OLPD8603

The goal of this course is to assist doctoral students in developing their ability to conduct research and theory building in human resource development (HRD). Designed as a capstone experience for students in their second year of doctoral studies, the course will not only strengthen their understanding of approaches to disciplined inquiry and knowledge of current theories and advanced scholarly work in HRD, but will also provide them with an opportunity to develop practical research skills, by developing proposals for research projects aimed at addressing real-life needs of various organizations, and conducting these projects.

Through this course students will be able to:

1. Further develop their understanding of the philosophical foundations of theory and theory development
2. Understand and discuss current approaches to research and theory building, used in HRD and related fields
3. Examine different perspectives on research and theory building
4. Develop and demonstrate critical thinking skills necessary to understand, interpret, and evaluate research and theories in HRD
5. Identify, compare and critique examples of cutting-edge HRD research and theory building efforts
6. Become part of a community of scholars and contribute to the viability and productivity of this community
7. Understand issues of research ethics and apply ethics principles in their own scholarly work
8. Gain hands-on experience conducting HRD research in organizations
9. Learn how to write successful research proposals and practice developing proposals for dissertation research
10. Understand how to develop research reports for submission to industry clients and to academic publications, and practice writing and submitting papers to academic publications.

This course will be offered over two semesters. During the fall semester sessions will consist of lectures and discussions, and during spring semester, in addition to regular class meetings, students will be working on their field research projects on-site with client organizations. Students will be expected to make one presentation in each of the two semesters: present a proposal for a dissertation research project in fall, and present the results of the field project at the end of the spring semester.

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