Theme 3

Theme 3: Quantitative methods

• Lecture (Mon): Choosing quantitative methods: Beyond letting the question determine the method, Martha Cleveland-Innes.
• Lab exercise (Mon/Wed): Quantitative analysis with SPSS, Ester Appelgren.

Read the follwoing texts:

• Lowenthal, P. R. & Leech, N. (2009). Mixed research and online learning: Strategies for improvement. In T. T. Kidd (Ed.), Online education and adult learning: New frontiers for teaching practices. Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
• Cleveland-Innes, M. & Campbell P. (in press). Emotional presence, learning and the online learning environment. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning.

Reflect on the key points and what you learnt by reading. You can use some of the questions in Performing research article critiques as support for a critical review of the papers. Please note that some of these questions might not be relevant, especially not for the Lowenthal/Leech chapter since it is not an empirical study.

Publish your reflections before and after the theme is completed in you individual learning portfolio (blog). See the course guide for further instructions.