http://carbon.cudenver.edu/~mryder/5990.html
IT 5990: Research in Information and Learning Technologies
Information and
Instructor: Martin Ryder (www.cudenver.edu/~mryder/martin.html)
E-mail:
martin_ryder@ceo.cudenver.edu
Course
Description.
ILT 5990 is a survey of research methods applied to the field of information
and learning technologies in settings such as a library media center, a
corporate training environment, a business, technical or industrial learning
organization, a networked learning community, or a classroom. Students are
introduced to a range of research genres to gain an overview of qualitative
methodology, it's historical roots, and the importance
and role of theory in framing research. We will investigate qualitative
approaches to research including ethnography, case studies, action research,
learning histories, phenomenology, grounded theory, and activity theory. We
will also investigate survey research methods and other quantitative techniques
that can uncover relevant data for analysis.
This course is not an
attempt to prepare you fully in the use of any particular research method. Our
goal is to make you aware of established research methods, how they work, and
the sorts of issues they might address.
In discussions and readings
we will examine the theoretical underpinnings of subjective vs. objective
research and we will consider the merits of qualitative vs. quantitative
methods toward improving a professional practice or for examining technology
adoption and use.
A major aspect of this
course will involve the practice of doing research.
Your primary assignment will
consist of a research project that is based on an appropriately selected
research genre. You will conceptualize, design, and ground your field study in
the literature associated with that genre.
You will identify an
authentic problem (ideally selected from within your own practice) which
involves some aspect of information and learning technologies. The goal of the
study would be to advance the inquiry that gave rise to the initial problem in
order to inform your professional practice or improve the conditions that led
to the problem.
You will undertake the
process of research, conducting a literature search (where appropriate) and
preparing a conceptual framework in order to bring the problem clearly into
focus. You will propose an appropriate method of investigation, explaining the
research methodology you intend to employ, explaining how you will go about the
study, describing the nature of the data you intend to collect, explaining how
you intend to analyze that data, and suggesting what further actions might be
involved.
Finally, you will learn to
craft a summary your research in a logical and persuasive fashion so that the
practitioner community might benefit from the actual work you have undertaken.
Your personal goal should be to publish or to present your findings to a
professional association such as the AERA, AECT, ISPI, ASTD or other
professional group for peer review and recognition. It may be more appropriate
to present your findings as a white paper for dissemination within your own
company or school. At a minimum, you should expect to place your work on the World
Wide Web for public access by a virtual community of practitioners who might
have similar interests related to your project.
Course
Objectives.
Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:
Summarize established
theories of knowledge that underlie the dominant research paradigms in ILT.
Distinguish between
qualitative and quantitative research methods in the social and behavioral
sciences.
Contrast the basic
assumptions between post-positivist and interpretive schools of research on
questions of subjectivity and objectivity.
Address the notion of agency
in research activities identifying the subject and object of research.
Describe some common
qualitative research methodologies including ethnography, case studies,
interviews, focus groups, and historical research.
Identify inductive,
deductive, and abductive research methodologies.
Explain the approach
attempted in grounded theory research.
Describe the process of
participatory action research, focusing particularly on the roles of the partipants.
Suggest methods of data
validation in qualitative research.
Read, interpret, and
evaluate published research literature in information and learning
technologies.
Reflect on a situation in
your own professional practice which might lead to formal research: (a) analyze
the activity system and (b) think about questions you have about it and how you
might study the system to address those questions.
Based on your analysis and
reflection, create a plan for conducting a study.
Describe ethical
considerations that a researcher might take into account in the planning stages
of a research project.
Conduct some aspect of the
research plan that can be accomplished within constraints of time, resources,
and access to information.
Collect and analyze data
using one or more of the qualitative methods introduced in this course.
Write up findings into a
logical and persuasive project report.
Collaborate with others and
provide feedback on their research activities.
Commit to adopting a
disciplined research stance in your professional practice.
Instructional Strategies
Class sessions will employ a combination of the strategies listed below.
Distributed
Lectures.
An important knowledge component of this course is a survey of research
methodology in the Social Sciences and Education. This unit will take the form
of a seminar in which responsibility for the course content is distributed
among all participants. Individuals will each own a small piece of an overall
structure which outlines contemporary theories of knowledge and research
methodologies.
Small
group activities.
Over the next few weeks, much of our work will take the form of small-group
consultations. This approach will take a more dominant form during the latter
weeks of the course as students collaborate and consult with peers in the
context of project work.
Individual
research and writing. You will be asked to complete individual tasks throughout the
term. You will conduct literature and resource reviews on the Web and in the
library. You will complete steps in the research process and submit work
products. This may be in concert with other students, or on your own project.
Large
group discussions.
You will read papers on key issues and review published research in various
genres. Since published examples will be numerous, the task of covering this
material will be distributed throughout the class. Individuals will be asked to
review specific examples of research from published work, and summarize this
material for the benefit of all class memebers.
The Role
of Instructor.
This is a research seminar in which the students are the active participants.
