Office of Research

Methods Courses

 

Research Design Courses:

E10.2132: Principles of Empirical Inquiry
(Fall 2008; Thursdays 2:00-3:40)

  • Origins of social science
  • Modes of inquiry
  • Empirical inquiry
  • Modes of data collection
  • Sampling
  • Fit theory – method – design
  • Limits/benefits data and design
  • Operationalizing of measures/designs

E10.2135: Historical Research
(Spring 2009; Tuesday 4:55-6:35)

  • Central methods and theories of modern historical research
  • Frame questions
  • Gather archival evidence
  • Employ theories
  • Draw conclusions

E10.2138: Writing for Empirical Research
(Fall 2009; Wednesdays 4:55-6:35)

  • Strengthen writing competencies needed to convey research findings
  • Use effective prose to convey empirical evidence
  • Study reading, editing, rewriting, workshopping student work
  • Compose arguments and articulate ideas at the sentence and paragraph level

E10.2139: Survey Research Methods
(Spring 2010; Monday 4:55-7:35)

  • Modes of data collection
  • Survey design
  • Questionnaire construction and evaluation
  • Coverage, sampling, and non-response
  • Post-collection data processing

E63.2073: Research Design and Methodology in the Behavioral Sciences I (Doctoral Only)
(Fall 2009; Thursdays 1:00-3:00, rec. 3:15-4:25)

  • Paradigms that guide empirical research in the social and behavioral sciences
  • Planning and implementing research in these domains
  • Formulating problems and hypotheses
  • Specifying types of variables and operational defitions
  • Experimental and non-experimental research designs
  • Qualitative methodologies
  • Use of randomization and controls
  • Sampling problems basic statistical inference
  • Mixed methodologies

E10.3001: Dissertation Proposal Seminar
(Spring 2010; Wednesday 4:45-6:35)

  • Articulate research questions/hypotheses, significance, theory, and method
  • Synthesize relevant literature
  • Focus on the linkages among the dissertation chapters
  • Write a dissertation proposal draft

Qualitative Courses

E10.2140: Approaches to Qualitative Inquiry
(Fall 2009; Wednesdays 11:00-1:45)
(Spring 2010; Wednesdays 11:00-1:45)

  • Introduction to epistemological foundations of qualitative research
  • Introduction to ethnography, interviewing, case study, grounded theory, historical research, narrative inquiry
  • Application of interviewing, document analysis, participant/observation procedures
  • Evaluation of emerging technologies used in qualitative research, including NVivo, Atlas
  • Introduction to ethical issues in qualitative research, including IRB
  • Critical reading of published qualitative studies

E10.2141: Case Study and Ethnographic Inquiry
(Prerequisite E10.2140 or by permission of instructor)
(Fall 2009; Wednesday 4:55-7:35)

  • Ethnography and case study
  • Two dominant approaches
  • Field study
  • Doc analysis
  • Data analysis
  • Applications, illustrative, etc.
  • Coding


E10.2142: Interviewing and Observation
(Prerequisite E10.2140 or by permission of instructor)
(Spring 2010; Monday 2:00-4:45)

  • Mechanics/naturalistic observations
  • Semi-structured interviewing
  • Production of field notes
  • Organization of field data, data sharing
  • Preliminary analysis
  • Illustrative examples

E10.2143: Participatory Action Research
(Sping 2010; day/time TBD)

  • Epistemological traditions
  • Multiple Research Methods
  • Researcher Positionality
  • Engagement with work setting - community
  • Address and theorize problems in setting
  • Ethical issues for participatory action research

E63.3040: Listening Guide Method of Psychological Inquiry
(Fall 2009; Tuesdays 11:00-1:00)

  • Epistemological and methodological considerations of discovery based research
  • Development of a qualititative

Quantitative Courses

E10.2001: Statistics for the Behavioral and Social Sciences I
(Fall 2009; Mondays 2:00-4:45)

  • Descriptive statistics
  • Levels of measurement
  • Correlation
  • Introduction to principles of statistical probability
  • Fundamental distributions
  • Role of sampling
  • Introduction to tests of inference

E10.2002: Data Analysis for the Behavioral and Social Sciences II
(prerequisite: E10.2001 or by permission of instructor)
(Spring 2010; Mondays 2:00-4:45)

  • Tests of inference
  • t-tests
  • One and two way ANOVA
  • OLS linear regression (multiple and linear)
  • Non-parametric statistics

