Week 5 Research Question Assignment Instructions

Week 5 Research Question Assignment Instructions

Week 5 Research Question Assignment Instructions

Overview

Though the expectations of a capstone and dissertation project differ in some respects, both project formats require a research question. A well-formulated research question:

• Is stated clearly and in the form of a question;
• Is specific and restricted in scope;
• Is feasible (i.e. Can the researcher obtain the data necessary to answer the question?);
• Does not pose an ethical or moral problem for implementation;
• Focuses on what is to be investigated (whether a practical problem in a capstone project or a theoretical problem in a dissertation).

In this assignment, students will submit (and if necessary, revise) their research question which was previously presented as part of their Research Plan Review Assignment submission. As part of this, students will be asked to specify and clearly define their dependent variable (DV). A dependent variable is the outcome you intend to explain. For a capstone the DV may represent the presumed outcome or effect of a proposed project, program, or policy intervention. For a dissertation the DV may represent a phenomenon relevant to your chosen discipline for which you will offer a causal explanation. 

Whether you are writing a capstone or a dissertation, you must be able to describe your dependent variable in one sentence. This sentence should not contain any indications of potential independent/causal variables. 

To effectively study your dependent variable, you will have to conceptualize, operationalize, and measure it. You will also need to explain how and why you conceptualized, operationalized, and measured your DV. 

• Conceptualizing a variable requires the researcher to explain and justify their way of defining or understanding that variable. This may require the researcher to refer to how other researchers have conceptualized that variable and/or to anticipate and answer potential questions about other possible ways of conceptualizing that variable.
• Operationalizing a variable requires the researcher to specify the means by which that variable will be measured. What indicator, scale, or other measurement system will be used? This may require the researcher to refer to how other researchers have operationalized that variable and/or to anticipate and answer potential questions about other possible ways of operationalizing that variable.
• Measuring a variable requires the researcher to specify the process by which data will be gathered and analyzed. This may require the researcher to refer to how other researchers have measured that variable and/or to anticipate and answer potential questions about other possible ways of measuring that variable.

Instructions

• Complete the Title Page, specifying your chosen academic program and stating whether you are writing a capstone or a dissertation.
• The assignment should state your research question and dependent variable. The research question should be presented in one sentence. If your project requires more than one research question state those also. The assignment should offer a full explanation of how the research question meets criterion for a good social science-based research question. This should include an explanation of why the research question is appropriate for your chosen program, and research topic within your program.
• The dependent variable should be presented in one sentence.
• The assignment should offer a full explanation of how the dependent variable was conceptualized, operationalized, and measured.
  • Explain and justify your choices for how you conceptualized your DV.
  • Explain and justify your choices for how you operationalized your DV.
  • Explain and justify your choices for how you proposed to measure your DV.
• Assignment should be submitted in current APA format.
• Assignment should include at least six (6) scholarly citations from peer reviewed academic sources.
• The assignment should be no fewer than seven (7) pages in length. This page count should not include Title Page and References (which must be a part of your submission). This page count should not include other supplementary information or appendices that are not required.

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS –

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• Discussion Questions (DQ)

Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, including a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words. Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source. One or two-sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words. I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.

• Weekly Participation

Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately. In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies. Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work). Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week. Week 5 Research Question Assignment Instructions

• APA Format and Writing Quality

Familiarize yourself with the APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in Loud-cloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required). Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation. I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.

• Use of Direct Quotes

I discourage over-utilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Master’s level and deduct points accordingly. As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content. It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.

• LopesWrite Policy

For assignments that need to be submitted to Lopes Write, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me. Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes. Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own? Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in Loud-cloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.

• Late Policy

The university’s policy on late assignments is a 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies. Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances. If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect. I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension. As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading. Week 5 Research Question Assignment Instructions

• Communication

Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me: Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class. Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.

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