Action Research Proposal – Introduction and Literature Review

[WLO: 1, 2][CLO: 5]

Last week you evaluated scholarly, peer-reviewed research to inform your own action research proposal. As we discussed last week, knowing what has been successful or unsuccessful in addressing the same or similar issues in early childhood education should inform how you approach your area of focus in designing your intervention and instruments.

The purpose of this week’s assignment is to synthesize the information you have on your topic to make informed decisions for your own intervention and instruments. This week, as noted in the content expectations below, you will generate the first two sections of your Action Research Proposal (Links to an external site.) Introduction and the Literature Review. You have already begun your work on your introduction in Week One and have begun your work in exploring the literature in Week Two. Informed by your Week One and Week Two assignments and instructor feedback/suggestions, you will revise and refine the content to generate your Introduction and Literature Review sections for your Action Research Proposal. Be sure to make any revisions suggested in Week One or Week Two by your instructor.

Next, you will work on your literature review section. The purpose of the literature review is to help you synthesize the information you gathered in Week Two to determine what types of strategies and interventions are currently being used by others who are interested in a similar area of focus and to make an informed decision about your own proposed intervention in your Action Research Proposal. Afterwards, you will state your own position about the intervention you will use in your own study and how the research informed your decision. Please be sure to carefully review the Instructor Guidance, the course Anchor Paper, and course readings for this week to inform the development of this assignment.

*Reminder to Students: Remember to save all copies of your work throughout the course as you will use each assignment as part of the Final Action Research Proposal. For many of the discussions and assignments, you are building on your work each week, so it is appropriate to use content from your discussions in your weekly assignments, generally expanding and extending concepts and sections as you progress from week to week. You will have the opportunity to make revisions to each section of your proposal based on instructor and peer feedback prior to your final version in the Final Action Research Proposal, so be sure to revisit the feedback you have received from your instructor and classmates each week to continuously refine your proposal throughout the course.

• Content Expectations
  The following content areas are required in this assignment.
  Introduction
  • Context for the Proposed Study: In one paragraph, describe your current professional role and setting. If you are not working in early childhood education at this time, you can use a previous or future role that aligns with your career goals and interests.
  • Purpose and Educational Significance: In one to two paragraphs, explain the purpose of your study and the student outcomes you want to influence. Further, discuss the literature or research that indicates why this is an important area to address in education.
  • Explanation of Problem: In two paragraphs, explain a statement of the problem or situation that led to this interest or why you want to pursue this topic.
  • Population: In one paragraph, describe the target population (age/grade, quantity of participants, students or adults). Explain why you have chosen this population for the study, including details about why this population is appropriate for this study.
  • One Research Question: Develop one research question that aligns with your area of focus and clearly addresses what you hope to answer and influence in this proposed study. The question needs to be answerable and it must appropriately represent the population/participants you identified. Be sure to review the readings related to developing good research questions to inform the development of your questions.
  • Locus of Control: In one paragraph, evaluate whether your idea is within your locus of control. If you are using a past experience or contrived topic because you are not currently working in ECE, please explain locus of control as related to your previous position or anticipated future position.
• Literature Review
  • Research Summary 1: Choose one of the articles from your Literature Evaluation to explain the intervention, strategies, procedures, and instruments used in the chosen study that have been found to be productive in investigating your topic and area of focus. Explain how this research informs your area of focus.
  • Research Summary 2: Choose one of the articles from your Literature Evaluation to explain the intervention, strategies, procedures, and instruments used in the chosen study that have been found to be productive in investigating your topic and area of focus. Explain how this research informs your area of focus.
  • Application of Findings and Author’s Position: Based on your review of the literature, determine the intervention that you will use to address your area of focus to influence the situation you want to improve. Discuss why you feel this is the best approach for your particular action research study and why you believe it meets the needs you have outlined in your introduction. Explain any changes you will make to the intervention you identify from the literature,  based on your own classroom, school, center, or organizational needs.
• Research and Resource Expectations
  • A minimum of four scholarly, peer-reviewed sources, in addition to the course textbook. Sources from your Literature Evaluation may be used.
• Writing and Formatting Expectations
  • Title Page: Must include a separate title page with the following:
    • Title of paper
    • Student’s name
    • Course name and number
    • Instructor’s name
    • Date submitted
  • Academic Voice: Academic Voice is used (avoids casual language, limited use of “I” or first person, it is declarative).
    Purpose and Organization: Demonstrates logical progression of ideas.
    Syntax and Mechanics: Writing displays meticulous comprehension and organization of syntax and mechanics, such as spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
    APA Formatting: Papers are formatted properly and all sources are cited and referenced in APA style as outlined 
• Suggested Assignment Length
  • This assignment should be approximately four double-spaced pages in length (not including title and reference pages).