I will put the outline for this project.
1. Be specific and inform your audience of which geographical location. You need to state the geographical location ( for example, Harris County, Texas) for this study.
2. Do not include abbreviations in your topic.
4. Pose your research topic as a brief question. What question do you want to answer in your proposed study? Also, are you conducting a study on substance abuse or community corrections?
5.Briefly explain what research has been done on the topic and why the topic is important practically and empirically.
6. There are no personal opinions in the project. All work must come from cited sources.
This is the Template for this project
Revised 4/20/20
The purpose of this
template is to ensure that the capstone project manuscript is a quality
document. This template provides
information about formatting requirements and the content required in each
section of the capstone project.
Below is the capstone project template with a description of each section
Executive Summary
The executive summary is an overview of the capstone
project and is the first section stakeholders will read. The executive summary includes the purpose and
rationale of the project, the problem statement, the methods, the results, and an
overview of the recommendations. Descriptions
of the methods should include the setting, data collection, and analysis. The executive summary should be approximately
one page but must not exceed one page. The
first sentence is indented. The
executive summary should not include statistics, references, or direct quotes. Begin this section using the following format:
The
purpose of this project was to (improve or solve) the problem of ________
(identify what needs improving) at ________ (identify site/setting, and
stakeholders) and to design ________ (identify the project – professional
development, intervention, etc.) to address the problem.
Briefly
introduce proposed data collection and data analysis strategies designed to solve
the problem, followed by a general description of the project (curriculum,
training, program, etc.) and recommendations that will be developed to solve
the problem.
1.0 Introduction to the Project and related Literature
Overview
The Overview should begin with a brief restatement of the purpose of
the capstone project. The purpose should
be followed by a restatement of the problem statement. You will
then clearly and concisely describe the contents and organization of the section.
The purpose of Section 1.0 is to
provide a framework for the evidence-based project. This paragraph should create reader interest,
provide a foundation for the problem that necessitates the project, overview
the context of literature in which the project is founded, identify the
importance of the project for a specific audience, and briefly introduce the project. Section 1.0 must be a minimum of 25 pages for
the final capstone project. Do not
propose a solution or possible solution to the problem prior to conducting the
research. For example, do not state that
professional development will be created to solve to problem before data
collection and analysis.
The Public Administration Setting
and Background
The Public Administration
Setting and Background provides context related to the problem. Begin by describing the public
administration setting in which the problem will be addressed. In this subsection, the setting (or the site)
of the project should be described in detail (e.g., geographic location, governmental
agency, etc.). For example, you may say,
“City of Lynchburg Offices are located at 000 Main Street, Springfield,
Virginia. The local city government
serves 000 residents… and is….” Give a
detailed description of the particular governmental agency or organizational
setting. Only important features which
have bearing on the project should be included.
The following questions should be addressed: What does the organization
look like with regards to leadership, organizational structure, population,
etc.? Because the capstone project will
not be published, you may include real site names and numbers in the setting subsection. Include cited sources in correct APA format
(e.g. Local, State or Federal governmental reports, county or city website, organizational
reports, etc.). End this subsection by
introducing the reader to the problem and making a smooth transition into the
next subsection.
Introduction
to the Problem
This subsection introduces the
reader to the specific governmental problem of practice
and provides justification for the evidence-based project within a governmental
setting. A problem of
practice is a situation that exists within a private or governmental
organization within the public administration setting. The problem is site
specific, non-generalizable, and is unique to the particular governmental
setting. This subsection provides you the opportunity to show that the
proposed capstone project is needed and is relevant to the organization being
studied. Focus on the problem to be
examined and provide evidence that the problem is real and needs to be solved. Provide as much documentation as possible
when presenting the problem (e.g., school records, reports, documentation,
etc.). Use appropriate APA citations. In a few focused paragraphs, convince the
reader why the particular issue or problem needs to be addressed. The problem should be stated clearly and
unambiguously. You should state: “The
problem is….” Do not propose a solution or possible solution to the problem.
The solution to the problem will be addressed in Section 4.
