Learning Goals For Examinations

First Doctoral Exam 

1. Students will learn to generate testable hypotheses;
2. Students will develop the ability to design research studies that employ both correlational and experimental methods;
3. Students will develop the ability to design research studies in accordance with ethical guidelines;
4. Students will learn to apply various methods for data analysis;
5. Student will learn to interpret results from statistical analyses.

Second Doctoral Exam

1. Students will learn to critique research studies from the literature in their area of interest;
2. Students will learn to integrate findings from a body of literature and generate their own testable hypotheses;
3. Students will learn to conceptualize and discuss at the level of a professional the literature within their specified area of interest.

Third Exam (Dissertation Defense)

1. Students will develop awareness of principles necessary for the codes and requirements necessary for the ethical and legal conduct of research;
2. Students will learn how to successfully conduct and complete Institutional Review Board (IRB) - approved empirically based research projects;
3. Students will learn to conduct independent research including study design, data collection, data analysis, and interpretation of findings;
4. Students will learn to write a professional-level research report.