E10.2003: Intermediate Quantitative Methods: The General Linear Model
(prerequisite: E10.2002 or by permission of instructor)
(Fall 2008; Tuesdays 3:30-6:10, recommended lab Thursdays 6:20-7:35)

  • Advanced principles of regression
  • Mediation and moderation
  • Issue of cross validation and shrinkage
  • Suppression
  • Indicator variables
  • Diagnostic analyses
  • Special cases of regressions: ANCOVA, path analysis

E10.2004: Advanced Quantitative Methods: A Survey of Multivariate Analysis
(prerequisite: E10.2003 or by permission of instructor) - 2 points
(Spring 2010; Tuesdays 3:30-6:10, recommneded lab day/time TBD; meets first 7 weeks of the term)

  • Logistic regression and intro to classification
  • MANOVA, Repeated measures ANOVA
  • Overview/introduction to hierarchical linear modeling
  • Principal componenets analysis

E10. 2012: Advanced Topics in Quantitative Methods: Causal Inference - Statistical Methods for Program Evaluation & Policy Analysis
(prerequisite: E10.2004 or by permission of instructor)
(Fall 2009; Fridays 9:30-12:15)

  • What do we mean by causation?
  • Contrasting randomized experiments and observational studies
  • Adjusting for covariates and Propensity Score Approaches
  • Instrumental Variables
  • Difference in Differences, Fixed Effects, Regression Discontinuity

E10.20xx Applied Statistics: Using Large Databases in Education Research
(prerequisite: E10.2002 or co-requisite P11.2911, or by permission of the instructor)
(Spring 2010; Wednesda afternoons - exact time TBD)

  • Overview of large education longitudinal databases (content, access)
  • Data processing/cleaning, including missing data issues
  • Exploratory techniques for large databases
  • Methods for analyzing complex surveys
  • Panel data analysis

E10. 2040:  Advanced Topics in Quatitative Methods: Multilevel Models - Growth Curves
(prerequisite: E10.2004 or by permission of instructor; suggested co-requisite E10.2141)
(Fall 2009; Tuesdays 3:35-6:10; suggested lab section Tuesdays 6:20-7:35 - course meets first 7 weeks of the term) - 2 points

  • Introduction to multi-level modeling as distinct from OLS regression
  • Exploratory techniques for multi-level data
  • Longitudinal (growth curve) modeling
  • Variance components

E10.2041: Advanced Topics in Quatitative Methods: Practicum in Multilevel Models - Growth Curves
(prerequisite: E10.2004, E10.2140 or by permission of instructor) - 1 point
(Fall 2009; meeting times arranged, beginning second 7 weeks of term)

  • Guided analysis of real data analysis project using techniques taught in E10.2040

E10.20xx: Advanced Topics in Quantitative Methods: Missing Data
(prerequisite: E10.2004 or by permission of the instructor) - 2 points
(Spring 2010; Fridays 9:30-12:15 last 7 weeks of the term - first class meets March 12th.) 

  • Missing data mechanisms
  • Problems with ignoring missing data
  • Problems with conventional fixes
  • Single imputation with noise
  • Multiple imputation
  • Pattern mixture models
  • Data that are not missing at random

E10. 2995: Biostatistics I
(This course is intended for graduate students in the epidemiology, public health and clinical research fields.)
(Fall 2009, Tuesdays 4:55-7:35)

  • Ranks and Percentiles. Measures of central tendency, graphical methods
  • Measures of dispersion, skew
  • Continuous and discrete probability theory
  • Agreement and psychometrics
  • Hypothesis tests. Confidence intervals
  • Cross tabulation and nominal measurement
  • Diagnostic tests
  • Measures of association: correlation and scatterplots

E10. 2996: Biostatistics II
(Prerequisite: E10.2995.  This course is inteded for graduate students in the epidemiology, public health and clinical research fields)
(Spring 2010; Tuesday 4:55-7:35)

  • Regression
  • Analysis of variance and post hoc analysis
  • Logistic regression
  • Categorical data analysis
  • Survival analysis
  • Non-parametric tests
  • Permutation and randomization tests
  • Power Analysis
  • Experimental design

Measurement/Psychometrics Courses

E63.2140: Measurement and Evaluation: Psychological Tests
(Fall 2009; Wednesdays 3:30-6:10)

  • Principles of measurement and testing
    -Interpretation of test scores
    -Reliability
    -Validity
    -Standards for measurement

E63.2141: Measurement: Modern Test Theory
(Spring 2010; Wednesdays 3:30-6:10)

  • Item Response Theory
  • Test construction
  • Differential Item Function