Course Reflection LIS 570: Research Methods

Looking back at LIS 570 I can see how much information we try to cram in such a small space of time. Much of what we covered in 570 I have had covered before either in in my undergrad (specifically Psychology and Sociology coursework), or even in high school as we discussed the scientific method. However, this was the first time that I covered the material with the assumption that it was something that I could do.
We began the course with a dissuasion of different research paradigms and the different philosophies behind them, as well as ethical concerns for many types of research.
From there we worked our way through the research process, formatting a question/hypothesis/statement, conducting a literature review with a team. I had never done a team literature review before, and it was quite the experience to see that it all fit and flowed together, especially as it was the first written assignment to turn in, and therefore we were unsure of what our instructor was looking for).
Next up we designed our own research based on the literature review. Here is mine-- I am quite proud of how it turned out (For those of you who care to see the instructor's comments, here they are). We had to think both creatively to decide what to look for and how to go about getting information, and practically for what could reasonably be achieved. I decided to plan my design as if I had much more financial resources available to me than I probably would have in a practical setting, but chose practical methods for engaging my research participants.

I like to think of the later modules as a kind of cool-down period from the rest of the course. We looked at how to analyzed both qualitative and quantitative data and I enjoyed having free reign and data to play with excel. Our final project pulled from all previous modules and required us to look at the beginnings of someone else's research and critique it.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time in LIS 570 because it both stretched me creatively, and also indulged my analytical side.