Advanced Seminar in Educational Psychology 645A Course Description

The EDPY 645 seminar provides an introduction and overview of key contemporary research and professional issues in the field. Advanced study in Educational Psychology can help students develop well-informed, empirically sound, creative, and ethical judgments about educational aims, policies and practices.

The focus of EDPY 645A is on qualitative research in the psychological sciences. The course provides an introduction to the philosophical, conceptual and methodological features that distinguish qualitative research methods from other empirical approaches. It will provide opportunities for you to acquire hands-on familiarity with established qualitative research practices. This, in turn, should help you become a more confident, critical reader of qualitative and mixed methods studies. Learning how to design and carry out full-scale qualitative research projects requires extensive preparation beyond what can be accomplished in one course alone. However, this class will help you better understand the kinds of questions for which a qualitative approach is suited (and conversely, when another approach might make more sense). Students from all doctoral program areas are welcome. Students enrolled in masters programs should talk with me before registering for the course.

Course Objectives

This course will provide experiences that will help you

• Understand the most important theoretical and methodological traditions in qualitative psychology today

• Learn how to use basic qualitative research methods in an ethical and technically defensible manner

• Practice basic interviewing and field observation techniques

• Learn how to analyze and interpret qualitative data

• Develop a basic understanding of how to plan, conduct, and evaluate "mixed methods" research

• Think creatively about qualitative research design and analysis issues

• Critically examine your own personal and professional values as an aspect of your work as an educational researcher