“The Longitudinal Trajectories of Online Engagement Over a Full Program” by Saqr & López-Pernas (2021).

This week, our primary learning objectives are to know APA format and to be able to write a quality article summary in APA format, as well as using citations in APA style.

In order to learn these concepts, you will need to dedicate yourself to reading the materials provided in the course materials and provided by me. Do not finish this week not knowing APA. Put the time in and you will be happy that you did.

Submitting an Assignment Please watch if you need a refresher: Submitting Assignments tutorial

Article Summary Assignment:

• Read the entire 20-page article “The Longitudinal Trajectories of Online Engagement Over a Full Program” by Saqr & López-Pernas (2021).
• You will find a link to this article in the Study Materials section for Topic 2. The link will take you to the GCU Library and then you will want to click on the PDF full text icon on the top above the title.
• Access the assignment template (attached to this message, as well as in the Topic 2 Resources)
• Plan a summary that meets the 250-500 word count. There are rubric deductions for going well over (> 50 words) or falling short the required word count.
• I advise structuring your summary into four sections:

1. 1. Introduction: Hook statement, research problem, research questions, purpose statement (this is different from the purpose of the research. You are simply summarizing).
   2. The Research Methodology: How was this research study conducted? What data was collected and how was it collected? Use terms like quantitative or qualitative. You will lose points if this terminology is not present.
   3. The Findings: What were the results of the study? What conclusions did the authors make from conducting the study? What are the keys to success in online education?
   4. Implications: What can a new graduate student learn from this article? What future research should be done to further our knowledge and understanding of the concept examined in this study?

• You will use an in-text citation at the end of each sentence that you are summarizing material from the article. It is a good practice to end each first sentence with a citation.
• Your in-text citation will ONLY be: (Saqr & López-Pernas, 2021).
• If you want to use the authors names as the subject/noun in the sentence, follow this model: In the research completed by Saqr & López-Pernas (2021), the findings suggest…
• This is the only reference you need to have on your reference page:
  • Saqr, M., & López-Pernas, S. (2021). The longitudinal trajectories of online engagement over a full program. Computers and Education, 175, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2021.104325
• IMPORTANT: Remember to use the hanging indent on the reference page by highlighting the whole reference you just copies and click (CTRL + T). Double check that it is Times New Roman, 12pt. font. Formatting is altered when copied from the announcements here.
• Do NOT use direct quotes. Instead, paraphrase. If you ignore this and happen to use direct quotes, you need to use quotation marks around the sentence or phrase and then include the page number after the year of publication in your citation. Ex: The authors found that “abc and xyz” (Saqr & López-Pernas, 2021, p. xx).
• Review your Similarity Report prior to submitting your essay to be graded. Your Similarity% should be under 20% including direct quotes. Look over what was picked up by LopesWrite. If quotation marks are needed or if sentences need to be revised, please do this before submitting your work to be graded. If your assignment is 20% or more, I will reassign it and you will need to revise it and resubmit it with a 20% or lower similarity. There may be a score penalty for going over as well.
• Submit your paper on time. It is due on Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. but it is much better to submit it early. I find that submitting tasks on Sunday night allow me to have less stress as an online student and professional with work responsibilities to juggle.

Do NOT:

• Do NOT use long quotes in this article summary. Avoid using any direct quotes from the article and instead focus on summarizing the main concepts from the essay in your own words; this shows your full understanding of the concepts.
• Do NOT use 1st or 2nd person pronouns or phrases in your writing. Instead of saying, “I think that the authors created a valid study” you could simply say, “The authors created a valid study.” Your direct statements will show what you think, feel, and believe.
• Do NOT get off track or by make personal reflections or editorials about online education in general.
• DO NOT reference the references used in the article (such as the articles by Carrol and White that you have not read for yourself).

Do not use the title of the article as the title of your paper. Instead, you can put something like Article Summary, or better yet, BE CREATIVE!