ILLINOIS STATE UNIVERSITY
EAF 508: APPLIED EDUCATION RESEARCH
FALL 2007
Phone: (309) 438-2051
Fax: (309) 438-8683
Email: jkrugut@ilstu.edu
Web page: http://people.coe.ilstu.edu/jkrugut/
Class Meets: Friday (5:30 - 9:20 p.m.) & Saturday (10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.)
Dates for class meeting: 8/24, 8/25, 9/7, 9/8, 9/14, 9/15, 9/21, 9/22, 9/28, 9/29, 10/06, 10/07
Required Texts:
(GW) Gravetter, F. J. & Wallnau L. B. (2006). Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth. (ISBN:-13: 9780495095200 or ISBN-10: 0495095206)
(Vogt) Vogt, W. P. (2007): Quantitative Research Methods for Professionals. Allyn & Bacon. ISBN: 0-205-35913-2
Recommended Texts:
Green, S. B., & Salkind, N. J. (2004): Using SPSS for Windows and Macintosh: Analyzing and Understanding Data (4th). Pearson Education, Inc. ISBN: 0-13-146597
American Psychological Association. (2000). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
ISBN 13: 978-1-55798-791-4
Gravetter, F. J. & Forzano, Lori-Ann, B. (2006). Research Methods for the Behavioral Sciences. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth. (ISBN: 0-534-55811-9)
Hinkle, D. E., Wiersma, W., Jurs, S. G. (2003). Applied statistics for the behavioral sciences (fifth ed). Haughton Mifflin. ISBN: 0-618-12405-5
Additional required readings and assignments will be available through WebCT.
Please click here for a pdf version of the course syllabus.
| Home | Course Objectives | Course Requirements | Grading | Content Outline |ISU Policies |
The purpose of this course is to prepare educational practitioners to use key concepts and methods of quantitative (main focus) and qualitative educational research to carry out strategic data-driven inquiry for school improvement. Specifically, the purpose is to present technical and analytical tools needed to assess school district and unit performance and to conduct research on educational problems and issues. Using recent texts focused on data use and data-driven decision making in schools, web/internet resources, and the instructor’s resources, participants will learn about different ways of measuring educational and school processes, as well as strategies for conducting data-based inquiries within their own institutions. Specifically, as a result of participating in this course, students will learn how to:
1. Use quantitative (main focus) and qualitative data to assess how well their schools are meeting goals and standards;
2. Use statistics and graphic data displays to describe student achievement levels and other variables;
3. Use statistics to examine differences between and among groups;
4. Use statistics to examine relationships between variables;
5. Report and display data in ways that are understandable to parents, teachers, and students;
6. Perform basic statistical analyses and data displays using SPSS (a statistical analysis program).
Students will develop these skills through reading assignments, lectures, class discussions, in-class activities, and assigned projects.
1. Participate in all class activities, complete all assigned readings, and be prepared to discuss them in class;
2. Complete the assignments by the due dates;
3. Complete a final paper and deliver presentation of the paper (may be in-class or through WebCT).
Note: The completion of the above assignments and the final research report can also be used to meet the requirement for your superintendent certification. You will need to upload your final report to the appropriate WebCT certification site.
The following point allocation will be used to determine final grades for the class:
1. Class participation/attendance 5 points
2. Assignments 1-2 20 points
3. Midterm 25 points
3. Final Project 20 points
4. Presentation of Final Project 5 points
5. Final Exam 25 points
Class Participation /Attendance. Attendance and active participation in class is very important and will be part of your grade. Note that work on data analysis using computers will be primarily an in-class activity, so attendance is particularly crucial. Being sick will not count as an absence. You will receive a maximum of 5 points for class participation and attendance.
