Overview
Though the expectations of a capstone and dissertation project differ in some respects, both project formats require a research question. A well-formulated research question:
– Is stated clearly and in the form of a question;
– Is specific and restricted in scope;
– Is feasible (i.e. Can the researcher obtain the data necessary to answer the question?);
– Does not pose an ethical or moral problem for implementation;
– Focuses on what is to be investigated (whether a practical problem in a capstone project or a theoretical problem in a dissertation).
In this assignment, students will submit (and if necessary, revise) their research question which was previously presented as part of their Research Plan Review Assignment submission. As part of this, students will be asked to specify and clearly define their dependent variable (DV). A dependent variable is the outcome you intend to explain. For a capstone the DV may represent the presumed outcome or effect of a proposed project, program, or policy intervention. For a dissertation the DV may represent a phenomenon relevant to your chosen discipline for which you will offer a causal explanation.
Whether you are writing a capstone or a dissertation, you must be able to describe your dependent variable in one sentence. This sentence should not contain any indications of potential independent/causal variables.
To effectively study your dependent variable, you will have to conceptualize, operationalize, and measure it. You will also need to explain how and why you conceptualized, operationalized, and measured your DV.
– Conceptualizing a variable requires the researcher to explain and justify their way of defining or understanding that variable. This may require the researcher to refer to how other researchers have conceptualized that variable and/or to anticipate and answer potential questions about other possible ways of conceptualizing that variable.
– Operationalizing a variable requires the researcher to specify the means by which that variable will be measured. What indicator, scale, or other measurement system will be used? This may require the researcher to refer to how other researchers have operationalized that variable and/or to anticipate and answer potential questions about other possible ways of operationalizing that variable.
– Measuring a variable requires the researcher to specify the process by which data will be gathered and analyzed. This may require the researcher to refer to how other researchers have measured that variable and/or to anticipate and answer potential questions about other possible ways of measuring that variable.
Instructions
· Complete the Title Page, specifying your chosen academic program and stating whether you are writing a capstone or a dissertation.
· The assignment should state your research question and dependent variable. The research question should be presented in one sentence. If your project requires more than one research question state those also. The assignment should offer a full explanation of how the research question meets criterion for a good social science-based research question. This should include an explanation of why the research question is appropriate for your chosen program, and research topic within your program.
· The dependent variable should be presented in one sentence.
· The assignment should offer a full explanation of how the dependent variable was conceptualized, operationalized, and measured.
o Explain and justify your choices for how you conceptualized your DV.
o Explain and justify your choices for how you operationalized your DV.
o Explain and justify your choices for how you proposed to measure your DV.
· Assignment should be submitted in current APA format.
· Assignment should include at least six (6) scholarly citations from peer reviewed academic sources.
· The assignment should be no fewer than seven (7) pages in length. This page count should not include Title Page and References (which must be a part of your submission). This page count should not include other supplementary information or appendices that are not required.
Note: Though students are permitted to use their own previously submitted work on this assignment, submissions will otherwise be checked for originality via the Turnitin plagiarism tool.