RES811 full course – April 2018

RES 811 Week 1 Discussion
1 & 2

dq 1

Congratulations on being accepted to Grand
Canyon University’s doctoral program! This is a big step in your academic
career and you should be very proud. Recently, you wrote a letter of intent to
the Doctoral College expressing your research interests. For this first
discussion question, please share your passion and motivation by discussing the
currently planned topic or research interest you would like to pursue.

How did your passion lead you to this topic or
interest? How will that passion sustain you through your doctoral journey?
Please include material from your letter of intent if you choose. (This
response does not require research support.)

dq 2

Many learners approach a doctoral program with
great enthusiasm. However, enthusiasm and passion alone do not guarantee
success. Often, learners want to begin the research process immediately without
the proper skills in place to be successful. Although, passion is necessary, it
is important that all learners develop a plan of action in order to be successful.
All learners must make a transition from being a student completing assignments
into a self-directed researcher. This requires students to be self-directed, to
engage in reflective scholarly practice, and to be receptive to feedback and
critique from peers and faculty.

How do these three practices support your
development of a doctoral identity? What potential challenges to do you foresee
with incorporating these practices into your routine? What adjustments will you
need to make in order to overcome these challenges? (This response does not
require research support.)

 

 

RES 811 Week 2 Discussion
1 & 2

dq 1

Doctoral learners must become
information-literate individuals who are able to locate, identify, evaluate,
and organize research. In Topic 8, you are required to find five empirical
research studies from peer reviewed journals on your dissertation research
interests. Discuss your process for conducting a search. What resources will
you use to explore the literature in your field and how will you evaluate the
quality of the articles selected?

dq 2

Research is connected and personal and it is
important for learners to recognize their subject position, in order to
critically evaluate data, as well as communicate their subject position within
a research study to minimize bias. University supports academic
and spiritual growth with the belief that the combination of the two will make
a positive impact on scholarship and the individual.

How might worldview influence the role as a
scholar and researcher? How can a worldview, Christian or otherwise, enrich
research through a union of faith and academics? How might one handle
perspectives, topics, and research that may challenge his or her worldview?

 

 

RES 811 Week 3 Discussion
1 & 2

dq 1

The primary method professors use to evaluate
your ability to absorb and synthesize content is for you to write papers that
demonstrate your understanding of various research topics, concepts, and
frameworks. Doctoral level writing is distinct from other forms of
communication you may have encountered. This shift in process and style helps
learners to develop a doctoral identity that will foster productive
relationships with faculty and committee members and, ultimately, contribute to
a completed dissertation. Discuss how writing process and style help form a
doctoral identity. What specific strategies and resources can you use to
improve your academic writing?

dq 2

A prepared student is a successful student.
Usually, it starts with time management, organization, and dedication to the
writing process, but also includes the successful execution of format and
style. Applying APA style and formatting is the last step in the writing
process, but is seems to be a source of great stress and anxiety for learners.
APA style is not the research but rather the documentation of the research.
What is the purpose of a style guide in scholarly communication? How can APA
style enhance your communication with readers? What specific strategies and
resources can you use to improve your skill in using APA style?

 

 

RES 811 Week 4 Discussion
1 & 2

dq 1

While Caffarella and Barnett (2000) indicate
that critique is the most influential element in helping learners produce a
better writing product, critique can be an emotional event. Cameron, Nairn, and
Higgins (2009) note that it proved helpful in their workshops to discuss the
emotions that emerged as students prepared to give and receive feedback. What
is the role of critique in the development of a researcher and scholar? In what
ways can it positively contribute to a learner’s academic success? In what ways
can it have a negative effect?

dq 2

How do the voice and tone of doctoral writing
differ from the voice and tone of writing at other academic levels? Explain
your view. What are some ways that voice and tone can enhance the scholarly
image of your writing? Explain. (This response does not require research
support.)

 

 

RES 811 Week 5 Discussion
1 & 2

dq 1

Critical thinking is one of many vital skills
that learners must develop in order to successfully examine research, analyze
data, and complete a dissertation. Consider the characteristics and practices
associated with the skill of critical thinking. Which of these are more or less
beneficial or important than others? How does synthesis integrate into your
view of critical thinking? (This response does not require research support.)

dq 2

Saade, Morin, and Thomas (2012) describe
critical thinking as the mental processes of discernment, analysis, and
evaluation applied to information in order to achieve a logical final
understanding and/or judgment. Describe your approach to breaking down
information into component parts to better understand the characteristics of a
statement, concept, or problem. How might outlining help to develop
understanding? How do you know when to reach beyond previous experience and
seek out other sources of information to enhance your understanding of the work
in front of you? (This response does not require research support.)

