Week 1
assignment
Research Foundations
This assignment is designed to guide your thinking about the
research process and help you explore topics that may be of interest or
relevant in your practice.
Click the Worksheet tab to see examples of research problems
and questions.
Complete the Research Foundations worksheet.
Click the Assignment Files tab to submit your assignment.
Week 2
assignment
Ethical Issues in Research
As you develop a research proposal, you must consider the
ethical issues related to it.
Determine the ethical considerations related to the research
question you developed in Week 1.
Consider the seven main principles of ethical research
introduced in this week’s learning activity, Research Ethics Guidance:
Social and clinical value
Scientific validity
Fair subject selection
Favorable risk-benefit ratio
Independent review
Informed consent
Respect for potential and enrolled subjects
Summarize the ethical issues related to your topic in one of
the following formats:
18-slide presentation
15-minute oral presentation
850-word paper
Another format approved by your instructor
Cite at least one peer-reviewed and one evidence-based
resource in APA format.
Click the Assignment Files tab to submit your assignment.
Week 3
assignment
Research Design
This assignment is designed to help you understand the
differences between qualitative and quantitative research designs, as well as
select the appropriate method for the research question you have been working
on throughout the course.
Step 1: State your Week 1 research question as perfected and
select the type of research (quantitative or qualitative) that is most
appropriate for it.
Step 2: Summarize the major steps in that type of research.
Step 3: Determine the specific type or approach (i.e., quasi-experimental,
phenomenological, etc.) you would employ and explain why that is the best
selection.
Step 4: Explain potential data.
Step 5: Explain how analyzing and interpreting that data can
inform your research question.
Format your assignment as one of the following
18-slide presentation
15-minute oral presentation
850-word paper
Another format approved by your instructor
Cite at least one peer-reviewed resource in APA format.
Click the Assignment Files tab to submit your assignment.
Week 4
assignment
Finding Evidence
Evidence that supports a conclusion is part of the research
process. Literature reviews often accompany research papers in the form of a
summary and synthesis of the published information about the research topic.
Although this week’s assignment is not a literature review, it is designed to
familiarize you with the practice of finding appropriate sources and
information on a topic.
Find three original research articles – do not use
systematic reviews, meta-analyses, meta-syntheses or integrated reviews – that
apply to your research topic. The articles must be
peer reviewed,
recent (published within 5 years), and
statistically significant (applies to quantitative studies).
Write the requested information about each article using the
Literature Review Work Sheet in which you identify
study design (name the basic study design)
participants (number and sample type)
independent variable(s), (if one exists)
dependent variable(s), (what the researcher is most
interested in)
analysis methods – name the statistics for quantitative and
the analytic method for qualitative), and
results.
Include a PDF of, and APA citation, for each article.
Click the Assignment Files tab to submit the articles and
summaries.
Week 5
assignment
Research Dissemination Plan
This assignment is designed to help you understand how to
make your research usable and available to other people in your field.
Develop a dissemination plan for your research. Your plan
should include discussion about the following:
Audience
Who is most likely to use this research?
What is the practice setting?
End-user needs
How should you present data to make it most usable?
Is there specific language should you use to ensure your
audience understands your purpose?
Does the target audience have a specific type of need based
on practice setting?
Publications
What specific journals, newsletters, or publications would
would you want to publish in to reach your audience?
Presentations at local, state, and national levels
What conferences, meetings, or panels would you want to
present at to make sure your ideas were readily available in the field?
Format your dissemination plan as one of the following:
18-slide presentation
15-minute oral presentation
850-word paper
Another format approved by your instructor
Click the Assignment Files tab to submit your assignment.
