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ABBREVIATED TITLE IN ALL CAPS 1

Action Research Project Design Preferred Document Outline (Approximately 30 double spaced pages) (30 pages is 8,250 words double spaced) (30-50 references within last 5 years)

This document should follow the American Psychological Association (APA) guidelines for style, references and citations. Please refer to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th edition).

Title PageThe title page should have these sections:• Running header (e.g., “A Needs Analysis for Telemedicine”) at the top of the page• Project title (e.g., “A Needs Analysis for Telemedicine at a Rural HealthCare Clinic”)

AbstractIn this section, you provide a 100-200 word description of your project, the research problem, context, methodology, etc.


TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

List of Tables...............................................................................................................

List of Figures.............................................................................................................

Chapter 1: Introduction...............................................................................................

Statement of the Problem................................................................................

Significance of the Problems...........................................................................

Background of the Problem.............................................................................

Local Context..................................................................................................

Research Questions.........................................................................................

Guiding Questions...............................................................................

Hypotheses..........................................................................................

Definition of Terms.........................................................................................

Chapter 2: Review of Literature..................................................................................

Introduction (brief discussion on content of Lit Review)...............................


Sections of related discussions........................................................................

Conclusions.....................................................................................................

Chapter 3: Methodology/Procedures...........................................................................

Introduction.....................................................................................................

Research Design..............................................................................................

Subjects and Sampling........................................................................

Instrumentation....................................................................................

Procedures.......................................................................................................

Data Analysis..................................................................................................

References...................................................................................................................

Bibliography (if needed).............................................................................................

Appendices (Any appropriate information regarding capstone products should be

included in appendices)...............................................................................................


If not used you can remove this pageLIST OF TABLES

Page

Table 1 Title.......................................................................................................##

Table 2 Title.......................................................................................................##

Table 3 Title.......................................................................................................##

Example List of TablesTable 1: Describe Yourself .......................................................................................... 44Table 2: Years of Service ............................................................................................ 44Table 3: Current Age ................................................................................................... 45Table 5: Themes and Frequencies ............................................................................... 56Table 6: Types of Social Media Used in the

Classroom ............................................. 57


If not used you can remove this pageLIST OF FIGURES

Page

Figure 1 Title.......................................................................................................##

Figure 2 Title.......................................................................................................##

Figure 3 Title.......................................................................................................##

Example List of FiguresFigure 1. Scree plot. ..................................................................................................... 48Figure 2. Diffusion of innovation model (Rogers, 2003). ........................................... 50Figure 3. Diffusion of innovation model interview findings. ...................................... 51Figure 4. Defining social media. ................................................................................. 59Figure 5. Word cloud of the participants’ discussion of social media. ....................... 60Figure 6. Barriers from using social media in the classroom. ..................................... 60Figure 7. Concerns with the usage of social

media. .................................................... 61


Chapter 1

Introduction (Project Overview) (References as appropriate)

Approximately 5-10 pages/double spaced

You put a few paragraphs that provides an introduction to the study here.

Example:

1. The topic I'm thinking of doing action research on is...2. The purpose of my study is to...3. My fundemental research question is...4. The most appropriate type of data for me to collect is...□qualitative□quantitative□both (mixed-methods)WHY?5. The specific form of data I will collect is...6. Based on the preceding responses, my research design can best be described as...

Remember… All aspects of your study and its design must be PARALLEL! Will your DESIGN seek the CORRECT DATA that will ANSWER YOUR RESEARCH QUESTION???

1. My research question is… 2. I will answer my question with… □ qualitative analyses □ quantitative analyses □ both types of analysesI will analyze my data using… □ descriptive statistics…

□ frequency distributions □ mean, median, or mode □ other

□inferential statistics… □ t test □ ANOVA □ other

I will present my results… □ in narrative form analyses □ in narrative form, using some tables and graphs

*Statement of the Problem (References as appropriate)


Provide a few paragraphs that provide the reader with an understanding of the action research problem being investigated. Here you would put the purpose of the study.

Example:

o Statement of the Topic or Problemo Include references as appropriateo Reason for selecting this topic

Purpose of the studyo The purpose of this study is to ...

*Significance of the Problem (References as appropriate)

Here is where you describe the importance of the study. Who is it going to

impact? How will it contribute to improving student achievement or addressing

issue(s) that would help improve achievement?

•Who are the stakeholders (specific students, adminstrators, parents, etc.) that are affected by the problem?

*Background of the Problem (References as appropriate)

Describe the conditions that contributed to the problem. What are the issues

that currently exist that demonstrates that there have been a problem, issue, or

condition that has contributed to the present situation.

•What evidence exists that what you percieve is a problem is an actual problem?


•How is this program, material, concept, etc. currently implemented, taught, etc.?•How is this program, material, concept, etc. currently reinforced or maintained?•How is the effectiveness or mastery of this program, material, concept, etc. currently evaluated or assessed?•Where does the program, material, concept, etc. fit into the program's mission, course content, etc.?•When during the school year does this program occur, is the material taught, is the concept covered, etc.?

