Part 1
For this assignment, you will turn your attention to the Problem Statement and Research Method Choice Alignment sections of the Research Prospectus Template. As you begin to think about your research topic, you must consider how it is related to your degree program (e.g., DM, DCS) and your concentration area. In addition, it is necessary to reflect upon the problem you plan to study and through this process of reflection to develop a justification of how your choice of research method is appropriate for addressing the study problem you have chosen.
Locate the Problem Statement section of the Research Prospectus, and draft 1 paragraph of no more than 250–300 words that addresses the following:
Describe the study problem you will focus on for your dissertation project.
The problem must be both practice-based and scholarship-supported, and therefore needs to consider both practice and recent research.
Cite theoretical, conceptual, and empirical peer-reviewed literature to support the relevance of your proposed study problem.
Remember this is the first draft of your study problem and you will continue to refine this problem until your Dissertation Proposal has been approved.
Note: Throughout this course you will submit all of your Individual Project assignments in your Research Prospectus Template as a working draft. As the course proceeds through all sections of the Research Prospectus, it will provide an ongoing opportunity to refine each section based on instructor feedback.
Part 2
For this assignment, you will compose a draft of the Study Purpose and Research Question sections of your Research Prospectus.
Study Purpose section: Begin with “The purpose of the [method choice] [research approach/design] study is to….” Following this, provide a brief rationale for your method choice. Next, specify your research site, target population, sampling method, proposed sample size, data collection method, and the data analysis software you plan to use. Finally, briefly articulate what you expect to be the contribution of study findings to both professional practice and scholarship in your field/concentration.
Research Question section: State the single overarching research question that will guide your study. (Note: For a quantitative or mixed methods study, you will also complete the Hypothesis(es) section; delete this section if you are planning a qualitative study.)
Ensure that you are able to demonstrate a clear alignment of your “trio”—the problem statement, study purpose, and research question.
Look ahead to the Research Method Rationale section, and provide an early draft of this section in your submission that matches the research method and research design choice included in your purpose sentence.
Note: Throughout this course, you will submit all of your Individual Project assignments in your Research Prospectus Template as a working draft. As the course proceeds through all sections of the Research Prospectus, it will provide an ongoing opportunity to refine each section based on instructor feedback.
Part 3
For this assignment, you will compose a draft of your Review of the Literature Plan section of the Research Prospectus. The Research Prospectus Template provides guidance to help you through this process. Remember: Your deliverable for this assignment is NOT a literature review; rather, it is a literature review plan for what specific types of literature you will explore for your study and what rationale guides you in this process to ensure your plan is solid and appropriate for your chosen study topic.
Note: Throughout this course, you will submit all of your Individual Project assignments in your Research Prospectus Template as a working draft. As the course proceeds through all sections of the Research Prospectus, it will provide an ongoing opportunity to refine each section based on instructor feedback.
Part 4
The version of your Research Prospectus that you submit for this assignment is your first, full draft of the document and will culminate in a final polished Research Prospectus submission for Unit 6. You will receive feedback on this draft from your instructor and incorporate that feedback in a second, final version of the Research Prospectus to be submitted for the Unit 6 Individual Project. Your Research Prospectus will be a narrative that details the major components of your proposed research, developed at a relatively early stage of your doctoral program. The Prospectus guides your preparation of the full-blown Research Proposal, and will serve as a roadmap for continued refinement of your thinking as you progress into your second year of the doctoral program. A quality Research Prospectus is a milestone deliverable for this course and your dissertation journey. See the research course milestones in the Doctoral Resource Center.
As you complete the full draft, be sure to revisit the Research Method Rationale and provide a full justification for your research method choice and research design/approach that is aligned with your study problem. Consider revisiting your qualitative and quantitative course work where you may have begun a draft of this section and finalize your decisions. Be sure to cite the relevant and specific scholarly research guides aligned with your method and design choices. Please avoid general research texts such as Creswell, and instead choose specific guides that are well-aligned with your research approach.
