Course Name:                                      Research Methods in Science Education

Course Code:

EDUC-6505

Credit Hours:

3(3+0)

Course Description

The course Research Methods in Education is designed to orient Student Teachers with the concept and methods of research in education. Learner will be able to learn how to engage in a critical analysis of different research work and relate it to their own context. The course provides students with the opportunity to engage with the research literature and to establish how different research techniques help to improve the overall classroom situation. This course focuses on action research, and it aims to equip the Student Teachers with the necessary skills to plan and conduct action research in an educational setting. Action research is a form of research that can be used to improve professional practices in the classroom. It can help in both personal development and institutional improvement. This course will also help Student Teachers to write research proposals and research reports and to create presentations to discuss their work. The course will serve the students in developing abilities to discuss the meaning, nature & scope of research in education identify different models and approaches of action research, identify research problems and develop research questions and develop a research proposal.

Learning outcomes:

following are the main learning outcomes of this course:

1. Discuss the meaning, nature & scope of research in education
2. Situate themselves as researching professionals
3. Conduct research in different educational settings
4. Write research report and present it effectively

Prerequisite:   N / A

                                                    Course Outline

Unit 1

Introduction of Educational Research

1

Sources of Knowledge

2

Scientific method

3

Concept of research in education

4

Need and scope of research in education

Unit 2

Types of Research

1

Types of research by Purpose

Basic Research

Applied Research

Action Research

Unit 3

Types of research by Methods

1

Historical research

2

Experimental Research

3

Descriptive research

Historical Research

1

Introduction

2

Historical sources

3

What is history

4

Scope of historical research

5

Formulation of problem for historical research

6

Historical criticism

7

The Historical Hypothesis

Unit 4

Experimental Research

1

Introduction

2

What is experiment

3

Techniques of controlling extraneous variables

4

Experimental validity

5

Experimental designs

Unit 5

Descriptive Research

1

Introduction

2

Survey studies

3

Inter relational ship studies

4

Development studies

5

Planning cycle and descriptive research

6

Concluding remarks

Unit 6

Sampling Technique

1

Introduction

2

Population and sample

3

Sampling designs

4

Estimating sample size

5

Summary

Unit 7

Tools and Techniques of Research

1

Introduction

2

Questionnaire

3

Opinionnaire and attitude scale

4

Interview

5

Observation

6

Tests and appraisal instruments

7

Concluding remarks

Unit 8

Designing a Research Proposal

1

Introduction

2

Format of the research proposal

3

Statement of the problem

4

Objectives of the study

5

Definitions, assumption and limitations

6

Review of Related literature

7

Theoretical framework

8

Hypotheses and questions

9

Proposed research procedures

10

Time schedule

Unit 9

Writing Research Report

1

Introduction

2

The research report

3

Writing the report

4

Assembling the research report

Course Assignment

A variety of assessments will be used to assess student learning. It is recommended that students will actively work in class on different projects of research proposal and present their work. The 5 seminars and two or more assignments on assigned topics will be arranged during this period.

Assessment Criteria and Time Distribution of Course

Theory and classroom activities

12 weeks                 

64%

Discussion session 

1 weeks                 

16 %

Presentations

3 weeks                 

20%

Recommended Texts

1. Creswell, J. W (2018). Educational research: planning, conducting, & evaluating quantitative & qualitative research (6th Ed.). PEARSON, 2018.
2. Gay, L. R. (2017). Educational research: Competencies for qnalysis and application. New York: Pearson Education

Suggested Readings

1. Fraenkel, J. R. &Wallen, N. E. (2015). How to design and evaluate research in education (9-Eds). New York: McGraw Hill Book Company Inc.
2. Patten, M. L., & Newhart, M. (2017). Understanding research methods: An overview of the essentials. UK: Routledge.
3. William, N. (2017). Research methods: The basics. UK: Routledge.