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COURSE SPECIFICS12
Instructor: Dr. Abhik Roy, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor in Education Psychology
Allen Hall, Room 507A
Abhik.Roy@mail.wvu.edu
Phone: (304) 293-8942

Format: Face-to-face
Credit Hours: 3
Class Meets: M 4:00 – 6:50 PM in Allen Hall, Room 612
August 15, 2018 – December 14, 2018
Office Hours: By appointment

Prerequisite: Any undergraduate or graduate level introductory statistics course

Course Description: Whatever your special area of expertise is, you need a
working knowledge of how research is conducted in your field. In practitioner-oriented
fields like education and counseling, research is often directed at developing and
understanding the impact various programs have on those who receive services, those
who provide services, and/or the larger context within which those programs operate.
This type of research, often called Program Evaluation, is rapidly gaining visibility and
prominence, especially as a basis for policy decision-making. In recent years, there has
been a definite trend toward integration of both quantitative and qualitative approaches to
research and evaluation. When this integration is done, it is most often called “mixed
methods” or “mixed methodological” research or evaluation.
There are many avenues to teaching mixed methods research. For this class, instruction
and some content will be delivered through the lens of program evaluation. However,
there is no expectation that you have had any experience in the field of evaluation,
academic or otherwise.
This course is designed to allow you to acquire an understanding of the choices available
for and processes involved in conducting mixed methodological research and evaluation.
We will work together to identify potential research questions and/or evaluation foci you
are interested in and for which mixed methodological approaches could usefully be
applied. We will read and discuss both examples of mixed methodological research and
writers discussing important issues to think about when doing mixed methods work.

1 I reserve the right to alter or amend this syllabus with notification.

2 Actually called Mixing Research Methodologies

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Course Materials: Most materials for this course are located on eCampus. From
this site, students may access the course syllabus, homework assignments, instructions,
and other material dedicated to the course. NOTE: You must have a PDF reader (e.g.
Adobe Acrobat Reader) and slide show presentation program (e.g. Microsoft Powerpoint)
with audio capabilities to listen to embedded audio comments in all PDFs and
slideshows, respectively. Please note it is incumbent on you to ensure that software
and/or hardware requirements are met.

Expected Learning Outcomes: This course has multiple student learning

objectives. Students will be expected to develop the following knowledge, skills, and
abilities, including but not limited to:
• writing intelligently about conceptual foundations of qualitative, quantitative,
and mixed methodological approaches to research,
• demonstrating knowledge of basic models and principles of program
evaluation in education and counseling contexts,
• writing research and evaluation questions appropriate for mixed
methodological study,
• demonstrating knowledge of design options for mixed methodological
research and evaluation studies, and
• independently discussing mixed methodological approaches to analyzing data
that integrate qualitative and quantitative components.

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 Required Texts:
Plano-Clark, V. L. & Creswell, J. W. (Eds.). (2008). The
mixed methods reader. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Publications.
ISBN: 978-1412951456

Mertens, D. M. (2018). Mixed methods design in evaluation.

Los Angeles: SAGE.

ISBN: 978-1506330655

Publication manual of the American Psychological

Association (6th ed.). (2010). Washington, DC: American
Psychological Association.

ISBN: 978-1433805615

Course Requirements: Final grades will be based on the evaluation of:

• discussions;
• assessments of progress;
• homework assignments;
• and a written proposal (research or evaluation).
Instructions for all assignments are on eCampus. All assignments must strictly follow the
format specified by the APA 6th Edition. All assignments must be submitted via eCampus
no later than 11:59 pm on the day that they are due.

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On-site Classroom Meetings (25 percent): I will construct talking points for a
variety of purposes including discussing general course questions / logistics, readings,
assignments, etc. You will need to participate actively on each week. The eCampus site
will include an assignments section organized by week. Each week, I will post a
description of everything you should complete for that week, including any submissions
by you, readings, and assignments as applicable.
Participation on-site will constitute 25% of your final grade.

Face to face Meetings (25 percent): Barring some dates and after week 4, you
will need meet with me on the weeks we do not meet in class. Individual meetings will
occur to discuss your understanding, questions, and challenges with the readings,
upcoming assignments, etc. Note that you will be evaluated during those meeting, so it is
imperative that you come prepared and with questions as needed. A one-hour timeslot is
reserved but will not always be necessary.
Participation in these scheduled meetings will constitute 25% of your final grade.

