supergrad
instructionsMilestone2-5.docx
Milestone 2: Topic Approval
Your mentor submits the topic (Sections 1 and 2 of the Dissertation Research Plan) to (blanK)mfor official review and approval. Before the mentor submits to the school, the learner will submit their research topic to the mentor for feedback and approval. The topic is the overarching area of inquiry to be explored in the dissertation. Researching, crafting, and revising the topic are to be expected before the milestone is completed.
Significance: The topic of the dissertation will guide the structure of the dissertation work yet to be done.
Introduction
At This, earning your PhD requires that you demonstrate the achievement of your program and specialization outcomes. Your learning process is guided by the course and PhD Dissertation Research Seminar track competencies that align with your program and specialization outcomes. Competencies represent the skills and knowledge you will incrementally develop to achieve your program and specialization outcomes. The dissertation is the final project for all.
Successfully completing your dissertation will demonstrate that you meet all program and specialization outcomes and that you are prepared to enter the PhD academy in your field.
The identification of a dissertation topic may sound simple, but identifying an appropriate topic is a complex activity. A dissertation topic must be acceptable within the discipline, school, and specialization.
A dissertation topic must first align with your discipline. You will utilize the scientific literature in your discipline to maintain alignment and narrow the scope of your topic. The process begins by aligning your topic with the discipline and then, step by step narrowing the focus of your topic to respond to a specific gap in the body of knowledge for your specialization. Always keep in mind the dissertation demonstrates your ability to conduct independent research, extend theory, and fill a gap in the literature of your specialization area.
Developing Your Research Topic
Crafting the research topic is the very first step in creating a successful research design. Too many learners rush the process, settling for a sloppy and unfocussed topic statement and hurrying to identify a research question or methodology. A well-crafted topic statement identifies the key concepts that will be investigated, and does so using the terminology used in the specialization.
When the key concepts and the specific population of interest are correctly identified and articulated, keywords for a literature review can more readily be generated. The literature review is the second step in research design—it provides the evidence that justifies doing the study in the first place. So a sloppy and unfocused research topic will result in a sloppy and unfocused literature review, and it is highly likely that the study will not be justified. Care in formulating your research topics in the beginning will greatly enhance your likelihood of producing a successful and justified Research Plan.
Reviewing the Scientific Merit of a Proposed Topic and Developing Your Research Problem Statement
In addition to understanding research ethics, you must demonstrate that your research study will have scientific merit, which means that it provides a real scientific benefit to the community. You will explore these concepts now by:
· Developing a well-formed topic.
· Entering the literature related to the key terms in your topic so that you are able to discover a gap in the literature that you might be able to fill with a new study.
· Turn your research topic into a research problem, which is the third step in creating the foundation for your research design.
Developing the Research Problem Statement
A well-crafted research topic provides the initial key words for an in-depth mining of the literature on those key words and their related terms. This literature search:
· Familiarizes you with what is known about the research topic.
· Allows you to become aware of gaps in the literature.
Gaps in the literature may include:
· Conflicts or disagreements about the topic.
· Design flaws or limitations in the existing research.
· New questions that previous findings raise.
One or more of these gaps, flaws, or new questions will then form the basis for a research problem statement. This unit will show you how to move from a research topic to a research problem, which is perhaps the pivot or centrally important element in conceptualizing your study. Everything flows from a well-developed research problem.
Read Developing a Research Problem From a Research Topic to help you form your research topic and problem statement.
Your assignment in this unit is evaluated using the Research Topic and Problem Statement Scoring Guide . You will use your instructor's evaluation and feedback to further refine and improve your research problem statement.
Milestone 2 Assignment: Research Topic and Problem Statement
This assignment aligns to sections 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, and 6 in the Dissertation Research Plan. You will be able to use the feedback that you receive from this completed assignment to further refine your problem statement. Address the following sections in your paper, using the headings provided:
Section 1.1: Research Topic (2 paragraphs)
State your research topic as you have refined it to this point. Ensure that you address the following elements in Section 1.1:
· First paragraph: Describe the specific topic to be studied in a clearly stated paragraph, including relevant, appropriately-focused key concepts.
· Second paragraph: Describe the significance of the topic to your program or field (such as Psychology, Counseling, Business, Technology, Public Service Leadership, Education) AND its significance to your program specialization.
The Research Topic should be correctly formed:
· Your research topic should be appropriate for your specialization.
· Your research topic should use appropriate language for key concepts/phenomena.
· The target population should be named.
· The concepts should be appropriately focused.
Note: You do not need to describe the relationships between or among the concepts for this assignment.
Section 1.2: Research Problem (1 paragraph)
Write a brief statement that fully describes the problem being addressed. In simplified terms, the research problem should take this form:
"The research literature on indicates that we know , we know , but we do not know ."
The Research Problem should be correctly stated:
· Existing literature and key findings should be summarized.
· Gaps or problems in the existing literature should be clearly formulated.
· The Research Problem should be explicitly stated, not implied.
Section 2.1: Research Problem Background (3 paragraphs)
Provide a brief SUMMARY of your review of the research literature on the topic. This should include citations from at least 5 articles, but should indicate that you have performed a review of the literature (acceptable for Track 1) on the topic. This should be demonstrated by providing a statement about the body of existing literature on the topic, then, summarizing recent research findings on the topic, highlighting the findings that are most relevant to your proposed study, demonstrating how your proposed research could add to the existing literature on the topic. Be sure to provide appropriate in-text citations and include references in the reference section.
