last altered 5/17/02 We'll be starting at the beginning of June, and everything you need to know will be emailed to you via the IrlsADMIN listserv (which all registered students are automatically added to). The coursepacks are available from the bookshop (however the computer systems that oversees this says that they are not, because it now is PreSession and these texts relate to Summer Session, but they're there). Any further questions you might have about registration etc. should go to the office (lhussey@u.arizona.edu).

Homepage for IRLS506. Research Methods

Note: This will be a virtual course taught on the Web.

Martin Frické

Material may be added or changed on a continuing basis. One file that will remain untouched throughout is that containing the course requirements.

"Research is fundamentally a state of mind involving continual re-examination of the doctrines and axioms upon which current thought and action are based. It is, therefore, critical of existing practices." Theobald Smith, 1929

"The maddening thing about research was that most answers just meant more questions.... " Corian Trevanni, Wintermind, Marvin Kaye and Parke Godwin, 1982

What is research?
 

Research is the process of offering conjectures to solve problems, and of the testing, and sometimes refuting, of those conjectures. It is a process of theory building and hypothesis testing-- the sifting and winnowing of ideas that leads to new knowledge, and new interpretations of old knowledge. It is a search for truth. And what it achieves are views that might reasonably be believed to be the truth, in the light of the evidence and the critical dialog.

Some important links

 

A student who registers in this course will be give an account with a User name and a password. They will then be able to access fuller versions of the following links (complete with full navigation facilities).

The present links point to briefer versions, to give intending students some idea of what is on offer.

For more information, contact Martin Frické .