ETEC 500

Overview and Reflection

ETEC 500 is an introductory research methods course to teach masters students, in the field of education, the essentials of research and scientific process. Ethical responsibilities in the various areas of the conduction of the research process practiced by researchers are considered. As well, the purpose and process of conducting a literature review are explained along with, an explanation of the various types of research methodologies and designs. The collection of data detailing characteristics, sources and techniques are examined, as well as, procedures to study qualitative and quantitative data. Finally, procedures for writing research proposals are explained for Masters students to confidently conduct a research study.

Case studies to examine various research methods, a literature view, as well as a research proposal were completed.

I found that the content of this course was helpful in providing tools that allowed me to confidently examine the various studies I was to read in future courses. I found the content of distinguishing between qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis interesting and particularly helpful when designing our own research proposal

Research Methodology in Education

Journal Assignment

I found the case study approach and journal assignments to learning this content very helpful. I liked how we examined particular ideas, and applied our learning in small chunks. In this particular journal assignment, two different approaches to qualitative assessment were examined. Denzin's opinion is that qualitative and quantitative data analysis contradict each other, whereas, Ercikan and Roth contend that qualitative and quantitative data should not be polarized, and they both have their place in educational research inquiry. Ercikan and Roth believe that it is the research question that drives the data collection and analysis determining whether the approaches should be one, the other, or both.

Asking the right questions, in particular, deeper thinking questions is a challenge if you intend to get to meaningful data and results. This is an area that I personally need to continue to develop with the intention to push my student's and colleague's thinking.

HIGHLIGHT SMALL TITLE

The research proposal was the summative group project for ETEC 500. It was broken down into two parts: a purpose statement/literature review, and then proposal. I didn't realize how in-depth the process was in regards to the literature review, but I understand the reasoning behind the process. The literature review forced us as a group to consolidate and channel our thinking towards a concise purpose and hypothesis.

Our group decided to create a mixed-methods research to analyze effective school-based administrator practices in elementary (K-7) schools related to the implementation of mobile digital technology in classrooms. It was my first online group project, therefore, I not only learned the content of the course, but also how to manage cloud documents and to organize meetings with others in different time zones. The process was challenging, however, I am proud of the document that we created as it would be useful for further discussion with colleagues in my district.

References

Denzin, N. K. (2009). The elephant in the living room: or extending the conversation about the

politics of evidence. Qualitative Research, 9(2) 139–160.

Engelbrecht, J. & Harding, A. (2008). The impact of the transition to outcomes-based teaching on university preparedness in mathematics in South Africa. Mathematics Education Research, 20(2), 57-70

Ercikan, K., & Roth, W-M. (2006). What good is polarizing research into qualitative and quantitative? Educational Researcher, 35, 14-23.

ETEC 500: Research Methodology in Education (core). (n.d.). Retrieved August 08, 2017, from http://met.ubc.ca/etec-500/

Gay, L. R., Mills, G. E., & Airasian, P. (2012). Educational research: Competencies for analysisand applications (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Publishing

Mertler, C. A. (2016).Introduction to educational research. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.