 

 

RES 811 Week 6 Discussion
1 & 2

dq 1

There are several unique characteristics of
qualitative research that make it distinct from quantitative research. Describe
the aspects of qualitative research and the elements of design that contribute
to the rigor of the work. What actions of the researcher can compromise the integrity
of the findings?

dq 2

Validity and reliability are primarily
quantitative research concepts. Morse, Barrett, Mayan, Olson, and Spiers (2002)
argue that their exclusion from qualitative research design undermines the
credibility and rigor of qualitative research conclusions. Were they correct in
this assertion? Why or why not?

 

 

RES 811 Week 7 Discussion
1 & 2

dq 1

Doctoral learners becoming researcher/scholars
must be able to produce original, written academic works and to evaluate the
calibre and originality of their writing and the writing of others. At the same
time, all research has its foundation in other research. How can you as a
doctoral level researcher balance producing your own original research with
recognizing and crediting the works you use as your research foundation?

dq 2

places great importance on academic
integrity based in the Christian worldview. How will you go about utilizing
sound habits and behaviors to prevent plagiarism, intentional or unintentional,
in your coursework, doctoral writing, and ultimately your dissertation
research? What temptations might doctoral students encounter that would
challenge their ethics? How does your worldview influence your adherence to
academic integrity?

 

 

RES 811 Week 8 Discussion
1 & 2

dq 1

In a doctoral program, a learner must assume
the role of independent researcher in order to become an expert in their
respected field of study. Along the way, learners will need to identify a gap
(an area of study that needs to be researched) in order to formulate research
question(s). Klingner, Scanlon, and Pressley (2005) detailed the process a researcher
takes to produce a scholarly article. Discuss how a review of literature
contributes to a doctoral identity by transitioning a learner into a scholar.
As you make your way along your doctoral journey, other than completing one
course and moving on the next, when and how will you evaluate that you are
growing as a learner and as scholar?

dq 2

Looking back at Topic 1, how has your
dissertation topic changed in the last eight weeks? Looking ahead, how will you
build time into your schedule to work independently to continue to develop your
literature review and uncover a gap in the literature that you will address
with your dissertation? Discuss a theme or trend you have noticed while
completing your Topic 8 assignment. (This response does not require research
support.)

 

 

 

RES 811 Week 2 Annotated
Bibliography: Doctoral Identity

Details:

Annotations are descriptive and critical
assessments of literature that help researchers to evaluate texts and determine
relevancy in relation to a particular research project. Ultimately, they are a
note-taking tool that fosters critical thinking, demonstrates understanding,
and evaluates the source material for possible later use. In this assignment,
you will read and annotate three articles.

General Requirements:

• Locate
  the articles by Baker and Pifer (2011), Gardner (2009), and Smith and
  Hatmaker (2014) in the Course Materials for this topic.
• This
  assignment uses a rubric. Review the rubric prior to beginning the
  assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful
  completion.
• Doctoral
  learners are required to use APA style for their writing assignments.
  Review the APA Style Guide for Writing located in the Student Success
  Center.Note: A title page is required for this assignment, but a
  reference page is not required since the references are included with the
  annotations.
• Refer
  to the resource, “Preparing Annotated Bibliographies” located in the
  Student Success Center, for additional guidance on completing this
  assignment in the appropriate style. Use “Sample APA Annotated
  Bibliography” example in this resource.
• You
  are required to submit this assignment to Turnitin. Refer to the
  directions in the Student Success Center.

Directions:

Read the articles by Baker & Pifer (2011),
Gardner (2009), and Smith & Hatmaker (2014). These articles and the
persistent links to them are located in the Course Materials for Topic 2.

Provide an annotated bibliography (750-900
words total, excluding the reference notes) of the articles. Including the
following foreach article:

1. A reference note formatted according to APA
style guidelines. The reference note is not included in the total word count.

2. An annotation (250-300 words) of the
article. Annotations are descriptive and critical assessments of peer reviewed
articles. Annotations summarize the key concepts and evaluate the article for
its strengths and weaknesses. Why was the study conducted? What was the
population studied? What did the researcher(s) conclude? What other information
about this study do you believe is unique or important to recall? Are there
specific statements made by the author you wish to retain?

 

 

 

RES 811 Week 3 & 5 Synthesis
Worksheet: Doctoral Identity

Week 3

Details:

Synthesis is the act of creating something new
from multiple existing entities. Synthesis of research, then, is creating a new
idea from existing ideas. This assignment is designed to help you identify how
themes can emerge from reading literature and how you can synthesize this
information in a way that creates new knowledge. You will use your
understandings of the Topic 2 readings to complete a synthesis worksheet.

