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Syllabus
HIED 830: Designing Institutional Research Studies
Designing Institutional Research Studies (3) acquaints students with best practices and necessary skills in quantitative and qualitative research design including sampling and basic measurement issues, research methods, survey research, interviews, focus groups, and selecting appropriate statistical tools. As a pre-requisite for this course, students are expected to:
- Know the definition of a "variable" and the distinctions among dependent, independent, and control variables.
- Know basic descriptive statistics (e.g., mean, median, variance, standard deviation, percentage distributions), basic inferential statistics (chi-square test of association and goodness-of-fit test, t-tests, one-way analysis of variance, correlations); and
- Know the concepts underlying ordinary least-squares (OLS) multiple regression and the basic multiple regression statistics (R2, R2-change, b-weights, and beta weights).
Overview | Objectives | Materials | Library Resources | Technical Requirements | Course Requirements and Grading | Course Schedule | Academic Integrity | Accommodating Disabilities | Additional Policies
Overview
This course, HIED 830: Designing Institutional Research Studies, introduces students to a core practice of the Institutional Researcher - the collection, preparation, analysis, and presentation of data in support of institutional decision-making. This requires that the Institutional Researcher not only develop technical skills, but also an understanding of important higher education issues and and awareness of the context in which the researcher works. The first half of the class focuses on data collection, using a survey design activity as an example. The latter half of the course focuses on data preparation, analysis, and presentation. These experiences are embedded in the larger activity of preparing and executing an institutional research proposal.
Course Objectives
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
- explain the role and function of the institutional researcher;
- design a survey to collect data;
- assess the overall quality of a survey, and by extension, other types of assessments;
- design an interview protocol;
- create a proposal to conduct an institutional research study;
- integrate and prepare different data sources for analysis;
- apply descriptive and predictive data analysis techniques; and
- create effective data presentations.
Required Course Materials
Most World Campus courses require that students purchase materials (e.g., textbooks, specific software, etc.). To learn about how to order materials, please see the Course Materials page. You should check LionPATH approximately 3–4 weeks before the course begins for a list of required materials.
Many of the University Libraries resources can be utilized from a distance. Through the Libraries website, you can
- access magazine, journal, and newspaper articles online using library databases;
- borrow materials and have them delivered to your doorstep—or even your desktop;
- get research help via email, chat, or phone using the Ask a Librarian service; and
- much more.
You must have an active Penn State Access Account to take full advantage of the Libraries' resources and service. The Off-Campus Users page has additional information about these free services.
This course requires that you access Penn State library materials specifically reserved for this course. You can access these materials by selecting Library Resources in your course navigation, or by accessing the Library E-Reserves Search and search for your instructor's last name.
Technical Requirements
| Operating System | Canvas, Penn State's Learning Management System (LMS), supports most recent versions of Microsoft Windows and Apple Mac operating systems. To determine if your operating system is supported, please review Canvas' computer specifications. |
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| Browser | Canvas supports the last two versions of every major browser release. It is highly recommended that you update to the newest version of whatever browser you are using. Note: Cookies must be enabled, and pop-up blockers should be configured to permit new windows from Penn State websites. |
| Additional Canvas Requirements | For a list of software, hardware, and computer settings specifically required by the Canvas LMS, please review Canvas' computer specifications. |
| Additional Software | All Penn State students have access to Microsoft Office 365, including Microsoft Office applications such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. |
| Hardware | Monitor: Monitor capable of at least 1024 x 768 resolution |
| Mobile Device (optional) | The Canvas mobile app is available for versions of iOS and Android. To determine if your device is capable of using the Canvas Mobile App, please review the Canvas Mobile App Requirements. |
Student Education Experience Questionnaire (SEEQ)
During the semester you will receive information for completing the Student Education Experience Questionnaire (SEEQ). Your participation is an opportunity to provide anonymous feedback on your learning experience. Your feedback is important because it allows us to understand your experience in this course and make changes to improve the learning experiences of future students. Please monitor email and course communications for links and availability dates.
If you need technical assistance at any point during the course, please contact the Service Desk.
For registration, advising, disability services, help with materials, exams, general problem solving, visit World Campus Student Services!
Course Requirements and Grading
Assignments
The method for assessing learning will include a variety of activities and exercises. The paragraphs and tables below will provide you with an at a glance overview of the assignment structure. Additional, more detailed information is included for each assignment in the lesson that it occurs.
Each assignment, unless otherwise specified in the lesson, is worth 100 points.
