In addition to the 1 – 2 articles used to validate your survey, you will need to find a minimum of FOUR additional articles that provide sufficient background to justify your research study. Thus, you will have a minimum of 5 – 6 articles discussed in your Introduction and included in your References for this phase. For the four articles you must find on your own:
o All should be from peer-reviewed journals. For a description of types of articles, please review Section 1 in the APA Manual.
o At least three of the articles should report primary, empirical, quantitative research; no more than one can be a literature review/theoretical/ or meta-analysis article. Discussion of the articles must include enough information to clearly identify what type of article is being discussed.
o All four articles should be used to provide context and justification for your study – thus, their relevance to your study must be clear. Each article does not have to be related to both of your chosen variables and they do not have to use the same scales as the ones you selected, but each should be clearly related to at least one of the constructs of interest in your study. All should be discussed in such as a way that methods and results are sufficiently described and relevance to your study is clear. Conclusions from the four studies you selected must form a foundation for understanding the merits of your study.
Stage 2: Write the following portions of your research paper: Introduction, Method, References, Appendix. Make sure you follow the APA guidelines for a professional paper. The following steps outline the systematic organization of the body within each of these sections.
1) Introduction: remember you use the title of the paper in title case, bold, and centered . Also include a running head and page numbers. Note both the title and running head should reflect your study’s topic – NOT that is it a phase or part of a class. You are already expected to be able to write at the graduate level in terms of grammar, syntax, and using your own words . However, we are now also honing scientific writing skills. Thus, there is no page or word minimum. Be concise yet detailed. Do not be redundant or opinionated. There is a specific flow to all quantitative research articles. The body of your introduction should contain the following information IN THIS ORDER:
a. Frame the importance of the problem (3.4) – begin by clarifying the objective – whether it be theoretical, potential application, input for public policy, et cet..
b. Discuss at least 5 relevant articles . Quotes are NOT allowed in this course – use your own words. This is to:
i. Provide a scope of the problem and its context
ii. Theoretical or practical implications
iii. Emphasize pertinent findings and major conclusions .
1. Describe similarities and differences among the research reviewed
2. Explain the relevance of each article to the proposed study
3. Discuss relevant methodological issues
c. Note: this section will be multiple paragraphs, but it should NOT consist of an article per paragraph – use the articles you’ve chosen to provide an overview of the problem and ultimately, to justify your research idea. Always use a topic sentence to express the main idea for each paragraph . If the next paragraph does not flow easily, use a transition sentence at the end of the previous paragraph.
d. In the final paragraph of your introduction, state the purpose and rationale for your proposed study.
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