WAQP Week 7 Assignment 2

Rubric Standard | Complete > Does the prospectus contain all the required elements? Refer to the annotated outline to see the required parts of the Dissertation Prospectus document.

Note. Please complete following the directions provided, using the stem sentences, and referring to the examples in the appendix.

Title

The media’s impact on perceptions of the modern-day mass shooter: Implications for proactive prevention

Supporting Literature

The first step in developing your prospectus is to search the literature related to the general area you want to investigate (see social problem below). In your review of recent, empirical literature, what keywords did you search and in what databases?

The keywords and databases searched included Keywords ( used as written and in combination): mass shooter or mass shooting or mass violence or mass murder; media or social media or news; perception or opinion or belief or attitude or perspective; theory or theoretical framework; cultivation theory + mass shooting or mass violence; attribution theory + mass violence or mass shooting; mass shooting or mass violence + behavioral threat assessment or threat assessment or prevention

Provide at least 10 brief summaries of recent, scholarly (peer-reviewed) articles that support/justify a current and relevant problem in your discipline or professional field. Source(s) supporting your framework should be included. Include the complete, APA reference entry, followed by (a) an in-text citation; (b) what was studied; (c) what was found; and (d) why this research is important in relation to your study. This evidence provides the justification for your research problem.

1. Croitoru, A., Kien, S., Mahabir, R., Radzikowski, J., Crooks, A., Schuchard, R., Begay, T., Lee, A., Bettios, A., & Stefanidis, A. (2020). Responses to mass shooting events: The interplay between the media and the public.  Criminology & Public Policy,  19(1), 335–360. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1111/1745-9133.12486

(a). Croitoru et al., 2020, (b). Croitoru et al. studied 5 mass shooting events in the US occurring between October 2017 and May 2018 to discern the nature of media coverage, how the public searches for related information online, and what prominent discourse emerges in online social networks, ( c). The key takeaways from the research include that the US accounts for at least 30% of mass shooters worldwide and mass shooting events receive a significant amount of media coverage. The public consumer tends to spend about 10 days searching for information about such events (interest peaks in the first 24 to 48 hours) yet the media, on average, cover mass shootings for an average of 31 days. A significant finding is the financial interest of media sources in providing desired content as the public quickly looks for answers and understanding to quell their uncertainty about why such events occur, (d). Online sources are the primary news source for gathering information and serve as the course source for influencing and shaping perceptions, perspectives, attitudes, opinions, and beliefs about why mass shootings occur and who is likely to perpetrate such attacks. Such information is often distorted and shifting as information about such events is learned, providing the public with a greater sense of uncertainty as the ‘facts’ of the matter are continually in flux.

2. Fernandez, E., Callen, A., Johnson, S. L., Gaspar, C., Kulhanek, C., & Jose-Bueno, C. (2020). Prevalence, elicitors, and expression of anger in 21st century mass shootings.  Aggression and Violent Behavior,  55. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1016/j.avb.2020.101483

(a). Fernandez et al., 2020, (b). Fernandez et al. (2020) studied the presence of anger in US mass shootings between 2000 and 2015, the elicitors of such anger, and aspects of the expression of such anger, (c). The authors found a pervasive belief that mass shootings are random, senseless, and the result of someone ‘snapping.’ The prevalence of these incidents remains highly infrequent, and the common correlation of mental illness and violence is tenuous. Their studied revealed that mass shootings reflect expressions of retaliatory, externalizing, and punitive anger that are highly controlled, (d). The study supports the importance of this writer’s research given there appears to be a longstanding, distorted belief that mass shooters are psychiatrically ill and their attacks are the result of an affective rage without prior planning and control that can aid in the process of prevention.

3. Frizzell, L., & Lindsay, S. (2019). Race and Mental Illness: Does Media Framing of Mass Shooters Impact Punitive Attitudes?  Conference Papers -- American Sociological Association, 1–22.

