COMPETENCIES2000.1.11 : Research Questions and Hypotheses
The graduate develops clear research questions that can be investigated and hypotheses that can be tested with empirical data.
INTRODUCTIONIn this task, you will identify a research topic, examine relevant professional sources, write an annotated bibliography, and identify a research problem of interest related to the topic.
REQUIREMENTSYour submission must be your original work. No more than a combined total of 30% of the submission and no more than a 10% match to any one individual source can be directly quoted or closely paraphrased from sources, even if cited correctly. An originality report is provided when you submit your task that can be used as a guide.
You must use the rubric to direct the creation of your submission because it provides detailed criteria that will be used to evaluate your work. Each requirement below may be evaluated by more than one rubric aspect. The rubric aspect titles may contain hyperlinks to relevant portions of the course.
A. Identify an education-related research topic of interest to you (i.e., the broad subject matter area to be investigated).
B. Detail your search process by doing the following:
1. Identify seven separate search phrases or combinations of keywords used to search for literature relevant to the research topic.
2. Identify two more search phrases or combinations of keywords used to retrieve additional literature after your initial search.
3. Explain why specific phrases or combinations of keywords yielded the most useful searches (i.e., those that retrieved the articles most relevant to the research topic).
C. Develop an annotated bibliography using ten sources that meet each of the following guidelines:
• contains relevant academic or professional literature relevant to the research topic
• is published by a scholarly source
• can be retrieved online
1. Provide an annotation (suggested length of 1 paragraph to ½ page per annotation) for each of the ten sources that includes the following:
a. an identification of the type of source, including the research approach used for any sources that are original research study articles (i.e., quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods, or action research), if applicable
Note: The type of source could be, but is not limited to, an original research article, perspective article, or a professional or academic website.
b. a brief explanation of the purpose of the source
c. a brief description of the results or findings of the source. If the source is an original research study, include supporting details.
d. a critique that identifies one strength and one weakness of the source
D. Identify a research problem (i.e., a specific educational issue or problem within the broader topic area that was addressed in part A).
Note: This problem should not be a research question.
1. Discuss how this research problem relates to your professional setting or field of interest.
2. Discuss how searching the literature and developing an annotated bibliography can help you identify a research problem within a broader topic area.
E. Acknowledge sources, using APA-formatted in-text citations and references, for content that is quoted, paraphrased, or summarized.
F. Demonstrate professional communication in the content and presentation of your submission.