Topic Discussion Forums & Reflection Activities
The work of the IR professional is rarely done alone. It is always enhanced and influenced by both other IR professionals and the individuals within the university that are either requesting or consuming the information that you provide. As a result, discussion forums play a major role in this course. Every lesson, with the exception of lessons 11 and 12, include at least one discussion forum.
Each topic discussion forum will include at least one question to prompt discussion. For every topic discussion, unless otherwise noted, you are required to complete your initial post by Thursday of each week and then engage your peers in discussion. This engagement includes responding to the posts of a minimum of four other peers in addition to responding, as necessary, to the responses to your post. Statements such as "I agree" or "interesting idea" do not constitute a response.
The second component for every topic discussion forum is a reflective exercise. You will be asked to reflect on the discussions that have occurred in that week to determine:
- what new thoughts or ideas struck you as meaningful;
- what already existing ideas were reinforced; and
- what additional questions remain that you would like clarification on from your instructor.
I will be using these reflections as a means to: provide feedback; individualize your learning experience; enhance the overall learning experience for all course students; and assess your comprehension of the subject matter.
You will submit your reflection using Word to the lesson's designated drop box. You will receive a combined grade for each topic discussion and reflection. In other words, you must complete both the discussion and reflection to receive the 100 points for the assignment. See the rubric below for additional grading requirements.
IR Study Project
This assignment spans multiple lessons. The following is a listing of each facet of this project. Additional details for each individual assignment within this project are located on the respective lesson's activity page.
| Assignment | Lesson(s) | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Proposal | 2 | This proposal is similar to what an IR professional may submit to their supervisor in order to receive permission to conduct a research study. Your proposal will include a description of the topic and the study you would like to conduct. The purpose of the study must address a specific research question(s) that would be relevant to most universities. The proposal will also include your initial thoughts on the type and location of the data needed to complete the study. Note, for this class, the study must indicate the intended use of pre-existing data available to the institution and data collected via survey(s). |
| Survey Coverage and Sampling Plan | 3 |
For this portion of the study, you will be asked to identify:
|
| Survey Review | 4 - 7 |
In lesson 04, you will start developing the survey for your IR Study. This draft will be shared with an identified peer in lesson 05. In lessons 5 and 6, you and your assigned partner will review and provide feedback to one another's survey. Written feedback to your partner will be due in lesson 06. Your final survey will be due in lesson 07. |
| Plan | 7 |
Your finalized IR Study: Plan is due in lesson 07. The final plan will include a comprehensive description of:
Note that this is an expansion of the proposal developed in lesson 02 of the project. |
Application Exercises
The following table provides an overview of the application exercises and the lesson in which they occur. Unless otherwise noted, each of these exercises is worth 100 points each.
| Assignment | Lesson | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Revising Survey Items | 4 |
For this exercise, you will be given a sampling of survey items. You will review each item to identify problems and then make edits to address those problems. Note: Your revised survey items will be used again in lesson 07 as part of the re-ordering survey items exercise. |
| Interview Protocol | 5 | You will be asked to design an interview protocol as if you were going to interview a faculty member, staff person, or student about a higher education topic relevant to IR. |
| Interview Summary | 5 | You will be asked to locate a video if an interview about a higher education topic of your choice. You will then be asked to summarize the relevant points of the interview using the qualitative data analysis methods presented in this lesson. |
| Re-Ordering Survey Items | 7 | Using the revised survey items from lesson 04, you will be tasked with evaluating the order of the items and reordering the items as necessary. |
| Data Preparation | 8 |
You are going to combine a data set in preparation for further analysis using MS Access. This includes checking for values out of range and duplicate records. Note, the prepared data will be used again in lesson 09. |
| Data Analysis: Summary Statistics | 9 | In this exercise, you will analyze the data prepared in lesson 08. The results of your analysis and your interpretation of these results will be summarized into a report. |
| Data Analysis: Multilevel | 10 | For this exercise, you will expand upon the report you developed in lesson 09. This expansion will be based on additional computations of new data and the interpretations of those computations. As an additional element, this report will also require you to discuss the changes that occurred. You will note where your overalland within group interpretations are different and how those changes impacted your overall interpretations of your results. |
| Evaluating Causal Claims Report | 11 | You will be given five IR related scenarios where a correlation has been estimated. You will select three out of the five and make two specific determinations for each. |
| Estimating Causal Relationships | 11 | This assignment is designed to provide you with experience employing methods that provide a better "hint" regarding a causal relationship between two variables. |
| Logistic Regression Summary Report | 12 | You will be summarizing an IR report that uses logistic regression. This summary will be based on your review of the purpose, procedure, and results contained in the report. |
| Report Review | 13 | For this exercise, you will select an existing IR report of your choice. For your selected report, you will review the report and document your overall impressions of the report and suggested improvements that could be made to enhance it. |
| Self-Assessment and Education Plan | 14 | In this exercise, you will return to the questions posed in lesson 01 to explore how your technical/analytical intelligence has evolved over the duration of this course. You will also identify ways that you continue expanding your IR knowledge and skills. |
Assignment Rubric
For every graded assignment listed above, the following rubric will be used.
