Course Syllabus

Spring 2024 | ENG-1020-VO03 - Introduction to Research Methods

Online Class

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

Faculty

Eileen Gatti
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 is a no cost textbook or resource class. ***

This course only uses free Open Educational Resources (OER) and/or library materials. For details, see the Canvas Site for this class.

Methods

Online readings and videos

Online discussion

Individual and small-group activities

Quizzes

Writing assignments/reaction papers

Research project

Evaluation Criteria

Your final grade and your progress towards adequately meeting the course objectives will be based on weekly discussion forums, written assignments, quizzes and the final research paper.

• 20%: discussion forums
• 20%: written assignments (except for final paper)
• 40%: final research paper
• 20%: quizzes

Details for all assignments will be provided in the weekly course page. Please always feel free to ask questions if an assignment is unclear or if you are having any technical difficulties accessing the course materials.

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

You are an important part of this course. Please make every effort to be “present” each week. Attendance in an online class is indicated by participation in online discussion forums. If you fail to post to the forums according to the weekly deadlines, you will have “missed” class and be marked absent for the week.Accruing more than 3 absences for the semester may result in a failing grade.If you are having difficulty posting on time for a given week, please notify me as soon as you can. Please be advised that the attendance requirement for financial aid eligibility may be different than the attendance requirements for this class.

Missing & Late Work Policy

I expect all assignments to be submitted by the due date. After the due date, work turned in late will result in a 5% grade reduction for each day past the due date. I understand that there are often circumstances that get in the way despite your best intentions, so everyone will be given a one-week grace period for a single assignment if you notify me before the due date.

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