Library Lessons This Week

Before embarking on the Library Lessons for this week and beginning your journey through the steps in the process of research, I want to take some space to provide you with the big picture in terms of where all these weekly assignments and activities are taking you.  Your final grade in this course will be based on 3 main things - your weekly participation, a final exam, and written assignments leading to a polished research proposal. Assignments of your final grade in this course will be determined based on the following percentages:

• Weekly Assignments [Includes Threaded Discussions, Quizzes, and Other Activities] (35%)
• One Research Proposal (45%) - This percentage will be broken down as follows:
  • Turning in Complete Rough Drafts On Time (10%)
  • Final Proposal Document (25%)
  • Application of APA Style (10%)
• Final Exam (20%)

I think most of you probably have some grasp of what your Weekly Assignments will entail so I won't say much more on that.  Likewise, I am guessing you understand the idea of a Final Exam and its likely format. Therefore, what remains is an explanation of the Research Proposal.

The Research Proposal is the most significant assignment in this course and most activities throughout the course are in some way related to you gaining the knowledge and skills needed to successfully complete this written document.  Now that you have had a basic introduction to the process and approaches of research I think you need to get a glimpse of the big picture.  What exactly is a research proposal, what purpose does it serve, what elements are included, how is it formatted, and who will read it?

The Research Proposal is a short paper (compared to a complete research report ready for publication) that communicates a purpose and plan for conducting a specific research investigation.  It is a document the researcher uses to clearly identify the problem under investigation, justify the need for the investigation based on previous research, communicate the specific research questions to be answered, and identify the research methods that will be employed.  The researcher may write such a document for him/herself as a critical step in planning, designing, and guiding his/her own research. Or, the researcher may use this document to communicate to others his/her intentions for such  purposes as obtaining funding for research or approval to conduct the study and gather data from participants.  In the context of this course, you are writing to demonstrate your understanding of the research process.  Your audience is yourself, your instructor, and your peers that are also striving to demonstrate their ability to apply the steps of the research process.

The ideal application of your knowledge of the research process would be to have you actually conduct an investigation that you designed and write a complete report.  However, this is beyond the scope of this short course and involves more time than most students have in a single semester. So, the answer to the big question that most ask ["Am I actually going to have to do this study?"] is NO, you will not actually do the study.  However, this will not preclude your proposal from being partially evaluated from a common sense perspective. That is, could you actually DO the study if required?

Even though you do not have to actually conduct the study, the Research Proposal may still seem like a daunting task for many.  I hope to put your mind at ease as we continue through the next several weeks of Library Lessons and try to break the proposal down into smaller, more manageable chunks.  We will discuss each section of your proposal as they are addressed in your text.  You will be given an opportunity to write and turn in rough drafts of each section.  You will then receive feedback on these sections with the expectation that you will use it to improve your final proposal.

The main elements of your Research Proposal will be:

1. Statement of the Problem
   1. Topic for the study appropriate for your field
   2. The research problem within this topic
   3. A justification for the problem based on past research and practice
   4. Deficiencies or shortcomings of past research or practical knowledge
   5. The importance of addressing the problem for diverse audiences
2. Literature Review (Study-by-Study)
   1. Analysis and synthesis of the primary research that assist in validating and supporting the research problem using a study-by-study approach grouped under broad themes
   2. Summarize major themes and present reasons for a proposed study or the importance of studying a research problem
3. Specifying a Purpose and Research Questions or Hypotheses
   1. A concise statement of the purpose of the study based on the research approach chosen (qualitative or quantitative)
   2. The research questions or hypotheses to be addressed as appropriate for the research approach
4. Methods
   1. Statement of research approach and research design
   2. Setting for your study (what type of access do you have?)
   3. Participants and how selected
   4. Instrumentation - Identify types of data needed, instruments or measures used.  Include actual copy of the survey or instrument as well as evidence of reliability and validity
   5. Summary of data collection procedures
   6. Summary of data analysis techniques that will be employed

As we read through the various chapters in our text, you will learn strategies for writing each of these sections. If you glance at the Events Calendar you should note that due dates have been designated for rough drafts of each section to be submitted for feedback.

The themes for this week's Library Lessons is identifying research problems and conducting a literature review. These topics are associated with the first two sections of the research proposal above. Identifying a research problem is probably one of the most critical steps in any research process. Identifying a research problem suitable for research is rarely an easy task. Once identified, writing a clear problem statement is also not always easy. Your text readings and activities this week, I hope, make the process less daunting and better defined as you begin your journey.

