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Unit Assignments
Unit I Scholarly Activity
Reviewing Available Literature
The purpose of this course is to allow you to use your knowledge and skills of the fire service to prepare a research report, which will contribute to the fire-service industry. Since the research report in this course is a large assignment and it requires much of your time, this small assignment helps you get started right away.
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Write My Essay For MeFirst, begin reviewing the available literature in the CSU Online Library to grasp the types of research problems being examined by researchers in the fire service. You do not have to read the entire articles just yet. Instead, begin by reading the abstracts of empirical articles to identify the major variables (i.e., the problem, roles involved, the method of the study, and the results) within each study.
Second, begin thinking about what type of problem you would like to research for this course. Even if you are not completely sure which research problem you would like to research, the best thing you can do is be proactive and narrow your options on paper (or in a document) through a little brainstorming. Draft a few sentences about what you think you would like to research—the problem. Include more than one research problem if you are still deciding among a few ideas.
Third, this small assignment provides you with an opportunity to practice applying APA style to a reference list.
Include each of the following with this scholarly activity:
- Draft a few sentences about one or more topics you would like to research.
- Using proper APA formatting, list ten empirical articles that relate to the topic(s).
Save the components of this assignment in a word-processing document (i.e., Word) and submit them together.
You are not locked-in to the initial research problem you submit with this small assignment. From now until the time you begin writing the research report, your research problem may evolve slightly. That is expected and you will fine-tune it as you go.
Information about accessing the Blackboard Grading Rubric for this assignment is provided below.
Unit II Scholarly Activity
The Purpose and the Problem
A research report is all about selling your idea to those finding it valuable and worthwhile. One way to retain the attention of the intended audience is to ensure the research report at least is as valid and reliable as the research allows it to be. It is not always possible to design an ideal research project. However, be sure that you are the first one to point it out. Your research appears to be much more credible if you explicitly state its weaknesses, rather than having your readers identify and disqualify all of your work.
For this assignment, draft the preliminary components of a research proposal. Basically, preparing the components of a research proposal allows you to lay the ground work for your research project.
Include the following items for this assignment:
- Problem statement, or research problem
- Purpose statement, or the importance of this study—about one paragraph
- Research questions, or hypotheses—at least one
The purpose of this assignment is to allow you to draft the preliminary details of a research proposal, and to think critically about how you will approach the remainder of a fire-related research report. It is important to be aware of valid and reliable research in order to prepare such a study as well as to effectively examine (i.e., read and interpret) available research as a student, as a professional, and as a consumer.
Be sure to use your own words and include in-text citations and reference material in APA style as needed.
Also, be sure to save this material because it will significantly contribute to the remainder of your research report.
Information about accessing the Blackboard Grading Rubric for this assignment is provided below.
Unit III Article Critique
For this assignment, choose a peer-reviewed article to critique. Use the databases within the CSU Online Library, or use another source that contains peer-reviewed articles. The purpose of this assignment is for you to practice reviewing articles that contribute to the industry. The authors of these articles are researchers and professionals who have shared or experimented with ideas that demonstrate potential to improve the industry. As a professional in the industry, it is in your best interest to review the literature and trends. This provides you with the opportunity to read about what was successful and how it was accomplished. Plus, it allows you to analyze what was unsuccessful, how you can improve it, or at least how you can avoid repeating the mistakes of others. Use these skills to contribute to research reports and other scholarly writing. If you have not already, hopefully, you will contribute to the industry by publishing an article and sharing with your community of peers.
As you read the article you choose for this assignment, consider the following questions: How could the topic of this article apply to your personal or professional life? How could it apply to an organization you have observed?
The article you choose must meet the following requirements:
- Be peer reviewed
- Be related to your research report if possible
- Be at least eight pages in length
The writing you submit must meet the following requirements:
- Be at least two pages
- Identify the main topic/question
- Critique the article and share your thoughts—what appears to be valid and invalid?
- Do you agree with the author’s assertions? Why, or why not?
Format your Article Critique using APA style. Use your own words, and include citations and references as needed to avoid plagiarism.
Information about accessing the Blackboard Grading Rubric for this assignment is provided below.
Unit IV Annotated Bibliography
To keep making progress on your research report, this assignment asks you to prepare an annotated bibliography, which is a great way to begin organizing your research and to identify what is relevant and useful about each of the articles you collect.