(a). Frizzell & Lindsay, 2019, (b). Frizzell & Lindsay (2019) implemented an experimental design to explore the impact of disparate media framing of mass shooters on punitive attitudes towards men of different races and ethnicities. They randomly assigned participants to read one of ten vignettes mirroring a typical news article on a mass shooting and manipulated two variables in the vignettes, race/ethnicity and mental health framing. The authors asked: (1) how does inclusion of mental illness as a causal explanation for a mass shooting impact the public’s punitive attitudes toward that shooter? (2) Does that impact depend on the race/ethnicity of the shooter? (c). The authors found that the media plays a role in constructing the public's perception of reality. They identified racial disparities in media coverage in that when white men commit mass shootings, the media frequently frame the crime as stemming from the individual’s mental health problem, whereas when Black shooters commit similar crimes, the media are much more likely to blame their criminal lifestyle. They discovered that the mental health frame only gained media prominence after the Sandy Hook shooting. Consistent with other research in the area, they opine that the media shapes both conscious knowledge and subconscious stereotypes, (d). The study supports the value of this writer’s research as it supports the reality that the general public maintains perceptions of mass shooters that are contrary to the evidence as it pertains to the relationships of mental illness and race/ethnicity. False perceptions serve as a barrier to effective prevention.

4. Girard, H. J., & Aguilar, E. (2019). Parental Perceived Characteristics of Juvenile Mass Murderers.  Research in Higher Education Journal,  37.

(a). Girard & Aguilar, 2019, (b). Girard & Aguilar (2019) conducted a qualitative study to understand the social characteristics and personality traits of juveniles at risk of becoming mass murderer offenders. They considered dispositional factors (age, race, gender, socio-economic status, cognitive and neurological status), historical factors (violence, substance abuse, maladjustment, employment instability, and relationship problems), clinical factors (psychiatric disorders or symptoms), and contextual factors (availability of professional supervision and support, access to weapons, and social stress), (c). Their research found several emerging themes. First, parents believe juveniles who are likely to commit mass murder tend to be loners or have some form of social isolation. Second, parents believe juveniles who are likely to commit mass murder tend to be bullied by others. Third, parents believe juveniles who are likely to commit mass murder tend to be angry and have frustration or resentment. Finally, parents believe juveniles who are likely to commit mass murder tend to have issues with their mental health - either a psychiatric disorder or depression, (d). This study serves as the primary foundation upon which this writer’s research will build as it is limited in scope (adolescents as school shooters only). Profiling the mass murder shooter can lead to unfairly labeling individuals who would never engage in an attack and missing those who do not fit the profile. One must understand prevailing perceptions in order to educate and inform accurately.

5. Meindl, J. N., & Ivy, J. W. (2017). Mass Shootings: The Role of the Media in Promoting Generalized Imitation.  American Journal of Public Health,  107(3), 368–370. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.2105/AJPH.2016.303611

(a). Meindl & Ivy, 2017, (b). The authors provide an overview of generalized imitation and discuss how the way in which the media report a mass shooting can increase the likelihood of another shooting event suggesting the concept of a ‘contagion effect’ does not explain how behavior spreads, (c). They found that as of 2015, a mass shooting resulting in the death of four or more people occurred approximately every 12.5 days. Not only do people often imitate behaviors that are portrayed in the media, the “reality” of the portrayal does not seem to have a significant influence. Social status is conferred when the mass shooter obtains a significant level of notoriety from news reports. In general, people are more likely to imitate the behaviors of other people who they view as similar to themselves. They encourage media reporting to consider releasing information via written updates to both minimize perceived reward and potentially serve to decrease overall interest in the event. Changing the way in which the media report a mass shooting could be difficult given that sensationalizing a tragic event brings in both viewers and revenue, which is a powerful incentive. The first step toward building this public pressure is to make the public aware of the link between the media and generalized imitation, as well as the role the media play in un- knowingly perpetuating acts of violence, (d). The research supports the influence of media on how future mass attackers perceive their predecessors and replicate their behavior as a way of understanding the role of media in influencing beliefs, attitudes, perceptions, and behavior.

