Course Information 

Welcome to EDF 6481, Foundations of Research. The information contained on this page is offered as a course overview to help prepare you for the coming semester.  

Since this is a distance learning course, we will meet on an "as needed basis" during the semester. There will be a mandatory orientation meeting on Saturday, May 13th in Room AB3 112. Directions will be provided upon request. Any future meeting will be scheduled if requested by a majority of class members, with attendance optional. 

The course is organized in ten modules; the first four are to be completed in sequence. The modules involve online interaction and participation using a variety of technology-based tools and are designed to be similar in format, so that you will know what to expect from every module once you have completed the first. Each module will contain a list of objectives provided as an advance organizer. When the module is complete, review the objectives. If you have not met one of the objectives, review the related material. Each module contains notes, reading assignments, activities, and exercises. The activities will be checked and contribute to your overall grade. The exercises are provided to give you additional practice and assist your attainment of the objectives. The activities are to be completed in groups. The project and two reviews of articles will be completed individually.  

Activities are to be e-mailed directly to me. Credit will only be awarded to those who submit the activity as directed. Activities and dates due can be found on the syllabus. I expect all activities submitted by 12:00 am of the day due. Each day that you are late will result in a loss of 20% of the point(s) available for that assignment. 

Guidelines for the reviews of articles can be found as a link on the syllabus. Questions concerning these or any other issue should be e-mailed to me. I will respond as quickly as I can. Students are encouraged to respond to each other's questions as well. 

Most of our communication will be done via e-mail. I will use a University-based distribution list frequently to send out notices. Therefore, you will need to take responsibility to check your University e-mail regularly or to request that the postmaster forward your mail to another site.