The Use of a Scoring Rubric in an Online Research Methodology Course

Research methodology courses can be the most difficult courses in master’s-level programs representing the social, behavioral, and health sciences because, in these courses, students typically are expected to learn to think critically and contextually about social and/or academic problems in addition to learning new terminology and methodological concepts not previously part of each specific discipline. Further, the challenges of online learning might increase due to the nature of research methodology courses and the new concepts taught. Thus, as students and instructors of an online research methodology course, we describe the use of a scoring rubric as a performance assessment and provide our student research proposal project as an exemplar of effectively developing research knowledge, skills, and dispositions for use in future online learning of research methodologies.

Research methodology courses can be the most difficult courses in master’s-level programs representing the social, behavioral, and health sciences because, in these courses, students typically are expected to learn to think critically and contextually about social and/or academic problems in addition to learning new terminology and methodological concepts not previously part of each specific discipline. Further, the challenges of online learning might increase due to the nature of research methodology courses and the new concepts taught. Thus, as students and instructors of an online research methodology course, we describe the use of a scoring rubric as a performance assessment and provide our student research proposal project as an exemplar of effectively developing research knowledge, skills, and dispositions for use in future online learning of research methodologies.