This week's Library Lessons will also revolve around Section II of The Research Proposal you will be submitting as your final exhibit in this course. This week will probably begin one of your first weeks of feeling a bit like you are moving into a split personality. We will be discussing both Section I and II of your Research Proposal but you should be working on actually writing Section I given the due date for that rough draft is set for Week 4. At the same time, we will be moving on in our lessons and begin discussing elements of other sections. If at all possible try to keep things straight in relation to what your weekly assignments are as well as other tasks you should be working on as the weeks progress. To make things even more complicated (if that is possible) you should also begin to notice how the sections compliment one another and how empirical research literature you may find this week may be appropriate for inclusion in Section I or Section II or possibly both. I know I may be asking a lot, but I also know you are up to the task.

Lesson 1

The first part of Chapter 3 stresses the importance of identifying a research problem and distinguishes it from other steps in the research process. It also addresses the idea that not all problems are researchable and provides you with guiding questions for deciding if your problem should be researched. In this lesson I would like to expand on these guiding questions and provide you further examples of situations to avoid when considering a research problem for further study.  These examples are taken from another research text I frequently refer to (Leedy & Ormrod, 2001) for expansion of topics.

Leedy and Ormrod make the point that some problems are not suitable for research because they lack the "interpretation of data" requirement.  They do not require the researcher to use data analysis procedures that will reveal meaning of the data.  They provide four possible examples of this.

1. A research problem should not serve the purpose of achieving self enlightenment. Gathering information  to know more about a certain topic is very different from looking at a body of data to discern how it contributes to the solution of the problem.  An example of such a research problem statement is:

The problem of this research is to learn more about the way in which the Panama Canal was built.

The result of this statement would be a fact-finding effort that may expand the knowledge base of the researcher but it does not lead to new knowledge or inform practice.

2. A problem whose purpose is to simply compare 2 sets of data. Some poor problem statements require nothing more than a quick trip to the library to find out what is already known.  For example,

This research will compare the increase in the number of women employed over the last 100 years with the employment of men during the same period of time.

All that is required here is looking up four figures and placing them in a table.

3. Calculating a correlation coefficient between 2 sets of data to show a relationship is not acceptable. A correlation is nothing more than a statistic that tells us how closely related two sets of data are to each other. It does not tell us why that relationship exists.

This research will study the correlation between the IQ of parents and their children.

While such a relationship does exist, its existence is not shown by research but by a simple statistic.  The more appropriate problem and analysis of data might be to investigate the possible causes of that relationship.  Is it genetic? Is it environmental? Is it a combination?

4. Research problems that are formed as questions with yes or no answers are not appropriate. A question that merely looks at the surface of a problem rather than at the issues that underlie it does not require a researcher to interpret data that will contribute to knowledge and practice.

 The problem for study is, "Is homework beneficial to children?"

Instead of the question above the more suitable and researchable issues are what components of homework are beneficial and which ones are counterproductive?

If you think you have an idea for a research problem, but find that your idea falls under one of the "not suitable for research" situations discussed here or does not meet the criteria provided in your text, then now is the time to start thinking about a different topic or research problem. If you are hoping that a great idea for a research problem will simply fall from the sky, it is probably time to stop looking up and start looking at some suggestions for finding a legitimate research problem. The main suggestion for identifying a research problem is to begin reading empirical literature on a topic of interest to you.  As you read, you might identify a research problem by: (a) the suggestions for future research that an author provides, (b) replicating the research using a different setting or population, (c) explore unexpected or contradictory findings in a study, or (d) challenge research findings that are opposite of your own experiences.  Reading empirical literature on a topic of interest might also assist you later in the proposal process by providing potential research methodologies and measurement tools.  If you have interest in a particular topic area but have no idea what your exact research problem will be, I strongly suggest you spend some time in the library or online reading literature within that topic to assist you in your quest. 

Before you begin the process of planning and designing your own research it is an excellent practice to read and review research within the same topic area to develop an understanding of the different perspectives researchers take when conducting research, the steps taken from beginning to end in a research study, common methodologies or instruments used in research on this topic, etc.  Reviewing others' work (as they do throughout your text) allows you to see how these elements come together to form a clear picture of what your research proposal will entail. This has always been one of the best ways for me to get a handle on a research topic, find out what others are researching in relation to this topic, and to formulate ideas about where I want my own research to go. Next week we will look further into reviewing research literature related to your topic, but if you are still wondering what your research topic and problem will be, reviewing the related literature is a great place to begin.

