1. Assignment#1 Instructions:
Research Article Analysis
INTRODUCTION:
The week one research article analysis from a peer-reviewed scholarly journal gives you the opportunity to learn to use scholarly journals for research and to analyze a scholarly journal article for content. When you have completed the APA format assignment (450-600 words), you should save your work as a Word.doc and upload it along with the scholarly article you located as attachments in the Assignment section.
OVERVIEW:
This first assignment—like all the other assignments in this course—utilizes your topic of interest in the selection of material for research. Locate a scholarly research journal article in the APUS online library that is related to the topic you selected, and then prepare a paper that answers some basic questions related to your article. Be sure to consult the rubric associated with weekly assignments to see the grading criteria. NOTE: SELECT AN ARTICLE THAT WAS PUBLISHED WITHIN THE LAST TEN YEARS.
DETAILS:
1. Make sure to utilize your topic of interest for the course.
2. Find a journal article that presents scholarly research associated with the topic. At this early point in the course you are asked to “jump right in” and utilize the online library to locate an appropriate scholarly journal article that presents research concerning your topic. Note that you may access the APUS Online Library and get help with scholarly research from the school. The APUS Online Library has a great orientation video (click here) to help you get started. The APUS Online Library also provides a specific guide for how to research in the library (click here). Still another great source is a 5-minute video produced by Dr. Rhonda Bell that walks you through the process. (If you watch Dr. Bell’s video keep in mind that it is slightly dated in terms of the online site setup. However, the essential content and approach are correct.) Here is the link to Dr. Bell’s video:
http://www.screencast.com/t/nIMKTHnWT (text-only version of lecture)
Keep in mind that scholarly research involves solving problems. If your article does not present qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods research then you do not have an appropriate research article. Again, for the purposes of this assignment you want to intentionally find a research article that contains one of the three methods of research: qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods. The Creswell textbook will help you differentiate these three methods of research. Save the article to your computer to have as a reference and also to attach to the professor when your paper is completed (see step 5 below).
3. Write a short paper (450-600 words) that demonstrates a brief analysis of the scholarly research article you selected. You are to write your paper in such a way as to answer the questions/issues below. However, do not include the list on your paper. Instead, let the items guide the content expressed in your paper, which should be in typical paragraph form. Because of the shortness of the assignment, several of the items may be contained in a given paragraph. Be precise and you will be concise.
• After a brief introductory sentence. Tell whether the title is appropriate to the focus of the study. (Note: select an actual research study; avoid selecting a lecture on a topic. Research studies involve the collection and analysis of data, whereas lectures on a topic typically discuss a variety of research studies and do not provide the details of data collection and analysis.)
• State the problem. Is the problem clearly stated? Does the problem have a theoretical rational? How significant is the problem studied in the research?
• Is there a review of the literature? If so, is the literature relevant? Summarize (in a couple of sentences) the review of the literature.
• Fully and completely describe the research method that was used to attack and answer the problem. Was the research method used to solve the problem qualitative or quantitative, or both? What instruments were used to answer the problem? Was there a sample used? If so, how was the sample selected?
• State the hypothesis/questions or objectives. Were they stated clearly?
• Are there any probable sources of error that might influence the results of the study? If so, have they been controlled?
• What were the statistical or evaluative (quantitative/qualitative) techniques used to analyze the data? If so, were they appropriate? Note: There are many scholarly articles in appropriate journals that inform your topic. However, not all of them will describe research that evaluates data. Make sure that your selected article includes the evaluation/analysis of data. If you are unsure, this is the time to contact your professor and discuss it.
• Summarize the results. How clearly were the results presented?
• What are the limitations of the study? Are they stated?
• Summarize the conclusion(s). Are the conclusions presented clearly? Does the data support the conclusions? Does the researcher over generalize the findings?
• How can the results and conclusions presented in this study be applied in your particular field of study or work environment?
4. Utilize the APA Helps as necessary in the Resources area to help you present your brief paper in APA format, which means that you need to write a Title Page and References Page separate from the body of the text of the paper (no abstract or author note are needed). On this assignment you should write the publication information about your article on the References Page (only one reference needed . . . the article you are analyzing) and then also cite the source in the body of the paper whenever you are stating facts from the article. Avoid unsupported statements whenever possible. In many cases you will write a paragraph of text and insert a citation only once. When you direct quote, include the page number of the source, too. Some may ask why APA is so important. APA is the mode of communication of the written word in the management field. It is the due diligence of graduate management students to excel at APA.
