The names of your assignments are verbs that align with a learning outcome. Because each of you has different goals and aims, I have opted to use these as the assignment titles to focus on the broad learning goals I hope you accomplish rather than spend a lot of time on specific assignments that aren’t flexible enough for your needs. Each of the individual assignment pages provide a more thorough overview of what we’ll be doing.- Explain what empirical research is and how it differs from other method/ologies (comprehend learning category)
- Differentiate different types of research questions and corresponding methods (analysis research category)
- Demonstrate your understanding of key empirical methods and terms associated with research (application learning category)
- Create a research study design of an intended research project (synthesis learning category)
Your grade will be calculated as follows**
| Assignment name | weight | Due Date |
| Reading and class engagement | 10% | ongoing |
| Explain & Differentiate: Research questions | 10% | 5-27-25 & revised for create |
| Demonstrate: Field Methods | 40% | see schedule |
| Create: Research Study Design | 40% | wk of July 29 |
Grading
While it takes a little getting used to, I do not grade in the traditional sense. Instead, the focus of our exercises and assignments are building a knowledge and competency in and around ideas related to doing research. This sort of learning is iterative and does not necessarily occur just because I mark up an assignment and give you a grade. The learning happens by my reading and analyzing what you’re doing and then adjusting the course to help you meet the course goals and outcomes. In other words, many of the exercises and class discussions build on previous ideas and concepts to try and ensure that you’re picking up the big ideas for the course.
If at some point you have a concern about where “you’re at” in the course, just ask.
You can read more about this in a blog post I wrote. We will most definitely talk about this strategy during the course.
**Information is subject to change based on how the course is progressing. No changes will be made without adequate discussions as a class.
Grading Scale
This is a graduate course, and my philosophy on that is grades should absolutely not matter since we are here to learn and to grapple with new concepts and ideas, which means the work can be messy and in progress. Therefore, I use a version of ungrading and contract grading that is really simple. If you show up and do the work, you will receive an A. If you are not doing these things, we will discuss it and come to other grading criteria.
| A+ (97–100) 4.00 | A (94–96.9) 4.00 | A– (90–93.9) 3.67 |
| B+ (87–89.9) 3.33 | B (84–86.9) 3.00 | B– (80–83.9) 2.67 |
| C+ (77–79.9) 2.33 | C (74–76.9) 2.00 | C– (70–73.9) 1.67 |
| D+ (67–69.9) 1.33 | D (64–66.9) 1.00 | D– (60–63.9) 0.67 |
Late Work
Everything is negotiable. If you have a problem with a due date, please talk to me.