Meeting Times, Location, & Course Delivery Details
This course is delivered fully online in an asynchronous format through Wilmington College Blackboard. There are no regularly scheduled class meetings, and students may complete course activities at times that fit their schedules, provided that all posted deadlines are met.
Course content is organized into weekly learning modules. Each module will generally include an overview of the week, learning objectives, instructor-created lecture or instructional materials, assigned readings or resources, opportunities for discussion or peer engagement, applied learning activities, and professional reflection.
Although the course is asynchronous, it is not self-paced. Students are expected to remain actively engaged with the course each week and complete assigned activities by the deadlines listed in Blackboard. Some discussions, peer activities, or multi-part assignments may include multiple deadlines within the same week so that students have an opportunity to interact meaningfully with classmates.
Contact Information
No required textbook.
Required readings and learning materials will be provided through Blackboard or the Wilmington College Library. Materials may include:
- Scholarly journal articles
- Research-methods readings
- Published agricultural research studies
- Government and Extension research
- Instructor-created learning guides
- Recorded lectures
- Research-design examples
- Professional and academic research resources
Students will also locate scholarly research related to their developing area of interest throughout the semester.
Upon successful completion of this course, students should also be able to:
- Explain the purpose and role of research within agriculture.
- Identify meaningful and researchable agricultural problems.
- Locate, read, evaluate, and synthesize scholarly research literature.
- Develop aligned research problems, purpose statements, research questions, and hypotheses.
- Explain how theoretical and conceptual frameworks shape research.
- Define and operationalize variables, constructs, and concepts.
- Develop appropriate sampling and participant-selection strategies.
- Evaluate validity, trustworthiness, bias, and other threats to research quality.
- Develop systematic and ethical data-collection procedures.
- Compare quantitative, qualitative, experimental, quasi-experimental, and mixed methods research designs.
- Evaluate whether research conclusions are supported by the design and evidence presented.
- Develop and defend a coherent research-design proposal addressing an agricultural research problem.
Tentative Schedule:
| Week | Course Topic |
| 1 | Class Introductions and What Is Research? |
| 2 | Why Research Matters in Agriculture |
| 3 | The Scientific Research Process |
| 4 | Finding and Reading Research Literature |
| 5 | Reviewing Literature and Identifying Research Gaps |
| 6 | Research Problems, Purpose Statements, and Significance |
| 7 | Developing Research Questions and Hypotheses |
| 8 | Theoretical and Conceptual Frameworks |
| 9 | Variables, Constructs, and Measurement |
| 10 | Sampling and Participants |
| 11 | Research Quality, Validity, and Trustworthiness |
| 12 | Data Collection Methods and Procedures |
| 13 | Quantitative, Experimental, and Quasi-Experimental Research Designs |
| 14 | Qualitative and Mixed Methods Research Designs |
| 15 | Research Design Workshop and Peer Review |
| 16 | Final Research Design Project and Reflection |
Subject to change during the semester. Adequate notice of changes will be given.
Weekly Learning Activities
Weekly activities will help students develop familiarity with research terminology, processes, published literature, and research-design decisions. Activities may include:
- Research article analyses
- Research-design scenarios
- Short methodological exercises
- Literature searches
- Research critiques
- Concept-mapping activities
- Research-development exercises
- Short professional reflections
Graduate Discussions
Students will participate in discussions connected to weekly lectures and research-design questions. Discussions are intended to function like conversations within a graduate seminar. Students will be asked to think through methodological decisions, compare perspectives, examine published research, ask questions, and learn from classmates.
Discussion grades will emphasize meaningful participation, completion, engagement, and professionalism rather than expecting students to already possess expert methodological knowledge.
Applied Research Design Assignments
Throughout the semester, students will develop pieces of a proposed agricultural research study. Assignments may include:
- Research Interest and Problem Exploration
- Research Process Map
- Research Article Analysis
- Literature Gap Analysis
- Problem, Purpose, and Significance Statement
- Research Questions and Hypotheses
- Theoretical or Conceptual Framework Analysis
- Construct and Variable Map
- Sampling and Participant Plan
- Research Quality and Threats Analysis
- Data Collection Plan
- Quantitative Design Analysis
- Qualitative or Mixed Methods Design Analysis
- Complete Research Design Draft
Students should expect these assignments to evolve throughout the semester. An idea developed early in the course may need to be revised as additional literature is reviewed or methodological considerations become clearer.
Research Design Workshop and Peer Review
Near the end of the semester, students will bring together their major research-design decisions into a complete draft. Students will participate in structured peer review and instructor consultation to identify strengths, gaps, inconsistencies, and areas requiring revision.
The purpose of peer review is not simply to edit writing. Students should evaluate whether the major pieces of the proposed research design align.
Final Research Design Project
The final project serves as the culminating assessment for the course. Students will develop a coherent research-design proposal that moves from an agricultural problem to a defensible plan for conducting a study.
The project will generally include:
- Agricultural research problem
- Background and significance
- Purpose statement
- Research questions and/or hypotheses
- Relevant literature
- Theoretical or conceptual framework
- Key concepts, constructs, or variables
- Proposed participants or data sources
- Sampling strategy
- Research design
- Data-collection procedures
- Research-quality safeguards
- Preliminary analysis approach
- Ethical considerations
- Limitations and appropriate claim boundaries
- References
Students are developing a research plan only. Unless separate institutional approval and instructor authorization have been obtained, students should not recruit research participants or collect human-subject research data as part of this course.
Final Professional Reflection
Students will reflect on their development as beginning researchers. The reflection will ask students to consider changes in their understanding of research, methodological decision-making, use of scholarly literature, research ethics, professional judgment, and future research interests.
The grading scale will be as follows:
| Grade | Percentage | Grade | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 96–100% | B− | 82–84.99% |
| A− | 91–95.99% | C+ | 79–81.99% |
| B+ | 88–90.99% | C | 76–78.99% |
| B | 85–87.99% | C− | 72–75.99% |
| D+ | 69–71.99% | D | 65–68.99% |
| F | Below 65% |
Instructor Course Policies
Because this course is delivered online, attendance includes meaningful participation in scheduled and asynchronous learning activities. Participation may include:
- Accessing weekly course materials
- Completing assigned readings
- Watching recorded lectures
- Contributing to discussions
- Submitting assignments
- Participating in peer review
- Communicating with the instructor when difficulties arise
Logging into Blackboard without completing meaningful academic activity does not constitute participation. See the current Student Handbook for the college's Attendance Policy, especially as it pertains to excused absences.
Students are expected to follow Wilmington College's Academic Integrity Policy. Academic misconduct may include, but is not limited to:
- Plagiarism
- Fabrication or falsification
- Unauthorized collaboration
- Misrepresentation of sources
- Fabrication of citations
- Fabrication or manipulation of research evidence
- Submission of work completed by another person
- Reuse of previously submitted work without approval
- Unauthorized use of artificial intelligence
- Sharing work in a manner that facilitates academic misconduct
- Providing false information related to academic matters
Students are responsible for understanding both the institutional policy and assignment-specific expectations. Academic misconduct may result in reduced or zero credit on the affected assignment. Serious or repeated violations may be referred through the appropriate Wilmington College academic integrity process