| Element |
Poor 50 Points |
Fair 75 Points |
Good 100 Points |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Content & Development 60% | Fails to address all assigned questions/topics. No supporting information included. Purpose is unclear. | All questions/topics are addressed, but not well supported. Content and purpose of writing is unclear in spots. | All major questions/topics are clearly addressed and are well supported. Content and purpose of writing are clear throughout. |
| Organization & Structure
25% | Organization and structure are distracting from content. Paragraphs are disjointed and lack transition of thoughts. | Organization and structure of the paragraphs are not easy to follow. Paragraph transitions need improvement. | Organization and structure of the paragraphs are clear and easy to follow. Effective transitions are in place. |
| Grammar, Punctuation & Spelling
15% | Numerous grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors. Language is often unclear or ambiguous. | Few grammatical, punctuation and spelling errors. Language is sometimes unclear. | Rules of grammar, usage, and punctuation are followed; spelling is correct. Language is clear and precise; sentences display consistently strong, varied structure. |
Grading
Note that if assignments are not submitted on time, students will receive one grade reduction for each day the assignment is late.
Letter Grades will be based on the following scale:
| Numerical Value | Letter Grade |
|---|---|
| 93 - 100 | A |
| 90 - 92.9 | A- |
| 87 - 89.9 | B+ |
| 83 - 86.9 | B |
| 80 - 82.9 | B- |
| 77 - 79.9 | C+ |
| 70 - 76.9 | C |
| 60 - 69.9 | D |
| Below 60 | F |
Please refer to the University Grading Policy for Graduate Courses for additional information about University grading policies.
Course Schedule
The schedule below outlines the topics we will be exploring in this course along with the associated time frames and assignments. Unless otherwise specified, all course assignments are due at 11:55 pm ET.
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Note: If you are planning to graduate this semester, please communicate your intent to graduate to your instructor. This will alert your instructor to the need to submit your final grade in time to meet the published graduation deadlines. For more information about graduation policies and deadlines, please go to the Graduation Information on the My Penn State Online Student Portal.
Formal instruction will end on the last day of class. Provided that you have an active Penn State Access Account user ID and password, you will continue to be able to access the course materials for one year, starting from the end date of the academic semester in which the course was offered (with the exception of library reserves and other external resources that may have a shorter archival period). After one year, you might be able to access the course based on the policies of the program or department offering the course material, up to a maximum of three years from the end date of the academic semester in which the course was offered. For more information, please review the University Course Archival Policy.
Academic Integrity
According to Penn State policy G-9: Academic Integrity , an academic integrity violation is “an intentional, unintentional, or attempted violation of course or assessment policies to gain an academic advantage or to advantage or disadvantage another student academically.” Unless your instructor tells you otherwise, you must complete all course work entirely on your own, using only sources that have been permitted by your instructor, and you may not assist other students with papers, quizzes, exams, or other assessments. If your instructor allows you to use ideas, images, or word phrases created by another person (e.g., from Course Hero or Chegg) or by generative technology, such as ChatGPT, you must identify their source. You may not submit false or fabricated information, use the same academic work for credit in multiple courses, or share instructional content. Students with questions about academic integrity should ask their instructor before submitting work.
Students facing allegations of academic misconduct may not drop/withdraw from the affected course unless they are cleared of wrongdoing (see G-9: Academic Integrity ). Attempted drops will be prevented or reversed, and students will be expected to complete course work and meet course deadlines. Students who are found responsible for academic integrity violations face academic outcomes, which can be severe, and put themselves at jeopardy for other outcomes which may include ineligibility for Dean’s List, pass/fail elections, and grade forgiveness. Students may also face consequences from their home/major program and/or The Schreyer Honors College.
How Academic Integrity Violations Are Handled
World Campus students are expected to act with civility and
personal integrity; respect other students' dignity, rights, and
property; and help create and maintain an environment in which all
can succeed through the fruits of their own efforts. An environment
of academic integrity is requisite to respect for oneself and
others, as well as a civil community.