6. McGinty, E. E., Webster, D. W., & Barry, C. L. (2013). Effects of news media messages about mass shootings on attitudes toward persons with serious mental illness and public support for gun control policies.  The American Journal of Psychiatry,  170(5), 494–501. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2013.13010014

(a). McGinty, Webster, & Barry, 2013, (b). The authors test the effects of news stories about mass shootings on public attitudes toward persons with serious mental illness and support for gun control policies, (c). They found that the aftermath of mass shootings is often viewed as a window of opportunity to garner support for gun control policies, but it also exacerbates negative attitudes toward persons with serious mental illness. Mental health experts have long suspected that news media depictions of violent persons with serious mental illness contribute to the public’s negative attitudes toward persons with mental illness and that persons with serious mental illness, not access to guns in society, are primarily responsible for mass shootings. Messages about gun restrictions for persons with serious mental illness may lead the public to see mass shootings as isolated events, perpetrated by a small group of individuals, which gun control policy cannot prevent. Pew polling data suggest that the proportion of Americans who view mass shootings as “just the isolated acts of individuals” as opposed to reflections of “broader problems in society” has increased, (d). The research supports the need to explore a more comprehensive understanding of the traits and characteristics often assigned to mass shooters and the media as the primary source of information influencing perception in order to combat the distorted perception of reality.

7. Mercier, B., Norris, A., & Shariff, A. F. (2018). Muslim mass shooters are perceived as less mentally ill and more motivated by religion.  Psychology of Violence,  8(6), 772–781. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1037/vio0000217

(a). Mercier, Norris, & Shariff (2018), (b). The authors examine whether people with negative attitudes toward Muslims perceive Muslim mass shooters as less mentally ill than non-Muslim shooters. They do so by exploring (1) attributions of mental illness to Muslim and non-Muslim perpetrators of recent mass shootings, (2) whether a mass shooter described in a news article is seen as less mentally ill when described as being a Muslim, compared with when described as a Christian and when religion is not mentioned, and (3) whether a Muslim shooter is seen as less mentally ill than a Christian shooter, even when both shooters have symptoms of mental illness, (c). The authors report that those with anti-Muslim prejudices perceive Muslim mass shooters as less mentally ill, likely to maintain culpability and fit narratives about terrorism. Stereotypes about the shooter, for example, often provide people with a simple explanation for a mass shooting that is consistent with their current worldview. The assert that once people have generated an explanation that is consistent with the stereotypes they hold, they are unlikely to spend cognitive effort searching for further explanations; people discount mental illness for members of disliked groups who commit violent acts, (d). This research provides a specific example of how perceptions influence ideas about mass violence perpetrators that is inconsistent with empirical data resulting from media influence of stereotypes, attitudes, and perceptions. Moreover, this is a specific example of how people falsely perceive mental illness as a casual factor for mass violence, a commonly sourced explanation for such behavior.

8. Schildkraut, J., Elsass, H. J., & Meredith, K. (2018). Mass shootings and the media: why all events are not created equal.  Journal of Crime & Justice,  41(3), 223–243.

(a). Schildkraut, Elsass, & Meredith, 2018, (b). The authors analyzed the newspaper coverage of rampage shootings that occurred between 2000 and 2012. Using a media distortion analysis of articles in  The New York Times, specific consideration is given to how offender characteristics, victim counts, and locations of the events impact the newsworthiness of each case, (c). The authors found that race/ethnicity and victim counts are the most salient predictor of whether a shooting was covered, with perpetrators of Asian and other descent and those events with higher victim counts generating more prominent coverage. Incidents occurring in locations other than schools yielded less coverage. The opine violent crimes, and homicides, often are the most newsworthy because they can capture and keep the audience’s attention, even though property offenses are considerably more common. One of the most salient predictors of coverage of a homicide is whether it involved a ‘worthy victim.’ Specifically, this refers to those who are ‘White, in the youngest and oldest age groups, women, of high socioeconomic status, killed by strangers’ or who are perceived as more vulnerable, and homicides occurring in wealthier areas were more likely to yield increased article and word counts, (d). Researchers have found that attitudes about these events are informed by the amount and type of media one consumes. The abundance of attention has led people to overestimate their likelihood of falling victim to a similar attack, therefore supporting the need for this research to discern how the media influences perceptions, what those perceptions are, and how the deviate and/or align with empirical research on mass shooters and their characteristics, traits, and background.

