MB561: Introduction to Research Design (4 units)

R. Daniel Shaw, Professor of Anthropology and Chair of Doctoral Committee
Summer 2007 Pasadena

 

 

DESCRIPTION:

This course is available to all who are interested in designing cross cultural research, but is designed primarily to equip School of Intercultural Studies doctoral students to prepare, critique, and implement a Research Design appropriate for their doctoral studies. Missiology is multidisciplinary and integrative of the cognate disciplines within the field broadly including theology, history, the state of the Church, leadership and the social sciences. This course introduces students to research design appropriate for such interdisciplinary study. It also serves as an introduction to the SIS doctoral program, and enables students to develop a research design that is both flexible and focused while providing a tool for communicating effectively with a student’s mentor and guidance committee. Benefits include understanding how to search and critique the literature, methodological approaches, and proposal writing.

 

LEARNING OUTCOMES:  At the completion of this course students should be able to

1.  Understand the research design process and the theoretical rationale for it.
2.  Be able to apply this understanding to writing a defendable Research Design.
3.  Utilize the resulting Research Design to accomplish the research and writing appropriate to Doctoral Studies.

 

COURSE FORMAT:

1.  Students should register BY JULY 1 and check with the SIS Director for Doctoral Studies for pre-course materials.
2.  The course will be taught using an intensive two-week, all-day format July 30-Aug.10, 2007. Lecture, small group interaction and close supervision from a TA will enhance the learning experience

 

REQUIRED PRE-READING: (Two books must be read and critiqued BEFORE attending the first class meeting.) If you have previously read any of the required texts, please select an alternative text from the recommended reading list or a book approved by the instructor.

1.  Elliston, E. J., Introduction to Missiological Research. Unpub. mss. Hope Univ. 1997.
2.  Booth, C. W., Colomb, and Williams, The Craft of Research. U. Chicago, 1995.

 

REQUIRED READING: If you have previously read any of the required texts, please select an alternative text from the recommended reading list or a book approved by the instructor.

Madsen, D., Successful Dissertations and Theses: A Guide to Graduate Student Research from Proposal to Completion. Jossey-Bass. 1992 or latest edition. (Read after intensive course is over, but before finalizing paper)

 

RECOMMENDED READING –Based on Student’s Discipline of Focus

1.  Babbie, E. The Practice of Social Research. Wadsworth, 1997.
2.  Chase F. Robinson. Islamic Historiography, Cambridge University Press, 2003
3.  Kirk, A.  What is Mission: Theological Explorations.  Darton, Longman & Todd, 1999.
4.  Maxwell, J. Qualitative Research Design, 2nd Edition. Sage, Applied Social Research Methods Series, Vol. 41, 2005.
5.  Shenk, W. R. (ed.), Enlarging the Story: Perspectives in Writing World Christian History (New York: Orbis, 2002).

6.  Van Engen, C. Mission on the Way, Baker, 2000.

ASSIGNMENTS:

Booth et. al. and Elliston need to be read before class begins. Each student must bring a one-page review for each of these two books to the first class meeting as well as the Research Design Worksheet obtained from the SIS Doctoral Studies Director. Each review should include a discussion of the main intent of the author and students’ critique/response as they anticipate doctoral research.
During the course, there will be daily assignments to process the steps necessary to make an oral presentation of a basic research design on the last day of the class. The final project will be due on Friday, Sept. 14, 2007. The concepts developed in this paper will provide a guide for research and writing throughout the doctoral studies program.

 

PREREQUISITES: None.  No auditing.

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM:

Elective for M.A./Th.M students. Required for all SIS Doctoral students. This course is not a specific research methods course and thus may not be used to meet “research methods” requirements in the doctoral studies program nor in the MAICS program. Students are not permitted to audit this course.

FINAL EXAM: None.                                                                                        

Last Date Edited: 3 May 2007