EDUC 980 Research Concepts & Methodology

Required of all candidates in a School of Education doctoral program. Review of the candidate’s proposed dissertation research concepts and methodology under the supervision of a research consultant.

Prerequisites

Under the direction of the methodologist, the doctoral candidate will complete his or her dissertation prospectus with a specific focus on alignment among his or her research problem, question(s), design, and analysis. The final outcome of the course is a dissertation prospectus ready to be developed into a full dissertation proposal under the guidance of the candidate’s chair and committee member(s).

Textbook readings and lecture presentations

The Creswell and Poth (2018) textbook is used for this course and includes reviews of any readings necessary for the candidate to ensure competence with basic qualitative research. Additionally, the Saldaña (2021) text will be used as a supplement to the candidate’s primary design text for the qualitative data analysis and coding activities during this course and throughout the dissertation process. Finally, the methods text chosen by each candidate in EDUC 917 will be referenced as needed to ensure sufficient understanding of the chosen method is demonstrated in the prospectus.

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Discussions (5)

Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the candidate will complete the discussions in two parts. First, the candidate should post a new thread of 350-400 words in response to the provided discussion prompt. Then, the candidate should reply with 150-200 words to the specified number of classmates. (CLO: B)

Dissertation Committee Form Assignment

The candidate will complete the Dissertation Committee Form after creating his or her dissertation committee. After completing the form, the candidate will upload a screenshot to verify completion of the form.  (CLO: A)

Prospectus: Chapter 2 Assignment

The candidate will submit a well-developed draft of the second chapter of his/her prospectus. Using previous course work related to his/her topic, the candidate will address any previous instructor comments. (CLO: B, E)

Prospectus: Chapter 1 Assignment

The candidate will submit a well-developed draft of the first chapter of the prospectus, including all front matter found in the Qualitative Template. The candidate will revise and improve upon every section based on his/her work developed in previous courses and address all comments made by previous instructors. (CLO: C, E)

Prospectus: Chapter 3 Assignment

The candidate will submit a well-developed draft of the third chapter of the prospectus. The candidate will revise and improve upon all chapter sections developed in previous courses and address all comments made by previous instructors. (CLO: D, E)

Prospectus: Final Submission Assignment

The candidate will submit a well-developed draft of the entire prospectus, including front matter, references, and appropriate appendices. The candidate will address all comments regarding previous chapters made by the instructor. (CLO: E)

Quizzes (4)

Four quizzes will ensure a comprehensive understanding of the dissertation process, how to secure a dissertation chair/methodologist, plagiarism, and the Qualitative Dissertation Template. Each quiz will be open-book/open-notes, consist of 5 – 25 multiple-choice or true and false questions, and have either a 1-hour time limit or no time limit. (CLO: F)