Note: The Research Plan requires a minimum of 75 articles. For this activity, you only need 5 articles, to create your initial foundation. You will continue to build towards your full literature review throughout your dissertation process.
Section 6: References
· Provide a reference list for all of the articles cited in this assignment, following APA 6th edition formatting (see chapter 7 of the Publication Manual for examples).
· Use current (within 5–7 years), scholarly, PRIMARY resources to support statements throughout your paper.
Review the Research Topic and Problem Statement Scoring Guide to ensure you meet all grading criteria. Review the assignment due date information provided in both the Syllabus and the Faculty Expectations discussion to effectively plan your time. Post the Research Topic and Problem Statement to the assignment area.
Note: Your instructor may also use the Writing Feedback Tool to provide feedback on your writing. In the tool, click the linked resources for helpful writing information.
Resources
· The Writing Center – Graduate Resources .
· Smarthinking .
Milestone 3: Mentor-Approved Research Plan
Your mentor works with you to complete the remaining sections of your Research Plan. Once complete, submit the full Research Plan to your mentor for feedback and final approval. Your plan may require multiple iterations before mentor approval is obtained. Once your Research Plan is approved by your mentor, Milestone 3 is marked complete.
Significance: Your Research Plan specifically addresses all aspects of your proposed study and will be the outline of your dissertation research. Your Research Plan forms the foundation of your study.
Milestone 3 Assignment: Mentor Approval Documentation
Submit your completed (and Turnitin-verified) Research Plan in the assignment area for mentor approval. Your mentor may also request a copy of the Turnitin report. Your research plan may require multiple iterations before approval is granted. When your mentor has approved your plan, he or she will check the Yes box in the scoring checklist to indicate that Milestone 3 has been completed.
Please note: It is very important that the iterative process of feedback take place through the assignment area to ensure that all this work is documented and can be captured and saved in your ePortfolio.
Note: Your mentor may use the Writing Feedback Tool to provide feedback and resources to improve your writing.
Portfolio Prompt: Save each iteration of your research plan, your Turnitin report, and your mentor's feedback to your ePortfolio.
Resources
· Research Plan – Mentor Approval Documentation Scoring Guide
Milestone 4: Committee-Approved Research Plan
For Milestone 4, your mentor shares your approved Research Plan with your dissertation committee (not including the SMR reviewer) for review, feedback, and approval. Your plan may require multiple iterations before final approval from your dissertation committee is obtained. Once your Research Plan is approved by your committee, Milestone 4 will be marked complete.
Significance: This step informs the committee of your proposed Research Plan and provides the committee with an opportunity to ask questions and offer input to your work.
Milestone 4 Assignment: Research Plan – Committee Approval Documentation
Submit the mentor-approved version of your Research Plan in the assignment area. Your mentor will compile the feedback from your dissertation committee and send your plan with that feedback back to you for revision. Make the revisions and resubmit through the assignment area. Once the committee has approved your Research Plan, your mentor will check the Yes box of the scoring checklist to indicate that Milestone 4 has been completed.
Please note: It is very important that the iterative process of feedback and revision take place through the assignment area to ensure that all this work is documented and can be captured and saved to your ePortfolio.
Note: Your mentor may use the Writing Feedback Tool to provide feedback and resources to improve your writing.
Portfolio Prompt: Be sure you save the Milestone 4 committee approval documentation to your ePortfolio.
Resources
· Research Plan – Committee Approval Documentation Scoring Guide
· ePortfolio.
Milestone 5: Scientific Merit Approval
For Milestone 5, your mentor submits your mentor- and committee-approved Research Plan to the Doctoral Success Center (DSC). The DSC sends the plan to the SMR review team lead, who distributes it to the SMR reviewer. The SMR reviewer returns a formal review to your mentor and copies the DSC. Your mentor shares feedback for revisions, you revise based on that feedback and resubmit to your mentor. Once your mentor validates that concerns have been sufficiently addressed, he or she submits your plan to the DSC and the process begins again. It typically requires multiple iterations before your Research Plan obtains SMR reviewer final approval. Once the SMR reviewer has approved your Research Plan, Milestone 5 is marked complete.
Significance: A demonstration of scientific merit in all research plans is a necessary condition for IRB approval.
Milestone 5 Assignment: Scientific Merit Documentation
Submit your mentor- and committee-approved Research Plan in the assignment area. Your mentor will submit it to the Doctoral Success Center (DSC) and return it to you with feedback from the SMR Reviewer for your revisions. You may need to make multiple revisions before it is approved. Once it has been approved, your mentor will check the Yes box in the scoring checklist to indicate that Milestone 5 has been completed.
Please note: It is very important that the iterative process of feedback and revision take place through the assignment area to ensure that all of this work is documented and can be captured and saved to your ePortfolio.
Note: Your mentor may use the Writing Feedback Tool to provide feedback and resources to improve your writing.
Portfolio Prompt: Be sure to save your SMR-approved Research Plan and the notice that the plan was approved to your ePortfolio.
Resources
· Scientific Merit Documentation Scoring Guide .
· ePortfolio .
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