Required of all doctoral students. Open only to matriculated doctoral students who have completed the prerequisites. Overview of foundational questions related to what is important and knowable about educational matters (including issues of objectivity and subjectivity) and how different empirical methods of inquiry respond to such questions. Topics include: standards of believability, persuasiveness, and utility in different kinds of inquiry and the relationships among theoretical, quantitative and qualitative methods in the cycle of scientific discovery. Emphasis is on formulating significant research questions, clarifying important concepts for research, and preparing sound research proposals. 4cr, either sem.