Literature Homework

If you use the APA style (built into this Word document) for your headings, then you should be able to update this table of contents automatically. Go under the “References” tab, and click “Update Table.”

TABLE OF CONTENTS iii

LIST OF TABLES v

LIST OF FIGURES vi

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1

Background of the Study 1

Statement of the Research Problem 1

Problem Statement 1

Purpose and Objectives of the Study 2

Rationale of the Study 2

Definitions 2

Limitations of the Study 2

Theoretical Framework 3

Summary of Remaining Chapters 3

CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE 4

Review of the Literature 4

Level 2 Heading 5

Level 3 heading. 5

Level 4 heading. 5

Level 5 heading. 5

CHAPTER III: RESULTS 6

CHAPTER IV: DISCUSSIONS, CONCLUSIONS, ETHICAL RELFECTION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 7

Discussion of the Research Project 8

Conclusion 8

Reflection on the Ethical Considerations 8

REFERENCES 12

APPENDICES 13

APPENDIX A 14

Provide a brief history of the ideas and issues related to the research topic. This section should not be a review of the literature (though some information may be repeated in the literature review), but a description of the events leading up to this research.

The underlying justification for the proposed research is stated in the problem statement. It is an important part of the study, providing direction for all remaining components of your senior project. After reading the problem statement, the reader should know why the study is being conducted and be convinced of its importance, and know the problem will be of its importance. The problem statement can be brief, two to five paragraphs including citations.

This is the heart of the research Project. This subsection states the reason(s) why this research Project is important. A good way to approach the Problem Statement is to address the following: Because of x and y, there is a problem in homeland security or emergency management; if only we knew more about z, things might be better. The research Project should be designed to answer z, which is the research question. Students first might want to pose a question to be answered, and then rephrase that question into the form of a statement.

List the component parts of the research question. Rarely is a problem in public administration one dimensional. This subsection should describe the specific elements of the problem being addressed by the research. It should also have at least 4 objectives. This section is written in the form of a discussion rather than just listing the objectives. Chapter II will focus on a discussion surrounding these objectives.

Develop the reasons for examining the elements described in the purpose and objectives section. Explain why those elements were selected, how they relate to the topic of the research, and how they related to each other. In other words, explain how will accomplishing the purpose and objectives answers the research question, and is something we should care about.

List definitions for only those terms which might be unfamiliar to the reader, especially those which can be considered terms of art and operational definitions. Definitions should have references if they are of a technical nature.

In this section, describe self-imposed limits on the research, including those that relate to both the breadth and depth of the inquiry. Also include limitations that exist due to factors beyond your control. Describe the (potential) effects the specific limitations may have on your research.

If the research is driven by, or relates to, a particular theoretical orientation, provide a brief overview of that orientation and how it relates to the research.

Research Hypotheses

This section is based on the purpose and objectives, what are the expected outcomes for the research? Hypotheses are fundamentally predictions about the answers to the research question and its component parts. The research hypotheses are a critical element of the research Project: they will guide the literature review; heavily influence the research methodology needed to obtain data that will either support or reject the hypotheses; and provide the focus for data analysis, discussion, conclusions, and recommendations.

Include a brief summary of the first chapter and describe the content of the remaining chapters. If a preface is utilized, this subsection is not needed. This section should be approximately a paragraph.

In addition to the preliminary literature introduced in the Chapter I background, statement of the research problem, and significance of the study, a separate extensive review of the literature is required. This chapter begins with a brief introduction to the topic studied and an explanation of major elements, variables, and subsections of research presented in the review of the literature.

Writing a review of the literature requires more than just listing and summarizing all the studies that relate to the topic. The literature review should be an orderly, cohesive, well-sequenced narrative that relates the problem under investigation to a body of scholarly work. The entire chapter should be organized in themes or categories that impact the study.

Subheadings can be used to identify each of the themes or categories. Subheadings also organize the material into shorter, more easily comprehensible blocks of information for the reader. Transitions from one theme or category to another should be smooth and appropriate. In the review of the literature the main theories, explanations, and findings that are generally accepted and represented in the literature should be presented along with contradictory evidence and points of view that may have caused intellectual tension in the field.

Apply the “APA 2 Heading” style to headings at this level. For this heading, capitalize the first letter of proper nouns and each word consisting of at least four letters (title case).

The review of the literature must include a classical grounding of the major works contributing to the field of study, followed by a focus on work accomplished or published within the past 5 years. The review of the literature must include the seminal works of the research topic and bring the research current.

Many references require only brief review, while others directly related to your topic should be reviewed carefully. You can extract additional references by reviewing the references section of each sources. It is important your research is sufficient so that you can compare and contrast between your sources.

The second chapter should not be confused with the Introduction in Chapter I. The introduction provides a review of the topic; the Literature Review summarizes what has been said about the topic. The Literature Review is not a series of book (or journal article) reports. A good literature review tells a story about the topic, using published works to support what is written. The chapter should be organized in such a way as to (a) bring together the most important writings about the research question in general, followed by (b) a closer examination of the writings related to the component parts detailed in the Purpose and Objectives subsection of Chapter I. It is very helpful to the reader if the ideas are presented in the same order throughout the Project.

This chapter will contain the greatest number of citations, so it is important that they be done correctly. Each citation must have a corresponding listing in the Reference section.

The Literature Review should not include data that will be used to answer the research question or test your research hypotheses. If the Project is utilizing an analysis of published research to answer the research question, the Literature Review should provide the background and take the reader up to the point where those studies begin.

**Students are cautioned not to use studies in this section as well as in chapter III. Do not use this section to tell the reader what information is going to be in chapter III, use it to talk about prior findings in research.

This chapter involves (a) a discussion of the research Project, including the findings, interpretation of the results, and problems and/or limitations; (b) a conclusion: what did the author find? What did the author learn? and (c) a reflection on the ethical considerations of your project (see Writing and Ethical Reflection below for guidance); and (d) recommendations for changes in policy or practice, future research, or anything else that will direct solutions to the problem(s) that were the focus of the research.

Begin this chapter with a brief summary of the purpose statement, research questions, methods, population, and sample. Chapter IV should stand alone as representative of the candidate’s research.

· Step 1: Review Framework for Making Ethical Decisions : Read the following website put together by a collaboration of ethicists under the guidance of Brown University. The main objective here is to focus on Parts #3 and #4 where we start to apply ethical frameworks to our own projects. But review the other parts as well for an understanding of what ethics is and how it applies to your case. Reading: Brown University,

Although all sections must be completed according to APA, this area of the study is particularly sensitive, given the array of references that will be cited.

Appendices allow the researcher to include detailed information in the paper that would be distracting in the main body of the paper. Your Senior Project may have more than one appendix. Usually, each distinct item has its own appendix. If the paper only has one appendix, label it “Appendix” (without quotes). If there is more than one appendix, label them “Appendix A,” “Appendix B,” etc. (without quotes) in the order that each item appears in the paper. In the main text refer to the Appendices by their labels.

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