Course Syllabus

Fall 2024 | ENG-1020-VT01 - Introduction to Research Methods

In Person Class

Standard courses meet in person at CCV centers, typically once each week for the duration of the semester.

Faculty

Katie Beth Ryan
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 style 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 APA citation style 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 uses one or more textbooks/books/simulations, along with free Open Educational Resources (OER) and/or library materials.

Fall 2024 textbook/book details will be available on 2024-05-20. 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-VT01 Link to Textbooks for this course in eCampus.

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

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.

Artificial Intelligence(AI) Policy Statement

CCV recognizes that artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI tools are widely available and becoming embedded in many online writing and creative applications.

Allowed: This course's generative AI policy acknowledges technology, including generative AI, plays a supportive role in learning and feedback. During our class, we may use AI writing tools such as ChatGPT in certain specific cases. You will be informed as to when, where, and how these tools are permitted to be used, along with guidance for attribution. Any use outside of these specific cases constitutes a violation of CCV's Academic Integrity Policy.

Evaluation Criteria

Below are the assignments for this class, and the percentage of your final grade they constitute:

Final Research Paper, 10-14 pages, plus presentation: 40%

Open Book Quizzes: 20%

In-Class Participation and Weekly Discussion Posts: 20%

Research Journals and Other Assignments: 20%

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.

Missing & Late Work Policy

Fourteen weeks of class sounds like a long time, but it will go by in a flash (hopefully because we’re enjoying what we’re learning!). To get the most out of the class, you will need to commit to completing your assignments on time. Assignments that are turned in after the due date will receive a reduction of five percentage points for each day they arelate.

I also understand that life happens. For this reason, I allow a no-grade-deduction grace period of three days late for exactly one assignment (excluding discussion posts and quizzes). After the grace period ends, assignments will receive a 10 percent grade deduction for each day they are late. If you anticipate taking advantage of this grace period, please tell me before the due date; otherwise, I will deduct the daily 5 percentage points as I previously described.

A tip for staying on top of your assignments: Use the "Coming Up" list on the right side of our Canvas class. This will show you what assignments are due next.

*PLEASE NOTE: Due to the timely nature of making discussion posts and turning in quizzes, these assignments must be completed on time, and are exempt from the grace period described above.

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