Significance
of the Problem
The significance of the problem begins with a description of the practical
contributions that the project makes to the organization. It addresses questions such as, why does the
problem need to be solved? Why it
is important to the location, organization, population, and/or stakeholders? How will solving the problem improve the
conditions, lives, work environment, etc.? Identify the specific stakeholders who will
find the project significant. References
based in the literature are very important here to lend additional credence and
support the need for the study. All
assertions in this subsection need to be well supported by the literature. Citations are needed using correct APA format.
Purpose Statement
The purpose of the project should flow from
the problem statement and significance of the problem. Clearly and succinctly state the focus and
intentions of the proposed capstone project.
The purpose statement should begin with the following statement: “The
purpose of this project is to improve or solve the problem of….” This statement foreshadows the central question,
and the statement must be used consistently throughout the project. Begin this section using the following format:
The purpose of this project was to (improve
or solve) the problem of ________ (identify what needs improving) at ________
(identify site/setting, and stakeholders) and to design ________ (identify the
project – professional development, intervention, etc.) to address the problem. It is important to solve this problem because
________. The first approach regarding
data collection will be structured interviews with ________ (teachers,
principals, parents, etc…). The second
approach regarding data collection will be (documents; records; archival data;
survey; focus group; etc…) _________ with/using ________. The third approach regarding data collection will
be (documents; records; archival data; survey; focus group; etc…) ________ with/using ________.”
Although brief in nature, the problem of the study and the purpose
statement are very important aspects of the manuscript. These statements identify the goal of the capstone
project and support the importance of solving the problem of practice. All preceding writing within the manuscript
should funnel into the problem and purpose statements, and all proceeding
aspects of the manuscript should align with, support, and further expand upon
the problem and purpose statements.
Related Literature
This is often the
longest portion of the capstone project.
The minimum page requirement is 20 pages, but it may be longer. In this subsection you will provide a context
for the capstone project and demonstrate its importance based on related
literature. The Related Literature subsection is comprised of an introduction
to the literature review and at least two subsections: (a) Narrative Review and
(b) Theoretical (or Conceptual) Review. A narrative review, also known as a
traditional literature review, is a thorough analysis and synthesis of the
current knowledge on a topic. Begin the Related Literature section with an
introduction to the literature review section, which is followed by the
Narrative Review subsection and then the Theoretical Review subsection.
Subheadings at Level 2 are required and Level
3 and 4 are often necessary. Often 500 or
more articles are read to construct this portion and a minimum of 40 sources are
integrated into its construction. The
majority of the literature cited should be
current (i.e., five years or less since publication), though it is understood
that some seminal studies published more than five years ago are appropriate.
Narrative Review
The purpose of this subsection is to provide a tight synthesis of the
existing knowledge on this topic and link this existing knowledge to the
proposed project. This is not simply a study-by-study summary, but
a selection of relevant literate that covers a specific topic and related
research studies. As you read the
literature, the information relevant to your project will need to be
categorized into major themes which will be presented using headings arranged
in a logical order. It communicates what
has been examined on the topic, what empirical studies have been conducted, and
what solutions have been implemented to address the problem. Remember, this subsection often convinces the
reader that you are an expert on the topic.
Theoretical Review
This subsection should provide the reader with a direct connection to the
conceptual or theoretical framework related to the topic area. This subsection gives the reader a clear
sense of the theoretical approach to understanding the topic/problem. Start by describing the theory(ies),
including origination and major theorist(s).
Next, discuss how the theory(ies) has advanced or informed the
literature on your topic. Conclude by
articulating how specific theory(ies) may potentially help bring about a deeper
understanding of the problem. Examples
of theoretical frameworks include Marume (1988), Fox and Meyer (1995) five fine
types of administrative theory: Descriptive Theory, Prescriptive Theory,
Normative Theory, Assumptive Theory and Instrumental Theory. You must describe
the relationship between the theory and your proposed study.
Summary
Provide a section summary. The Summary includes a succinct conclusion to
the section.