Course Syllabus

Spring 2024 | ENG-1020-VO04 - Introduction to Research Methods

Online Class

Online courses take place 100% online via Canvas, without required in-person or Zoom meetings.

Faculty

Penny Nolte
View Faculty Credentials
View Faculty Statement
Hiring Coordinator for this course: Collin Lee

General Education Requirements

CCV Writing and Research

Note

Many degree programs have specific general education recommendations. In order to avoid taking unnecessary classes, please consult with additional resources like your program evaluation, your academic program catalog year page, and your academic advisor.

Courses may only be used to meet one General Education Requirement.

Course Description

This writing course introduces students to research methods across social science disciplines. Topics include various methodologies (e.g., interviewing, questionnaires, observation, literature search, data collection), presentation formats (e.g., written vs. oral), and APA documentation procedures. It also examines library and web-based research techniques. This course fulfills the research and writing intensive requirement. Students must complete a final research paper with a grade of C- or better in order to pass this course. Prerequisite: English Composition

Essential Objectives

1. Demonstrate research methodologies commonly used in the social sciences, including formulating and narrowing research questions, observation, survey design, interviewing, and presentation skills (oral & written).
2. Compare and contrast quantitative and qualitative research methods used to study human behavior.
3. Demonstrate information literacy skills: distinguish between and utilize both primary and secondary sources; perform library and web-based literature searches; and evaluate data and resources for credibility, reliability, and validity.
4. Demonstrate the ability to apply either APA or MLA citation styles in academic writing by parenthetically citing sources in the text and correctly compiling them in the relevant end sources page.
5. Compose, revise, and edit a final paper that includes a thesis statement, integrates five or more scholarly and professional sources--including primary and secondary evidence as needed--to address an academic research question, and demonstrates writing proficiency by achieving a grade of C- or better.

Required Technology

More information on general computer and internet recommendations is available on the CCV IT Support page. https://support.ccv.edu/general/computer-recommendations/

Please see CCV's Digital Equity Statement (pg. 45) to learn more about CCV's commitment to supporting all students access the technology they need to successfully finish their courses.

Required Textbooks and Resources

This course uses one or more textbooks/books/simulations.

Spring 2024 textbook details will be available on 2023-11-06. On that date a link will be available below that will take you to eCampus, CCV's bookstore. The information provided there will be specific to this class. Please see this page for more information regarding the purchase of textbooks/books.

ENG-1020-VO04 Link to Textbooks for this course in eCampus.

The last day to use a Financial Aid Advance to purchase textbooks/books is the 3rd Tuesday of the semester. See your financial aid counselor at your academic center if you have any questions.

Methods

Textbooks are required for this course, please find the link above.*It is recommended to order the textbooks for receipt before the semester starts. If you are not comfortable with online textbooks choosing a physical book is encouraged.

Activities will include:

• Small-group and whole-class discussion
• Prompts/Mini-lectures by Instructor and presentations by Students
• In-class and out-of-class reaction writing and writing assignments
• Reflective journals
• Research project of the student's choosing, including a 7-10-page paper

Classes are held for 15 weeks, Tuesday - Monday in Canvas, online. Discussion forums are where we review class readings & exercises. Students share your own work and also feedback (peer review) with classmates. While student journals are reviewed only with the teacher.

The "Research and Questions" forum is also held every week and questions about the course in general or a specific assignment are always encouraged. Others may be wondering about the same thing and will see responses to your question so everybody learns.

All readings and assignments are designed to assist students in either researching, writing, or editing their final research project, which requires a grade of C- or better to pass the class. (see essential objectives for the course)

Office Hours (optional):

While zoom meetings are not required for this class, I am available to meet with you by appointment throughout the semester.

• Office Hours take place online over Zoom
• Please schedule an Office Hours meeting by emailing me your availability so that we can choose a day & time: penelope.nolte@ccv.edu

Evaluation Criteria

Grading Categories:

• Readings -- required and ungraded
• Discussions -- 20%
• Journals -- 15%
• Assignments -- 20%
• Attendance & Participation -- 20%
• Finished Research Paper -- 25%*

*According to our essential objectives, a grade of C- or better is also required on the paper to pass the class, regardless of grades achieved in the other categories

Grading Criteria

CCV Letter Grades as outlined in the Evaluation System Policy are assigned according to the following chart:

	High	Low
A+	100	98
A	Less than 98	93
A-	Less than 93	90
B+	Less than 90	88
B	Less than 88	83
B-	Less than 83	80
C+	Less than 80	78
C	Less than 78	73
C-	Less than 73	70
D+	Less than 70	68
D	Less than 68	63
D-	Less than 63	60
F	Less than 60
P	100	60
NP	Less than 60	0

Weekly Schedule

Attendance Policy

Regular attendance and participation in classes are essential for success in and are completion requirements for courses at CCV. A student's failure to meet attendance requirements as specified in course descriptions will normally result in a non-satisfactory grade.

• In general, missing more than 20% of a course due to absences, lateness or early departures may jeopardize a student's ability to earn a satisfactory final grade.
• Attending an on-ground or synchronous course means a student appeared in the live classroom for at least a meaningful portion of a given class meeting. Attending an online course means a student posted a discussion forum response, completed a quiz or attempted some other academically required activity. Simply viewing a course item or module does not count as attendance.
• Meeting the minimum attendance requirement for a course does not mean a student has satisfied the academic requirements for participation, which require students to go above and beyond simply attending a portion of the class. Faculty members will individually determine what constitutes participation in each course they teach and explain in their course descriptions how participation factors into a student's final grade.

Participation Expectations

The course is designed to be viewed from the Canvas modules link. Homework is listed in each module, weeks 1-15 to be completed in the order assigned. Participating means having uploaded homework -- discussions, assignments, journals, etc. -- to Canvas for grading during the week it is due.

Don't hesitate to ask me questions when you are unsure how to respond to the homework, if you have a question then others probably do, too.

Participation also means providing kind, substantive feedback for classmates.

Missing & Late Work Policy

Each week runs Tuesday through Monday, and attendance is taking on Tuesdays for the previous week. Because the course moves through each weekly module in order, it is important to keep stay current with the class.

Late policy: Homework may not be graded if it is more than two (2) weeks late. Exceptions will be considered, so please let me know by email when homework is, or was, unavoidably late. penelope.nolte@ccv.edu

Accessibility Services for Students with Disabilities:

1. Provide disability documentation to the Accessibility Coordinator at your academic center. https://ccv.edu/discover-resources/students-with-disabilities/
2. Request an appointment to meet with accessibility coordinator to discuss your request and create an accommodation plan.
3. Once created, students will share the accommodation plan with faculty. Please note, faculty cannot make disability accommodations outside of this process.

Academic Integrity