week 6 assignment for Sir_Excellence ($30)

Final Project: Action Research Proposal. You will need to create between 10 to 15 slides, not including the title and reference slides. Think again about effective components of professional presentations. You will be required to include most of your thought process by means of Speaker’s notes. Keep in mind when selecting the presentation program/software you wish to use that the notes page is available as a great deal of what is graded will be included there.

Intellectual Elaboration

Writing and Presenting the Research Study Writing There are five parts to any research report. They are:

1. Introduction

2. Literature Review

3. Methodology

4. Data Analysis

5. Conclusions

While the steps are pretty self-explanatory, there are things that go along with each. In the introduction, you are writing about the background of the problem, discussing your professional and personal interest in the problem, and identifying the research question. In the literature review, you discuss the relevant literature, dividing it into sub categories, and grouping the studies together. You would want to be sure to include your references in a list at the end of your study. In the methodology section, you would discuss the sample selection methods (i.e. how you selected your participants), the choice of quantitative/qualitative focus, and the types of data that you will collect. In the data analysis section, you would write about the steps that went into the data analysis, and describe your process for it. Finally, in the conclusions section, you would write about what you see as the outcomes and impacts of your study. Your study should be written in APA style. The keys to APA style are in text citations, and a reference list that only lists the references actually cited in the study. APA style also calls for clear, concise expository writing. It is not a creative writing exercise, but rather a report about a research topic. Thus, a straight-ahead, clear and active voice is required, one that reports only what you found out without other speculations. The conclusion section allows the opportunity for you to say what you think about the study subject, and allows for a certain amount of latitude in writing—the key, though, is to not over-do it. All of this may take you weeks, months, and in the case of a dissertation, years. Presenting A good study has a presentation component. Whether the presentation is for school colleagues, the local school board, or a thesis/dissertation committee, the same good presentation ideas apply. You would need to prepare media (PowerPoint, web-based materials like Prezi, Voki, or another program, and/or exhibits to show via document camera), handouts, posters, and be mindful of both the audience and time limit. For a school presentation, as in front of colleagues or a school board, you will likely have only 15-30 minutes; a thesis/dissertation presentation may take two hours or more, depending on the school and requirements. Preparing ahead of time (rehearsing your presentation and practicing with whatever technology you choose to use) is an excellent use of time in advance of the presentation. You should be prepared for, but not nervous about, questions (after all, you are the expert!!!), and you may have to work (gently) to keep the discussion on track. You can give your presentation additional weight and authority if you anticipate potential questions, and have responses ready to go. Finally, you should dress for success- you want to make a good impression. This also lends weight and authority to what you have to say.

Additional Resources

Heath, C. and Heath, D. (2007). Made to stick: Why some ideas survive and others die. New York: Random House Mind Tools. (n.d.). Creating effective presentation visuals: Connecting people with your message . Retrieved from http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/creating-presentation-visuals.htm Radel, J. (2012). Effective presentations . University of Kansas Medical Center. Retrieved from http://www.kumc.edu/SAH/OTEd/jradel/effective.html