Research Seminar in Special Education

                                                           (081060051, Fall, 2002)

 

Instructor: Dr. Joy F. Xin

Phone: 256-4747          E-mail:Xin@rowan.edu

Office: Sp. Ed. Dept. Robinson

Office Hours: Thursday, 3:30- 4:30, or by appointment

 

Class Meetings

 Time: 4:30 - 7:00pm, Thursday

 Location:  Room 215, Wilson Hall

 

Course Description

This course will provide students an opportunity to identify a problem in their major field of study that is both worthy of investigation and practical within the time of limits of the two semester sequence. Each student will conduct an original research project that will result in the completion of the thesis required by the Master's degree program. Components of the research process will be reviewed as students prepare each section of the thesis.

 

Course Objectives

Upon completion of this course participants will be able to:

 

-       formulate a question worthy of study in the field of special education;

 

-       develop an hypotheses/hypothesis related to the research question;

 

-       review the literate related to their topic and critically analyze the adequacy of the research;

 

-       design a research study to address the identified question;

 

-       present a completed research proposal in both oral and written form.

 

Course Requirements

            There are four requirements for this course:

 

1.     Draft of Chapter 1 (Problem)  (due Oct.10)

2.     Draft of Chapter 2 (Literature review) (due Nov. 7)

3.     Preliminary draft of Chapter 3 (research design) (due Dec. 12)

 

The course grade will be determined by the amount and quality of the work completed.

 

Readings

            Cone, J & Foster, S. (1999), Dissertation and theses from start to finish. (2nd  edition.) American Psychological Association.

            Gall, M., Borg, W. & Gall, J. (1996) Educational research: An introduction. (6th edition.)

Longman, NY: White Plains.

 

 

Course Outline

 

Date                                        Topic                                             Assignment

 

9/5                             Introduction & overview

 

9/12                           Research problem/research model              Ch. 1,2,3,4, 6

 

9/19                           Individual meetings

 

9/26                          Researching the literature & review            Ch.7

 

10/3                          Individual meetings

 

10/10                         Research design                                          Ch. 8, 9 (Ch.1 due)

 

10/17                        Individual meetings

 

10/24                        Individual meetings

 

10/31                         Individual meetings

 

11/7                          Individual meetings                                     Ch.2 due

 

11/ 14                       Individual meetings                                    

 

11/21                        Individual meetings

 

12/5                         Individual meetings

 

12/12                       Proposal presentation                                  Ch.3 due

 

12/19                     Individual meetings (as needed)