Problem Statement & Justification: EDIT 7320 Assignment Description

EDIT 7320
Problem Statement & Justification
Value: 10 points

6-5-08

Purpose
A research project begins with a problem or feeling of curiosity. After some initial reading for background, the next step is to compose a problem statement or question. The question serves as the focus for any research project. This final task in EDIT 7320 will be your first attempt to create a researchable question. Consider this assignment a first draft; the second draft comes next semester.

Full credit will be given for a complete submission. Qualitative feedback will be provided; I will expect to see this feedback incorporated into the next draft.

Parts of this assignment look much like the Research Idea Assignment completed early in the semester. Those parts may have evolved since then. If not, feel free to repeat them exactly as they were. I think, for most of you, evolution will have occurred as a natural part of the literature review process.

Redundancy disclaimer: with iterative assignment design, redundancy is written in. You should look at this as an opportunity to evolve as needed without penalty. Few people get it perfect the first time. (If you do, then you will merely copy/paste for the next round.)

Components

Working title (a colon helps)
The following statement (one sentence, if possible): My study is about...
Justification: bulleted statements of why you perceive this to be a problem worthy of research
Context: brief explanation of where this problem is situated - media center, classroom, etc.
Research Question: it should be one sentence, and it should be a question
Feedback table: in a two-column format, gather any previous feedback. State the feedback on the left (verbatim is fine), and your response on the right. This table will be continuous throughout your project; just keep adding to it.
Rubric with self-assessment

Format

Submit to the Dropbox, using WebCT filenaming guidelines.
Include the rubric in your submission.
Include as a prominent piece in your online Researcher's Virtual Notebook.

Evaluation Checklist

10 points maximum

Criterion	Value	Your assessment: (yes or no)	MAF's assessment
Answers the question "My study is about ____"	1	.	.
Includes tentative title	1
Indicates how this question is worthy of research	2
Provides enough context for readers to picture your problem situation	1
Research Question is a single sentence	1	.	.
Research Question is a question	1
Feedback from the past (if any) has been incorporated; feedback table created.	1
You self-assessed	1	.	.
Mechanics are not a problem	1	.	.

Total:

Comments

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