The Prospectus should be 8–10 pages, not including title and reference pages, and formatted in APA. The title page should include a working title of no more than 12 words for your dissertation.
In the body of the Prospectus, DO include headings for each section. You will use the Research Prospectus Template to complete the document. Remember to delete the rubric that is attached at the end of the template. You will also find the Prospectus Template in the Doctoral Resource Center.
The final Research Prospectus must be formatted per the template requirements as well as accurate APA.
[Title of no more than 12 words and includes method choice]
Research Prospectus
Colorado Technical University
Student Name
Month Year
[Note. The Research Prospectus is a significant milestone in the journey toward your CTU dissertation research study. An approved Research Prospectus demonstrates your achievement of a viable research problem and alignment of the research method choice, problem, purpose, and research question. Your Research Prospectus will be approved when your instructor has deemed all criteria on the Research Prospectus Evaluation Rubric as “Met.”]
Abstract
[Insert an abstract of no more than 150 words to summarize the study problem, purpose, variables or constructs, method choice rationale, and plans to conduct the review of the literature. Note. The title page and Abstract page have no page numbers. The Introduction begins as page 1. Be sure to remove all red template instructional content as you prepare your Research Prospectus draft.]
[CTU Research Prospectus Template v2.0 August 2020]
Introduction
[The Research Prospectus is double-spaced throughout with Level 1 headers for each required section. The Abstract, References, and any appendices headers (known as front and back matter in scholarly publishing) are also using Level 1 header. The Research Prospectus begins with an introduction to the study problem that includes enough background information and term definitions for the reader to understand the problem statement and all key terms used within the study problem. Remember the proposed study is first introduced in the study purpose statement below and not in the introduction as this is an introduction to the study problem. The introduction is no longer than 2 pages.]
[Start intro here…]
Problem Statement
[The problem statement is one paragraph of text (not multiple paragraphs) of no more than 250-350 well-supported words to describe the study problem of focus. The University requires dissertation problems to be both practice-based and scholarship-supported, so the description of the problem must include both practice considerations and the current research. A quality Research Prospectus presents a well-aligned Problem, Purpose and Research Question, clearly articulated, and substantiated through citation of the appropriate theoretical, conceptual, and empirical peer-reviewed literature. This section begins with the sentence: The problem is…]
The problem is…
Study Purpose
[This section begins with the sentence to introduce the study: The purpose of the [method choice] [research approach/design] study is to… Following the study purpose sentence, the Purpose section will introduce a brief rationale for the choice of study method followed by research site, target population, sampling method, proposed sample size, data collection method, data analysis method, and the analysis software to be used. The Purpose section will close with a statement of the potential contributions of the study findings to professional practice and the scholarship.]
The purpose of the …
Research Question
[One overarching research question will guide the study. An introduction to the question will be offered here and the question will be formatted as a Level 2 APA header as shown below. Clear alignment must be demonstrated between the problem, purpose, and research question.]
The study research question….
Q1
[Phrasing for the research question must align with the traditions and conventions of the study method choice]?
Q1a
[Optional sub-research questions will be presented for quantitative or mixed methods studies with multiple hypotheses and formatted using Level 4 APA headers as shown]
Q1b
Hypothesis(es)
[Hypotheses are required only for quantitative and mixed methods studies. If the study involves multiple hypotheses, sub-research questions are required above to align with each hypothesis. Variables introduced in the Purpose must be labeled verbatim to how they were introduced above to ensure alignment. Both a null followed by an alternate hypothesis are required and hypothesis headers are formatted as Level 2 APA headers. No introduction is required before the hypothesis(es)]
H10
[Phrasing for each null hypothesis must align with the traditions and conventions of the study method choice].
H1A
[Phrasing for each alternate hypothesis must be the identical contrast to the null and align with the traditions and conventions of the study method choice].
