Throughout the semester, discussion groups will discuss some of our key assignments and activities leading to the Research Proposal due at the end of the semester. Additionally, each group is assigned one or two chapters of the text to present.

I think you’ll find the presentations helpful in a variety of ways. They can help you as an individual presenter dive deep into a topic. With a group discussion on your group’s chapter, you should also notice ways to improve or further elaborate on different concepts. I expect you will find that the subtopics in each chapter are often very interrelated.  Finally, as a student checking out another group’s presentations, their work can help broaden your own understanding or help you create a personal study guide.

Each member of the group works rather independently. When it comes to assignment discussions, you’ll only need to reply to a few of your group members. If that is particularly problematic on any one week, be sure to email me and let me know you must take the option to reply to classmates in a different group. Ideally, you’ll always reply to your own discussion group members, but inevitably there is always one or two hiccups. Presentations are also independent because each member gets his or her own assignment from the chapter.

Further direction and a rubric are available in “My Grades” on Bb. Additionally, I encourage you to watch the presentation a previous student did during a Zoomed class in November of 2020.

Ricardo Lujan, Caitlin Witherspoon, Kemoy Taylor, Samira Farfan, and Carly Ferland will start us off with Part 1 of Patten & Newhart’s text.

• Patten & Newhart, Part 1:
  • Ricardo Lujan:
    • Topic 1  – Knowledge & Research Methods
    • Topic 2 – Empirical Research
  • Caitlin Witherspoon
    • Topic 3 – The Role of Theory in Research
    • Topic 4 – Experimental and Nonexperimental Studies
  •  Kemoy Taylor
    • Topic 5 – Causal-Comparative Studies
    • Topic 6 – Types of Nonexperimental Research
  • Samira Farfan
    • Topic 7 – Quantitative and Qualitative Research: Key Differences
    • Topic 8 – Quantitative and Qualitative Research Decisions
    • Topic 9 – Program Evaluations
  • Carly Ferland
    • Topic 10: History of Research Ethics
    • Topic 11: Principles of Research Ethics