Justifying Your Research Problem

Beginning on page 74, Creswell clearly articulates the elements included in a "Statement of the Problem."  You may have noticed that these same elements are listed above as Section I of your Research Proposal assignment. Section I of your proposal will be the first section you submit to me for feedback.  Your chapter does an excellent job of taking you step-by-step through writing this section. In Lesson 1 I asked you to submit a possible topic for your study.  Your next step will be to identify and state a research problem within this topic.

Once your problem is clearly stated, you will be tasked with justifying it.  Your text suggests that your justification should be based on suggestions from other researchers and on personal experiences. Many problems are often first identified and justified by personal experiences of the researcher and then further justification is verified by past studies and suggestions of others conducting research on the same topic. For example, I currently have a student working on a dissertation.  Her topic is the Digital Divide (the divide created between the haves and have nots in relation to computer technology and access to the Internet). She became interested in this topic while volunteering at a community center in a low income neighborhood that was providing students access to computers and the Internet after school.  She was shocked by what little interest the students showed in using or learning more about the computers and wondered what possible explanations existed.  This personal experience piqued her interest enough to investigate some existing research literature on this topic.  Her initial review reaffirmed her experiences by showing that simply providing access or training on computers is not completely erasing the gap that exists.  Several of the studies she reviewed pointed to the idea that social structures and cultural beliefs about the role of computer technology in certain minority or economically disadvantaged groups might prove to be barriers that must be addressed to shrink the Digital Divide.

As she continued reading through the research literature she also found that many researchers suggested the existence of social and cultural barriers but very few actually investigated what these barriers might be and how they might be addressed to reduce the Digital Divide.  This verified the lack of evidence related to her research problem. Once you are able to justify the research problem then you must also suggest that the current evidence that exists is deficient or insufficient. 

Notice that justifying the research problem and identifying deficiencies in evidence both require you to identify and read current empirical research related to your research problem.  Therefore, to complete Section I of your Research Proposal you will need to begin searching for empirical articles related to the topic you have in mind so that you will be able to sufficiently address these areas. You may need to review Lesson 3 from last week to begin your task of identifying and examining empirical research.

Identifying the Audience for Research and Possible Research Approaches for Your Problem  

The final element of the "Statement of the Problem" section of a research proposal is identifying the audiences that will profit from your research.  Some researchers might refer to this as providing the significance of the study.  As was stated earlier in your chapter for this week, a research problem should contribute to knowledge and practice.  The question here is to whose knowledge and to whose practice will you contribute?  For research problems with a significant personal tie, such as that of my dissertation student, the initial ideas of audiences that will profit may be rather straightforward.  Leaders at the community center will profit by better understanding barriers that might exist and how they should be addressed to increase participation by students.  The students might benefit from strategies implemented as a result of the study that increase their motivation to learn more about computers.  In addition, other community centers and agencies tasked with addressing the digital divide might benefit from this study by providing a methodology by which they can investigate social and cultural barriers that might exist in their specific communities.

A final consideration, and one only briefly mentioned in Chapter 3 is to select the research approach most appropriate given the research problem you identify. The text provides you with some guidance for making this decision.  Remember that you are not yet jumping in to identify the specific research design you will use.  The goal here is to state the approach you plan to use and justify it based on the guidelines provided in your text.

Lesson Links

• Developing a Problem Statement
• Developing the Problem and Using the Literature

Lesson Activities

• Read the directions for the self-check quiz for Chapter Three in Creswell, and complete the quiz in elearning. You have 90 minutes to complete the quiz.
• Identify a research topic in which you are currently interested.  Reflect on why this is interesting to you, how your interest developed, and why you think the research topic is important (both to you and the educational research community).  Write a paragraph or two addressing these areas and post it to this threaded discussion.

Lesson 2

The Literature Review

Finding & Organizing the Literature to Review

In the first part of Chapter 4,  Creswell provides perspective on the purpose and importance of conducting a literature review and some of the possible differences between a review conducted for a qualitative versus a quantitative research approach. On page 90, he provides five interrelated steps for conducting a review of the literature.  These are:

1. Identify key terms to use in your search
2. Locate literature using several databases, the library, and the Internet
3. Read the literature and check its relevance to your topic
4. Organize the literature using a literature map
5. Write a review (what he calls abstracting) of each article

You are going to have opportunities between this week and next week to experience ALL 5 steps!

