Research Methods in Educational Informatics (6 ECTS/3,5 ov), 175614

News

The course will start at February 15, 2008. The introdutory lecture will be held Feb. 15, time: 12-14, room: 2D106B. The course will end in early May.

It is possible to study the course in distance. Please contact Jarkko Suhonen (jsuhon@[REM_SPAM]cs.joensuu.fi) for the arrangements.

Contents

• conducting and evaluating research in educational informatics
• developing meaningful and relevant research questions in educational technology and computer science education
• introduction to different research approaches in educational informatics (qualitative, quantitative, mixed, development research, triangulation)
• discussion about the challenges and opportunities of multidisciplinary research approaches
• introduction to various research methods, such as action research, design research, case studies, experimental research, controlled research, natural research, grounded theory

Goals

After the course, the students are expected

• to identify different research methods and their applicability in the field of educational informatics
• to create a plan for conducting research with 1-2 research methods presented in the course
• to critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of different research approaches and methods
• to link the knowledge acquired during the course to their own MSc. thesis/PhD research

Course arrangements

General info

• course prerequisites: none
• student number: a maximum of 30 students is selected to the course
• students in IT Teacher Program and Educational technology master studies and PhD students take priority, and
• Moodle learning platform will be used.

Lectures

The course is build mostly upon independent working, so there are only few lectures. The detailed schedule and content of the lectures will be announed in the beginning of the course.

Exercises

The course includes compulsory exercises. Check the timetables from Moodle. Every submitted exercise will be evaluated and assessed. Feedback is given in the lectures.

StudyLog

Each student will keep a StudyLog during the course. More information about the content of the StudyLog will be given in the beginning of the course.

Counseling hour

Each week there is a possibility to get individual face-to-face counseling in Room 2D/309 or via Skype. The first counseling session will be held in February 19 at week 8. During the counseling hour it is possible to get feedback to unfinished assignments or get answers to any questions concerning the course.

Schedule

The course will start on Friday, February 15th at 12-14, room 2D/106B (if there are maximum number of participants in the first lecture, you will not be able to join the course later).

Lectures will be held in room 2D/106B or in room 2D/309

• Fridays, 12-14
• follow the Moodle calendar for more exact information and updates. Note: the schedule is not updated in these webpages

Evaluation

Details confirmed in the beginning of the course

Literature

• Fincher, S., Petre, M. (Eds.); Computer Science Education Research. RoutledgeFalmer, London, 2004.
• Creswell, J.W.; Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches (2nd. Ed.), 2003.
• Yin, R.K.; Case Study Research: Design and Methods (2nd Ed.)., SAGE Publications, 2003
• Reason, P., Bradbury, H. (Eds.). Handbook of Action Research, SAGE Publications, 2006.

Additional information

Jarkko Suhonen firstname.lastname@cs.joensuu.fi

Last updated: December 31, 2007