COUN 527: APPLIED RESEARCH Fall 2014 Syllabus

Transcription

1 COUN 527: APPLIED RESEARCH Fall 2014 Syllabus Course and Instructor Instructor: Raissa Miller, Ph.D., LPC Office: E-613 Phone: (208) Office hours: Tuesday and Thursday 12: and/or by appointment Statistics Consultant: Robin Hausheer Course Number: COUN 527 Course Title: Applied Research Semester: FALL 2014 Credits: 2 credits Course Objectives and Accreditation CACREP Standards Addressed in the Course Addiction Standards Research and Evaluation J.1 Applies relevant research findings to inform the practice of addiction counseling. J.2 Develops measurable outcomes for addiction counseling programs, interventions, and treatments. J.3 Analyzes and uses data to increase the effectiveness of addiction counseling programs. School Standards Research and Evaluation J.1 Applies relevant research findings to inform the practice of school counseling. J.2 Develops measurable outcomes for school counseling programs, activities, interventions, and experiences. J.3 Analyzes and uses data to enhance school counseling programs. Course Description The course will provide a basic understanding of methods and evaluation of counseling and educational research with the emphasis on individual completion of an action research project in cooperation with student s advisor or director of the study. Students will develop a research project, collect data, conduct statistical analyses of their data, and complete a written research report including literature review of problem and therapies to support selected interventions,

2 research question(s), methodology, including measurable outcomes, results, discussion, including how results will be used to enhance counseling, and references. This course meets curricular requirements for CACREP standards. PREREQ: COUN 512 or equivalent graduate statistics course. Course Objectives Upon completion of this course, the student will: Demonstrate the ability to design, conduct, and write-up an action research project Demonstrate the ability to critically evaluate research literature Acquire a basic knowledge of the process of action research Be able to chose appropriate methodologies, including research design, for specific research questions Be able to choose instruments appropriate for measuring variables in a research project Acquire a basic understanding of descriptive and inferential statistics sufficient to have the ability to choose appropriate forms of data analysis for specific research questions Acquire a basic ability to use statistical software and interpret results Use data to Inform counseling practice Upon completion of the course, addiction students will demonstrate knowledge in the following: 1. Application of relevant research findings to inform the practice of addiction counseling (AJ.1). 2. Developing measurable outcomes for addiction counseling programs, interventions, and treatments (AJ.2) 3. Analyzing and using data to increase the effectiveness of addiction counseling programs (AJ.3). Upon completion of the course, school students will demonstrate knowledge in the following: 1. Application of relevant research findings to inform the practice of school counseling (SJ.1). 2. Developing measurable outcomes for school counseling programs, activities, interventions, and experiences (SJ.2) 3. Analyzing and using data to data to enhance school counseling programs (SJ.3). Technology Skills Addressed in the Course Instructor Application Student Application Utilize Blackboard technology Word process, including APA formatting Use a spreadsheet and a statistical package Acquire graphics from the web, digital camera, scanner, or Microsoft media and insert them into a poster or presentation Create and deliver a power point presentation Find material on the Web and review Web sites Be able to use , including document attachments

3 Be able to sign in and participate in listservs Be familiar with computerized testing Be able to use digital recording equipment Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) for Addiction Standards The student will demonstrate knowledge, skills, and practices necessary for success as a counselor educator and supervisor via his or her participation in key assessments in this course. SLOs for this course are as follows: Student Learning Outcomes CACREP Key Assessment Applies relevant research findings to inform the practice of addiction counseling. AJ.1 Action Research Develops measurable outcomes for addiction counseling programs, interventions, and treatments. AJ.2 Action Research Analyzes and uses data to increase the effectiveness of addiction counseling programs. AJ.3 Action Research Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) for School Standards The student will demonstrate knowledge, skills, and practices necessary for success as a counselor educator and supervisor via his or her participation in key assessments in this course. SLOs for this course are as follows: Student Learning Outcomes CACREP Key Assessment Applies relevant research findings to inform the practice of addiction counseling. SJ.1 Action Research Develops measurable outcomes for school counseling programs, activities, interventions, and experiences. SJ.2 Action Research Analyzes and uses data to enhance school counseling programs. SJ.3 Action Research Course Methods of Instruction Research methodology, statistical procedures, and research report writing will be taught through individual and group meetings with students. Group work will be used to facilitate learning of methodology and statistical concepts. Demonstration of statistical analysis of data using SPSS software will be used to teach analytic procedures and students will use SPSS software to analyze data. Required Text Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6 th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Action Research Articles Baker, S. B. (2012). A new view of evidence-based practice. Counseling Today.

4 Guiffrida, D. A., Douthit, K. Z., Lynch, M. F., & Mackie, K. L. (2011). Publishing action research in counseling journals. Journal of Counseling and Development, 89, Rowell, L L. (2006). Action research and school counseling: Closing the gap between research and practice. Professional School Counseling, 9, Grading Criteria A = A - = B+ = B = B- = C+ = C = C - = Assignments not submitted when due or not in the assigned format will not earn full points. Those submitted more than five days past the due date will not be accepted. Plagiarism is sufficient grounds for failure for the course. See current Boise State Graduate Catalog for academic regulations and appeal procedures. Academic Requirements and Evaluation Deadlines (10 points): You will lose 2 point for each day an assignment is late (with the exception of the oral presentation this is mandatory and cannot be late). DEADLINE DATE ACTIVITY TO BE COMLETED September 8 Read action research articles listed in syllabus. Review necessary statistical concepts. Be prepared to explore potential problems/research questions (step one) and research design options (step 2) with peers. September 22 instructor summarizing where you are in your action research project (topic chosen, instruments chosen, sample chosen, literature review begun etc.). October 20 GOOD DRAFT of Sections I and II of paper due to instructor November 17 Data analyses submitted to instructor December 8 FINAL paper due to instructor Oral presentation in class

5 KEY ASSESSMENTS ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT PAPER (75 points) DUE MONDAY DECEMBER 8: The paper should be 8-10 double-spaced pages (not including references) and must follow APA format. (See outline below). Submit the paper to your instructor electronically. Please name the paper as follows: COUN 527 Action Research Last Name ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT PRESENTATION (15 points) DUE LAST DAY OF INTERNSHIP CLASS DECEMBER 8th: The presentation should be minutes. Please present your project and the results using a power point presentation. Follow the outline for the paper. Disability and Academic Integrity Statements Disability Statement: Students with disabilities needing accommodations to fully participate in this class should contact the Disability Resource Center (DRC). All accommodations must be approved through the DRC prior to being implemented. To learn more about the accommodation process, visit the DRC s website at Academic Integrity Statement: Academic misconduct or dishonesty such as cheating and plagiarism is unacceptable and appropriate penalties will be imposed. This includes referencing material that has not been read by you, such as secondary references.

6 ACTION RESEARCH PAPER OUTLINE I. Introduction II. Methods III. Results Problem Description Literature Review (using Psych Info or other data bases) o Research to support intervention(s) selected Rational for Conducting the Study Specific, Detailed Research Question/Hypotheses with Measurable Outcomes Participants (age, gender, etc) Procedure (sampling, data collection methods) Measures/Instrumentation (description of all variables relevant to your research question(s), the operationalization of your variable(s) including a description of measures including reliability and validity information) Descriptive statistics Inferential statistics (if applicable) IV. Discussion Summary of Results Integration of Results with Literature Discussion of Limitations (sampling, internal and external validity problems etc.) Counseling Implications how this research informs and enhances addiction or school counseling practice and increases effectiveness of counseling programs in addiction or school counseling Directions for Future Research V. References VI. Tables and/or Figures