Ther following information is uincluded for all assignments:
NOTE: Do not use macros or automatic referencing in your papers for this course. The auto features usually cause unforeseen problems in format. Plus, part of this course involves the student’s acquisition of the essentials of the APA style format
5. Upload your paper (.doc) along with the article (.pdf) you reviewed in the assignment section for grading. Follow the Submissions Guidelines as listed in the Syllabus: The various assignments for this course should be submitted as Word.doc attachments in the Assignment section of our virtual classroom.
Each file OF YOUR WORK should be named in the following manner: Last name–truncated Week Number-Assignment name (abbreviated if necessary)
For example: Smith-Wk01-Article Analysis
The accompanying article upon which your work is based should be saved to your computer as a pdf file and then uploaded along with your assignment, named as suits you, EXCEPT put your last name first in the following manner: Last name–the name of your article (abbreviate as needed)
For example: Smith-YadaYada Research
Please note that you should upload two items into the same assignment area: your paper and the article (.pdf) upon which your paper is based.
Here are two examples of a sample paper with annotations to demonstrate what a typical paper in this course should look like (except for the annotations, which are included here as a help):
BEFORE YOU WRITE/SUBMIT YOUR PAPER . . . I highly suggest that you view the following YouTube video (if you have not already done so). It will show you how to get off on the right foot in APA formatting of your written assignments: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pbUoNa5tyY&feature=related
Another must-see video has to do with plagiarism (from the lecture). Note that it was developed using MLA format instead of APA. However, the essential message is applicable to the work in this course:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnTPv9PtOoo&feature=youtu.be
Here are some additional videos to help you with your work this week:
• Scholarly vs Popular Periodicals– http://youtu.be/VeyR30Yq1tA
• Peer Review in 5 Minutes– http://youtu.be/twogpmM-SfY
• Evaluation of Sources using the CRAAP test— http://www.csuchico.edu/lins/handouts/eval_websites.pdf
• Selecting Relevant Sources— http://www.csupomona.edu/~library/reference/InfoLit/eval_tuts/dlo02/index.html
• Selecting Reputable Sources— http://www.csupomona.edu/~library/reference/InfoLit/eval_tuts/dlo01/index.html
2. Assignment#2 Instructions
This assignment uses a similar strategy to the assignment in the previous weeks, except that it focuses on qualitative research. You will find another different article related to your topic of interest (same topic as week one—do not change topics). Use the library and the same essential process that was described previously, including the preparation of a 450-600 word paper to submit along with the article that you find. Consult the rubric associated with weekly assignments to see the grading criteria. NOTE: SELECT AN ARTICLE THAT WAS PUBLISHED WITHIN THE LAST TEN YEARS. Avoid articles that contain quantitative research.
DETAILS:
1. Using the same topic you selected from week one, and utilizing a similar research strategy in the online library, find a journal article that presents qualitative scholarly research associated with your topic. Remember that scholarly research involves solving problems. If your article does not use qualitative methodology then you do not have an appropriate research article. For the purposes of this assignment you want to intentionally find a research article that contains qualitative methodology. Consult the Creswell textbook for assistance. Save the article to your computer to have as a reference and also to attach to the professor when your paper is completed.
2. Avid research skills need to be applied in this exercise. In Proquest or EBSCO, make the “Advanced Search” do the work for you. Utilize all three boxes in the search window. For example, if you are trying to identify a scholarly journal with the topic of leadership that has hypotheses or questions identified, then in the first search box use the key word “leadership” in the next search box use the key word “hypotheses” and the last search box use the key word “research question.” You also may want to do a search and change one of the key words to “qualitative” that produces an article that may have a theory or model associated with the study.
REMEMBER to check the “Scholarly Journal” box and the “Full-text” box. Also, viewing the article in the PDF version will allow a better viewing of the qualitative research in its entirety.
