Overview
This core course addresses the subject of research design and data collection methods. It focuses on the tenets of sound research practice to allow students to make reasoned judgments about research they read or undertake and to understand the relationship between research and knowledge development in open, digital, and distance education.
On completion of MDDE 602, students will be able to evaluate project design, data collection, and data analyses common in academic and professional journals. Students who wish to complete a thesis will have foundational knowledge in research design and methods, including a decision-making framework for identifying research questions and choosing an appropriate research design. This course introduces students to how GenAI is currently being used in research and in academic publishing.
Outline
Module 1 Science, Social Science and the Construction of Knowledge
- Unit 1 History of Science and Research Methods
- Unit 2 Epistemology, Theory and Research
Module 2 Understanding Quantitative Data Collection and Analysis
- Unit 1 Creating A Research Design
- Unit 2 Quantitative Data Collection and Analysis
Module 3 Understanding Qualitative Data Collection and Analysis
- Unit 1 Qualitative Data Collection
- Unit 2 Analyzing Qualitative Data
Module 4 Engaging the Research Enterprise
- Unit 1 The Knowledge Base and Ethics in Research
- Unit 2 Dissemination and Politics of Research Findings
Learning outcomes
The goals of the course are to provide you with the following:
- Understanding the research process: It is the role of those with a graduate-level education to manage society’s knowledge base, such that it is an appropriate and useable entity to guide and shape human existence. The research process is the mechanism by which society’s knowledge base is developed and managed. Understanding the research process teaches students how new knowledge is generated and evaluated, and former knowledge is checked, replicated and reconstituted.
- Differentiating between small "r" and big "R" research: In this course, small ‘r’ research means research completed to develop and inform our individual knowledge and decisions. Small "r" research taps the collective knowledge base in order to develop our own! Big "R" research refers to adding to the collective knowledge held by society. Big “R" research starts with a comprehensive understanding of what society knows about a topic. Research is then designed to replicate, verify, or augment what is already known. This research may be descriptive, exploratory (in reference to possible relationships between concepts), or explanatory (testing the plausibility of cause and effect relationships between concepts). Graduate education focuses on big "R" research.
- Becoming an informed consumer: Students will understand the research process so they can analyse and evaluate research concepts, designs, and processes. For students who wish to be discerning ‘consumers’ of knowledge, this course is adequate. For students who wish to become researchers themselves, additional courses in specific research methods and research tools are required.
- Becoming critical thinkers: Learning about and informing research activity facilitates the development of well-reasoned arguments. Learning the process of identifying a sound research or project question requires exposure to and understanding of a rational, careful, and thorough thought process. In addition, identification of the research question must be made in reference to an already well-reasoned body of literature. Analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating current knowledge on an issue or question is a central part of the research design process.
Evaluation
Your grade will be based on three assignments and your participation in the course.
| Activity | Weight |
| Assignment 1: Analyzing Quantitative Data | 30% |
| Assignment 2: Analyzing Qualitative Data | 30% |
| Assignment 3: Research Article Critique | 30% |
| Conference participation | 10% |
| Total | 100% |
Materials
Digital course materials
Links to the following course materials will be made available in the course:
Neuman, W. L. (2011). Social research methods: Qualitative and quantitative approaches (7th ed.). Toronto: Pearson.
Physical course materials
The following course materials are included in a course package that will be shipped to your home prior to your course’s start date:
Statistics Without Tears: An Introduction for Non-Mathematicians 2018 Derek Rowntree
Other Materials
IBM SPSS® software, (Digital License Key).