Paper 1 - Research/Evaluation Questions and Design Ideas (5-10

pages; 25 percent): This assignment will be due at on week 6 after we have
discussed foundational material, including a) quantitative and qualitative approaches to
research, b) basic models and principles of program evaluation, c) writing research and
evaluation questions, and d) design options for mixed methodological work. This
assignment has two components:
1. Brainstorming research and evaluation questions:
Provide a listing of research and/or evaluation topics and questions you might be
interested in pursuing at some point in your career. These do not all have to be
“good” questions, this is a brainstorm, but they should all be things you think you
might be interested in. Simply write a list of topics and questions to complete this
component. You will select one as the basis for the second component of this
assignment.

2. Discussing research and evaluation design options for selected

question/topic:
Select one of the items from your brainstorm that you think would be appropriate
for mixed methodological research and/or evaluation. Briefly describe a mixed
methods research or evaluation design you think might be appropriate for
collecting both qualitative and quantitative data directed at the research question
or evaluation focus from your brainstorm item. Your discussion must include at
least the following elements

a. How does your design choice play out for your specific question / topic:
what quantitative measures might you use, how might you collect
qualitative data, who (and how many) might your participants be, what
will the timeline of when you collect different types of data look like, etc.?

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 b. How will quantitative and qualitative elements be integrated? What stages
of the research will involve “mixing”? Please use language from readings
(Greene, Carracelli, & Graham,1989, provide one set of terms, but other
sets of terms from the required text are equally acceptable) to describe
your mixed methods design.

c. Create a visual / graphic representation showing your design. Use the

Figures in the required text that precede each chapter in “Part II Exemplar
Research Studies” as a starting place for thinking about what this graphic
might be for your design.

d. Finally, discuss at least two alternative design options that you could
employ but that you do not think are as ideal as the choice you decided to
describe above.

This is a formal submission, so it should be written in an academic narrative form.

Please so not utilize a first-person writing style. Both of the components should be
typed into one document (preferably Microsoft Word) and attached to a post in the
discussion board AND submitted to the portal for this assignment. Your document
should be 5-10 pages double spaced, Times New Roman 12-point font.

This task will constitute 25% of your final grade.

Paper 2 - Culminating Paper (individually Negotiated, 15 – 25

pages; 25 percent): The focus and scope of this assignment will be individually
negotiated with the instructor for each student. In thinking about what you would like to
do this paper on, consider that it should a) be something that is useful for you in terms of
facilitating your learning and professional development, furthering your progress toward
a degree, or fulfilling some responsibility of your work outside of the university, and b)
allow you to demonstrate the degree to which you can meet the Expected Learning
Outcomes (listed earlier). One possibility (among many options) is for you to
conceptualize this as a draft of your thesis or dissertation proposal methodology (chapter
3) and incorporate mixing methodologies into that design with a thorough discussion of
why and how that mixing would be done.
All culminating papers must be typed into one document (preferably Microsoft
Word) and attached to a post in the discussion board AND submitted to the portal
for this assignment. Your document should be 15 – 25 pages double spaced in Times
New Roman 12-point font.
This assignment will constitute 25% of your final grade.

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 GENERAL COURSE INFORMATION

Late Assignments. Past due deliverables will only be accepted up to 24 hours after
the initial time and due date. When an assignment is late within the specified timeframe,
50% of the final grade will be deducted. All submissions must be made via eCampus
unless otherwise noted. There are no exceptions to this policy and it is strictly
enforced. Researchers and practitioners often work on very strict timelines either because
projects and/or reports are funded by agencies that expect individuals and/or teams to
meet deadlines. Missing goals on time can mean losing support or your job! Please note
that late submissions will not be accepted for Paper 2.

