Consistent with the course syllabus, this assignment aims to have students demonstrate the following: 1. 2. 3. formulate a clear research question or statement of research problem that is well justified. express a research question/statement of problem that reflects the expected four criteria). convey the Project's conceptual structure via a well-organized outline. Some Quick Points About the Introduction and Justifications Section Recall that your Introduction and Statement of Problem section introduces the reader to the topic and to the specific research question or statement of research problem. Your Justifications for the Study section presents the reader with no less than four arguments, supported by the published literature, that make a case for why research, like the present Project, is needed. See Module 5Preview the document for a useful set of notes. Instructions This submission must be formatted using the APA style. This means that all you produce for this submission must be APA formatted. Further, all you produce for this submission will be submitted as one file. Specifically, you will prepare an APA formatted cover page, an executive summary or abstract that is no more than 150 words (on its own page), and a finalized outline (on its own page/s). Once this is done, you will begin writing the actual Capstone Project beginning with an introductory and statement of problem paragraph that will conclude with our finalized research question/statement of problem (this section of your work should have a level one heading [centered and bolded] labeled "Introduction and Statement of Problem"), a justifications section labeled "Justifications for the Study" [also centered and bolded]). As you are expected to make four arguments in the justifications section, each argument should have its own level two heading that is on the left margin, bolded, and on its own line of text. The introduction and justifications sections do not need to be submitted on separate pages as this is part of the overall body of your Project. You will also be submitting an APA formatted reference or bibliography page (on its own page/s). All this work will be submitted as one file through Portfolium. Please contact me in advance of the due date if you have any questions concerning these instructions. Be Aware of the Following Be sure you are formatting your work correctly using the APA style. Pay attention to quality writing. Do not write in the first person. The word "I" should not appear in your writing. This Capstone Project is to be written in the third-person. In writing your Introduction and Statement of Problem section, write with the intent being to engage your reader as to nature of your topic. Finish the paragraph with your statement of problem/research question. In writing your justifications section, prepare no less than four solid arguments that point to the importance of your statement of problem/research question. These arguments would be the A, B, C, and D sections of Part II of your outline. These arguments must be logical and supported by the literature you have read to this point. Please remember this point: I am not interested in your opinions. I am interested in your opinions grounded in the published literature. If you make an argument you had better have sources to support that argument. Briefly, I want to distinguish the Justifications for the Study sections from the Literature Review section that you will be writing for an upcoming submission. Because your Project is expressing deterministic or cause and effect thinking, the Literature Review section is where you discuss the causes of the problem. You use the literature to help you identify and understand the causes of the problem you are investigating. The Justifications for the Study section is where you use literature to help your reader understand why your research question or statement of problem is important and why research is needed. These are two very different parts of the Project but both rely on published literature. If, after reading this paragraph, you still do not understand the difference in these two sections you should make an appointment with me. Cite your sources internally using the APA style. Do not plagiarize! Paraphrase well. Using direct quotes is okay but only in a limited fashion. Extensive use of direct quotes will not be allowed. You may have been allowed to quote extensively in other courses but you will not be allowed to do that in this course/for this Capstone Project. Remember that what I'm asking for must be submitted as one pdf file Writing the Justifications 1 Writing the Justifications for the Study As your upcoming assignment requires you to present your Justifications for the Study section, this brief set of notes aims to help students successfully organize and write this section. The notes are presented in three primary sections explaining the purpose of the justifications section, how to organize the justifications section, and how to write the justifications section. The Purpose of the Justifications for the Study Section The Justifications for the Study section is sometimes labeled “Significance of the Study”. This is appropriate because one writes this section to present a solid case explaining the significance of (or making an argument for) the pure or applied value of the research question or statement of problem. Obviously, to make that argument, one must clearly understand their research question or statement of problem. “Pure value” is commonly operationalized in terms of research that promises to build upon the existing body of knowledge (i.e., knowledge for the sake of knowledge). “Applied value” is commonly operationalized in terms of research that promises to improve the quality of people’s lives. More simply put, this section highlights what contributions will stem from the research and who or what will benefit (Regoniel, 2015). Specifically, students are asked to present no less than four justifications in this section of the Capstone Project. Making the case with the four arguments is not sufficient. The arguments must be logical, supported by facts, and students must cite sources to support the arguments being made. Let me reinforce a common and rather blunt statement that students often hear from me: “I am not interested in your opinions. I am interested in your opinions grounded in the literature.” The arguments being made regarding the pure and/or applied value of your research question or statement of problem must be grounded in valid literature so as part of your broader literature review you must read with an eye toward finding evidence to support your justifications. You will be using APA style in-text citations as you write this section of the Capstone Project. Organizing the Justifications for the Study Section It is essential to have a conceptual plan in mind when writing any section of a research project and the justifications section is no exception. By now, the expectation that four arguments are to be made is clear so the best advice that could be given here is to organize this section around four level two headings (the heading “Justifications for the Study” is a level one heading). Using a basic outline format, the example below illustrates one organizational strategy: II. Justifications for the Study A. Argument/Justification 1 1. data to support the argument/justification Writing the Justifications 2 2. logical explanation or presentation of the argument tied back to the research question or statement of problem B. Argument/Justification 2 1. discussion of the literature suggesting that a concept is not well understood 2. logical explanation or presentation of the argument that the current research question or statement of problem will promote understanding C. Argument/Justification 3 1. data to support the argument/justification of who widespread a problem is 2. logical explanation or presentation of the argument tied the current research question or statement of problem approaches the problem in a new way. D. Argument/Justification 4 1. data to support the argument/justification 2. logical explanation or presentation of the argument tied back to the research question or statement of problem The above was presented in outline format as an example that you might follow. It is to be understood that a particular student’s justifications section may be organized differently. A different organizational structure is fine but one cannot deviate from the purpose of this section. Writing the Justifications for the Study Section The following conceptual strategies could be applied when making one’s arguments: 1. Make the argument by explaining the pure and/or applied value of your research question or statement of problem. 2. Make the argument that the research question or statement of problem can address a widespread problem and then give a specific example of that problem and its costs to society, an organization, or the typical person. 3. Make the argument by explaining how the research question or statement of problem or the overall strategy being employed in the study addresses some observed discrepancies or problems in previous studies. These are sometimes called “gaps in the literature” (. Please note that this type of argument can be very difficult to make as one’s arguments would require extensive methodological, statistical, conceptual/theoretical knowledge of the research area. Writing the Justifications 3 The following example is a justification for research to examine the validity of a concept called core self-evaluation (CSE). Judge (2009, p. 58) makes the following argument: “Before defining and reviewing evidence on CSE, it is worth answering a logical question: Why introduce a new concept that is closely related to one of the most durable concept in psychology? There are two answers. First, breadth matters to the predictable validity of psychological concepts. Aggregation— across responses, situations, or time—substantially improves the predictive validities of personality variables (Buss, 1989). Due to its breadth, compared to self-esteem, CSE may better or more consistently predict outcomes. Second, and relatedly, although personality researchers continue to introduce new “pet” concepts and measures, CSE is less a new concept than an integration of existing concepts. As has been shown in other literatures (e.g., intelligence), there can be tremendous value in integration of measures into a common core. Although there is no single right answer as to the proper breadth of personality variables, researchers should explore the relative merits of broad and narrow concepts, and this is what CSE does.” Now, you may or may not understand the fine points Judge (2009) is making here but you can clearly see that he is providing two logical “pure value” arguments for doing research on the concept of CSE. You can also see that Judge cited another study to reinforce the arguments. You can also see that Judge (2009), ties the justification back to the research question or statement of problem in the last sentence. Here is another example demonstrating the “applied value” argument. Trzesniewski and Donnellan (2014, pp. 211-212) examined older people’s perceptions of younger people emerging into adulthood and their argument may be seen as one where the research stands to improve quality of interaction and life. “It is reasonable to first ask whether it matters if there are negative perceptions of emerging adults. As it stands, there is a long tradition of research in social psychology suggesting that the presence of stereotypes is associated with negative outcomes for the stereotyped group (e.g., Dovidio, Hewston, Glick, & Esses, 2010a). Stereotypes are “associations and beliefs about the characteristics and attributes of a group and its members that shape how people think about and respond to the group” (Dovidio, Hewstone, Glick, and Esses, 2010b, p. 8). Stereotypes may generate expectations about group members’ behavior and influence emotional reactions to group members. The central concern from our perspective is that a stereotype may reflect an exaggerated portrait of that group. If emerging adults are generally viewed in negative global terms, then all members of the group have to contend with this stereotype regardless of its accuracy for any single individual. In practical terms, potentially negative stereotypes about emerging adults may impact how they are treated by Writing the Justifications 4 established members of society when they are working to assume the roles of mature members of the society.” The above two examples were taken from published journal articles. Journal articles are not Capstone Projects and journal editors do not allow researchers unlimited space to make their points. In the interests of space you will see justifications written into the researcher’s introductory paragraph. As you review the literature, read the introductory sections of published works carefully and try to emulate the logic expressed there. Summation It is important in conducting research of any kind that one make a compelling case arguing for the significance of the research question or statement of problem. This is also true in grant writing. Reviewer of grants and scholarly/professional work want to understand and appreciate why the research they are about to read is worth their time. A well-conceived justifications section can capture their attention and reap dividends for the author. The researcher owes it to themselves and reviewers to craft a fine set of justifications. Writing the Justifications 5 References Judge, T. A. (2009). Core Self-Evaluation and Work Success. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 18, 58-62. Regoniel, P. A. (2015). Two Tips on How to Write the Significance of the Study. In SimplyEducate.Me. Retrieved from http://simplyeducate.me/2015/02/09/two-tips-on-how-to-write-thesignificance-of-the-study/ Trzesniewski, K. H. and M. B. Donnellan. (2014). “Young People These Days…”: Evidence for Negative Perceptions of Emerging Adults. Emerging Adulthood, 2, 211-226.
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