ASSOCIATED CANADIAN THEOLOGICAL SCHOOLS
of TRINITY WESTERN UNIVERSITY

DMN 905 A                         Research Methodologies Module                         One Credit 

William B. Badke

Link to presentations used in the live portion of the module

              

I. Module Description

This module provides an opportunity for students to develop graduate level information research skills through study of, and practice with, research design, acquisition of resources within a technological environment, resource evaluation, and preparation of resources for the writing of research projects.
 

 II. Module Objectives

The student will:

A. demonstrate the ability to formulate a strategy for research;

B. demonstrate the ability to make a topic viable and organize its sub points;

C. demonstrate an appreciation for planned research from topic to completed paper.

III. Textbook

The textbook for the module is:

Research Strategies: Finding Your Way through the Information Fog, 5th ed. (Bloomington, IN: iUniverse.com, 2014), ISBN: 978-1491722336.

Sources for purchase of the textbook can be found at http://williambadke.com/GetTheBook.htm, and the book is also available at the TWU bookstore.

IV. Module Outline

First Afternoon (Library Orientation Room)

A. Today's Complex World of Information
B. Topic Development – Working Knowledge, Research Questions, Preliminary Outline
C. Library Catalogue
D. Searching Skills – Boolean Logic and Controlled Vocabularies
E. EndNote Basic

Second Afternoon (Library Orientation Room)

A. Journals; ERIC
B. Google Scholar and Academic Search Engines
C. Research Reading (if there is time)
D. Note Organization, Final Outline and Tips on Writing (if there is time)
E. Introduction to Module Assignments

V. Assignments

NOTE: All assignments are in this website. No use will be made of the e-courses or MyCourses websites. Follow the links. All assignments must be completed and passed in order for you to pass the module.

LINK TO THE ASSIGNMENTS FOR THIS COURSE

VI. Grading Scale

VII. Due Dates:

Assignment #1: November 10, 2016

Assignment #2: November 22, 2016

Assignment #3: December 1, 2016

Assignment #4: December 9, 2016

Assignment #5: December 16, 2016 

Supplement: Important Academic Notes from ACTS

Web Support – Student Portal https://www1.twu.ca/services
All students at TWU have a TWUPass username and password. This is determined at the time of an online application or can be managed through the computing services help desk or the link on the student portal. Your student email account is also available through this student portal and is vital for communication about grades, account statements, lost passwords, sign-up instructions, etc. If you do not know your account or password, there is a link at the login area called “I forgot my password.”  When you click on that link, you will be walked through the process of retrieving your account information.

Campus Closure
In the event of deteriorating weather conditions or other emergency situations, every effort will be made to communicate information regarding the cancellation of classes to the following radio stations: CKNW (980 AM), CKWX (1130 AM), STAR FM (107.1 FM), PRAISE (106.5 FM) and KARI (550 AM). As well, an announcement will be placed on the University’s campus closure notification message box (604.513.2147) and on the front page of the University’s website (http://www.twu.ca – also see http://www.twu.ca/campus/campus-notification.html  for more details).
An initial announcement regarding the status of the campus and cancellation of classes will be made at 6:00 a.m. and will cover all classes that begin before 1:00 p.m. A second announcement pertaining to classes that begin between 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. will be made at 11:00 a.m. A third announcement pertaining to classes that begin after 5:00 p.m. will be made at 3:00 p.m.

Paper Formatting
Students need to adhere to Turabian Notes (Bibliography) format except in counselling courses, for which APA format is used, and in CanIL courses.

Students are strongly encouraged to use EndNote Basic/Web (to create an account or log in, go to: http://libguides.twu.ca/EndNote/) as their bibliographical manager and as a tool for formatting bibliographies. It is free. The link to EndNote from the library home page provides detailed instructions. Students will need to be aware that it is necessary to “clean up” most bibliographies generated by this program. Students are encouraged to view the documents on the following websites for format samples:

http://www.press.uchicago.edu/books/turabian/turabian_citationguide.html. In EndNote Basic/Web the available formatting styles are those of Turabian 8th Footnote, and APA 6th edition. For Turabian, there are two formats – Footnote and Author-Date (a short format citation style). ACTS uses the Footnote format, not Author-Date.
Counselling students are expected to purchase the APA Publications Manual. More information may be found at the following website: http://www.apastyle.org/pubmanual.html.
For free online programs that will enable students to create properly formatted bibliography citations, go to http://www.eturabian.com/turabian/index.html or http://www.calvin.edu/library/knightcite/ (“Chicago” stands for “Turabian”).
CANIL students should consult with their own faculty on specific requirements.

Please check with your professor to find out which style he/she recommends you use!!

Course Evaluations
Course evaluations are important for improving teaching outcomes, faculty professional development, and the student learning context. Completion of course evaluations is, therefore, considered to be a course expectation. Professors will schedule time for students to fill out online course evaluations (20-30 minutes) on their personal laptops or a collegium computer during the last scheduled class of the semester. Students who are absent that day or who are otherwise unable to complete the online course evaluation during the last class will be expected to make every effort to do so by the last day of exams. Information about how to access online evaluation forms will be provided to the faculty and students prior to the last week of classes by the ACTS Administration.

Research Ethics
Please note that all research projects involving human participants undertaken by members of the TWU university community (including projects done by ACTS students to satisfy course or degree requirements) MUST be approved by the Trinity Western University Research Ethics Board. Information and forms may be found at http://www.twu.ca/research/research/research-ethics/default.html. Those needing additional clarification may contact the ACTS Academic Dean’s office. Please allow at least three (3) weeks from the date of submission for a review of the application.

Academic Integrity and Avoiding Plagiarism at ACTS
As Christian scholars pursuing higher education, academic integrity is a core value of the entire TWU community. Students are invited into this scholarly culture and required to abide by the principles of sound academic scholarship at TWU. This includes, but is not limited to, avoiding all forms of plagiarism and cheating in scholarly work. TWU has a strict policy on plagiarism (see academic calendar 2015-16, pp. 38-39).
Learning what constitutes plagiarism and avoiding it is the student's responsibility. Two resources describing plagiarism and how to avoid it have been prepared by ACTS Librarian William Badke and are freely available for viewing at the URLs below:

https://prezi.com/od62fxnkbmxh/plagiarism-how-to-get-it-out-of-your-life/ (Prezi presentation)
http://bit.ly/1p00KX3   (Google Slide presentation offering more comprehensive information)

Equity of Access
Students with disabilities who need assistance are encouraged to contact the Equity of Access Office upon admission to TWU to discuss their specific needs. All disabilities must be recently documented by an appropriately certified professional and such documentation should include a statement regarding the educational impact of the disability along with recommended accommodations. Within the first two weeks of the semester, students must meet with their professors to agree on accommodations appropriate to each class. Students should follow the steps detailed by the Equity of Access Office outlined on the TWU website at http://twu.ca/life/wellness/learningresources/disabilities-and-equity-of-access/steps-to-attaining-disability-services.html.

Policy Information and Student Concerns
Information on academic and community life policies and procedures that affect students can be found in the ACTS Academic Catalogue, which is available on the ACTS website (www.actsseminaries.com) under the Academics tab. Students who wish to communicate concerns or to lodge academic appeals are welcome to contact the appropriate faculty or staff member directly, or to fill out and submit the relevant Concerns & Grievances or Appeals form found on the Files & Forms page of the Current Students section of the ACTS Website.

Revised October 24, 2016