The role of the administrator has evolved over the past 30 years from manager to instructional leader. As instructional leaders, administrators are now responsible for student achievement on high-stakes state-mandated assessments. Therefore, it is imperative principal preparation programs provide the necessary training instructional leaders need…

Field research gives graduate students a direct experience in appreciating the differences between doing research and reporting it. This paper reports the field experience provided in a doctoral program at the School of Education at Syracuse University. With the support and assistance of faculty consultants, a structured problem approach was used.…

Highlighting the importance of precision in recording, analyzing, and interpreting data in experimental psychology courses, the author proposes that students be assigned grades of A or F for the results section of laboratory reports. Papers receiving F's could be resubmitted for reduced grades until they are free of errors. (GEA)

The term "research paper," in the sense of researched paper, is a tautology: all expository discourses are researched in some way. One of the first duties of writing instructors is to help students see the difference between reporting on information that already exists about a topic, in what is sometimes referred to as a "library…

In a course entitled "Field Methods for the Study of Education," three themes dominate: professionalism, Darwinian methodology, and application. Unifying these are the notions that the proper use of theory is critical to good ethnography and the natural history/Darwinian paradigm is the central core of the anthropological, ethnological…

Describes a course in ethnographic research methods offered to selected educational researchers pursuing doctorates at the State University of New York, Albany. The course requires each student to conduct a disciplined research project and to keep a personal journal in the process. (GC)

The World Wide Web provides a convenient source of databases and examples of survey resources for those who teach research methods. For example, lottery numbers as sources of data, demographic-based search engines, and surveys and their results can be found on the World Wide Web. These can stimulate discussion and lead to student analyses…

This document aims to support graduate students who are in the process of preparing graduate theses or dissertations, and is organized according to the planning, research, and writing phases. The function of theses and dissertations is to provide students with experience in conducting and presenting research and to add to the body of knowledge in…

Authors outline a two-quarter, graduate sociology course in fieldwork that they teach at the University of California, Davis. The course addresses the tasks of data collection, focusing gathered data scientifically, data analysis, and dealing with consequences of the research. (GC)

Compares providing staged assignments for teaching research methods to providing a spotter for safety in gymnastics. Describes guidelines for a research proposal. Discusses problem definition, literature review, hypothesis development, data collection, and analysis. Argues that students must know the rules and reasons for the ideal model of…

Current approaches to the research paper rarely emphasize more than secondary research in library collections and data bases. Instructors can help students expand their range of possible information sources by posing three questions: Who is likely to know about this? From where does information on this subject come? and, Who pays for this…

An approach is described for teaching undergraduate sociology students social research skills through student use of packaged computer programs while carrying out their own research projects. Two back-to-back courses focus on training in data collection methodologies, followed by training in data analysis using the computer. In order to meet the…

This module providing an introduction to research procedures is one of a set of five on evaluation and research and is part of a larger series of thirty-four modules constituting a core curriculum for use in the professional preparation of vocational educators in the areas of agricultural, business, home economics, and industrial education.…

Considers the complete ethnographic project as a strategy for teaching qualitative methods. Describes an undergraduate class where students chose an ethnographic setting, gathered and analyzed data, and wrote a final report. Settings included Laundromats, bingo halls, auctions, karaoke clubs, and bowling leagues. (MJP)

This guide to planning and conducting research projects covers how to decide on a research problem, state a hypothesis, plan for the collection of data, write a proposal, analyze and interpret data, and write the research report. Overall, the book takes a practical, hands-on approach and offers checklists, suggestions, and guidelines for all the…