ED 8510: Educational Research Methods Fall 2010 Instructor: Jean Turner Contact information: 647-3522; jean.turner@miis.edu OR jturner@miis.

edu Class Time Section A: Tuesday & Thursday, 2:00-4:00 Class Time Section B: Tuesday & Thursday, 4:00-6:00 Office hours: Tuesday 11:00-12:00; Wednesday 10:00-11:30; by appointment at other times. Classroom: B206 Educational Research Methods is designed to familiarize language teachers with the principles of research that are widely observed in statistical studies of language teaching and language learning. My primary goal as the instructor of the course is to help you become informed consumers of research and competent researchers, able to apply the concepts you learn to your own professional needs and goals. Research design and quantitative (statistical) methods are the focus of the course. The text for the course is a manuscript that Im in the process of finalizing with a publisher; Ill post the draft chapters on the course Moodle. If you wish to purchase a supplementary textbook, please consider Understanding research in second language learning: A teachers guide to statistics and research design (J. D. Brown, Cambridge University Press, 1988), Exploring second language classroom research (D. Nunan & K. Bailey, Heinle Cengage 2009), or the The Research Manual (Hatch & Lazaraton, Newbury House, 1991). (The Research Manual is an excellent reference for statistical research in our field, but unfortunately it is out of print. I received permission from the authors for you to make copies & placed a master copy at Copy King, which is located at the corner of Calle Principal and Jefferson Street. Just let them know that you want a copy and theyll make one from the master). Copies of Browns and Hatch & Lazaratons texts will be on reserve in the library. Nunan and Baileys text is in the library, but not on reserve for this class. You must have (and bring to class) a calculator which computes square roots (Ive noticed calculators at Staples, Walgreens, and Office Depot which would serve our purposes & cost less than $8.00.) Reading assignments should be completed prior to class on the day they are due. Worksheets and practice problems will sometimes be assigned as homework. Please try to complete the homework before you come to class. Course grades are based on: 1. a midterm (25%); 2. problem sets, other homework, and participation (5%) ; 3. a critique of a published article (15%) 4. a final exam (25%); and 5. a proposal for an original research project (30%). The assignments Exams The midterm is a take-home exam; the final is an open-book exam completed in class. (Students who keep accurate notes and organize them in a way that is easily accessible to them tend to do better on open-book exams than those who dont). The grading scale for the exams is: 90%-100% = A, 80%-89% = B, 70%-79% = C, 60%-69% = D, and below 60% = F. Practice exams are available for both the midterm and final and will be reviewed in class.

Critique of a published article

Individually, each of you will write a critique an article that includes statistical analysis of data. You may choose one of the articles from the list I provide you, or you may review one that you choose yourself. (Please allow me to approve for this assignment any article that you choose which is not on the list.) You will receive details on this assignment later in the term and example crituques will be on reserve. Proposal Individually, you will prepare an original research proposal. (This proposal may be the basis for your Applied Linguistics Research project.) Drafts of various sections of the proposal are due for feedback at designated times. You will have the opportunity to describe and discuss your proposal in an informal presentation scheduled during the last class meetings of the term. The due date for the written proposals is indicated in the preliminary schedule that follows. Details on this assignment will be made available later in the term and example proposals will be on reserve. Preliminary Schedule Orientation to the course. What are the characteristics of good research? Read Chapter One What is a variable? What are variables possible job titles? Read Chapter Two How are variables organized and measured? Read Chapter Threepart one How are data coded, described, and displayed? Read Chapter Threepart two What kinds of research designs are there & how are they classified? Read Chapter Four What are the parts of well-written research proposals and research reports? How are research questions written? Read Chapter Five DUE: Preliminary draft of your research question; be prepared to discuss your ideas. What is research study validity? Read Chapter Six What are test reliability and test validity? Why deal with these concerns now? Receive: Practice midterm Revisit research ideasvariables and research design. Review for midterm No classwork on midterm! Statistical logic & probability theory; Introduction to t-test.

Tuesday, 8/31

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DUE: Midterm Read Chapter Seven Tuesday, 10/12 t-tests (and statistical logic) Read Chapter Eight ANOVA (between groups design) Read Chapter Nine Continue discussion of ANOVA Introduction to SPSScomputer lab Correlations and simple regression Read Chapter Ten Due: Draft of the abstract & methods section of your research proposal. Continue discussion/practice of correlations & simple regression Chi square Read Chapter Eleven Computer analysis (correlations & chi square) Receive: Practice Final Critiquing a studysmall group discussions of the studies which you are critiquing Critiquing a studydiscussions of the studies your critiqued (and thoughts on how to avoid some of the problems you may have noticed!) DUE: Critique of an article Planning research (revisit your research proposalswhat about the analysis section? Review for final exam Final exam No class Discussion of research proposalsgeneral problem solving. Informal presentations on research proposals & course evaluations Informal presentations on research proposals & course evaluations Written research proposals due at or before 4 pm (my office)

Thursday, 10/14

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Thursday, 11/18 Tuesday, 11/23 Thursday, 11/25 Tuesday, 11/30 Thursday, 12/2 Tuesday, 12/7 Tuesday, 12/14