GISD 606 - Research and Evaluation in Diverse Settings: Methods and Implications

3 Credit(s)

Description:
This is an introductory course on quanitative and qualitative research methods and program evaluation. A particular emphasis is placed ont he concept of cultural diversity and its implications for design and methods choices as well as stakeholder participation in research and evaluation. “Cultural diversity” refers to differences among (groups of ) individuals with respect to ethnicity, race, age, gender, disability/health, socio-economic status, and other dimensions. The course is organized itno five parts. Part 1 introduces students to the scientific method, the reserch process and he role of ethics in conduction human subjects research. Part 2 focuses on quantitative methods, including sample selection, survey development, and basic statistical methods used in hypothesis testing. Part 3 provides an overview of qualitative methods, including participant observaton, interviews, focus groups, and case study. Part 4 focuses on methods for evaluation whether or to what extent programs achieve their stated goals. Finally, Part 5 examines the various methodologies ((quantitative, qualitative, evaluation) in terms of their strengths and weaknesses for researching diverse populations and researching comparatively (cross-culturally and cross-nationally). This is a required core course for students in the master’s and doctoral programs in Global Inclusion and Social Development. This course is a core course for both the Master’s and Doctoral progrms in Global Inclusion and Social Development.

038272:1