*Local Context (References as appropriate)

*Describe the setting of the action research.

*Briefly describe the target population or participants, and what you will be doing. Provide

a brief introduction to the type of setting in which you are working, and provide

more specific details about the practices that are the focus of the study. Who is

involved in those practices (i.e., teacher, administrator, principal, students, peers,

etc.) and what are their relevant responsibilities? Briefly describe the history of the

issue in this particular setting.


*Research Questions or Guiding Questions (References as appropriate)

*Provide a discussion of the research or guiding questions for your capstone.

*Here you will specify the research question(s) you are investigating and state its

practical and theoretical importance. Remember to word your RQ properly. For this

section, consider including:

o State your specific question(s)o What is the practical importance of these questions?o What is the theoretical importance of these questions?

Example:

Research questionso State driving questionso Distinguish between primary questions and secondary questions

•What evidence exists that what you percieve is a problem is an actual problem?•Who are the stakeholders (specific students, adminstrators, parents, etc.) that are affected by the problem?•How is this program, material, concept, etc. currently implemented, taught, etc.?•How is this program, material, concept, etc. currently reinforced or maintained?•How is the effectiveness or mastery of this program, material, concept, etc. currently evaluated or assessed?•Where does the program, material, concept, etc. fit into the program's mission, course content, etc.?•When during the school year does this program occur, is the material taught, is the concept covered, etc.?


*Hypotheses (References as appropriate)

What are the hypothesis(es) that you will be examining in your

capstone? Provide an introduction and then provide a list appropriate to your

capstone. Here you will state your hypothesis(es) that you are investigating in

your study. You may want to explain a bit why you think this way, but you don’t

have to go over board, that will re-surface in Results & Conclusions (which we

won’t be writing for this class).

*Definition of Terms. (References as appropriate)

What are the special terms that need to be defined for you captone.

*Summary (References as appropriate)

Summarize the content of this chapter and the focus of your capstone.


*Limitations of the Study (Should be included in the Summary with header)

(References as appropriate)

Chapter 2

Review of Literature (References as appropriate)


*Introduction (References as appropriate)

Brief discussion on content of Literature Review. Give the readers a preview of what you will be talking about in the body of your paper.

Describe your overall topic (What is your general topic), why it is important, and why you are interested in it:

Where does your project fit within the landscape of this topic? List any major themes, subtopics, or trends in research questions, methodologies, results, and/or

conclusions:

*Sections of related discussions (References as appropriate)

Be sure to use headings on the various sections that your will have in the

review of literature. Be sure that you are looking at what others have learned from

their research. The review of literature is a discussion of what others have learned

regarding your topic.

Example:

THEME A (broad word or phrase that synthesizes a subset of your literature):-Overview of characteristics Theme A:

Subtopic 1 (narrowly grouped findings related to theme): Who uses Telemedicine

Study 1: Study 2: Study 3:

Subtopic 2 (narrowly grouped findings related to theme): Trends of TelemedinceStudy 4: Study 5:


Study 6:

Subtopic 3 (narrowly grouped findings related to theme): Use of Telemedicine in Rural HealthCare ClinicsStudy 7: Study 8: Study 9:

Subtopic 3 (narrowly grouped findings related to theme): Diffusion of Innovation and TelemedicineStudy 7: Study 8: Study 9:

Subtopic 3 (narrowly grouped findings related to theme): Impact of TelemedicineStudy 7: Study 8: Study 9:

Continue addressing themes as appropriate for your overall research topic. You should

discover the narrowing focus of the literature review as you progress through the

themes and subtopics.

Another Example:

This chapter is a summary of relevant education research and educational theories related to the study topic. It should include a minimum of 5 empirical research articles. An empirical research article is an article which describes the results of a research study that uses data derived from observations or experiment. Empirical research articles are generally published in academic journals. In addition, you may want to discuss other relevant literature. Here are typical sections within a literature review.

• Introduction (this heading does NOT appear in your document)o General introduction topic area, problem, and/or research questionso Provide an advanced organizer; briefly preview the major themes or sections of

this chapter• First main theme (this is typically identified with a header – see APA style manual to reviewproper header formatting)

o Summary of article 1o Summary of article 2o Summary of article 3


• Second main themeo Summary of article 4o Summary of article 5o Summary of article 6

• Conclusiono Summarize your findingso Identify the educational theories or perspectives from the literature that inform

your project

WRITING LITERATURE REVIEW ARTICLE SUMMARIES

For each of your empirical research summarize the following:

• Purpose of study, research questions, and context• Methodology• Results and discussion

A typical summary will be 300-500 words long. Here is an example of a summary of an empirical research article by Capobianco and Lehman (2006):

In an action research study investigating the effects of integrating instructional technologies into an elementary science methods course by a science teacher educator, Capobianco and Lehman (2006) found that the use of instructional technologies helped preservice teachers learn science content, promoted productive scientific inquiry, and facilitated self-reflection.

