Syllabus for ORR-510

ORGANIZATIONAL RESEARCH

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Organizational Research equips students to conduct the types of research and information-gathering projects that are a significant part of the organizational life of most managers and leaders. The course provides techniques and skills that students can apply in researching many types of questions and problems, including those encountered in other graduate-level courses as well as the degree capstone.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

After completing this course, you should be able to:

1. Analyze the importance of conducting research.
2. Compose a problem statement.
3. Conduct research of prior literature on a topic.
4. Organize a research approach and recommend a research methodology.
5. Select appropriate methodology of data collection and an appropriate method of analysis.
6. Compose a research proposal.
7. Discuss research principles and apply them to published research.

COURSE MATERIALS

You will need the following materials to do the work of the course. The required textbook is available from the College's textbook supplier, MBS Direct.

Required Textbook

1. Leedy, P.D. and Ormrod, J.E. (2005). Practical research: Planning and design, 8th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

ISBN-13: 978-0131108950

2. The Prentice Hall Companion Web site  provides Chapter Overviews that outline the highlights of each chapter; Projects to help understand and apply key chapter themes and processes; Self-Assessment quizzes with which to test knowledge of chapter content; and Web Destinations that offer more avenues for study and research. Users can also download and print out the Checklists taken directly from the text.

1. Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th ed. (2001). Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.

ISBN-13: 9781557988102

COURSE STRUCTURE

Organizational Research is a three-credit online course, consisting of four (4) modules. Modules include topics, learning objectives, study materials, and activities. Module titles are listed below.

1. Module 1: The Need for Research in Businesses and Nonprofits

1.01    What research is (and is not)

1.02    What constitutes an organizational problem

1.03    Determining whether action is required on an organizational issue

1.04    How research is done in academia with an organizational focus

2. Module 2: Doing a Literature Review

2.01    What makes up a literature review

2.02    Steps in performing an effective literature review

2.03    Distinguishing good research from poor research

2.04    Evaluating Web resources

3. Module 3: Selecting a Research Method

3.01    Types of qualitative research

3.02    Determining when qualitative research is appropriate

3.03    Types of quantitative research

3.04    Determining when quantitative research is appropriate

3.05    Variables and research questions or hypotheses

4. Module 4: Writing a Research Proposal

4.01   Characteristics of a proposal

4.02   Organizing a proposal

4.03   Writing and revising the proposal

4.04   Building proposal effectiveness

ASSESSMENT METHODS

For your formal work in the course, you are required to participate in online discussion forums and complete written assignments. See below for more details.

Consult the course Calendar for due dates.

Discussion Forums

Within each module you will participate in an online class discussion forum. All discussion forums take place asynchronously on the class Discussion Board.

Online discussions provide an opportunity for you to interact with your classmates. During this aspect of the course, you respond to prompts that assist you in developing your ideas, you share those ideas with your classmates, and you comment on their posts. Discussion board interactions promote development of a community of learners, critical thinking, and exploratory learning.

In this course the discussion forums will ask you to examine three articles/papers; links to these items are found in the Resources folder within the appropriate module.

Please participate in online discussions as you would in constructive face-to-face discussions. You are expected to post well-reasoned and thoughtful reflections for each item, making reference, as appropriate, to your readings. You are also expected to reply to your classmates' posts in a respectful, professional, and courteous manner. You may, of course, post questions asking for clarification or further elucidation on a topic.

Online Discussion Evaluation Rubric

Written Assignments

You are required to complete four (4) written assignments. The written assignments are on a variety of topics associated with the course modules.  

The first three written assignments in this course build toward the fourth and final assignment, a formal research proposal:

1. Assignment 1: Background and description of the business issue or problem, including its importance as a subject of research.

Problem Description Evaluation Rubric

1. Assignment 2: Literature review of prior research and data on the business issue or problem.

Literature Review Evaluation Rubric

1. Assignment 3: Methodology of the research, including intended analysis.

Methodology Evaluation Rubric

1. Assignment 4: A formal research proposal, including a bibliography.

Formal Research Proposal Evaluation Rubric

Prepare your written assignments using whatever word processing program you have on your computer. Include your name at the top of the paper, as well as the course name and code and the semester and year in which you are enrolled.

Before submitting your first assignment, check with your mentor to determine whether your word processing software is compatible with your mentor's software. If so, you can submit your work as you prepared it. If not, save your assignment as a rich-text format (.rtf) file, using the Save As command of your software program. Rich text retains basic formatting and can be read by any other word processing program.