In Lesson 1 above you should have put some thought into your research topic and problem for your proposal.  If you have not clearly identified this yet then let me stress the importance of doing this NOW.  The last thing you want to do is to conduct a literature review and then change your topic and have to do the whole thing over again.  You already have enough work to do without doing something twice.  If you are really sketchy on a topic/problem then at least try to think of some general subject you are interested in and start your search there.  Once you begin identifying and reading research on that subject then you might find a more specific topic or problem within an article you read that will catch your fancy. Then you can continue further with your search by narrowing the focus based on the problem you identified.

Once you have identified your research topic/problem follow the suggestions provided on page 91 of your text to identify key terms and begin your search. There are a plethora of avenues one can take to find research literature on a particular topic.  My personal favorite is going to the stacks in the library (a real one) and thumbing through the table of contents of relevant journals.  Sometimes if I absolutely cannot come up with a topic for a research study, I thumb through journals in my field of interest and read any article that sounds interesting.  If I like the topic then I work from there, looking at the references that those authors provide and thumbing through more tables of contents to see what else might be current and on the same topic.  Finding a research journal that is thematic and then that has a theme issue on your topic is a gold mine!

Chapter 4 does an excellent job of taking you through the detailed steps of locating literature using the key terms you identify.  There are several important points the author makes that I want to emphasize here. On pages 92-93 he differentiates between primary and secondary sources.  In your quest, your goal should be locating and using primary sources. You will naturally lean more toward identifying secondary sources because they are much more friendly to read.  They don't go through all that research and statistic mumbo jumbo, and they get to the point of what someone else's research documented.  Unfortunately, this is someone else's opinion and you need to come to your own conclusion based on reading the primary source. You may locate a secondary source on your research problem that you like.  This is fine, but you will then need to go the next step and look at the reference list, identify the primary source, find it, and read it. The table provided on page 87 is an excellent place to begin your search.

The author goes into great detail on conducting a search using the ERIC database. While this is specific to ERIC searches you should realize that most search engines tend to work the same so this overview will serve you well when also using other databases. A small point that the author mentioned in Step 1 on page 101 of your text may seem subtle but is important to note if you intend to use ERIC as your main database.  ERIC document numbers are differentiated by using 'EJ' or 'ED' at the beginning.  Those designated with an 'EJ' are those published in another journal but indexed here.  Those designated with an 'ED' are not likely published elsewhere and often consist of papers prepared to present at conferences or other venues.  Some of these are likely empirical research articles and many may be very good; however, approach these documents with care given they have not been through a traditional peer review process that articles in research journals have. Also note that just because it has an EJ number you should not assume that it is automatically an empirical article.  Many journals do not focus on publishing primary research but focus on publishing secondary sources, opinion articles, or practical pieces on how to do something.

Creswell also addresses the use of a general search of the Internet for locating articles.  While this is a valid avenue and could provide you with some great finds I would like to strongly suggest you NOT use this as a primary method for your literature search.  I love Google as much as the next person but I do not use it if I want to find empirical, refereed research on a topic.  What you find on personal and corporate web sites may be empirical but it is not likely to be refereed.  While a search in Google might identify an article available in an online journal, my experience has been that I have to wade through a lot of hits before I find it. My general approach is to begin searching within a journal that I know publishes empirical research in my field of interest and then expand from there.  I am not saying everyone should do it this way, but I want you to know what strategies work best for me in case you want to try them.

As a final note on searching for and identifying empirical research for your literature review, I would like to revisit some of the content from Lesson 3 in Week 2.  I am simply going to cut and paste some of the content from there so you may have a feeling of déja vu. I am reiterating these points because of their importance and relevance to this particular task.

Empirical research could be explained as a systematic intentional inquiry involving collection, analysis, and interpretation of data. The data collected may be qualitative or quantitative. Some examples of empirical research would be:

• a true experiment in which hypotheses are proposed, variables are manipulated, data is collected and analyzed, and the results are interpreted in light of theory
• research in which observations are made, recorded, and analyzed within a specified context, experiences are recorded, and reflections and interpretations are made.
• research in which a case is examined and analyzed, and explorations of relationships between cases and theories are conducted

Empirical research is not someone's "opinion" about what works or a story about how they did something. Empirical research should be based on theory but is not the sole description of a theory.