The instructor will not be passive, but his goal will be to share the control
of learning activities with all class participants. Students are encouraged to
use the instructor for frequent consulting during the course of your research
activity. Collaborative involvement with other students will also be
encouraged.
Class Requirements
Early written assignments
will involve preparatory aids to benefit the whole class in preparation for the
mid-term exam. These will include definitions and short expository
contributions to the theoretical foundation of research. (10 points) This work
should be prepared for publication to the entire class. Assignments will be
posted to the Research class conference in CEO.
Tentative
project proposal (10 points). This is an informal document that will be submitted
to the instrucor in stages. The planning stages of a
serious research project cannot be evaluated as a single assignment. This is a
dialectical process which involves iterative cycles of planning, drafting,
consulting, negotiating, and revising. This process should begin as early as
the fourth week and conclude no later than the eighth week. The proposal will
include:
A
description of the context of the research activity.
A
conceptual framework describing the phenomenon under study.
A
description of the research methodology to be employed in the project.
In evaluating the
appropriateness of your proposal, you should ask:
Is it an authentic issue
involving ILT or some other aspect of your professional practice?
Is it a significant issue
that would attract the attention of other professionals besides yourself?
Does it employ one or more
of the qualitative research methods introduced in this class or in your own
readings?
It is a pragmatic plan which
takes into account the time and resource contraints
of this class?
In some cases, you may be
severely restricted in the type of data you are able to collect given your
timeframe and resources. Your research plan will need to reflect those
restrictions. In other words, plan your study in a way that allows you to
complete a meaningful project within the timelines of the term. This may
influence your choice of a research project, or may cause you to plan your
study in stages, continuing into the coming months. In these last cases, you
will submit for a grade only the part of the study completed during our term.
The midterm exam (30 points)
will be given the evening of the eighth session. The exam will cover objectives
1 through 8 stated above.
A revised
and formal project proposal. (10 points). This document
will be submitted to the entire class via the CEO Research Class Conference. It
will also involve an oral presentation in which you will present your ideas to
the class for collaborative input and peer review.
Review of published research
which illustrates a specific methodology (10 points). Like the definition and
expository assignment above, this assignment is intended to be presented to the
entire class and will be published in the CEO Research Class Conference. Ideally,
the published article you select will illustrate an example of the research
methodology you intend to employ in your own project.
Research
Presentation (10 pts). Prepare a web-based summary of your research project. Present a
succinct report of your research to the entire class using whatever media
(poster session, Powerpoint presentation, etc..) is appropriate.
Final Report (50 pts).
Submit a Final Report package containing:
An
abstract briefly describing the context, the research methodology, and the outcome.
An introductory narrative
which includes a description of the context surrounding the issue, a summary of
relevant literature which might offer a conceptual framework or other perspecives to help your readers understand the topic, and
a description of your chosen research methodology.
A detailed summary of your
field notes or other artifacts that comprise the sum total of your findings.
A
concluding section which pulls your findings together into a cogent summary and
which might suggest implications for action, including further research.
A bibliographic list of
references cited in your paper.
You should plan on making
your paper available in both hard copy and electronic form, preferably html.
Web documents enable you to share the fruits of your intellectual labor to a
virtual community of practitioners who care about your topic and the original
contributions you bring to the body of literature on that topic.
Class
Contribution (10 pts). Participate actively in class discussions and responses to readings.
Also, contribute substantially to the class resources available to everyone.
Incomplete grades will be
discouraged even considering the open-ended nature of authentic research
projects. If you stay on top of your project throughout the course, apprising
the instructor of the status and of any unavoidable delays, then it will be
reasonable to finish this class at the end of the session with full credit,
even if your project remains in development. Students who miss multiple
sessions and who show little progress from week to week bear the risk of a poor
or incomplete grade at the end of the term.
If you have special physical
or learning needs that should be accommodated, please discuss them with me soon
so that this class will be a rich and successful learning experience for you.
Required
Texts.
Jerry Willis (Iowa State Univ) has extended an
invitation for our class to preview and evaluate his in-press Introduction to
Qualitative Research in the Social Sciences, a book which is currently in
development and due to be published in 2001. A fundamental objective in this
course is for students to become familiar with the established modes of
research in Education and the Social Sciences. Prof Willis' book treats this
objective in a very readable and sensible fashion.
A special web site has been
prepared to augment the text for this class:
http://www.cudenver.edu/~mryder/itc/pract_res.html
This site includes a number
of articles pertaining to contemporary research issues in Education.
http://carbon.cudenver.edu/~mryder/itc/pract_res.html
Qualitative Research
This page contains links to
resources that explain the art of qualitative
educational research: critiques,
literature reviews, research design
methodologies and other articles. The
resource is intended as an aid to
educational practioners
as informed consumers of published research and as
active contributors to the body of
knowledge that informs emerging practices
involving information and learning
technologies (ILT). By no means an
exhustive index, this resource offers
a glimpse into the range of
qualitative research models and
methodologies that can be found in contexts
of ILT.