EDUC 281 Critical Research Methods in Education

This class provides students with the ability to develop a conceptual and practical understanding of research and evaluation in Education and the Social Sciences. Course topics include: basic statistics, survey design, data analysis, article critique, and data interpretation. The course will allow students to demonstrate a proficient knowledge of basic statistics (ranging from basic descriptive statistics to inferential statistics), research design, and analysis. Students will advance from being consumers of knowledge to being critical when reading previous literature. Students will be introduced to the following concepts: descriptive statistics (including cross-tabulation); correlation, reliability, and validity; one and two sample statistical tests; ANOVAs; and simple and multiple regression.