Missing Class. Please note that attendance will be taken every day we have class.
Students may choose to miss up to two class sessions for any reason. Any individual that
attends class after starting time but prior to one hour will be considered having missed ½
of a class. Students who attend after the one-hour threshold will be counted as absent but
may still earn in class points. If a participant must attend late or leave early, please inform
the instructor prior to 24 hours of the class time. Abuse of this policy will be assessed on
a case-by-case basis. If any student misses more than two class sessions, then the
maximum grade they may earn is reduced by a full letter. Please note that in-class
points vary by session and by missing class, you cannot earn those points regardless
of excuse.

eCampus Submissions. Note that there is no exception to the submission rule unless
there is an outage on eCampus. All faculty are notified of such incidents and it is a very
uncommon occurrence. Please provide yourself ample time to submit an assignment
should there be a problem. For example, if a submission is timestamped at 12:01, then it
is considered to be late. Again, there are no exceptions to this policy. Moreover,
submissions using any other method will not be accepted.

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Formatting .
I. Structure. Unless noted otherwise, all submissions must adhere to the following
formatting
a. Cover page
• 12-point Times New Roman font
• A (working) title in bold
• Your name underneath
• Top left justified
b. Main Body
• 12-point Times New Roman font
• Double spaced
• 1-inch margins
c. Supporting Pages/Documents
d. References (if applicable)

II. Naming. eCampus portal submissions must follow the proper configuration:

LastName_FirstName_CourseDeliverablesNumber.docx or .doc
(Microsoft Word formatting)

OR

LastName_FirstName_CourseDeliverablesNumber.pdf
(Adobe PDF formatting)

For example, the first paper (Paper1) would be submitted by me as

Roy_Abhik_Paper1.docx

OR

Roy_Abhik_Paper1.pdf
Restrictions. Any type of taping/streaming (audio, video, or otherwise) is strictly
prohibited without a written authorization, signed by both the student(s) requesting such
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access and the professor teaching the class. Additionally, no course material may be used
for personal or professional gains without written consent from the instructor.

Rubrics. While there are valid reasons for the utilization of a rubric in undergraduate
classes, at the graduate level, I do not provide nor use a such an item to guide or evaluate
your submission due to four primary concerns:
1. When writing a thesis, dissertation, journal article, report, etc., there is (typically)
no such document as a rubric.
2. If you write within the limitations as defined in a rubric, then creativity may be
stifled (i.e. writing to the rubric rather than constructing a product from the
ground up).
3. Feedback can only be given along the criteria listed within a rubric which limits
your learning as a student and constrains me as the instructor.
4. Unless you are in a very specific area, the real world does not use rubrics!

A Note about APA 6th Edition . If you have had a class with me before, then you
are aware that I am a stickler for products being in proper APA formatting. For most of
you, this formatting will be utilized throughout your academic tenure. One of the most
frustrating and time-consuming aspects of fixing any academic writing, especially at
during the thesis and/or dissertation phase(s) is having to correct APA errors. Please set
yourself up to do it correctly the first time! Most of what you need to know can be found
in the first five chapters.

Course Grading Scale

A B C D F

≥ 90% 80% - 89.9% 70% -79.9% 60% - 69.9% ≤ 59%

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 ADDITIONAL UNIVERSITY WIDE
INFORMATION

Academic Integrity
The integrity of the classes offered by any academic institution solidifies the foundation of
its mission and cannot be sacrificed to expediency, ignorance, or blatant fraud. Therefore,
I will enforce rigorous standards of academic integrity in all aspects and assignments of
this course. For the detailed policy of West Virginia University regarding the definitions
of acts considered to fall under academic dishonesty and possible ensuing sanctions, please
see the West Virginia University Academic Catalog at
http://catalog.wvu.edu/undergraduate/coursecreditstermsclassification/#academicintegrity
text. Should you have any questions about possibly improper research citations or
references, or any other activity that may be interpreted as an attempt at academic
dishonesty, please see me before the assignment is due to discuss the matter.