GRADING AND EVALUATION

Your grade in the course will be determined as follows:

1. Online discussions (4)—20 percent
2. Written Assignment 1: Problem Description—20 percent
3. Written Assignment 2: Literature Review—20 percent
4. Written Assignment 3: Methodology —20 percent
5. Written Assignment 4: Formal Research Proposal—20 percent

All activities will receive a numerical grade of 0–100. You will receive a score of 0 for any work not submitted. Your final grade in the course will be a letter grade. Letter grade equivalents for numerical grades are as follows:

To receive credit for the course, you must earn a letter grade of C or higher on the weighted average of all assigned course work (e.g., assignments, discussion postings, projects, etc.). Graduate students must maintain a B average overall to remain in good academic standing.

STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS

First Steps to Success

To succeed in this course, take the following first steps:

1. Read carefully the entire Syllabus, making sure that all aspects of the course are clear to you and that you have all the materials required for the course.

2. Take the time to read the entire Online Student Handbook. The Handbook answers many questions about how to proceed through the course, how to schedule exams, and how to get the most from your educational experience at Thomas Edison State College.

3. Arrange to take your examination(s) by following the instructions in this Syllabus and the Online Student Handbook.
4. Familiarize yourself with the learning management systems environment—how to navigate it and what the various course areas contain. If you know what to expect as you navigate the course, you can better pace yourself and complete the work on time.

5. If you are not familiar with Web-based learning be sure to review the processes for posting responses online and submitting assignments before class begins.

Study Tips

Consider the following study tips for success:

1. To stay on track throughout the course, begin each week by consulting the course Calendar. The Calendar provides an overview of the course and indicates due dates for submitting assignments, posting discussions, and scheduling and taking examinations.

2. Check Announcements regularly for new course information.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Students at Thomas Edison State College are expected to exhibit the highest level of academic citizenship. In particular, students are expected to read and follow all policies, procedures, and program information guidelines contained in publications; pursue their learning goals with honesty and integrity; demonstrate that they are progressing satisfactorily and in a timely fashion by meeting course deadlines and following outlined procedures; observe a code of mutual respect in dealing with mentors, staff, and other students; behave in a manner consistent with the standards and codes of the profession in which they are practicing; keep official records updated regarding changes in name, address, telephone number, or e-mail address; and meet financial obligations in a timely manner. Students not practicing good academic citizenship may be subject to disciplinary action including suspension, dismissal, or financial holds on records.

Academic Dishonesty

Thomas Edison State College expects all of its students to approach their education with academic integrity—the pursuit of scholarly activity free from fraud and deception. All mentors and administrative staff members at the College insist on strict standards of academic honesty in all courses. Academic dishonesty undermines this objective. Academic dishonesty takes the following forms:

1. Cheating
2. Plagiarizing (including copying and pasting from the Internet without using quotation marks and without acknowledging sources)
3. Fabricating information or citations
4. Facilitating acts of dishonesty by others
5. Unauthorized access to examinations or the use of unauthorized materials during exam administration
6. Submitting the work of another person or work previously used without informing the mentor
7. Tampering with the academic work of other students

Academic dishonesty will result in disciplinary action and possible dismissal from the College. Students who submit papers that are found to be plagiarized will receive an F on the plagiarized assignment, may receive a grade of F for the course, and may face dismissal from the College.

A student who is charged with academic dishonesty will be given oral or written notice of the charge. If a mentor or College official believes the infraction is serious enough to warrant referral of the case to the academic dean, or if the mentor awards a final grade of F in the course because of the infraction, the student and the mentor will be afforded formal due process.

If a student is found cheating or using unauthorized materials on an examination, he or she will automatically receive a grade of F on that examination. Students who believe they have been falsely accused of academic dishonesty should seek redress through informal discussions with the mentor, through the office of the dean, or through an executive officer of Thomas Edison State College.

Plagiarism

Using someone else's work as your own is plagiarism. Although it may seem like simple dishonesty, plagiarism is against the law. Thomas Edison State College takes a strong stance against plagiarism, and students found to be plagiarizing will be severely penalized. If you copy phrases, sentences, paragraphs, or whole documents word-for-word—or if you paraphrase by changing a word here and there—without identifying the author, then you are plagiarizing. Please keep in mind that this type of identification applies to Internet sources as well as to print-based sources. Copying and pasting from the Internet, without using quotation marks and without acknowledging sources, constitutes plagiarism. (For information about how to cite Internet sources, see Online Student Handbook > Academic Standards > "Citing Sources.")

Accidentally copying the words and ideas of another writer does not excuse the charge of plagiarism. It is easy to jot down notes and ideas from many sources and then write your own paper without knowing which words are your own and which are someone else's. It is more difficult to keep track of each and every source. However, the conscientious writer who wishes to avoid plagiarizing never fails to keep careful track of sources.

Always be aware that if you write without acknowledging the sources of your ideas, you run the risk of being charged with plagiarism.

Clearly, plagiarism, no matter the degree of intent to deceive, defeats the purpose of education. If you plagiarize deliberately, you are not educating yourself, and you are wasting your time on courses meant to improve your skills. If you plagiarize through carelessness, you are deceiving yourself.