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Master'S Project Seminar: Inquiry, Designs, and Methods Education 409
Master'S Project Seminar: Inquiry, Designs, and Methods Education 409
Master'S Project Seminar: Inquiry, Designs, and Methods Education 409
Class Meeting: 6:00-9:00 p.m., Tuesdays, beginning June 26, July 3, 24, 31, and
August 7 and 14 through the quarter and during exam week, a 3
unit course—yet to be determined
Prerequisite Course and Status: 490 Research Methods; nearing completion of the higher
education master of arts program.
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leadership, and public policy” should provide a focus to the research project. Instructor
and students explore topics in group where faculty mentoring and peer advising and
feedback provide a stimulating and exciting seminar for exchange of ideas related to
inquiry, designs of study, and appropriate research methods. Students should expect to
understand the basics of inquiry and research, different types of research methods, and
produce an important research study which demonstrates their research skills. They will
design their own research project, with the approval of the instructor.
There are two typical approaches used in completing a master’s project. Historically, the
Higher Education Program has encouraged according to Professor Tom Savage: “a
curriculum project or a research project.” The curriculum project is focused on the
analysis of learning, instruction, outcomes assessment, and curricula, as well as their
implications for students, faculty, and institutions of higher learning. This project centers
“on an important need that has practical application. It should have application to a
broader setting than just one setting.” On the other hand, the research project is a more
traditional research based project. It involves developing a research question or problem,
and then collecting data through either qualitative or quantitative methods to answer it.
The summative work analyzes these data and discusses their implications. The research
project approximates a traditional master’s thesis.
Therefore, this course was created to enable master’s students to develop, design, and
formulate the appropriate method for their master’s project. It is the summative work of
the program. It is predicated upon the student’s earlier study of different research
methods in EDUC 490. Generally, students work on this project two quarters. (Students
may take EDUC 399 in a subsequent quarter to complete the requirement, usually for an
additional 3 units. All students taking this subsequent course will meet as a group in a
biweekly fashion.)
Before beginning the course, students should have a defined project and have substantive
knowledge of the subject proposed to study. This course is not a course where the
knowledge base related to the topic or problem can be gained. Rather, this course is a
summative inquiry course where exploration of the design of the proposed project is the
focus of study. This course is a combination of seminar time, research opportunities, and
individual conferences with the instructor. Thus, the seminar meets every other week
during the quarter. The first part of the class will focus on the readings for the night,
while the second part of the class will center on group discussion of individual student
projects.
Course Objectives:
This course will enable students to:
2. To ask critical inquiry questions which may lead to significant master’s project
topics.
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3. To understand the interrelationship between different components of the master’s
project, namely, topic/problem, literature review, method, data collection,
analysis, results, implications, and significance.
5. To discuss how they grew as researchers and explore the critical points in the
development of their project’s problem statement, literature, and research method.
Learning Aids:
4. To write the first three chapters of their master’s project—and assess their
development as researchers.
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Two chapters (classes 3 and 4). The first chapter should comprise four
parts: (1) a description of the problem statement (e.g., the college
presidency; faculty duties related to teaching, research, and service;
student admission in community colleges) and its history; (2) a significant
research question and several secondary questions about the topic--make
sure to introduce the "why" or theoretical question into these research
questions; (3) how each of these questions relates to the current research
related to the topic area.
4. Final presentation of all three chapters during examination week and how
they grew as researchers during the quarter (class 6).
Each student will develop a project consistent with the scholarship normally
expected of a graduate level student. This project will be written in a format
consistent with accepted writing format and style.
CLASS 1: Doing the Master’s Project: Either the Curriculum Project or the
Research Project
Required Reading:
Booth, Colomb, and Williams, pp. xi-109.
Seminar Discussion: What are good master’s project topics in higher education? How
are they different from questions and problems? What are the relationships between
problems and sources? What did you learn from analyzing the nature of inquiry?
Assignment: Turn in a draft of your first chapter—paper in class; email it also--it will be
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returned to you using Mircosoft track changes.
Required Readings:
Booth, Colomb, and Williams, pp. 114-182.
Murray Thomas, pp. 1-13.
Seminar Discussion: How can your literature help you make a good argument for your
project? What is a good master’s project literature review for higher education? How
did you structure your review? Where did you find the best research?
Assignment: Turn in the revision of your first chapter on the question; turn in four major
areas of literature and use at least one author's publication for each area.
Required Reading:
Booth, Colomb, and Williams, pp. 183-219.
Murray Thomas, pp. 17-31.
Seminar Discussion: What is a good master’s project design? How does the research
method relate to the topic and literature review? What should the analysis of the data
achieve? How difficult was it to grasp these interrelationships?
Assignment: Turn in draft of your second chapter on literature review in paper and
email.
Class 5: Review of the First Three Chapters—Getting the Design Right for the
Master’s Project
Required Reading:
Booth, Colomb, and Williams, pp. 222-238.
Murray Thomas, pp. 33-99.
Seminar Discussion: Let’s talk about methods—what is best for the problem to be
investigated? Why is fit so important? How do you know when you have a good match
between the research questions and the method?
Assignment: Turn in your revision of the second chapter; turn in your draft of the
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method chapter.
Discussion of all three chapters during examination week--turn in final revision of all
three chapters;
Be prepared to discuss Murray Thomas pp. 101-170 how can these models of blended
qualitative and quantitative methods offer you insights about different research methods
available to researchers—did you want to change your research method?;