Research Method Rationale
[The Research Methods Rationale section will present a continuation of the brief method rationale from the Purpose section above to fully describe the research traditions and paradigmatic perspectives that justify the choice of the research method and design/approach as appropriate to address the study problem. In addition, a justification for how and why the method choice and research design/approach align with the degree program discipline and area of concentration as supported by the current scholarship of the respective discipline.]
The research method selected for this study is…
Review of the Literature Plan
[This section will begin with a brief introductory paragraph followed by a topical outline to present the primary areas of research as aligned with the study problem to be explored within the literature review. Be sure to consider the theoretical, conceptual, and empirical peer-reviewed literature as you categorically plan out the areas of the literature to be reviewed for the dissertation study. The topical outline will be formatted as Level 2 APA headers.]
The plan to conduct the review of literature will involve…
[Theme 1 Label]
[Theme 2 Label]
[Theme 3 Label]
References
[References will be formatted per APA 7th ed. guidelines, double-spaced, and left justified with hanging indent for second and subsequent lines of the source citation.]
Author, A., & Author, B. (year). Article title. Journal title, V(I), ##-##. doi:###.###.xxx
4
Appendices
[Optional: When an appendix or appendices are to be included, format per APA 7th ed. guidelines]
Research Prospectus Evaluation Rubric
Section
Meets
(Instructor please check)
Does Not Meet
(Instructor please check)
Instructor Feedback
Front Matter
Title Page
☐
· Title no more than 12 words
· Title reflects method choice
· Title aligned with Trio and discipline/ concentration
☐
· Title no more than 12 words
· Title reflects method choice
· Title lacks alignment with Trio
· Title page APA errors
Abstract
☐
· Meets 150 word limit
· Summary of all required components
☐
· Exceeds 150 words
· Missing summary for required components
Introduction
☐
· No more than 2 pages
· Key terms defined
· Adequate introduction to the study problem
· Adequate citations for scholarship support
☐
· Exceeds 2 pages in length
· Missing term definitions
· Unclear introduction to the study problem
· Inadequate citations for scholarship support
Trio
Problem Statement
☐
· Meets length requirement (250-350 words)
· Meets paragraph format
· Adequate citations for scholarship support of the study problem
☐
· Exceeds length requirement
· Incomplete scholarship citations to justify problem
· Problem lacks alignment with Purpose and RQ
Study Purpose
☐
· Purpose well aligned with Problem and RQ
· All required components introduced
· Adequate statement of proposed contribution
☐
· Purpose lacks alignment with Problem and RQ
· Missing required components
· Missing statement of proposed contribution
Research Question
☐
· RQ aligned with Problem and Purpose
· RQ phrasing aligned with traditions/ conventions of method choice
· RQ phrasing aligned with conventions of the discipline/ concentration
☐
· RQ lacks alignment with Problem and Purpose
· RQ phrasing not aligned with traditions/conventions of method choice
· RQ phrasing not aligned with conventions of the discipline/ concentration
Research Method Rationale
☐
· Adequate description of research traditions
· Adequate paradigmatic perspective
· Adequate rationale for method fit
☐
· Missing research traditions
· Missing paradigmatic perspective
· Inadequate rationale for method fit
· Lacks alignment with discipline/concentration
Review of the Literature Plan
☐
· Adequate description of literature review plan
· Literature review themes align with study problem
· Literature review themes align with discipline/concentration
☐
· Incomplete description of literature review plan
· Literature review themes lack alignment with study problem
· Literature review themes lack alignment with discipline/concentration
Back Matter
References
☐
· Double spaced with proper indent
· Formatted per APA 7th ed. guidelines
☐
· Spacing/indent errors
· High error rate of APA 7th ed. guidelines
Appendices
(optional)
☐
· Adequately formatted per APA 7th ed. guidelines
☐
· Formatting errors per APA 7th ed. guidelines