General Requirements:

• This
  assignment will be used as a pre-writing activity for the synthesis paper
  in Topic 5.
• Locate
  and download “Synthesis Worksheet” from the Course Materials for
  this topic.
• Review
  the articles by Baker & Pifer (2011), Gardner (2009), and Smith &
  Hatmaker (2014) located in the Course Materials for this topic.
• This
  assignment uses a rubric. Review the rubric prior to beginning the
  assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful
  completion.
• Doctoral
  learners are required to use APA style for their writing assignments.
  Review the APA Style Guide for Writing located in the Student Success
  Center.

Directions:

Complete the Synthesis Worksheet for the
articles by Baker & Pifer (2011), Gardner (2009), and Smith & Hatmaker
(2014). The completed worksheet will include the following sections:

1. An Introduction that introduces and
provides context for the topic, presents three common themes that emerged from
the readings, and provides organization for the paper with a thesis statement.

2. A description of the evidence to support
three common themes that emerged from the articles. Since this is likely your
first experience with this depth of synthesis, we have provided two of the
themes found in the articles. Your task is to identify a third theme and to
provide evidence from each article for all three common themes.

3. A conclusion where you will return to your
thesis and provide evidence showing you successfully addressed your thesis
statement. Discuss the connections that you made from the evidence and how each
theme emerged from the central topic of doctoral identity.

Your Title Goes Here

Your Name Goes Here

University

 

Synthesis Worksheet

Week 5

Details:

In Topic 2, you were asked to read three
articles on the topic of doctoral identity and to complete an annotated
bibliography to demonstrate their understanding of the material. In Topic 3,
you were asked to take this process a step further and identify themes found in
the three articles and to complete a synthesis worksheet where the themes were
supported by evidence from each article. In this assignment, you will build on
your worksheet efforts and write a paper about the three themes. The narrative
will not only present the evidence from the articles to support the identified
themes, but also will provide an analysis for each theme by synthesizing the
information collected.

General Requirements:

• Locate
  the Synthesis Worksheet you completed in Topic 3.
• Locate
  and download “Synthesis Paper Template” from the Course
  Materials for this topic.
• Review
  the articles by Baker & Pifer (2011), Gardner (2009), and Smith &
  Hatmaker (2014) located in the Course Materials for this topic.
• This
  assignment uses a rubric. Review the rubric prior to beginning the
  assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful
  completion.
• Doctoral
  learners are required to use APA style for their writing assignments.
  Review the APA Style Guide for Writing located in the Student Success
  Center.
• You
  are required to submit this assignment to Turnitin. Refer to the
  directions in the Student Success Center.

Directions:

Using the Synthesis Worksheet you completed in
Topic 3 and considering the themes you developed and the feedback provided by
your instructor, write a paper (1,000-1,250 words) that synthesizes the three
articles. Your paper should include the following:

1. An introduction that introduces and
provides context for the topic. This includes giving a brief description of
each article and its purpose, identifying the three themes that emerged from
your reading, describing how they will be discussed in the paper, and
presenting a clear thesis statement.

2. Support for your identified themes with
evidence from each article. Provide analysis of these findings to strengthen
your narrative.

3. A discussion of the conclusions that can be
drawn when the articles are taken together as a single entity. What is the
overall message of the group of articles?

 

Title

The title does not receive bold font, but the
rest of the headings do. Provide an introduction that includes a brief
description of each article and its purpose. Identify the three themes that
emerged from your reading and how they will be discussed in the paper. Conclude
the introduction with your thesis statement.

Theme One

Support your identified theme with evidence
from each article and provide analysis of these findings to strengthen your
narrative.

Theme Two

Support your identified theme with evidence
from each article and provide analysis of these findings to strengthen your
narrative.

Theme Three

Support your identified theme with evidence
from each article and provide analysis of these findings to strengthen your
narrative.

Conclusion

Provide a conclusions that can be drawn can be
drawn when the articles are taken together as a single entity. What is the
overall message of the group of articles?

The reference list should appear at the end of
a paper (see the next page). It provides the information necessary for a reader
to locate and retrieve any source you cite in the body of the paper. Each
source you cite in the paper must appear in your reference list; likewise, each
entry in the reference list must be cited in your text. A sample reference page
is included below; this page includes examples of how to format different
reference types (e.g., books, journal articles, information from a website).
The examples on the following page include examples taken directly from the APA
manual. The word Reference does not receive bold font.

