Learning by Doing: Keeping Research Methods Relevant

• In Event: The Assessment of Learning Outcomes for Criminal Justice Students

Abstract

Teachers of research methods classes can struggle, at times, to keep their courses relevant and to have students view the material as relevant to the occupations they will soon enter. The authors discuss their experiences using an assignment that attempts to demonstrate this relevance; specifically, we discuss a content analysis assignment in an undergraduate research methods course as a way for students to acquire qualitative data analysis skills. The assignment requires students, individually or in a group, to identify data appropriate for content analysis and then, with guidance, develop research questions, manage the data, conceptualize and operationalize themes, perform content analysis, draw conclusions from the data, and then assess the validity and reliability of their work. The benefits and potential pitfalls of the assignment are discussed and student evaluation data (of the assignment specifically) are presented in both quantitative (via SPSS) and qualitative (via NVIVO) formats.

Authors

• Kevin E. Courtright, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania

• David A. Mackey, Plymouth State University