Assignments. Assignments 1-2 are worth 10 points a piece for a maximum of 20 points. Handing in a well thought out and well written assignment on the due date is worth 10 points. Assignments turned in late will receive half-credit of 5 points if well done. A high-quality final paper submitted on time will receive 20 points. Final papers turned in one day late will receive a maximum of 15 points and final papers turned in more than one day late will receive half-credit, or a maximum of 10 points. A well-done final presentation of your research paper will receive 5 points. Students who do not present their results in class or through WebCT will not receive credit for the presentation.
Letter grades will be assigned in accordance with the following scheme:
Points Letter
Grade
90-100 A (Exceptional Performance)
80-89
B (Above Average Performance)
70-79
C (Average Performance)
60-69
D (Below Average Performance)
0-59 F (Failing)
"Written or other work a student submits in a course must be the product of his/her own efforts: plagiarism, cheating, or other forms of academic dishonesty are prohibited." Cases of suspected copying, cheating, or plagiarism are referred to Student Dispute Office for a University hearing.
Course Delivery
This course will be presented using a variety of delivery systems: The class can combine lecture, discussion, and student presentation, interactive TV and through the Internet (WebCT), Elluminate.
Required Texts:
(GW) Gravetter, F. J. & Wallnau L. B. (2006). Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth. (ISBN:-13: 9780495095200 or ISBN-10: 0495095206)
(Vogt) Vogt, W. P. (2007): Quantitative Research Methods for Professionals. Allyn & Bacon. ISBN: 0-205-35913-2
Topical/Content Outline...Subject to Change
The instructor reserves the right to make changes to the course syllabus as necessary.
It is the student's responsibility to keep up with changes to the syllabus
|
Week |
Date |
Topic |
Assignment |
Chapter |
|
1 |
08/24 |
Introduction and Descriptive Statistics Research Design, Measurement, and Analysis |
|
GW, Ch1* Vogt, Ch1** |
|
1 |
08/25 |
Frequency Distributions Variables and relationships among them Uses of descriptive statistics Samples and Sampling Procedures |
|
GW, Ch2 Vogt, Ch3, 4
Other |
|
2 |
09/07 |
Central Tendency & Measures of Variability Variables and relationships among them Uses of descriptive statistics |
Assignment #1 |
GW, Ch3, 4 Vogt, Ch3, 4 |
|
2 |
09/08 |
Normal Distribution—Standard Distributions Survey and Sampling Survey Research Design |
|
GW, Ch5 Vogt, Ch5 Other |
|
3 |
09/14 |
Probability and Standard Distributions Statistical Inference Correlational Research Design |
|
GW, 6 Vogt, Ch8 |
|
3 |
09/15 |
Midterm Examination!!! |
-- |
---- |
|
4 |
09/21 |
The Distribution of Sample Means Inferences about Means and Mean Differences Standard Deviation and Correlation Causal Comparative Research Design |
|
GW, Ch7, 8 Vogt, Ch2 |
|
4 |
09/22 |
Introduction to the t Statistic Hypothesis Tests with Two Independent Samples |
Assignment #2 |
GW, Ch9, 10 |
|
5 |
09/28 |
Hypothesis Tests with Related Samples Introduction to Analysis of Variance Experimental Research Design |
|
GW, Ch11, 13
|
|
5 |
09/29 |
Correlation and Introduction to Regression Regression Analysis Single-Subject Research Design |
|
GW, Ch16, Vogt, Ch9, 10, 17 |
|
6 |
10/06 |
Ordinal and Nominal Procedures (Non-Parametric Statistics: Chi-square Distributions) Methods for Categorical Variables: Contingency Tables
|
Project Presentation |
GW, Ch17 Vogt, Ch11 (pp. 191-197)
|
|
6 |
10/07 |
Final Examination |
Final Project Due |
---- |
Note: * Research Methods for the Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences (Gravetter, F. J. & Wallnau, L. B.)
** Quantitative Research Methods for Professionals (W. Paul, Vogt)
| Home | Course Objectives | Course Requirements | Grading | Content Outline |ISU Policies |