English 673: Research & Theory in Technical Communication is designed for students completing an M.A. degree in Technical Communication at Minnesota State University, Mankato. This course will provide an overview of research methodologies and help you prepare the groundwork for writing your capstone project.
If you have taken online courses in the Tech Comm program in the past, you may recall that our courses normally include a 90 minute large group chat once per week, plus discussions, assignments, and activities completed on your own or in small groups.
In the Fall 2012 semester, there are no weekly large group chats. As in most of your classes, there are assignments that need to be completed by certain deadlines. I will post podcast lectures and/or notes that you can download. There will be weekly bulletin board discussions about the readings, research designs, and brainstorming ideas for your projects. You will maintain a research blog (you may use your own or create one using Blogger.com). Once you have selected your topics, I will organize you into writing groups to discuss your progress and get feedback on your work. I recommend that you also use the Google Reader aggregate your blogs so that you can discover what everyone else is reading.
The Craft of Research 3rd edition by Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams.
Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research by John W. Creswell. (2nd, 3rd, or 4th edition is fine)
Qualitative Data Analysis: A User-Friendly Guide for Social Scientists by Ian Dey.
Dedoose (free 30-day trial, about $12 per month)
SPSS 18 (free to MSU Mankato students via MavApps)
Survey Monkey (free for up to 10 questions and 100 responses)
Google Forms (free, part of Google Docs)