Statistical techniques in data analysis

3. Organization of the Research Report

Assignments Due:

Leedy, Ch. 10, 11

Homework:
Handouts

Prepare final proposal and presentation material

FOURTH WEEKEND: Sunday, October 9

1. Final Proposal due

2. Presentations of Proposals in Poster Session Conference

3.  Final Exam

4. Evaluations and Wrap up

Dr. Mary Guindon is a collegiate professor and holds a PhD in Counselor Education from the University of Virginia. She is currently on sabbatical from Johns Hopkins University where she is associate professor and chair of the Department of Counseling and Human Services. A licensed clinical professional counselor(in Md) and a licensed psychologist (in PA), she serves on the ACA Professional Publications Committee and is on the editorial board of NCDA's Career Development Quarterly. She is past president of NJMHCA and NJACES, past secretary of Maryland Association for Counseling and Development (MACD), and former district consultant for AMHCA. Most recently she served on the Maryland Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists as the higher education representative and state licensure consultant. Her areas of expertise are mental health and career development, self-esteem, and counselor accountability and training. She is also an organ1zational consultant and trainer.

"I'm thrilled to be teaching for the military community. I am a former wife and daughter of Army officers and spent a happy three years in Germany long ago and have fond memories of my time there."