Individual Research Project: Objectives, Processes, and Expectations
General Objectives:
The student will use information effectively to answer a specific research question.
The student will engage in obtaining and critically examining information at two levels:
1) The student will examine and review existing research literature on his or her topic of choice.
2) The student will identify, obtain and analyze appropriate information (data) to produce an answer or answers to his or her research question(s).
In accordance with the above objectives, a final objective is for students to situate the information they obtain from their original research in the context of the prior research presented in the scholarly literature.
Specific Objectives and Processes:
The student will be required to complete components or assignments which will culminate in the final research report at the end of the semester. At each of the following stages, students will present their work to other students in small groups and each student will receive peer feedback on his or her project and the progress that he or she is making.
This is an iterative process! You will be engaging in critical reflection of prior work and revising and refining your work at each stage.
At each stage, you are to submit your work to the instructor including all prior work and the revised versions of that work. You will receive feedback on each of the individual assignments and will then be expected to revise accordingly and integrate with the other components toward building your final research report.
Expectations:
Each student is expected to be fully engaged in this project throughout the semester. This includes engagement with their own project as well as engagement in the critical assessment and dialogue regarding other students’ projects. This means, among other things, being in class, participating in small group discussions, participating in more general class discussions, completing each component of the project on time, and making appropriate refinements and revisions throughout the process.
ALWAYS FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME WITH ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS
The following is a detailed guide to specific components and their due dates.
I. Topic Statement Due: September 14
This is simply a brief statement (single paragraph) of the topic you intend to research including proposed research question(s) and the data source(s) you intend to use in answering it/them.
II. Literature Review Due: October 5
This is a 3-4 page review of the literature related to your selected topic. This should be a synthesis of the relevant literature and should include at least 10 scholarly sources.
III. Research Plan Due: October 26
Present Study
Methods
This will be 3-4 pages and will include any theoretical foundation for your research, your general research question(s), your specific research hypotheses and your planned research approach including the operationalization/measurement of key concepts and proposed analyses.
IV. Data Analysis & Interpretation Due: November 14
This will be 3-6 pages and will include your findings and a discussion of your findings. The findings should be a thorough presentation of your statistical results including appropriate tables and graphs (tables and graphs do not count in the page limitation). The discussion should include a consideration of your findings in the context of the prior literature and their importance and implications.
V. Final Research Report Due: December 5
This is a thorough and complete research report which will include, drawing on and extending the prior components:
A. An introduction to your topic and rationale for your study.
B. Your revised literature review.
C. Your revised methodology section.
D. Your revised findings section.
E. An extension of your discussion section incorporating a consideration of the limitations of your study and general concluding thoughts.
This final report should be no longer than 15 pages, double-spaced with 12 pt. font and 1 inch margins. You will be graded on how well you accomplish all of the above components of the research project and on your overall engagement in refining and revising of each component culminating in your final report.
VI. Presentation of Research December 5 – 12
Presentations will be limited to ten minutes with five minutes remaining for questions. Presentations should focus on the research questions you asked, the methods by which you attempted to answer those questions, and the results of your study.