"Epistemology is (not) a bloodless abstraction; the way we know has powerful implications for the way we live. . .every epistemology tends to become an ethic, and every way of knowing tends to become a way of living. . ." -Parker Palmer

Week Two PW2 - Review the research process, preview qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods proposals, review AU proposal guidelines

Rationale - It's important that you see the research process as a recursive cycle of activities moving back and forth between data collection and analysis and the scholarly literature (theoretical frameworks) with much interpretation in between! Sometimes starting at the end (looking at some approved proposals) is the way to begin!

**Required Readings and Activities

A. Reading:

**Fitzpatrick, Chaps 1 and 3; Hart, Chaps 1 and 2 OR Galvan 1,2; Creswell, Chap 1 and Fitzpatrick, Appendix B.
The Proposal in Qualitative Research by Anthony Heath
Keeping things Plum in Qualitative Research by Ronald Chenail

B. Web and Other Links:

** Leadership Manual on Proposal Writing pg 24-26 - this is on the leadership page but the document is huge!
The Research Process - Dr. Marion Toppe
Research Processes - From Surviving Your Dissertation by Rudestam and Newton - note the two primary reasoning processes - inductive and deductive and how they are related to the theoretical framework and data collection.

C. Experiences/Activities:

**Review qualitative, quantitative, narrative and mixed methods proposals. - Examples from Berkeley International Studies

 

D. Discussion Starters/Reflective Journal Topics: (Choose one topic and start or continue a discussion thread.)

1) Relate to Crotty's (1998) questions about the research proposal: What epistemology informs your research? What theoretical perspective lies behind the question(s)? What plan of action links methods to outcomes? and What methods do you propose to use? (Cresswell pp 4,5)

2) What do you think research REALLY is?