In addition to the requirement of empirical research, the articles you use should also come from refereed journals. A refereed journal is a journal in which the articles that appear were first evaluated by a panel of acknowledged experts to assure that they merit publication. The referee process (sometimes called blind review or peer review) assists journal editors in identifying quality research and research that contributes significantly to knowledge within a field. It assists you, the reader, by filtering out research that is heavily flawed in one way or another, research that is poorly written, research that does not necessarily add to our understanding of a topic. To identify whether or not a journal is refereed you can look at their submission process. This process is usually described somewhere within the journal itself and/or on their web site. If you are unsure about whether a journal is refereed you can contact me, but please investigate it on your own first. Please note that about 99% or more of what is on the web is not refereed. Therefore, articles posted to a personal web site (empirical or not) will not meet the requirement of empirical, refereed research articles.

Most any refereed empirical research article published in your field of study can be recognized by the components that your text suggests as steps in the research process.  Put simply, empirical research is a kind of research in which the investigator poses a question to answer and seeks to answer it by gathering and analyzing data. The data need not be numerical, nor need it be directly observed by the investigator.  They must only be products of observation.  Thus, an ethnographer who makes a written claim about some practice of a native tribe is an empirical researcher, though the claim is expressed in words.  Similarly, a physicist who measures properties of a subatomic particle he or she has never seen, and then makes a claim about that particle expressed numerically, is doing empirical research.  The important thing is that both claims can be rendered false by further research, and both claims were supported through collecting and analyzing data using accepted methodologies. The method by which they collected their data may be very different but similarities exist across the board that can help you identify empirical research.  These similarities include (a) a research problem or question, (b) a review of existing research literature on the problem or question, (c) research questions or hypotheses, (d) a research design that guides the collection and analysis of the data, (e) methods related to identifying/selecting subjects, materials and instruments to be used, and other procedures that are followed, and (f) final analysis and interpretation of the data collected and a report of the results and discussion of how the research question(s) can be answered given the data collected and analyzed. These are the key components you should be searching for when attempting to find empirical research on a topic of interest to you so you should make sure you have a good grasp on these components.

Once you begin locating empirical research you think is suitable for your research problem, your text suggests you check it for relevance using several criteria provided on page 104.  This is a great way to save money and paper.  Once you find an article, skim it and check for relevance using these questions.  If it does not seem to be relevant then move on and don't waste the time, money or paper on copying/printing it out.

The final step I want to mention in this Lesson is how to organize the literature once you have located it and identified it as relevant.  The text provides an excellent visual/graphic way to depict progress on your literature review and can assist you in identifying where you still have gaps and where more searching is needed.  For those of you who like great visuals then the literature map is definitely the way to go.  For those who are more text driven, you may easily be able to see how you could create a text outline following these same methods. As you begin identifying key terms, conducting your search and locating relevant articles you should use this literature map method (or a variation of it) to track your progress.  This week's activities for this lesson suggests you begin creating your literature map this week as you begin locating more and more articles.  A complete literature map will be due with your rough draft of Section II.

Abstracting & Examining Empirical Research

On page 105, Creswell begins to provide you with suggestions for starting to write your literature review.  The first thing he suggests you do once you have identified relevant research is to write your own abstract.  If you have read empirical research published in journals before now, you are probably familiar with the abstract that many journals provide at the beginning of each article.  It is likely, however, that it may not be as detailed as the abstract that Creswell suggests you write so be careful about simply cutting and pasting and making the author's abstract your own.  The best way for you to begin to comprehend the content of an article is to write an abstract in your own words.

You should note that Creswell mentions the idea that you might include additional information when you abstract an article such as information that critiques or assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the research.  I also hope that you recognize this as something we have covered in a previous lesson.  In week 2, I provided you with a set of guiding questions one could use to critique an empirical article.  I also provided you with a sample critique written by a previous student.  If you did not pay close attention then, it is now time.  If necessary go back and review this information.

Lesson Links

• The UWF Library has a variety of databases that are available for students. Some of the resources have online full-text articles that you can use. Read about the services available for Distance Learners.
  • Library Databases
  • Online Journals
  • Accessing Information Off Campus
  • UWF ELi: Electronic Library Research Guides
• Educational Journal Links
• National FORUM Journals Online
• ERIC Database
• AERA journals
• Psychcrawler
• Psych Web
• Links to Psychological Journals
• Psychology Journals (and a plethora of other resource links!)

