Research methodology courses and descriptions

Listed below are the titles of courses deemed appropriate for meeting the research methodology requirement for the Ph.D. in education, curriculum, and instruction. Most of the courses are offered within the College of Education and Human Development, but relevant research offerings available in other departments are also listed. The courses appear in four categories: quantitative methodology, qualitative methodology, combined methods, and discipline specific courses.

Courses offered in the College of Education and Human Development appear first in each category. All courses are to be selected in consultation with the adviser.

Quantitative methodology

For quantitative methods, students may take either EPSY 5261 and EPSY 5262 OR EPSY 8261 and EPSY 8262. Some emphasis areas may require one two-course sequence over the other.

• EPSY 5261—Introductory Statistical Methods
  (3.0 cr; prereq =5231, =5263)
  Application of statistical concepts/procedures. Graphs, numerical summaries. Normal distribution, correlation/regression analyses, probability, statistical inferences for one or two samples. Hypothesis tests, Chi-square tests. Conceptual understanding/application of statistics.
• EPSY 5262—Intermediate Statistical Methods
  (3.0 cr; prereq 5261 or equiv)
  Application of statistical concepts/procedures. Analysis of variance, covariance, multiple regression. Experimental design: completely randomized, block, split plot/repeated measures.
• EPSY 8261—Statistical Methods I: Probability and Inference
  (3.0 cr; prereq [5261 or equiv], grad student)
  Advanced theory, derivations of quantitative statistics. Descriptive statistics, probability, normal distribution. One-/two-sample hypothesis tests, confidence intervals. Chi square tests. One-way analysis of variance, follow up tests.
• EPSY 8262—Statistical Methods II: Regression and the General Linear Model
  (3.0 cr; prereq 8261 or equiv)
  Analysis of variance designs (two-/three-way), repeated measures, correlation, simple/multiple regression methods, non-parametric procedures, multivariate analyses.

Qualitative methodology

Within the qualitative methodology courses, students should not choose similar courses in different departments.

• CI 8147 - Critical Discourse Analysis in Educational Research
  (3.0 cr; Prereq-CI PhD student or #)
  This course is designed for doctoral students who are interested in critical discourse analysis (CDA) as theory and method in educational research. Students apply CDA methods to analysis of written, visual, and spoken texts in social settings such as schools, families, and communities.
• CI 8148—Conducting Qualitative Studies in Educational Contexts
  (3.0 cr; prereq CI MA or PhD student or #)
  Introduction to use of qualitative research methods. Ethnography, sociolinguistics, symbolic interactionism. Emphasizes observation.
• CI 8149—Qualitative Research: Coding, Analysis, Interpretation, and Writing
  (3.0 cr; prereq [8133, 8148, grad student, completion of a qualitative research study] or #; A-F only)
  How to code/analyze field notes. Individual/group interviews, multimedia using NUDIST NVivo software. Students interpret analyzed material and complete an article length document that includes a review of related research/methodology.
• EDPA 5056—Case Studies for Policy Research
  (3.0 cr; A-F only)
  Qualitative case study research methods and their applications to educational policy and practice. Emphasis on designing studies that employ open-ended interviewing as primary data collection technique.
• EDPA 5061—Ethnographic Research Methods
  (3.0 cr)
  Practice in aspects of field methodology below the level of full field study; detailed reading; analysis of studies in anthropology and education for methodological content.
• GWSS 5101—Feminist Approaches to Ethnography
  (3.0 cr)
  Preparation for feminist ethnographic research in the social sciences. Using recent works by feminist ethnographers, focus is on the methods, politics, and ethics, as well as gender, race, class, and cross-cultural issues pertaining to fieldwork.
• CI 8913—Interpretive Research
  (3.0 cr; prereq 8911; A-F only)
  Hermeneutic, ethnomethodological, and phenomenological research methodologies. Consideration of ethics, evaluation, and usefulness of interpretive research. Practice in conducting interpretive research in work, community, and family education.
• CI 8914—Critical Science Research
  (3.0 cr; prereq 8911)
  Origins, influences, characteristics, and central concepts; distinction between critical science and other action research; requisite skills and knowledge for conducting critical science research and using that knowledge in a project.

Combined methods

• EPSY 5243—Principles and Methods of Evaluation
  (3.0 cr)
  Introductory course in program evaluation; planning an evaluation study, collecting and analyzing information, reporting results; overview of the field of program evaluation.
• EPSY 5244—Survey Design, Sampling, and Implementation
  (3.0 cr; prereq [5221 or 5231 or 5261 or equiv], [CEHD grad student or MEd student])
  Survey methods, including mail, phone, and Web-based/e-mail surveys. Principles of measurement, constructing questions/forms, pilot testing, sampling, data analysis, reporting. Students develop a survey proposal and a draft survey, pilot the survey, and develop sampling/data analysis plans.
• EPSY 8215—Advanced Research Methodologies in Education
  (3.0 cr; prereq 5221, 5247, 8261, 8262, #)
  Quantitative research methods, including models of scientific inquiry, role of theories/research design, role of measurement error in quantitative data-based inference, and qualitative methods of inquiry. Focuses on advanced quantitative/qualitative methodologies used in methodologically-oriented studies in educational measurement, evaluation, and stats.

Discipline specific courses

Some discipline-specific courses may count towards the required 6 credits in qualitative methodology. Pre-approval must be obtained. 

• COMM 5461—Conversation Analysis
  (3.0 cr; prereq Ling 3001 or Ling 5001)
  Discourse processes in dyadic and multiparty conversation. Application of concepts through analysis of conversations.
• COMM 5462—Field Research in Spoken Language
  (3.0 cr; prereq 5461, Ling 3001 or Ling 5001)
  Transcribing and analyzing verbal communication and movement related to it. Applying concepts to recorded conversations.
• COMM 8211—Critical Communication Studies: History, Theory, Method
  (3.0 cr)
  Qualitative research methods for studying media institutions, texts, audiences, and contexts.
• COMM 8406—Seminar: Language and Gender Research
  (3.0 cr; prereq 5406)
  Readings and research on current issues. Data collected to test hypotheses and apply theory.
• COMM 8502—Seminar: Communication Theory Construction
  (3.0 cr; prereq 5421 or #)
  Logic of communication theory development and modification from a social scientific perspective. Types of communication theories.
• COMM 8503—Historical and Descriptive Research in Speech-Communication
  (3.0 cr)
  Elements involved in conducting and analyzing historical and descriptive research; approaches to historical research, assessing primary and secondary sources; completing a major research project.
• LING 8531—Research Methods in Language Acquisition
  (3.0 cr; prereq [5001, 5505] or #)
  Based on review of published research, students design and carry out their own studies, writing/presenting research reports at end of term. Focuses on first or second language acquisition, or both, depending on instructor.
• EPSY 8694—Research in Special Education
  (3.0 cr)
  Design and implementation of research related to the unique developmental characteristics of exceptional learners.
• EPSY 8706—Single Case Designs in Intervention Research
  (3.0 cr)
  Design and analysis of single-case experiments to examine effects of interventions on individual behavior in school, home, and community.

Revised February 2008