Effective Communication in the Workplace (Military)

Running head: (PLUS TITLE- MAX 50 CHARACTERS)

2

Put the Title of Your Research Here
Student Name
Instructor Name
SMC-DL CL #
Date

A Written Project Presented to the Faculty of the Sergeants Major Academy Department of Distance Education

How to use this template: This template will show you how to format your paper, where to put headings and subheadings and what to include in each section. You may use this to help write your Capstone drafts and final submission. If you write your paper using this actual document, please be sure to delete all existing narrative but leave the headings and subheadings in place to make sure you have addressed all the criteria.
Additionally, please note that all in-text citations and references must be in APA format

Table of Contents

Topic and Problem 5
Topic 5
Problem Statement 5
Purpose of the Study (Sometimes known as Purpose Statement) 5
Research Questions and Strategy (Hypothesis) 5
Review 7
First Theme of the Review Discussed 8
Second Theme of the Review Discussed 8
Summary of Findings 8
Links to Professional Practice 8
Links to Policy: 9
Conclusion: 9
References 10

Topic and Problem

Provide a brief introduction to the research proposal. You don’t have to call this section Introduction, but introduce your assessment here. You should state which research approach you are using: action, quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods.

Topic

In this paragraph, you should introduce the topic and the provide information about the setting and context for this research. Include reasoning for choosing the topic.

Problem Statement

This should be a relatively brief section wherein you state the problem that your research is attempting to address. Be sure to state the problem clearly and help your reader understand why it is a problem that could be addressed by collecting and analyzing data.

You might want to start with the following stem

:
There is a problem in ___. Despite __ (something that should be happening) __ is occurring.  This problem has negatively impacted ___ (victims of the problem) because ___.  A possible cause of this problem is ____.  Perhaps a study which investigates ___ by ___ (methodology) could remedy the situation.

Purpose of the Study (Sometimes known as Purpose Statement)

In this section, you will establish what you hope to accomplish as a result of this research. Additionally, you will describe in detail why this research is important. How would it add to the field of knowledge in your discipline? Why would others want to know about it? What makes it significant?

Research Questions and Strategy (Hypothesis)

Provide at least one guiding question (1–3 required) and discuss the resources you will use to examine the issue (strategy). A guiding question (or research question) describes the purpose of your essay. The question(s) is/are strongly tied to the broad topic and the issue you have identified in the problem statement.
This section will be followed by a literature review addressing the topic and problem. You will reference current published materials (doctrine, peer-reviewed articles, etc.) to explain what is known about the issue. Provide an overview of the strategies you will use to identify relevant and current resources related to the topic. Identify at least two strategies you will employ to locate resources.
In this section, you will present your research question(s) and hypothesis, if appropriate. Whichever approach you take (qualitative, quantitative, mixed- methods, or action research), you should state your research questions in a numbered list like this:
1. Here is my first research question?
2. Here is my second research question, etc.?
Please note there are differences in the way you state research questions depending on a quantitative or qualitative study.
A great model for quantitative research question
is, What is the effect of X on Y? In this example x= the independent variable and y= the dependent variable. A more specific example might be, What is the effect of using virtual manipulatives with 6th graders on year-end science tests? Note that this question would require some kind of achievement test, which is a common paper and pencil method in quantitative studies.
For qualitative studies, remember you are trying to understand a topic or phenomenon more deeply.
Try to use words like How and What
.
For example
, How do parents feel about mainstreaming in public high schools? Or, What are the best approaches for teaching math to dyslexic elementary-age students? Note that these questions will likely involve interviews or observations, which are the primary methods in qualitative studies. See this URL for more information: http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/22782_Chapter_7.pdf
After your research question, you will state your hypothesis if your research is going to be quantitative. Hypotheses can be either directional or non-directional. For example, An afterschool reading program will increase reading comprehension scores, is a directional hypothesis. If your research is going to be qualitative you should not state a hypothesis. Be sure to discuss the expected relationship between the independent and dependent variables.

Review

Conduct a literature review of 6 or more scholarly (i.e., articles that are reviewed by experts in the field before the article is published) or doctrinal resources related to the topic and problem you have established for your capstone project. The literature review should be a discussion of the related literature, organized by topic or themes (not a list of sources). A literature review includes synthesis, analysis, and critique of scholarly articles, textbooks, doctrinal manuals, or other sources. For more information read Chapters 5 and 6 of Succeeding with Your Review: A Handbook for Students by Dr. Paul Oliver (located in Blackboard).
Make sure that your literature review explains how the literature relates to the problem statement and research questions, and includes relevant and important past research. In your first paragraph or two, you should introduce the topics or themes that emerged as you did your lit review. You might state something like….”The review of literature revealed three major themes. These include…” and then state the topics or themes which you will discuss fully under the appropriate subheading below. Be sure you know the difference between a lit review and an annotated bibliography! These two documents are completely different.

Remember, this is a synthesis of literature, not a listing of your sources. You would synthesize your research on your problem into themes and construct a narrative, underpinned with your sources as citations.

Be sure to update your table of contents to match the headings you chose for your themes.

First Theme of the Review Discussed

Don’t use the wording above for this subheading, instead put in your own words according to what the theme is. In this section you will fully discuss the literature you have reviewed in relation to the first theme or topic and discuss how it relates back to the research question.

Second Theme of the Review Discussed

Again, don’t use the wording above for this subheading, instead put in your own words according to what your theme is. In this section you will fully discuss the literature you have reviewed in relation to the second theme or topic and discuss how it relates back to the research question. Repeat this again for any subsequent themes.

Summary of Findings

Provide a summary and conclusions that interprets how the literature applies to the problem being investigated. This section indicates what you discovered during the review of literature on the topic, and identifies any themes you may have uncovered throughout the literature.

Links to Professional Practice

In this component, provide a brief discussion of the following aspects:
1. Discussion of how this research topic and resultant literature review relates to your professional setting.
2. Discuss the research hypotheses (from Chapter 1), if appropriate, including the following elements: relationship between the variables of the hypothesis, relationship of the hypothesis to the research question, and the relationship of the hypothesis to the literature review.
· How was your literature review useful in your professional practice or work environment?
· What have you learned that is most significant to the topic?
· How can the information be applied to your professional practice as a senior enlisted leader?

Links to Policy:

· What new Army policy, or current policy reform, might be necessary to address the topic/issue?
· What are your recommendations as a senior enlisted leader?

Conclusion:

Summarize and conclude your paper

References

You should provide a reference list that lists all of your references in APA format. Please see the OWL at Purdue – APA styling: (https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/05/)