1. The purpose of this course is to introduce you to the fundamental terms, concepts, and designs characteristic of both quantitative and qualitative educational research--I will use this in my future work because I believe to be an effective school counselor it is important to implement programs and interventions that are based in research. To find such information, I will need to be well-versed in the language of the research.
2. The course emphasizes the learning and application of skills that will enable you to design your own research studies--To show the effectivity of programs and interventions I implement, I predict I will need to present the data in a research design-like format, so I will use this objective.
3. Critically evaluate published research articles in an effort to encourage data-driven reflection--Why implement anything if it's not really driven by data?? I think I will need this skill to critically decide what is needed and what may or may not work with the population I am serving.
4. Evaluate the methodological procedures that an author followed--This is important in the data interpretation, so will use this skill on a somewhat regular basis.
5. Evaluate the results that were reported--This is how I'll be able to interpret data that will hopefully drive my programs and interventions!
6. Evaluate the practical significance of the study--This, too, plays a role in the analyzing and interpretation of data.
7. Ability to communicate the research results clearly, concisely, logically and in a coherent manner--In my implementation of interventions and programs, I will need to share the effectivity, especially in hopes for funding, clearly to a population of stakeholders.
8. Be able to read and critically evaluate scholarly journal articles as well as design your own research investigations--Not only do I see myself using this in my work, but as a human being who cares about what is happening in the world and the research that is being completed in an effort to solve some of the issues that plague our world. If I did not have this skill, I would be unable to read and understand what was written.
9. Compare and contrast quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods approaches to research--I'm not sure if I will specifically use this skill on any sort of regular basis, but I think the foundational knowledge of comparing and contrasting the differences of research approaches
10. Explain what experimental, quasi-experimental and non-experimental research designs entail and describe their application to different research questions--This is another skill I don't necessarily foresee myself using very often in my work, but I won't discount how it may be necessary in the presentation of my own data and work.
11. Explain descriptive statistical techniques such as measures of central tendency, standard deviation and correlation--Many people think in terms of statistics, so I will more than likely share data on my own programs with statistics.
12. Explain the ethical principles that pertain to research involving human subjects and research conducted in educational settings--YES! Since I will be working with humans, not only is it important for me to explain the ethical principles, but consistently apply them to my work as a counselor.
13. Select a research problem and formulate appropriate research hypotheses and/or questions--I think this is another skill that is just useful to have, whether or not it's used on a regular basis. I believe that it could be possible that I use this skill to evaluate and perfect a program that I have executed.
14. Conduct a review of educational literature from texts, journals and computer library databases--I'm not sure how often this will be used, but I think it's an important skill to have when combining data and performed research to form a foundation for a possible intervention/support.
15. Write a coherent synthesis of such literature as it relates to the research problem--I don't think this will be commonly used, if at all. However, the thoughts of a PhD sometimes linger in my head, so if that's a path I end up choosing, this will be used as I establish my research for my dissertation.
16. Prepare a viable research proposal--Who knows where I'm headed? PhD land?? Grant writing land for future programs and interventions??? So important to have for my "back pocket" for the "just in case" times!
I have alluded to this in many of the objectives I wrote about, but I think the best counseling programs and interventions are driven by data, so reading, interpreting, and utilizing data that other research studies have gathered is NECESSARY in my day-to-day work. Also, what I do on a daily basis, needs to be consistently evaluated and shared with others. This, in a way, is research and the skills that I use to gather data, interpret it, and present is have been refined through the teaching and assignments in this course.
