Research Design and
Methodology
Course/Title:
LS
567
Research Design and Methodology
College:
Education
and Applied Science
Department:
Library
Science
Professor:
Dr. Frank Hoffmann
Office: NGL
121
Sam Houston State University
Office #: 409/294-1289
Box 2236
Fax
#: 409/294-1153
Huntsville, TX 77341-2236
E-Mail:
lis_fwh@shsu.edu
Office
hrs: T & Th, 8-4, or by appt.
Course Schedule:
Summer II – 7/12, 7/13, 7/19, 7/20, 7/26
Edinburg, Health Science Bldg, Rm. 122
The study of research
methods, project designs, and data gathering instruments pertinent to library media
specialists and educators. Research
techniques are applied to library media center based issues. Centered on the production of a research or grant
proposal.
American Association of School Librarians
and Association of Education Communications and
Technology. 1998. Information power:
Building partnerships for learning. Chicago: American
Library Association.
Haycock, Ken. 1990. Program advocacy: Power, publicity, and the
teacher-librarian. Libraries
Unlimited.
1. Identify the major types
of research: historical analysis,
journalistic investigation, survey research, and
experimental design.
2. Employ current research
findings and conduct research as a management tool for program evaluation
and improvement (ExCET Competency
002).
3. Take advantage of federal
and state legislation and standards relevant to library media programs,
particularly regarding funding
opportunities (ExCET Competency 004).
4. Identify external sources
of funding to support research.
5. Develop grant proposals
aimed at creating library media center programs that complement and enrich the
learning throughout the school (ExCET
Competency 006).
6. Outline the steps in
the research process.
7. Evaluate research
proposals.
8. Prepare a research
proposal.
9. Illustrate an
awareness of leading library media center trends as reflected in published research in
professional journals and monographs.
Course Evaluation:
1. Readings
5
2. Identification of Major Types
of Research
20
3. Survey of Grant Resources
5
4. Grant Proposal
70
Total: 100 points
An A requires 90 to 100 points, a B requires 80 to 89 points, and C requires 70 to
79 points. Your final grade is based on this
point system and considerations regarding class attendance.
After self-evaluation of your graded assignments you may choose to redo any
assignment other than the tests. Please turn
in the original graded paper along with your rewrite.
Course Assignments
1.
Readings
To be employed as source material for analyzing research and preparing the
proposal. Students may select
periodical
articles, books, web resources, etc., which best suit their own needs in gathering
information
prior to the
proposal writing stage. Submit an annotated
reference list of these background resources.
2. Identification
of the Major Types of Research
Locate an article, research paper, dissertation, or monograph typifying each of the
following research
methods:
A.
Historical analysis
B.
Journalistic investigation
C.
Survey research
D.
Experimental design
While examples in
the library/education literature may prove most useful when writing the proposal, examples
may be pulled from the literature of any subject field.
3. Survey of Grant Resources
Each student will search at least three of the
following titles in either print or electronic form:
A.
Academic Research Information System, Inc. Includes three separate reports: Arts and Humanities Report, Medical Science
Report, and Social and Natural Science
Report.
B.
Annual survey of Corporate Contributions
C.
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance. Annual
D.
The Corporate 500: Directory of Corporate Philanthropy. Irregular
E.
Corporate Foundation Profiles. Irregular
F.
The Corporate Fund Raising Directory. Annual
G.
Education Daily.
H.
Education Funding News. Weekly
I.
Federal Grants and Contracts. Weekly
J.
The Federal Register. Monthly
K.
The Foundation Directory. Irregular
L.
The Foundation Grants Index. Annual
M.
Foundations News. Bi-monthly
N.
The Grant Advisor. 11/year
O.
Grants Magazine. 4/year
P.
People in Philanthropy. Annual directory
Q.
Source Book Profiles. Quarterly
R.
Taft Corporate Directory. Irregular
S.
Taft Corporate Information System. Monthly
T.
United States Government Manual. Annual
Additional resources
may be employed where relevant in place of the above titles.
4.
Grant
Proposal.
Each student will be required to submit a research or grant proposal prior to the
completion of the course.
All class
activities will be directed toward this goal. The
finished proposal should integrate the majority of
components typifying
a detailed federal government (e.g., DOE, NEH) grant proposal.
Session I
Introduction to Research
7/12
A. Role of research in librarianship
B. Glossary of terms and techniques in library
research
C. Major types of research process
D. Stages in the research process
The Rationale for Seeking Grants
Session II
The Proposal Development Process – An Overview
7/13
Preliminary Stages in Developing a Grant Proposal
A.
The
Workbook Approach
B.
Originating
Proposal Ideas
1.
Evaluating
proposal ideas
2.
Redefining
proposal ideas
C.
Needs
Assessment
D.
How
to Separate Yourself from the Competition
E. Developing a
Mission Statement
F.
The Utilization of Advocates
G.
The Organization of Community Support
H. Selecting the
Appropriate Marketplace
Session III
Analysis of Funding Sources
7/19
A. Major Types
1.
Government
2.
Private
a.
Foundations
b.
Corporations
c.
Individuals
B.
Information Gathering Techniques
C.
Characteristics of each Marketplace
D.
How to Establish and Maintain Contact
Session IV
The Proposal Preparation Process
7/20
A. Looking at Model Proposal
B. Writing the Grant
proposal
1.
Checklist of Steps
2.
Style of Considerations
C. Critiquing Early Drafts
D. Dealing with the
Decision Makers
E. Follow-up with
the Grant Provider
Session V
Discussion of Reasons Proposals Aren’t Accepted
7/26
Sharing of student produced grant
proposals
Barber, Peggy, and Linda
Crowe. 1993. Getting your grant: A how-to-do-it
manual for librarians. Neal-Schuman.
Bausell, R. Barker. 1991.
Advanced research methodology. Scarecrow.
Corson-Finnerty, Adam and
Laura Blanchard. 1998. Fundraising and
friend-raising on the web. American
Library
Association.
Hall-Ellis, Sylvia and
others. 1999.
Grantsmanship for small libraries and school
library media centers. Frank
Hoffmann, ed. Libraries Unlimited.
Martin, Mary D. and John
W. Landrum. 1990. Proposal power: The educator's
proposal writing handbook. Phi
Delta Kappa.
Meyer, Doris. 1997. The Aldine grant$eeker handbook. Aldine Independent
School District.
Rico, Gabriele L. 1983. Writing the natural way. J.P. Tarcher.
Sellen, Betty-Carol and
Betty J. Turock. 1990. The bottom line reader: A
financial handbook for librarians.
Neal-Schuman.
Snyder, Herbert and
Elizabeth Davenport. 1997. Costing and pricing in
the digital age: A practical guide for
information services. Neal-Schuman.
Sproull, Natalie L. 1995.
Handbook of research methods. 2nd ed.
Scarecrow.
The Taft Group for the
American Library Association. 1998. The big
book of library grant money 1998-1999:
proposals. American Library
Association.
Warner, Alice Sizer.
1998. Budgeting: A how-to-do-it manual for
librarians. Neal-Schuman.