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PA 803 Syllabus

Advanced Research Design

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Office hours by appointment.

Prof. G. David Garson
Tel. 919-515-3067
or 919-616-2273 (c)
E-mail: David_Garson@ncsu.edu
022 Winston

PA 803 Advanced Research Design
Preq: PA 765
Coreq: At least two graduate methodology or statistics courses
For doctoral students in Public Administration and allied fields
Philosophy and objectives of social scientific research with focus on basic and applied research, need for hypothesis development and testing as a basis of scientific research, inductive and deductive reasoning. Emphasis on preparation of research design of dissertation, published articles, and technical presentations. Students will present a research prospectus that will serve as the basis for their dissertation.

Important notice! Students are expected to have identified their proposed dissertation topic over the summer and come to the first class able to discuss it.

Textbooks None! All readings are online. However, I have placed one of my earlier books on reserve room reading (3-day loan; it may or may not be available electronically also): G. David Garson, Guide to Writing Empirical Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. NY: Marcel Dekker, 2002.

Grading. The grade is Credit/No Credit based on the student's final presentation of their dissertation prospectus proposal during the last three weeks of class. Please consider it a course requirement to consult with your dissertation advisor in developing the prospectus, and to give her or him a copy of your final product for this course, not just giving a copy to Prof. Garson!

Course Evaluations Course evaluations are now done online at http://classeval.ncsu.edu/. Help on course evaluations is by email at classeval@ncsu.edu..

Academic Integrity Statement

Please note the existence of the University policy on academic integrity found in the Code of Student Conduct (found in Appendix L of the Handbook for Advising and Teaching). Academic misconduct will not be tolerated in this class. Academic misconduct may be defined as "any activity which tends to compromise the academic integrity of the institution, or subvert the educational process". I expect complete honesty in the completion of tests and assignments. It is my understanding that the student's signature on any test or assignment means that the student neither gave nor received unauthorized aid. Beyond cheating on quizzes or exams, academic misconduct also includes the submission of plagiarized work for an academic requirement. Plagiarism is "the representation of another's works or ideas as one's own; it includes the unacknowledged word for word use and/or paraphrasing of another person's work, and/or the inappropriate unacknowledged use of another person's ideas". Thus each argument made in the research papers which is not completely the student's own, must be footnoted or otherwise referenced to indicate its source. Students found guilty of academic misconduct will at a minimum receive a 0 for the assignment.

Statement Regarding Students with Disabilities

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, NC State will honor requests for reasonable accommodations made by individuals with disabilities. Requests can be served more effectively if notice is provided at least 10 days before the event. If you have disability-related needs, please inform the instructor of them immediately.

Graduate School Deadlines Doctoral students should be aware of pertinent Graduate School deadlines.

Career Services. Exploring career options with your major, making decisions about your major or minor, building resumes and cover letters, preparing for interviews, developing job search strategies, maximizing career fairs, and more. Make an appointment with your career contact: Sara Concini (A-H) or Woody Catoe (I-Z). Call 515-2396. University Career Center, 2100 Pullen Hall. www.ncsu.edu/career. While primarily serving undergraduates, they are happy to make individual appointments with graduate students.