EDF 5481 READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS
OVERVIEW 

 
GUIDE 1: INTRODUCTION
GUIDE 2: VARIABLES AND HYPOTHESES
GUIDE 3: RELIABILITY, VALIDITY, CAUSALITY, AND EXPERIMENTS
GUIDE 4: EXPERIMENTS & QUASI-EXPERIMENTS
GUIDE 5: A SURVEY RESEARCH PRIMER
GUIDE 6: FOCUS GROUP BASICS
GUIDE 7: LESS STRUCTURED METHODS
GUIDE 8: ARCHIVES AND DATABASES

EDF 5481 METHODS OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
FALL 2002

RESEARCH TOPIC STATEMENT
ASSIGNMENT 1

 
LINK TO RESEARCH PROBLEM EXAMPLES HERE
ASSIGNMENT PARAMETERS
SUBMITTING ASSIGNMENTS
HELPFUL HINTS

Your research topic statement is due:
 

BY SEPTEMBER 11 BY CLASS     NO EXCEPTIONS PLEASE
EARLY SUBMISSIONS MAY BE PLACED IN MY MAILBOX 307L STONE BUILDING

This exercise will give you experience in justifying a research topic, selecting variables,  and writing hypotheses.

Choose with love because passion for one's research topic fosters endurance.
 

For this assignment you will need to write:
  1. A general introductory paragraph that introduces your topic. The introductory paragraph will also state why your topic is important to study.
  2. To identify a key conceptual dependent variable (s)   [NO MORE THAN 3].
  3. To identify key conceptual explanatory or independent variables [NO MORE THAN 5].
  4. Two  conceptual hypotheses that link your independent variables to your dependent variable.
To complete these tasks should probably cover about two double spaced typed pages (or equivalent).


 
I AM SORRY. I DO NOT ACCEPT EMAIL ATTACHMENTS!
PLEASE DO NOT SLIDE PAPERS UNDER MY DOOR OR UNDER THE EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH SUITE DOOR!

There have been too many problems with computer viruses. This is especially true for University computers, which have proven to be hotbeds of infection. 

Please DO NOT slide papers under my office door.They may or may not be placed on my desk--where I may not be able to find them! Similar problems occur with materials slid under the Educational Psychology and Learning Systems suite door.

Here are some alternatives if you absolutely cannot hand assignments to me in person:

  • My office mailbox in 307 Stone Building
  • FAX to the EPLS Office (850) 644-8776. Be sure to put my name and EDF 5481 on the Cover Sheet and include the total number of pages
  • Mail (USE FIVE DAYS ADVANCE NOTICE!)  to Dr. Susan Carol Losh, Educational Psychology and Learning Systems, FSU, Tallahassee, FL 32306-4453
  • Include as text in an email. PLEASE DO NOT USE HTML, which my Eudora programs will turn into unreadable source code.
In all these alternatives, your assignment MUST reach me by the stated due  dates.

The last ditch effort: if you must send the FINAL DRAFT of an assignment by email, you must send here:

  naomilosh@yahoo.com

During the semester, I may ask for a copy of your work on disk. All disks are scanned with Norton or McAfee Anti Virus software.I will let you know if your disk is infected.

HELPFUL HINTS

Need some inspiration to choose a research topic? Click HERE for some suggestions.

Your justification for the importance of your research topic can have several possible SOURCES:

just to name a few.

Will your research cure an important ill? Meet the client's needs? Advance scholarship in your discipline? Clarify inconsistent results in prior research? Identify an unidentified problem? Help create a new teaching method? Improve the team's performance? Advance art therapy?

If so, it is an important study and YOU NEED TO SAY SO AND EXPLAIN WHY!

Can your hypotheses can be empirically tested? (MAKE SURE THEY CAN BE.)

Are your propositions stated so that they can be falsified? (BE SURE THEY ARE.)

Consider which control or comparison groups will be useful for your research topic.

Be sure to consider alternative causal variables!

August 26 2002
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Susan Carol Losh

Diagnosing and curing the research problem...
 
EDF 5481 READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS