ArgosyUniversity

COURSE SYLLABUS

E7834

Writing for Research and Professional Publications

Faculty Information

Faculty Name: Jane Sjogren

Campus: Chicago

Contact Information: or 312.777.7576

Office Hours: Wed 3-5:30, Th 3-5:30 and by appointment

Short Faculty Bio: Jane Sjogren, former Vice President for Academic Affairs and Interim Chair of the Education Program at Argosy, Chicago, earned her Ph.D. and M.A. degrees from StanfordUniversity and her undergraduate degree from BarnardCollege. After teaching economics at Wellesley and SimmonsColleges, she was a founding faculty member of the Ed.D. program in Educational Leadership at Johnson & WalesUniversity where she specialized in higher education. Ms. Sjogren has both published and consulted in the higher education field. In particular, she has worked with online degree programs as well as policy issues in higher education. Before joining Argosy, Chicago, she served as Associate Provost for the Cardean Leaning Group.

Course description:This course builds on the introduction to the dissertation processprovided in E7111 and leads students through the university research

proposal, formation of a dissertation committee, application for humansubject review, and revision of dissertation research for journalpublication. Students will develop their research questions orhypotheses and submit a finished research proposal or prospectusthat is required prior to beginning the dissertation sequence.

Course Pre-requisites: PC6521 or equivalent

Textbooks Suggested for Purchase:

American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. 5th ed. Washington, D.C.: Author. ISBN: 1557987912

Bryant, M. T. (2004). The portable dissertation advisor. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, Inc. ISBN: 0761946950

Cone, J. D., & Foster, S. L. (2006). Dissertations and theses from start to finish: Psychology and related fields. 2nd ed. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. ISBN: 1591473624

Hart, C. (1998). Doing a literature review: Releasing the social science research imagination. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Ltd. ISBN: 0761959750

Resource Guide: University Dissertation Guide

Recommended Texts:

DISSERTATION PROCESS

Babbie, E. R. (2001). The basics of social research. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing. ISBN: 0-534-51904-0

Bryant, T. (2004). The portable dissertation advisor. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. ISBN: 0-7619-4696-9

Butler, F.P. (1999) Business research sources: A reference navigator. New York: Irwin/McGraw-Hill. ISBN: 0-256-23003-X

Galvan, J. (1999). Writing literature reviews.Los Angeles, CA: Prczak Publishing. ISBN: 1-884585-18-3

Girden, E. (2000). Evaluating research articles,(2nd ed). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. ISBN: 0-7619-2214-8

Issac, S. & Michael, W.B. (1995). Handbook in research and evaluation: A collection of principles, methods, and strategies useful in the planning, design, and evaluation of studies in education and the behavioral sciences.. (3rd ed.) San Diego, CA: EdiTS. ISBN: 0-912-73632-1

Locke, L. F., Spirduso, W.W. & Silverman, S.J. (1993) Proposals that work: A guide for planning dissertations and grant proposals. (3rd ed). Newberry Park, CA: Sage Publications. ISBN: 0-716-91707-1

Nicol, A. & Pexman, P. M. (1999). Presenting your findings: A practical guide for creating tables. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. ISBN: 1-55798-593-6

Nicol, A. & Pexman, P. M. (2003). Displaying your findings: A practical guide for creating figures, posters, and presentations.. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. ISBN: 1-55798-978-8

SURVEY DATA COLLECTION

Babbie, E. (1990). Survey research methods.Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing. ISBN: 0-534-12672-3

QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS

Cramer, D. (1998). Fundamental statistics for social research. (2nd ed.) New York: Routledge. ISBN: 0-415-17203-9

Grimm, L. G. & Yarnold, P. R (Eds). (1995). Reading and understanding multivariate statistics. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. ISBN: 1-55798-273-2

Huck, S. W. (2000). Reading statistics and research (3rd ed.). New York: Addison Wesley Longman. ISBN: 0-321-02341-2

Levine, M., Berenson, M., & Stephan, D. (1999). Statistics for managers.Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. ISBN: 0-13-020312-2

Sprinthall, R. C. (2000). Basic statistical analysis. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. ISBN: 0-205-29641-6

Sweet, S. (1999). Data Analysis with SPSS.Boston: Allyn & Bacon. ISBN 0-205-34057-1

QUALITATIVE METHODS AND ANALYSIS

Bogdan, R.C., & Biklen, S. K. (2003). Qualitative research for education.Boston: Allyn and Bacon Publishers. ISBN: 0-205-3755-61

Creswell, J. W. (2002). Research Design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods.Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications ISBN: 0-761-92442-6

Creswell, J. W. (1997). Qualitative inquiry and research design.Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. ISBN: 0-761-90144-2

Delamont, S. (2001). Fieldwork in educational settings: Methods, pitfalls, and perspectives. Falmer Press. ISBN: 0-415-2483-7X

LeCompte, M. D., Milroy, W. L., Preissle, J. 1992). The handbook of qualitative research in education. Academic Press. ISBN: 0-124-40570-3

Merriam, S. (1998). Qualitative research and case study applications in education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publications.

Merriam, S. & Associates (2002). Qualitative research in practice.San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publications. ISBN: 0-7879-5859-6

Wolcott, H. F. (1990). Writing up qualitative research.Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. ISBN: 0-803-93793-8

Writing Textbooks:

E-Journals, Organizations, and Resources on the Web

Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy /
Bilingual Research Journal /
Advancing Women in Leadership /
Academic Leadership /
Astronomy Education Review /
Australian Association for Research in Education /
The College Quarterly /
Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood /

Webliography

Evaluating Internet Sources

Publication Guides

US Federal Government and links to State and Local

Government Printing Office Access

The GrantmanshipCenter

National Council of University Research Administrators

Polaris Grants Central

Proposal Writing and Research Development

online multiple-language dictionaries

The New Teacher's Guide to the U.S. Department of Education

ERIC

Practical Teaching Ideas

Education Resources

Endnote 8 for Students Only [Endnote 7.0 for Mac]Software to create reference databases, create and format in-text citations and reference lists. Available at Amazon.com for $94.99.

Statistical software is helpful for data analaysis when they start writing their dissertations.

SPSS 11.0 FOR Mac OS or SPSS 13.0 Graduate Version. Software for statistical analysis of data in table format. Able to compute parametric and non-parametric tests of significance, compute effect size and create graphs or figures. Available at at local college books stores (such as University of California), online campus bookstores or through E-Bay. About $190

Periodicals

Kappan

Journal of Research on Technology in Education (JRTE)

Journal of Information Systems Education

Learning and Leading with Technology

Journal of Computing in Higher Educationwww-unix.oit.umass.edu/~carolm/jche/

Educational Leadership

Reading online

Teachers College Record

Current Issues in Education

DeLiberations

Harvard Educational Journal

Education Next

Academic Leadership

Journal for Research in Mathematics Education

IEJ International Education Journal

National Forum Journals

Journal of Higher Education Policy & Management

Course length: 15weeks

Contact Hours: 45 Hours

Credit Value: 3.0

Course Objectives:

  1. Define a suitable topic for a research project with consideration of organizational and educational institutional issues (10%).
  2. Craft a thesis or problem statement and research questions (5%).
  3. Explain the rationale for undertaking the proposed research (5%).
  4. Research the background of the topic area so that findings can be evaluated in the context of the wider body of knowledge and practice (10%).
  5. Critically evaluate prior research that supports or confirms the proposed study (5%).
  6. Evaluate current literature and compile reference list (5%).
  7. Develop a method of data collection and analysis (10%).
  8. Critically discuss expected results in the context of knowledge of relevant theory, policy and practice (10%).
  9. Consider possible conclusions that take into account limitations of their research (5%).
  10. Formulate realistic, justified and timely recommendations to indicate priorities for action (5%).
  11. Evaluate the blockages and hindrances expected in the research process (5%).
  12. Suggest ways to address, mitigate or overcome limitations of the research (5%).
  13. Hone doctoral-level academic writing skills (20%).

Assignment Table

Note from the Instructor:

The course layout described below is the ArgosyUniversity syllabus for this course. It should be used as a reference. You will receive a separate schedule for this course for Spring 2008 from the Instructor on the first class meeting.

Topics / Readings / Assignments
1 /
  • The Comprehensive Examination
  • The University Dissertation Guide
  • Institutional Review and data collection
  • Review
  • APA formatting, review
  • What is research writing?
  • Article & electronic dissertations online search (library)
  • Prospectus to Proposal to Dissertation
  • Dissertation Chapters and Proposal sections
  • Purpose of the Study
  • Background and Need for Study
  • Definition of Terms
  • Title Page and Working Title
  • Your expertise
/ Cone & Foster
Chapter 2
Chapter 5
Hart
Chapter 1
Appendix 1
Appendix 3
Appendix 4
APA Manual
Chapter 1
Chapter 5 / Discussion Questions:
  1. In no more than 2 paragraphs, describe the theoretical framework that will under gird your proposed study. In the first paragraph concisely describe the disciplinary orientation and in the second paragraph succinctly describe the underlying concept, model or theory.
  1. Include APA in-text citations for any references to prior studies. Include a properly formatted reference list below your two paragraphs for any references cited in your two summary paragraphs. (Note: you may not be able to format the hanging indent, but you will be able to punctuate and capitalize correctly.) Respond to at least two classmates for ask for clarification of the theory(s) or to provide suggestions for other relevant studies or theories from your readings or academic experiences that they may want to consider.
  1. Research Topics and Purpose—Many times students pick topics that are either too broad or too narrow. Describe in no more than two paragraphs the general topic you have chose, state one sentence what is a problem you have identified within the general topic that needs to be studied, and briefly add why the study of this topic is important or of service to the field of education.
  1. Include APA in-text citations for any references to prior studies. Respond to at least two classmates to ask for clarification of their topics or to provide suggestions to narrow or broaden their topics.
Assignments:
  1. Application
Complete the assignment and submit it to the Discussion Board.
  1. The Comprehensive Examination—Set up an appointment with your campus department chair to take the comprehensive examination before the end of this course.
  2. Title Page, Purpose, Background and Need for Study, Operational Definitions
Title Page—All weekly assignments will have a title page formatted in correct APA format (see the APA Publication Manual and according to university specifications (check the Dissertation Guide provided by your campus). For now, you will have a “working title” that may change as your proposal is revised and finalized in the Dissertation sequence. The general guideline for a title is it should succinctly describe the study, contain the sample, the major variables and measures. Remember—this is a working title. The title may change over the next few weeks as you refine and focus your study, and it may change again as your work with your dissertation committee in subsequent coursework.
Proposal Sections
Purpose—The purpose statement is a declarative sentence such as This study will analyze (or study, or explore)…. State the Purpose of the Study in one sentence.
Background—The Background is the context of the Problem that you have chosen to study and is one way to demonstrate that your study has attracted the attention of the educational research community. Remember, Bryant (2004) stated that virtually no work on your topic may signal that the topic is very necessary OR may signal that the topic is not significant. State the Background of your topic in one or two paragraphs.
Need for the Study— The Need for Study follows from the Background; it is the “however” statement. IN other words, you are leading the reader logically to see that “This much has been done in the past, however, no studies have explore that.” Add the statement that summarizes prior research and states clearly why your study is necessary.
Definition of Terms—Operational definitions are included only to ensure that all readers understand the terms you use in the dissertation; you will continue to add to this list as you refine your literature research. Add a list of Definition of Terms for only those terms that are not commonly understood by all readers and include in-text citations for each definition.
References—Include a complete and properly formatted reference list for all in-text citations you have included in each section written above. You will add to this list as you write each weekly assignment and section of a research proposal.
You do not know how to use styles and insert TOC features, now is the time use the Help feature in the software (or a user’s manual) to learn about this very useful tool.
  1. See Course Project towards end of syllabus.

2 /
  • Evaluating prior studies (results and discussion sections)
  • Problem statement
  • Research Questions
  • Access to Participants/populations/educational institutions
/ Read APA Manual:
Chapter 1
Read the article Evaluating Internet Research Sources found at
Bryant
Chapter 2
Cone & Foster
Chapter 4 / Discussion Questions:
  1. Use your campus library to connect to Electronic Journals in Education and find the American Educational Research Association [AERA] ( In the list of research journals, click on the link to Advancing Women in Leadership Journal ( and access the article Activism among Feminist Academics: Professionalized activism and activist professional (Hart). Write a short evaluation of the study’s credibility, accuracy, reasonableness and support. Next focus on the study’s results and discussion sections. Can you identify or suggest another study that “steps off” this study? A different population? A more diverse participant group? A different location? A different focus? Has the author suggested any “recommendations for future research” on which you could propose a study?
  1. Use your campus library to connect to Electronic Journals in Education and find the American Educational Research Association [AERA] ( In the list of research journals, click on the link to the Bilingual Research Journal ( Using the Archive button on the top of the page, access Volume 29, number 1, Spring 2005 and click on the link to Reexamining Identification and Reclassification of English Language Learners: A critical discussion of select state practices (Mahoney & MacSwan). Write a short evaluation of the study’s credibility, accuracy, reasonableness and support. Next focus on the study’s results and discussion sections. Can you identify or suggest another study that “steps off” this study? A different population? A more diverse participant group? A different location? A different focus? Has the author suggested any “recommendations for future research” on which you could propose a study?
  1. Use your campus library to connect to Electronic Journals in Education and find the American Educational Research Association [AERA] ( In the list of research journals, click on the link to the Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy ( Click on the link to Issue 19, February 24, 2001 and access the article Building Capacity for a Learning Community (Mitchell & Sackney). Write a short evaluation of the study’s credibility, accuracy, reasonableness and support. Next focus on the study’s results and discussion sections. Can you identify or suggest another study that “steps off” this study? A different population? A more diverse participant group? A different location? A different focus? Has the author suggested any “recommendations for future research” on which you could propose a study?
Respond to at least two other postings challenging or supporting your colleague’s opinion(s). Remember, if you disagree with the posting, phase your counterpoint in a kind and considerate manner.
Assignments:
  1. Application
Complete the assignment and submit it to the Discussion Board.
  1. Problem Statement—Problems abound in education and the social sciences. Add the problem statement to the Background and Need for the Study sections completed last week and submit both for evaluation.
  2. Research Question(s)—The research question is your guide to what data you seek and what data you select as important. The research question is “1. precise, 2. covers exactly the issue you wish to address, and 3. indicates how will create your answer” (Bryant, 2004, p 50). Draft the research questions and add to the Purpose section written in the last module (if you are doing pure quantitative research, you will need null hypothesis statements) and submit both. [NOTE: These sections will be revised and included in Chapter 1 of the Research Proposal. These question(s) will be elaborated on in a separate section of Chapter 3—Methodology.]
  3. Access Plan—Submit a draft of your plan for how you will gain access to the location and planned population (school, institution of higher education, professional organization) who will be invited to participate in your study. You should include how you plan to obtain any permission you will need, e.g., the principle, the district superintendent, and parents. [NOTE: A quick summary of access will be included in Chapter 1 of the Research Proposal. Exact details of the plan to gain access will be included in the Chapter 3—Methodology of the Proposal. Later, the exact steps of what you actually did to gain access will become part of Chapter 3—Methodology of the Dissertation. And, the signed permission letters will be included in the Appendixes of the Dissertation.]
Other Requirements: Include the (revised) Title Page. Include a complete and properly formatted reference list for all in-text citations.
Format according to APA Publication Manual (see sample paper that starts on page 306) and University Dissertation Guide. Include all appropriate in-text citations to prior studies.
  1. See Course Project towards end of syllabus.

3 /
  • Chapter One
  • Writing style and tense
  • Connection to subsequent
  • Chapters
  • Educational Significance
  • Theoretical Framework
  • Limitations/Delimitations
/ Hart
Chapter 2
Cone & Foster
Chapter 6
Bryant
Chapter 3
APA Manual
Chapter 1
Chapter 3 / Discussion Questions:
  1. Click on the link to the International Educational Journal for Leadership in Learning ( and click on the link to Volume 9, number 5. Find the study called The Story of 10 Principals Whose Exercise of Social and Political Acumen Contributes to Their Success (McGinn). Discuss the limitations and delimitations of this study. If you were to decide a follow-up study, how could the limitations or delimitations be mitigated in a future study? Respond to at least 2 prior postings.
  1. Click on the link the International Journal of Whole Learning ( and click on the link to Volume 1, Number 1, September 2004. Access the article An Inquiry Based Instructional Planning Model that Accommodates Student Diversity (Jorgensen). Discuss the limitations and delimitations of this study. If you were to decide a follow-up study, how could the limitations or delimitations be mitigated in a future study? Respond to at least 2 prior postings.
  1. Click on the link to The College Quarterly ( and access the study in the Spring 2005, Volume 8, number 2 titled An Experimental Design to Study the Effectiveness of PBL in Higher Education in First Year Science Students at a University in Peru, South America. Discuss the limitations and delimitations of this study. If you were to decide a follow-up study, how could the limitations or delimitations be mitigated in a future study? Respond to at least 2 prior postings
Assignments: