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HDFS 290 Intro to Research Methods
4 hours (2 hours lecture-discussion, 2 hours lab)
Fall and Spring Semesters
Course Objectives
This course is designed to acquaint students with basic research methods (e.g., observations, questionnaires, interviews, experiments) used by family studies and child development researchers. Students will design and conduct a small-scale research project, as well as present and evaluate research findings from the literature. This course will be taught using an interactive format. Lectures will be integrated with concrete examples, group discussions, and in-class writing activities. Labs will provide opportunities to directly practice and apply the research methods discussed in lecture. After completing the course, students will be able:
- To identify and describe core concepts of behavioral research
- To compare and contrast different research methods used to study children and families
- To evaluate research reports and research-based claims made in the popular media
- To conduct systematic observations of children in naturalistic settings
- To analyze and interpret data collected through observational and self-report methods
- To organize and write a research paper using APA format
Topics
- Introduction & Ways of Knowing
- Research Ethics
- Research Approaches & Questions
- Observational Methods
- Reliability and Validity
- Survey Research
- Qualitative Interviews
- Survey Research:
- Structured Interviews & Questionnaires
- Sampling
- Cross-Cultural Research
- Structured Observations & Experiments
Graded Activities
- Examinations (2)
- Journal article reviews (3)
- Lab Assignments (10)
- Observational Project
- Pre-lecture Assignments (13)