Research Design: Inquiry and Discovery

The main purpose of this course is to focus on good questions and how to answer them. This is essential to making considered decisions as a leader in any organization or in your life overall. Topics will include the basis of human curiosity, development of questions, connections between questions and approaches to information gathering design , variable measurement, sampling, the differences between experimental and non-experimental designs, data analysis, reporting and the ethics of inquiry projects. Emphasis will be placed on approaches used in the social sciences (i.e., sociology, psychology, anthropology), but we will also discuss how others (i.e., natural scientists, business analysts) might approach the inquiry process. No prior knowledge of statistics is required for this course

• Formulate clear research questions
• Understand various data collection methods
• Distinguish between experimental and non-experimental designs
• Analyze data systematically
• Comply with research ethics

• Basic computer and internet skills
• Ability to read English instructions and complete practical exercises