Course Description
Theory and design of research problems in agricultural education; communication of research proposal and results of research; evaluation of current research of faculty and students; review of current research literature.
Athena Title
Research Methods in Ag Ed
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in ALDR 8200E
Semester Course Offered
Offered spring
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
1. Identify sources of knowledge that provide support for further investigation. 2. Apply the scientific approach. 3. Develop a problem statement for a research agenda. 4. Conduct a literature review for a research project. 5. Define a population and sampling procedure. 6. Distinguish among research designs and select the most appropriate methodology for their own research project. 7. Select appropriate social science measurement instruments and analysis for their research project. 8. Identify and counter threats to reliability and validity in research. 9. Critically analyze research studies published in referred journals. 10. Write a research proposal.
Topical Outline
Introduction to research A. Defining research B. Developing a problem sentence. Tools of Research A. Library B. Measurement scales C. Statistics Identifying and describing the research problem A. Defining variables B. Defining operational terms C. Developing the hypothesis D. Identifying a population Developing the review of the related literature A. Conducting a literature search B. The role of the literature review C. The theoretical framework Planning the research design A. Data collection B. Measurement instruments C. Validity D. Ethical issues Writing the research proposal A. Organization B. APA Format and style C. Clarity Qualitative research methodologies A. Qualitative designs B. Collecting qualitative data C. When to use a qualitative approach Historical Research A. Data sources B. Interpreting and evaluating historical research Descriptive research A. Descriptive designs B. Survey design and construction C. Choosing a sample Experimental and causal-comparative designs A. Importance of control B. Independent and dependent variables C. Experimental designs Statistical techniques for analyzing quantitative data. A. Descriptive statistics B. Inferential statistics C. Drawing conclusions from data Technical details- Style, format, and organization. A. APA style and format for data presentation B. Critiquing a research report C. Front and end matter Presentation of proposals Presentation of proposals Final thoughts, questions, and presentations.
Syllabus
Public CV