 

References

American Psychological Association. (2010).Publication
manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.).
Washington, DC: Author.

Daresh, J. C. (2004).Beginning the
assistant principalship: A practical guide for new school administrators.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Herbst-Damm, K. L., & Kulik, J. A. (2005).
Volunteer support, marital status, and the survival times of terminally ill
patients.Health Psychology,24, 225-229.
doi:10.1037/0278-6133.24.2.225

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
(2003).Managing asthma: A guide for schools (NIH Publication No.
02-2650). Retrieved from http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/
health/prof/asthma/asth_sch.pdf

 

 

RES 811 Week 7 Enhanced
Synthesis Paper: Doctoral Identity

Details:

Synthesis is the act of creating something new
from multiple existing entities. Synthesis of research, then, is creating a new
idea from existing ideas. Synthesis of research is not a single innate skill.
Rather, it is a process learned through time and practice. At the doctoral
level, writing is a continual process of revision as learners improve skills and
build subject matter expertise.

In Topic 5, you submitted a Synthesis Paper
and received both feedback from your instructor and a grade for your work. In
this assignment, you will expand upon your original paper with additional
research from outside sources, incorporate feedback from your instructor, and
provide a reflection section addressing your revision process.

General Requirements:

• Locate
  the Synthesis Paper you completed in Topic 5.
• Locate
  and download “Enhanced Synthesis Paper Template” from the Course
  Materials for this topic.
• Locate
  and download “Enhanced Synthesis Paper Resources” from the
  Course Materials for this topic.
• Review
  the articles by Baker and Pifer (2011), Gardner (2009), and Smith and
  Hatmaker (2014) located in the Course Materials for this topic.
• This
  assignment uses a rubric. Review the rubric prior to beginning the
  assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful
  completion.
• Doctoral
  learners are required to use APA style for their writing assignments.
  Review the APA Style Guide for Writing located in the Student Success
  Center.
• You
  are required to submit this assignment to Turnitin. Refer to the
  directions in the Student Success Center.

Directions:

Select and read two articles from the Enhanced
Synthesis Paper Resources list located in the Course Materials for this topic.

Locate the Synthesis Paper you completed in
Topic 5. Using the feedback provided by your instructor and information from
the two additional articles you selected, write an Enhanced Synthesis Paper
with Reflection (1,250-1,800 words). Include the following in your paper:

1. A Reflection (250-300 words) that discusses
your revision process and how you incorporated your instructor’s feedback into
the revised version. Similar to the format of an abstract, this section will
receive its own page following the title page and preceding the Introduction.

2. An introduction that includes a brief
description of each article and its purpose, identifies the three themes that
emerged from your reading, describes how they will be discussed in the paper,
and presents a clear thesis statement.

3. Support for your identified themes with
evidence from each article. Provide analysis of these findings to strengthen
your narrative.

4. A discussion of the conclusions that can be
drawn when the articles are taken together as a single entity. What is the
overall message of the group of articles?

 

 

 

RES 811 Week 8 Literature
Review Resources

Successful completion of a doctoral
dissertation requires significant amounts of independent reading on the
research topic. This allows the doctoral learner/researcher to become familiar
with the scope of the topic and to identify gaps or tensions within the
existing literature on the topic. These gaps and tensions become the source of
the dissertation research. In this assignment, you will read and annotate
potential sources in your dissertation field of interest. Those demonstrating
the most merit to the best of your understanding of the topic at this time
should be added to your RefWorks list for potential inclusion in the literature
review section of your dissertation.

General Requirements:

Use the following information to ensure
successful completion of the assignment:

• It
  is strongly recommended that you engage in this activity throughout the
  duration of your program. You will be adding to this document to begin
  building a runnnig literature review. You will have five sources in your
  list by the end of this assignment.
• Instructors
  will be scoring your submission based on the number of unique sources
  identified in the list submitted.
• Download
  the resource Literature Review Resources Tool and use it to complete the
  assignment.
• Doctoral
  learners are required to use APA style for their writing assignments. The
  APA Style Guide is located in the Student Success Center.
• Refer
  to the resource, “Preparing Annotated Bibliographies,” located
  in the Student Success Center, for additional guidance on completing this
  assignment in the appropriate style.

Directions:

Read at least five empirical articles in your
general dissertation field.

In the “Literature Review Resources”
document, provide the following for each source:

1. The APA formatted citation.

2. A brief annotation of the key points of the
source.

3. An indication of whether the source has
been added to (Y) or excluded from (N) your RefWorks list.