3. Write a short paper (450-600 words) that demonstrates a brief analysis of the qualitative research article you selected. You are to write your paper in such a way as to answer the questions/issues below. However, do not include the list on your paper. Instead, let the items guide the content expressed in your paper, which should be in typical paragraph form.
- State the research problem or issue in the study.
- State the hypothesis/questions or objectives. Were they stated clearly?
- What questionnaires/survey instruments were used to answer the problem?
- What was the population used in the study? Was there a sample used? If so, how was the sample selected? How many were in the sample?
- What were the statistical techniques used to analyze the data?
- Identify and report/discuss the model or models that are associated with the study or are developed from the study
- Summarize the results. How clearly were the results presented?
- What are the limitations of the study? Are they stated?
- Summarize the conclusion(s). Are the conclusions presented clearly? Does the data support the conclusions? Does the researcher over generalize the findings?
- How can the results and conclusions presented in this study be applied in your particular field of study or work environment?
4. Utilize the APA Helps in the Resources area to help you present your brief paper in APA format, which means that you need to write a Title Page and References Page separate from the body of the text of the paper (no abstract or author note are needed). On this assignment you should write the publication information about your article on the References Page and then also cite the source in the body of the paper when you are stating facts.
3. Assignment#3 Instructions
Review the Week Seven Lesson so that you are familiar with content analysis. Select either conceptual analysis or relational analysis as your approach to present your content analysis paper. https://edge.apus.edu/access/content/group/management-common/Management/MGMT501/Supplemental%20PPTs/Week%207%20Supp%20PPT%20-%20Content%20Analysis.pdf
SPECIFICATIONS:
Select three scholarly journal articles (you can use any of the scholarly journal articles that were used in your annotated bibliography) and conduct either a conceptual analysis or a relational analysis. [Note that an excellent site that explains this type of analysis is produced by Colorado State: http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/research/content/]
NOTE: SELECT ARTICLES THAT WERE PUBLISHED WITHIN THE LAST TEN YEARS.
After examining each of the articles individually and presenting those findings using the approach mentioned above, add a final section to your paper that combines your findings and compares and contrast the words and concepts that are associated with the overall topic of the articles. Tell how the material in these articles contributes to your understanding of your selected topic for the course used in this assignment? To further clarify: Make sure that the final section of your paper demonstrates critical thinking in the triangulation of the sources you selected with regard to your topic of interest. Make sure that your takeaways from this assignment are clear contributions to your knowledge base and appraisal of your overall topic.
This assignment should be created as an MSWord document using APA formatting including a title page and a reference page. This paper is your final paper for the course and is worth much more than all the others. The main body of text should be 1500-2500 words (not counting Title Page and References). An abstract is not required. Submit the assignment in the assignment section of the classroom as an uploaded document. Note that the examples in the Lessons are shortened to give a brief idea; do not use them to estimate the length of your paper. Here they are again:
A brief example of a Conceptual Content Analysis Paper and a brief example of a Relational Content Analysis Paper can be found under Resources:
NOTE: Do not use macros or automatic referencing in your papers for this course. The auto features usually cause unforeseen problems in format. Plus, part of this course involves the student’s acquisition of the essentials of the APA style format.
Follow the Submissions Guidelines as listed in the Syllabus: The various assignments for this course should be submitted as Word.doc attachments in the Assignment section of our virtual classroom. Each file should be named in the following manner: Last name–truncated Week Number-Assignment name (abbreviated if necessary)
For example: Smith-Wk07-Content Analysis
The accompanying articles (3) upon which your work is based should be saved to your computer as a pdf file and then uploaded along with your assignment, named as suits you, EXCEPT put your last name first in the following manner: Last name–the name of your article (abbreviate as needed)
For example: Smith-YadaYada Research
Please note that this week you should upload four items into the same assignment area: your paper plus the three articles (each in .pdf) upon which your paper is based.
RESOURCES:
Key source to explain Content Analysis:
http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/research/content
Supplemental article for forums and writing:
ICPSR. (2005). Content Analysis. Guide to Social Science Data Preparation and Archiving
URLS:
Purdue University’s online writing helps for APA-OWL:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
Plagiarism video (made for MLA, but applicable):
Setting up your APA papers for assignments:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pbUoNa5tyY&feature=related
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