Course Description
This course serves as the culminating experience for your MLS program. It has no set class sessions and is largely an independent study. Unless other arrangements are negotiated with the instructor, students will fulfill this requirement by forging a focused and well-defined research question on an aspect of their MLS concentration, by conducting scholarly research in pursuit of answers to the research question, and by crafting a well-written and documented research paper.
Course Objectives
Students who successfully pass the course will be able to
• demonstrate critical thinking abilities in forging a research question pertinent to the student’s
MLS area of concentration.
• demonstrate analytical abilities in investigating research question through scholarly research.
• demonstrate abilities in synthesis, integrating scholarly research into graduate-level writing.
• demonstrate graduate-level writing, including consistently citing and documenting all research.
Plagiarism and Academic Integrity
All submitted work is expected to be the result of your own thought, research, and self-expression. When you submit work purporting to be your own, but which borrows ideas, organization, or wording from another source without appropriate acknowledgment of that fact, you are guilty of plagiarism—a serious academic offense. If you feel unsure over a question of plagiarism, you should consult with me before submitting the assignment. Any instance of plagiarism will result in failure of the course.
Major Due Dates
Feb. 28 Research Question Due with 10 Documented Scholarly Sources.
Mar. 28 Research Proposal Due with 20-25 Documented Scholarly Sources.
May 2 Final Research Paper Due: 20-25 pages with 20-25 Documented Scholarly Sources.
IDS 820C Page 2
Course Requirements
Final Grade Breakdown (Based on 1000 total points)
A 1000-900
B 899-800
C 799-700
D 699-600
U 599-000
Research Question + 10 Scholarly Resources: 50 points
A concise and well-focused research question is due on or before February 28. I recommend consulting William Badke’s Research Strategies, Chapter 2, to assist you in forging a research question. In addition, you should include a minimum of ten scholarly sources directly related to the research question. All research should be documented in current MLA or APA style. Research questions must be uploaded as Microsoft Word documents on Blackboard through Safe Assign by 12:00 pm cst (noon) on or before Friday, February 28, 2014.
Research Proposal: 2 page narrative + 20-25 References: 100 points
A brief two-page proposal for the research paper is due on or before March 28. Proposals should include a detailed paragraph elaborating on the research question, a paragraph indicating how the parts of the paper will fit into the whole, and two to three paragraphs summarizing the research to be included in the final paper. In addition, you should include a minimum of twenty scholarly sources that you have read and analyzed and that are directly related to the research question. Proposals must be uploaded as Microsoft Word documents on Blackboard though Safe Assign by12:00 pm cst (noon) on or before Friday, March 28, 2014.
Research Paper: 20-25 pages + 20-25 Scholarly Resources: 850 points
After forging a focused research question on some aspect of your MLS concentration, students should conduct extensive scholarly research in an attempt to answer the research question. Current scholarly research should drive this paper, so any and all assertions made within the paper should be backed by evidence derived from current scholarly sources. Each paper will have a minimum of twenty documented scholarly sources integrated into the paper. Final papers will be graded using the Writing Skills Rubric and the Research Skills Rubric. Papers will be graded upon the depth and fit of research used and the completeness and complexity of thought developed by the writer. Rhetorically, I will be looking for a strong central argument backed by detailed and specific evidence. Ideas should be embedded within a coherent structure at the sentence and paragraph levels, and meaningful transitions should link ideas back to the central argume
nt. Style and mechanics should follow MLA or APA guidelines. Each paper should be a minimum of twenty complete, typed, and double-spaced pages (not counting your Works Cited pages), formatted with 1” margins and written in Times New Roman 12-point font. The Research Paper must be uploaded on Blackboard though Safe Assign by 12:00 pm cst on Friday, May 2. Late papers will not be accepted.
ScholarMatic: Explanation & Answer
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