Faculty Contact Information:
Faculty: Dr. Bill Stewart
Email: bstewart@faculty.ed.umuc.edu
Address: HQ USEUCOM CMR 480, Box 669 APO AE 09128-0669
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Consultation:
Office hours: Contact anytime via email
Details of contact: Online availability daily during the week; expect response within 24 hours to queries, weekends and holidays excepted.
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Required Texts and Readings:
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American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association, (5th ed.). Washington DC: Author
*Babbie, Earl. (2007). The Practice of Social Research (11th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson-Wadsworth Inc.
*Leedy, P.D. & Ormrod, J.E. (2005). Practical Research: Planning & design (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
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 |
*The Leedy text will also be required for PUAD 704 (Professional/Research paper). Students are strongly urged to consult the Babbie text in this course as well. | |
Supplementary Readings:
| All graduate students should be prepared to utilize the UMUC online library at www.ed.umuc.edu/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:
| 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: None. 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:
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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.
In this course we will investigate:
1. Claims of Validity and Reliability.
2. Data Collection Techniques.
3. Data Management and Presentation Techniques.
4. Qualitative and Quantitative Methods for Evaluation.
5. The Elements of Research Design.
6. The Fundamentals of Research Execution. | |
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% and above
B 80 up to 90%
C 70 up to 80%
F Below 70%
Please note that Bowie State University does not use "D" for graduate students. The grade F 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, you are evaluated on:
Participation in class discussions . . . 10%
Midterm examination . . . . . . . . . . .25%
Methodology forum presentation . . . . . 15%
Written research proposal . . . . . . . 25%
Final examination . . . . . . . . . . . .25%
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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; such a work load is easily equivalent to a half-time job. Most 12-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 be prepared to and actively engage in all discussions, as scheduled, in a professional and informed manner.
Write graduate level papers: You are required to conduct professional-level research, including appropriately citing works of others and avoiding plagiarism. For this class, each student will prepare a formal research proposal that may well be expanded upon later in professional paper/project classes that are part of the UMUC/Bowie State University masters programs.
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 approximately 12 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 communicated early in the term.
Orally/visually present prepared material: You are required to present your research in a professional manner. This means creating a visual/textual presentation for your instructor and classmates in the online environment. The methodology forum presentation will require such a presentation: a class briefing and discussion on the student's proposed research design for the research proposal.
Methodology Forum Presentation: Professionals are often called upon to review published findings and make recommendations for application in a professional setting. The purpose of the forum presentation and discussion is to give students an opportunity to report and provide constructive criticism on research design proposals. Students will prepare a brief summary of their own proposed research methodology and present them for instructor and peer review. Classmates will then have the opportunity to question the student presenter about the research design. Additional information on content and format will be made available during the term.
Complete two 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. A midterm and final exam are scheduled. | |
Course Schedule:
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This schedule presents a 10 week program of study for the class offered via distance education.
Week 1
Unit 1: Inquiry & Fundamentals
Week 2
Inquiry & Fundamentals (cont.)
Week 3
Unit 3: Modes of operation & Qualitative Methods
Week 4
Modes of operation & Qualitative Methods (cont.)
Week 5
Unit 3: Modes of operation & Qualitative Methods
Week 6
Midterm exam
-Term Break-
Week 7
Modes of operation & Qualitative Methods (cont.)
Week 8
Modes of operation & Qualitative Methods (cont.)
Week 9
Unit 4: Data Analysis: Qualitative, Quantitative, & Statistical Methods
Week 10
Data Analysis: Qualitative, Quantitative, & Statistical Methods (cont.)
Week 11
Unit 5: Preparing the Research Report
Week 12
Final exam
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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. | |
Faculty Bio:
William G. Stewart, Ph.D., Collegiate Professor of Public Administration.
Dr. Bill Stewart completed the Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership at the University of Oklahoma, writing a dissertation on perceptions of leadership and management in the Armed Forces of the United States. He received the M.B.A. from the University of South Dakota and the B.A. in International Relations and German from Brigham Young University. He joined the University of Maryland University College-Europe faculty in 1990, after retiring from the U.S. Air Force with service in ICBM operations, as a pilot, and in international politico-military affairs for Germany and the United Kingdom. | |