9. Schildkraut, J., Gruenewald, J., Gilliam, M., & Novak, M. (2021). Framing mass shootings as a social problem: A comparison of ideologically and non-ideologically motivated attacks.  Aggression and Violent Behavior,  60. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1016/j.avb.2020.101533

(a). Schildkraut et al., 2021, (b). The authors analyze  New York Times coverage of 18 mass shootings to support their assertion that the media play a critical role in shaping perceptions about these events as social problems. Given that the majority of people will never be directly impacted by a mass shooting, public impressions are largely shaped by and through the disproportionate news media coverage of such events, (c). They report that news coverage of high-profile events can indicate to the public how to think about social problems by how they are “framed,” such that mass shootings often are perceived to be crimes perpetrated almost exclusively by White males. The news media continue to serve as the platform for the public to learn about these relatively rare events, often reinforcing stereotypes and backlash against particular racial, ethnic, or religious groups, harsher legal outcomes for those with political motivations, and rushed legislation to create laws that can be used discriminately against certain segments of the population, (d). Their analysis supports the research in looking more specifically at the content of the perceptions held about mass shootings by those whose primary source of information and influence is the media.

10. Silva, J. R., & Capellan, J. A. (2019). A Comparative Analysis of Media Coverage of Mass Public Shootings: Examining Rampage, Disgruntled Employee, School, and Lone-Wolf Terrorist Shootings in the United States.  Criminal Justice Policy Review,  30(9), 1312–1341. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1177/0887403418786556

(a). Silva & Capellan, 2019, (b). This study provides a comparative analysis of news media coverage across four types of mass public shootings: rampage, disgruntled employee, school, and lone-wolf terrorist. This research analyzes the agenda-setting function of the media and identifies differences in coverage and the salience of coverage, proportionality of coverage, changes in coverage over time, and factors influencing levels of coverage, (c). Findings indicate school shootings and lone-wolf terrorist shootings receive disproportionate amounts of news media coverage. Media agenda setting finds a strong relationship between the emphasis mass media places on certain issues and the importance attributed to these issues by mass audiences. High-profile mass public shooting incidents produce a cultural trauma that accentuates awareness of the phenomenon. Research suggests excessive mass public shooting coverage has increased fear, perceived risk of victimization, and the perception of an epidemic. School and lone-wolf terrorist incidents make up approximately 32% of all mass public shootings yet they receive 75% to 80% of all coverage devoted to these attacks, (d). These findings have important implications for public perceptions of risk, conceptualizations of potential perpetrators, and the implementation of security measures.

Rubric Standard | Justified > Is evidence presented that this problem is significant to the discipline and/or professional field? The prospectus should provide relevant statistics and evidence, documentable discrepancies, and other scholarly facts that point to the significance and urgency of the problem.

Problem

What was the social problem that prompted you to search the literature to find out more? Write in complete sentences using a scholarly tone.

The situation or issue that prompted me to search the literature is Most Americans perceive mass shootings as the number one threat to national security, often blaming lack of mental health services and gun control as primary, correlative, or causal factors. Despite the growing body of research on correlates of mass violence perpetration that contradict popular opinion about mental illness and firearms, the perception of why these events occurs and who are to be the likely perpetrators remains a static, fixed, and distorted perception of reality. Research exploring what perceptions are held about mass shooters, mass shootings, and correlative and causal factors in the general population is limited to one identifiable study specific to adolescent mass attackers. To understand the broad resistance to effective prevention models such as behavioral threat assessment and management, a baseline understanding of perceptions and the sources of perceptual influence is needed to effectively strategize how to combat false beliefs in the interest of securing a collective approach to addressing this public health concern.

Now that you have read and summarized some of the recent literature to understand your problem, and given what other researchers are exploring, what meaningful gap have you identified that your study will address? (What have others not yet explored about this problem that you will contribute with your study?)

Although researchers have investigated this issue, the topic has not been explored in this way: There is an absence of research that explores the perceptions held about mass shooters and mass shootings by the general public and an analysis of the sources that shape or cultivate these perceptions. By learning more about what influences perception specific to this public health matter, and based on the assumption that widely held perceptions are grossly distorted, sources of influence can be identified and analyzed to identify novel approaches that might help accurately influence perceptions and attitudes so as to decrease reactivity and scapegoating of marginalized populations (i.e., mentally ill). The research will serve to help identify the scope of the current problem, etiologies for the pervasive concern, and considerations for intervention that may help promote the community-wide and systems integrated approach necessary to try and prevent targeted violence. The anticipated results of such research, using parents of K-12 students as the sample population, will validate the pervasiveness of perceptual distortions about why mass shootings occur and who is likely to commit such violence. The results are hypothesized to provide additional support that media sources and the way that they cover these sentinel events serve as the primary influential sources cultivating such perceptions and may be instrumental in accurately reshaping these tainted ideas, opinions, and beliefs through modification of media coverage and broadcasting approaches.

