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Educational Research Methods (Education 440)
Professor Kathleen M. Bailey, PhD
Monterey Institute of International Studies
Educational Research Methods is designed to familiarize language teachers
with the basic principles of experimental research and the statistics used most
often in studies of language teaching and learning. Research design and
quantitative methods in the experimental paradigm are the focus of this
particular course. In successfully completing this class, you are expected to
become an informed consumer of research and also a competent researcher,
able to apply the concepts you have learned to conducting your studies to meet
your own professional needs and goals.
The textbooks are J.D. Brown’s Understanding Research in Second Language
Learning -- A Teacher´s Guide to Statistics and Research Design (1991), and
The Research Manual: Design and Statistics for Applied Linguistics by Evelyn
Hatch and Anne Lazaraton (1986). Both are published by Cambridge University
Press. Additional required and recommended readings will be placed on
reserve in the MIIS Library.
Reading assignments should be completed prior to class on the day they are
due. You will also be assigned ungraded problems or worksheets, and these
too should be completed before the designated class period in which they will
be discussed. You should have a pocket calculator which computes square
roots. The APA Style Manual provides the required format for the major written
assignment.
Final course grades will be based on three assignments:
1. a midterm exam (30 %)
2. a final examination (30 %)
3. a proposal for an original research project (40 %)
The final examination is not inherently cumulative. While it will incorporate
concepts covered in the first part of the semester, it will emphasize the material
covered after the midterm examination. On the tests, the predicted percent-letter
grade correspondence is 100% to 90% for an A, 89% to 80% for a B, 79% to
70% for a C, and 69% to 60% for a D. Below 60% is a grade of F. There is no
possibility of doing extra credit work to improve either individual assignment or
test grades or your final course grade.
Please note that participants are responsible for staying up-to-date with the
reading and with any announced changes in the syllabus or assignments.
Some material will be covered in class meetings that is not available in the
readings. If you must miss a class, you should arrange to get the class
materials and notes from a classmate. You may tape record classes if you wish.
You should check our course conference at least every other day as
announcements, worksheets, and helpful hints will be posted there regularly.
Professor Kathleen M. Bailey, PhD
Monterey Institute of International Studies
Educational Research Methods is designed to familiarize language teachers
with the basic principles of experimental research and the statistics used most
often in studies of language teaching and learning. Research design and
quantitative methods in the experimental paradigm are the focus of this
particular course. In successfully completing this class, you are expected to
become an informed consumer of research and also a competent researcher,
able to apply the concepts you have learned to conducting your studies to meet
your own professional needs and goals.
The textbooks are J.D. Brown’s Understanding Research in Second Language
Learning -- A Teacher´s Guide to Statistics and Research Design (1991), and
The Research Manual: Design and Statistics for Applied Linguistics by Evelyn
Hatch and Anne Lazaraton (1986). Both are published by Cambridge University
Press. Additional required and recommended readings will be placed on
reserve in the MIIS Library.
Reading assignments should be completed prior to class on the day they are
due. You will also be assigned ungraded problems or worksheets, and these
too should be completed before the designated class period in which they will
be discussed. You should have a pocket calculator which computes square
roots. The APA Style Manual provides the required format for the major written
assignment.
Final course grades will be based on three assignments:
1. a midterm exam (30 %)
2. a final examination (30 %)
3. a proposal for an original research project (40 %)
The final examination is not inherently cumulative. While it will incorporate
concepts covered in the first part of the semester, it will emphasize the material
covered after the midterm examination. On the tests, the predicted percent-letter
grade correspondence is 100% to 90% for an A, 89% to 80% for a B, 79% to
70% for a C, and 69% to 60% for a D. Below 60% is a grade of F. There is no
possibility of doing extra credit work to improve either individual assignment or
test grades or your final course grade.
Please note that participants are responsible for staying up-to-date with the
reading and with any announced changes in the syllabus or assignments.
Some material will be covered in class meetings that is not available in the
readings. If you must miss a class, you should arrange to get the class
materials and notes from a classmate. You may tape record classes if you wish.
You should check our course conference at least every other day as
announcements, worksheets, and helpful hints will be posted there regularly.
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