With three resources, list each reference in APA style and then draft a 100-word synopsis about each resource—how and why it is relevant to your research report.
Follow this example for reference:
Annotated Bibliography
Leedy, P. D., & Ormrod, J. E. (2013). Practical research: Planning and design (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
This is an interesting book about planning and designing research projects. The information about random sampling is directly related to credible research, which is the focus of my project. I like how Leedy and Ormrod (2013) present the material on a literature review, which should help support my argument about writing an interesting and valuable literature review. Novice researchers have a tendency to simply report lists of research. A more interesting way of preparing a literature review is to establish a connection with the other research and the author’s research problem (Leedy & Ormrod, 2013). The example dissertations they included should be great support for my argument about valid material to use for the study.
So, your finished annotated bibliography should have the following:
- At least three references listed in APA style
- At least three synopses with about 100 words each
Remember, this assignment is designed to help you work toward your research report. Use articles and resources relevant for your research report
Information about accessing the Blackboard Grading Rubric for this assignment is provided below.
Unit V Scholarly Activity
Selecting a Research Method
Selecting a research method can make or break a research project, so it is important to implement the method most appropriately suited for a given research problem.
For this assignment, select the most appropriate research method to test the research problem in your research report. Begin by identifying if the research problem is asking for quantitative or qualitative data. Then, consider which type of research design you would select, if you were actually going to conduct the study. Which design is most appropriate? Which design will provide you with results to directly address your research problem?
Include at least the following for this assignment:
- List your research problem at the top of the page (the most current version)
- List the purpose of your research report next (the most current version)
- List a research method (quantitative or qualitative)
- Use
the following items to clearly describe your research design:
- Participants o Instruments (if any)
- Design o Procedure
- In a 150-word response, briefly explain why this research method is the best fit for your study (include a specific design in your response)
Remember, this assignment is designed to help you work toward your research report.
At this point, you do not have to commit to the research design you include within this assignment. If you discover a more appropriate research design for your research report, you can include it before submitting the final report. If you have trouble selecting a research design and a research method, try selecting one of the designs randomly and begin working out the details. This assignment provides you with an opportunity to begin thinking about research designs and how they relate to your research project.
Information about accessing the Blackboard Grading Rubric for this assignment is provided below.
Unit VI Research Report Outline
The next milestone for your research report is to prepare an outline. This is the part of the project when all of the details start coming together, and you have an opportunity to organize the data you have collected. Plus, this outline is the first step of actually writing your research report. This outline asks you to include topic sentences for each major section of your research report. A topic-sentence outline is very similar to a traditional outline. The only difference is the inclusion of complete sentences rather than key terms. The topic sentences should serve the same purpose as a topic sentence in a paragraph—describes what the entire paragraph is about.
You may have already prepared a few of the items in this assignment. Now, you can gather the major sections of your research report and begin building it from a big picture perspective. Once the big picture is in place, the only thing left to do is insert the supporting details.
Include at least the following in your outline:
- A topic sentence for the introduction
- A topic sentence for the purpose of the report
- A hypothesis
- Five topic sentences for the body of the report
- A topic sentence for your recommendations/conclusions
Use your own words and apply APA style, if necessary.
Information about accessing the Blackboard Grading Rubric for this assignment is provided below.
Research Report
The research report in this course is designed to allow you to discover, analyze, interpret, and report about a fire-related research problem. A problem is not necessarily a troublesome area, but an area of desired improvement. In other words, something may be performing well, yet, someone still wants to see it perform even better. That is what a lot research is all about—how can we do it better?
How can you, as a researcher, contribute to a better way of preventing and protecting communities from fire-related and emergency-related incidents? One way is to conduct research and to take it a step further by sharing your research with the fire-service community. Consider presenting your research at a conference. Such an activity is great for professional development and networking. Keep that in mind as you review and fine-tune the remaining details of your research report.
Include at least the following in your research report:
- Title page
- Table of contents
- An introduction
- The purpose of the report
- A literature review
- A hypothesis
- A description of the research method (what you would do)
- Conclusions/recommendations
- A reference page
- Ten pages (not including the title page, reference page, or any appendices)
- Twelve empirical sources
Use your own words and apply APA style where it is applicable.
Information about accessing the Blackboard Grading Rubric for this assignment is provided below.