In cases where academic integrity is questioned, the Policy on Academic Integrity indicates that procedure requires an instructor to inform the student of the allegation. Procedures allow a student to accept or contest a charge. If a student chooses to contest a charge, the case will then be managed by the respective college or campus Academic Integrity Committee. If that committee recommends an administrative sanction (Formal Warning, Conduct Probation, Suspension, Expulsion), the claim will be referred to the Office of Student Accountability and Conflict Response.
All Penn State colleges abide by this Penn State policy, but review procedures may vary by college when academic dishonesty is suspected. Information about Penn State's academic integrity policy and college review procedures is included in the information that students receive upon enrolling in a course. To obtain that information in advance of enrolling in a course, please contact us by going to the Contacts & Help page .
Accommodating Disabilities
Penn State welcomes students with disabilities into the University's educational programs. Every Penn State campus has resources for students with disabilities. The Student Disability Resources (SDR) website provides contacts for disability services at every Penn State campus. For further information, please visit the SDR website.
In order to apply for reasonable accommodations, you must contact the appropriate disability resources office at the campus where you are officially enrolled, participate in an intake interview, and provide documentation based on the documentation guidelines. If the documentation supports your request for reasonable accommodations, your campus's disability resources office will provide you with an accommodation letter. Please share this letter with your instructors and discuss the accommodations with them as early in your courses as possible. You must follow this process for every semester that you request accommodations.
If you have a crisis or safety concern, mental health services are available to you as a Penn State student. Crisis and emergency contacts are available, no matter where you are located:
- Anywhere in the United States: Call the Penn State Crisis Line at 1-877-229-6400 or text LIONS to 741741. You can also contact your local crisis services or hospital for emergencies.
- Outside the United States: Please contact emergency services in your current location. You can also use the International Crisis and Emergency Services listings.
- At University Park: Assistance is available at Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS) locations on campus.
- At a Penn State branch campus: You can search for counseling information at your campus.
Additional Policies
For information about additional policies regarding Penn State Access Accounts; credit by examination; course tuition, fees, and refund schedules; and drops and withdrawals, please see the World Campus Student Center website.
Veterans and currently serving military personnel and/or dependents with unique circumstances (e.g., upcoming deployments, drill/duty requirements, VA appointments, etc.) are welcome and encouraged to communicate these, in advance if possible, to the instructor in the case that special arrangements need to be made.
In order to protect your privacy, course access is limited to those individuals who have direct responsibility for the quality of your educational experience. In addition to the instructor, a teaching assistant or college administrator may be provided access in order to ensure optimal faculty availability and access. World Campus technical staff may also be given access in order to resolve technical support issues.- Students are responsible for online course content, taking notes, obtaining other materials provided by the instructor, taking tests (if applicable), and completing assignments as scheduled by the instructor. As a general rule, students should plan on logging into the course at least three times per week and spending at least three hours per course credit per week on the course, e.g., if the course is three credits, the student should plan on spending at least 9-12 hours per week on the course, just as they would in a residence course.
- Students are responsible for keeping track of changes in the course syllabus made by the instructor throughout the semester.
- Students are responsible for monitoring their grades.
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Students must contact their instructor (and teammates when working on any collaborative learning assignments) as soon as possible if they anticipate missing long periods of online time due to events such as chronic illnesses, death in the family, business travel, or other appropriate events. The instructor will determine the minimal log on time and participation required in order to meet course responsibilities. In the event of other unforeseen conflicts, the instructor and student will arrive at a solution together.
- Requests for taking exams or submitting assignments after the due dates require documentation of events such as illness, family emergency, or a business-sanctioned activity.
- Conflicts with dates on which examinations or assignments are scheduled must be discussed with the instructor or TA prior to the date of the examination or assignment.
- Students are responsible for following appropriate netiquette (network etiquette) when communicating with their instructor and classmates. For reference, see the Academic Success Kit.
- Behaviors that disrupt other students’ learning are not acceptable and will be addressed by the instructor.
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For severe and chronic problems with student disruptive behavior, the following will be applied for resolution:
- Senate Committee on Student Life policy on managing classroom disruptions: Office of Student Accountability and Conflict Response.
- Penn State Principles
Penn State takes great pride to foster a diverse and inclusive environment for students, faculty, and staff. Acts of intolerance, discrimination, or harassment due to age, ancestry, color, disability, gender, gender identity, national origin, race, religious belief, sexual orientation, or veteran status are not tolerated and can be reported through Educational Equity via the Report Bias webpage.