Capobianco, the first author and a science teacher educator, collaborated with faculty andgraduate students associated with the Purdue Program for Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers to Use Technology (P3T3) to infuse instructional technologies throughout a semester long elementary science methods course. The participants in this study were 38 preservice teachers from two different sections of the course offered in the spring 2003 (N=14) and fall 2003 (N=24) semesters.

It was Capobianco’s intent to create numerous opportunities for preservice teachers to usetechnology in multiple ways throughout the course that went beyond basic communication and information search tasks. Students in her course used software such as Excel and PowerPoint, probeware (electronic laboratory sensors that interface with computers) such as temperature probes and heart rate monitors, and digital cameras. The students used these technologies to engage in scientific inquiry, explore productive questioning and journaling, and to plan and conduct experiments. The researchers collected data from student feedback forms, classroom observations, field notes, reflective journals of students and the instructor, student work, and the instructor’s lesson plans. Capobianco and Lehman (2006) found that after taking the course, students’ interest in and ability to use technology increased, students’ perception of the usefulness of technology was positive, and students had a high interest in integrating instructional technologies into their own teaching. They concluded that the incorporation of instructional technologies was beneficial in developing pedagogical content knowledge in science education among the participants in the study.


Capobianco, B. & Lehman, J. (2006). Integrating instructional technology in teacher education: A case study of an elementary science methods course. Journal of Computers in Mathematics and Science Teaching, 25, 123-146.)

*Conclusion (References as appropriate)

Summarize what you have said in the body of the review of literature.

Example:

o Summarize your findingso Identify the educational theories or perspectives from the literature that inform

your project

Discuss the contributions of literature to the broader field of education (and/or a more specific field such as gifted education, ESL education, etc.):

Identify and discuss the pro/cons, strengths/weaknesses of this body of literature: Discuss what is missing from this body of literature that will serve as a focus for your

study/methodology:

*Conceptual Framework: Needs Analysis (Should be included in the Conclusion with header) (References as appropriate)


Chapter 3

Methodology (Action Research Design) (References as appropriate)


*Introduction (References as appropriate)

*Restate the purpose of your study, and then provide a discussion of the methodology

going to be used.

*In this section, you will describe the methodology and design of your study. Also,

justify your decisions by explaining your reasons for choosing that methodology &

design. (Consider justifying your choices with references to your research questions.)

Example:

Introduction o Statement of the Educational Topic or Problemo Purpose of the study

o Area of focuso Research questions

*Research Design (References as appropriate)

Discuss the design of the study. What type of approach are you using? Is it

quantitative, qualitative, mixed method, descriptive, or historical? Provide a rationale

to why the approach is appropriate.

*Description of methodology(ies) that you followed

*The role of the researcher


*Subjects and Sampling (or participants/target population) (References as

appropriate) Who are the subjects for your study? Provide a description of the

subjects and any other information.

*Instrumentation (References as appropriate) Provide information about the

instrument(s) that you will be using in your study. What data will be collected?

Provide validity and reliability of the instrument(s)?

*Collection methods

*Procedures (References as appropriate)

*Provide a detail description of the process you will be using in this action research.

Be very detailed.

*Identify the information (data) you will need to answer each of your research questions.Explain your methods for collecting the information. If you are sampling rather than using all of the available information (i.e., you’re choosing a group of participants), you also need to describe and justify your sampling decisions.

o What information is required to answer your research questions?o How will this information be obtained? Describe the

sources of the information and the methods you will use to gather it.

o How will the information be selected from all the possible sources of relevant information?

*Data Analysis (References as appropriate)

*How will you be analyzing the data? What process(es) will you be using?

*Refer back to your methodology & research design to explain how you will

analyze your data to come up with a possible answer to your research question(s).

Are you using a statistical analysis – if so which one and why that one? Do you

have qualitative data


– if so, what are you going to do to it to get results?Provide a description of:o How you will sort/test/analyze/examine your data to

answer the research question.o How you will ensure the validity of your analysis.

*Data analysis tool(s)

Example:

• Description of the intervention or innovation• Data collection• Statement of resources• Timeline



*Threats to Validity (References as appropriate) (Should be included in the Data Analysis with header) (References as appropriate)

Identify potential threats to the validity of your project. Discuss how you are trying to minimize their effect.

References

Begin typing your references here and only press RETURN at the end of the

reference. A hanging indention will automatically occur.

All of your references and sources should be listed here. Each article used in your literature review must be cited. Remember to use APA style and formatting.


Appendices

Put any appendices after this page and mark them as Appendix A, Appendix B, etc

If there are things that would be helpful for the reader to see and read that do not fit in the body of your document, please include them here. Things you might include in your appendices are: questionnaires, data previously collected, curriculum unit plans, sample assessments, and report summaries.

Documents

elitehomework.com€¦ · Web viewIn this section, you provide a 100-200 word description of your project, the research problem, context, methodology, etc. TABLE OF CONTENTS. Page