Inclusivity Statement
The West Virginia University community is committed to creating and fostering a positive
learning and working environment based on open communication, mutual respect, and
inclusion.
If you are a person with a disability and anticipate needing any type of accommodation in
order to participate in this class, please advise me and make appropriate arrangements with
the Office of Accessibility Services (293-6700).
For more information on West Virginia University's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
initiatives, please see http://diversity.wvu.edu

Incomplete Grades
Students who want be considered for an Incomplete must apply to their instructor prior to
the end of the term. If the instructor agrees, the instructor and the student must negotiate
the conditions under which the grade of I will be changed to a letter grade and sign a
contract. The date to submit the incomplete work should not be set beyond the last day of
class of the following semester. If the student does not complete the terms of contract, then
the instructor should submit a grade of F. All incomplete contracts must be filed with the
department and Dean’s Office. See the policy at
http://catalog.wvu.edu/undergraduate/enrollmentandregistration/#gradestext

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Sale of Course Materials
All course materials, including lectures, class notes, quizzes, exams, handouts,
presentations, and other materials provided to students for this course are protected
intellectual property. As such, the unauthorized purchase or sale of these materials may
result in disciplinary sanctions under the Campus Student Code.

Student Evaluation of Instruction (SEI)

Effective teaching is a primary mission of West Virginia University. Student evaluation of
instruction provides the university and the instructor with feedback about your experiences
in the course for review and course improvement. Your participation in the evaluation of
course instruction is both strongly encouraged and highly valued. Results are strictly
confidential, anonymous, and not available to the instructor until after final grades are
released by Admissions and Records. Information about how you can complete this
evaluation will be provided later.

University Attendance Policy

At West Virginia University, class attendance contributes significantly to academic
success. Students who attend classes regularly tend to earn higher grades and have higher
passing rates in courses. Excessive absences may jeopardize students' grades or even their
ability to continue in their courses. There is a strong correlation between regular class
attendance and academic success.

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Course Netiquette
The basic premise is that the etiquette expected of students in the online environment is the
same as that expected in a classroom. Common courtesy is the guiding rule of Internet
communications. Be prepared to communicate effectively when taking an online course.
Following these simple netiquette rules in your online class or education environment will
ensure your success:
• Include a professional salutation. In this case, “Hello Dr. Roy” or “Dear Dr. Roy”
is appropriate.
• Include a proper ending such as “Thank you” or “With regards.” Then type in your
full name.
• Never type in ALL CAPS, because it reads as if you ARE SHOUTING AT
PEOPLE.
• Act as professionally, via your writing, as you would in a face to face classroom.
• Refrain from inappropriate language and derogatory or personal attacks.
• Do not dominate any discussion. Give other students the opportunity to join in the
discussion.
• Disagree with ideas but avoid challenges that may be interpreted as a personal
attack.
• Check that you are replying to the specific person you intend, and not to the entire
class.
• Never give your password to another person.
• Respect the virtual classroom. Never forward in-class communications or posts by
others outside of this virtual space.
• Never spam your classmates.
• If you quote someone's previous post, only quote enough to make your point.
Be aware of the University’s Academic Integrity and Dishonesty Policy
http://catalog.wvu.edu/undergraduate/coursecreditstermsclassification/#academicintegrity
text. You can review the rules, regulations, and procedures concerning student conduct
and discipline for the main campus of West Virginia University, at
http://campuslife.wvu.edu/r/download/180235.

Feedback Response Time

I generally reply to email and discussion posts within 48 hours, except during holidays.
Often, I will reply much more quickly, but you should not count on a same-day reply.
Please plan accordingly so that you don’t miss deadlines! I generally return assignments
within one week of when a discussion or assignment closes. If you would like to get help
on an assignment ahead of the deadline, please email me! I’m happy to give preliminary
feedback or answer questions.

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Technical Requirements
Students need to have access to a computer for word processing, e-mail and access to
eCampus. Access to the Internet is necessary for completion of this course. Run the
Browser Check. This tool will check that you are using a supported Internet browser and
have a valid Java version installed. The required technical skills to participate in this course
are:
1. Navigate the web
2. Use email with attachments
3. Create and submit files in commonly used word processing program
formats
4. Copy and paste
5. Download and install software
6. Consult software tutorials and other online sources as a method of learning
software features

Technical Support
Technical support regarding your use of eCampus is available by contacting 304-293-
4444 (telephone), 1-877-327-9260 (toll free number), itshelp@mail.wvu.edu (email),
and/or http://it.wvu.edu (website).

Phone: (304) 293-4444

Toll Free: 1(877) 327-9260
Email: ITSHelp@mail.wvu.edu

Last Updated: 12/18/18

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