Lesson Activities

• Complete the quiz for Chapter Four in Creswell and APA.  You may go directly into elearning.uwf.edu or read the directions first. You have 90 minutes to complete the quiz. IMPORTANT NOTE: The quiz includes questions related to APA Style - do not neglect this portion of your reading this week!
• Begin searching for empirical research literature on the topic you identified and wrote about in Lesson 1.
• Identify at least 2 empirical research articles from refereed journals that are on the same topic as the one you identified in Lesson 1.  Via email, submit the complete reference in APA format (use your book) for these 2 articles. For additional help in appropriately citing your reference in APA check out the following site http://www.stylewizard.com/
• Read any empirical articles you identify as relevant to your topic and begin formulating your research problem. Make notes for yourself related to articles that can provide justification for your research problem based on other research and suggest deficiencies in the evidence.
• Begin reading any empirical articles you identify as relevant based on the criteria given in Chapter 4.
• Begin constructing your own literature map using your key terms and the research you locate. Maps such as those provided in your text can be created using Microsoft Word or another program such as Inspiration (a software tool specifically designed for concept mapping and brainstorming etc.). If you would like to download a free trial and experiment with Inspiration then check out their home page at http://www.inspiration.com/. A version of Inspiration is available in the Graduate Lab on the Main Campus.
• Continue to identify empirical research that will assist you in writing Section I and II of your research proposal. A rough draft of your Section I is due in Week 4.

Lesson 3

APA Style Guidelines  

I hope everyone is enjoying the APA tidbits I am providing in my message to you each week.  I really cannot emphasize enough the importance of applying APA style appropriately from the beginning. On pages 110-112 of your text, Creswell reviews three major guidelines relevant to writing a literature review. 

The areas he addressed in your text are listed below along with the relevant sections and page numbers of the 5th edition.

• within-text references: 5th edition, Sections 3.94 - 3.103 on pages 207-214
• end-of-text references: 5th edition, all of Chapter 4, pages 215-281
• headings: 5th edition, Sections 3.30 - 3.32, pages 111-115

As you learn about different aspects of APA Style it is important for you to practice applying them so that they are not completely foreign to you when you begin writing your complete proposal and so that you can receive guidance and feedback from me on your progress in this critical skill area.

Lesson Links

• APA Style Home Page
• APA Publication Manual Crib Sheet
• Guide for Writing Research Papers
• APA Style Essentials

Lesson Activities

• Read the following pages in your APA Manual
  • Chapter 1
  • pages 113 - 122
  • pages 207-214
  • Chapter 4
  • pages 283-302
• Read the following APA tutorials COMPLETELY!! and be sure you can follow all of the formatting requirements
  • Lesson: Formatting a Title Page
  • Lesson: Formatting an Abstract
  • Lesson: Order of Pages
  • Lesson: Spacing and Indentation
  • Lesson: Formatting Headings
  • Lesson: Formatting Quoted Material
  • Lesson: Formatting Numbers
  • Lesson: Citing References
  • Lesson: Formatting Tables
• Choose one of the 2 empirical articles you identified in Lesson 2. Carefully read the article and identify the five elements of the "Statement of the Problem."  Mark the passages where the author identified a topic, stated the problem, provided justification, identified deficiencies and the importance of addressing them for specific audiences, and suggested the research approach.  Cut and paste these elements (or type them) into a word processing document and label them according to the element.  Discuss any elements that were left out.
• Go back through the document you just wrote and complete the following tasks:
  • Include a title page following APA 5th edition format
  • Use appropriate margins
  • Use appropriate header with page number
  • In the body, be sure to use two levels of headings (using the APA 5th edition as your guide) and apply appropriate formatting to them in your document. [Hint: You will use one level as a title for your document and a second level to identify the logical subdivisions. it is up to you to use your manual to identify which levels of headings you should use.]
  • Apply within-text references as appropriate
  • Make sure to format any quotes appropriately
  • Include a reference page - make sure your end-of-text reference is in 5th edition APA style.
• Save the document and send it to me as an attachment via email. If you would like a sample of this assignment successfully completed by a previous student you may view it here.

Contact the
Library Staff

Need Help?

Have a question but can't find the answer? Here are some options:

• Check the Course FAQ page to see if your question has already been answered.
• Check the Proposal FAQ page to see if your question has already been answered.
• Email the Head Librarian (Dr. Curda)*.
• Email the Assistant Librarian (Melissa)*.
• Check with the other library patrons.

*Remember to include your name and the course name (Educational Research) or number (EDF 6481) in your message.