Based on all of the above information (social problem, literature review, gap), in one sentence, what is your research problem ?

The specific research problem that will be addressed through this study is The study will explore the perceptions of potential mass shooters held by parents of school-aged children (K-12) and the sources of information cultivating such perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs.

Rubric Standard | Meaningful > Has a meaningful problem and gap in the research literature been identified? In other words, is addressing this problem the logical next step, given the previous exploratory and confirmatory research (or lack thereof) on this topic? It is not acceptable to simply replicate previous research for a Ph.D. degree.

Rubric Standard | Original > Does this project have potential to make an original contribution? The problem must be an authentic "puzzle" that needs solving, not merely a topic that the researcher finds interesting. Addressing the problem should result in an original contribution to the field or discipline.

Purpose

To address your stated research problem, what is the purpose of your study? Will you describe, compare, explore, examine, etc.? Complete the purpose sentence below and be sure to clarify your variables/concepts of interest.

The purpose of this Qualitative study is to Explore and describe the perceptions of parents with a current student in grades K-12 about the characteristics, traits, and circumstances of those persons most likely to perpetrate a mass shooting. Additionally, the study will explore how the media, as a primary source of information about local, national, and global social problems, shapes these perceptions. Through understanding prevailing perceptions and beliefs, training, outreach, and education can be more accurately tailored to help parents reframe distorted perceptions cultivated through the media and become more effective participants in the systems-based effort to identify and manage preventable acts of targeted violence.

Framework (Conceptual or Theoretical)

What theory(ies) and/or concept(s) support (frame) your study and who are the original authors? Provide an in-text citation with your response, and the complete APA reference entry with summary in the Supporting Literature section.

The theories and/or concepts that ground this study include Cultivation Theory (Gerbner, 1966) - people’s conceptions of reality will reflect what they see on television (Lett et al., 2004; Riddle et al., 2011; Shah et al., 2020).

1. Lett, M. D., DiPietro, A. L., & Johnson, D. I. (2004). Examining effects of television news violence on college students through cultivation theory.  Communication Research Reports,  21(1), 39–46. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1080/08824090409359965

(Lett, DiPietro, & Johnson, 2004)

2. Riddle, K., Potter, W. J., Metzger, M., Nabi, R., & Linz, D. (2011). Beyond cultivation: Exploring the effects of frequency, recency, and vivid autobiographical memories for violent media.  Media Psychology,  14(2), 168–191.

(Riddle et al., 2011)

3. Shah, Z., Chu, J., Ghani, U., Qaisar, S., & Hassan, Z. (2020). Media and altruistic behaviors: The mediating role of fear of victimization in cultivation theory perspective.  International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction,  42. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2019.101336

(Shah et al., 2020)

How do these theories and/or concepts relate to your research problem, purpose, and the nature of your study?

The logical connections between the framework presented and the nature of my study include Gerbner’s Cultivation Theory opines that people’s conceptions of reality reflect what they view on television, and the more time spent viewing television, the more likely their conceptions mirror media content. Mass media sources have influence on how people view the world (Shah et al., 2020; Riddle et al., 2011; Tyler & Cook, 1984 in Lett et al., 2004), providing a narrative, and as people are transported into the narrative, they make emotional connections with the narrative that solidifies it as perceptually accurate (Garcia-Castro & Perez-Sanchez, 2018). Mass shootings, especially those that occur in K-12 schools, receive significant media coverage because of event rarity and high emotional valence. As viewers are inundated with crime scene images, grieving students and parents, and sensationalized images of the perpetrator, viewers gradually adapt their views and beliefs on the issue based on these constant messages (Alitavoli & Kaveh, 2018; Shi et al., 2011; Hestroni, 2008). Therefore, as the research aims to understand parents’ perceptions of the modern-day mass shooter, how these perceptions align with empirically based characteristics, traits, and behaviors, and from where are these perceptions adopted or formed, it is important to not only understand the source of information shaping perceptions but how the process of perceptual influence works. Cultivation theory appears as an ideal framework to explain the effect of media coverage on mass violence perceptions as cultivated by the media.

Rubric Standard | Grounded > Is the problem framed to enable the researcher to either build upon or counter the previously published findings on the topic? For most fields, grounding involves articulating the problem within the context of a theoretical base or conceptual framework. Although many approaches can ground a study in the scientific literature, the essential requirement is that the problem is framed such that the new findings will have implications for the previous findings.

Research Question(s) and Hypotheses (if applicable)

List the question(s) that you plan to use to address the research problem. Your question(s) must align with your study purpose and include the variables and/or concepts and how they will be examined.

RQ1: What are parents’ perceptions of the individual traits, characteristics, and circumstances associated with mass shooters.

RQ2: What are the sources of information by which parents state their perceptions about mass shooters and mass shootings are influenced and shaped?

RQ3: What do parents believe are the best ways to identify and manage a potential mass shooter?

Nature of the Study

What systematic approach/method and research design do you plan to use to address your research question(s)?

To address the research questions in this Qualitative study, the specific research design will include Semi-structured questionnaires disseminated to parents of students enrolled in K-12 schools about their ideas, beliefs, perceptions, and attitudes about individuals most apt to perpetrate a mass shooting attack. Qualitative coding analysis of the data will improve the understanding of commonly held perceptions about the modern-day mass shooter, the sources by which these perceptions are most prominently formed, and how popularly held perceptions serve to support or as barriers to effective threat assessment and management.

Reference entry for the work on which this research design is based:

Saldana et al.

For your planned research design, what type of data will you need and what data collection tools and sources will provide it?

For my planned research design, I will need A self-designed, research informed semi-structured questionnaire that permits respondents to respond to a mix of open and closed-ended questions. All data analyzed will be original data collected by this writer via electronically disseminated questionnaires.

What data points from these sources do you plan to use to answer your research question(s)?

The data will include responses from parents about who they think is likely to be the next mass shooter based on their conceptualization or contributing risk factors (biopsychosocial factors) and mitigating factors they believe most likely to reduce the risk of future violence.

What limitations, challenges, and/or barriers might you need to address while conducting this study (e.g., access to participants, access to data, requirements for storing data, separation of roles or other ethical considerations, instrumentation fees, etc.)?

Access to participants should not pose any challenges given initial discussions with local school district security leadership who foresee easily being able to disseminate questionnaires to their parent population via email. The lingering question at this time is determining the best method for respondents to be able to anonymously return their questionnaires and to be able to ask questions of the researcher anonymously if needed. This uncertainty, once clarified, will likely dictate where the data can likewise be safely stored. A limitation of the study may be the sample size given the qualitative nature of study and the ability to broadly generalize the findings beyond the local South Texas region given attitudes, beliefs, and cultural values are non-homogenous across cities, counties, and states.

Rubric Standard | Feasible > Can a systematic method of inquiry be used to address the problem; and does the approach have the potential to address the problem while considering potential risks and burdens placed on research participants? The tentative methodology demonstrates that the researcher has considered the options for inquiry and has selected an approach that has potential to address the problem.

Significance

How will your study address the meaningful, discipline-specific issue that you identified and therefore contribute to your field, discipline, professional practice, etc. contributing to positive social change?

This study is significant in that It will shed light on the perceptions parents have about mass shooters and mass shootings regarding characteristics, traits, and circumstances that likely drive one to carry out a mass attack. Additionally, it will add to the existing research that opines how the media and social media serve as the primary cultivating force behind these perceptions. By understanding the specificities of parents’ beliefs about mass violence, efforts to change the prevailing narrative about what causes such events can be tailored to counter the distortions and falsities that continue to perpetuate ongoing, fruitless discourse limited to gun control and mental illness as causal or strongly correlative factors. In doing so, parents can be educated about the empirical correlatives linked to mass violence and become more effective participants in the threat assessment and management process

Rubric Standard | Impact > Does this project have potential to affect positive social change? As described in the Significance section, the anticipated findings have potential to support the mission of Walden University to promote positive social change.

Rubric Standard | Objective > Is the topic approached in an objective manner? The framing of the problem should not reveal bias or present a foregone conclusion. Even if the researcher has a strong opinion on the expected findings, the researcher must maximize scholarly objectivity by framing the problem in the context of a systematic inquiry that permits multiple possible conclusions.

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