SCS 502 Final Project Guidelines and Rubric

Overview

The final project for this course is the creation of a credibility analysis of a research publication. The project is divided into three milestones, which will be

submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality final submissions. These milestones will be submitted in Modules Two, Four, and Six. The final product will be submitted in Module Nine.

In this assignment, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes:

● Analyze research designs used in the social sciences for how they produce valid and credible research

● Select research publications relevant to specific topics following appropriate standards and guidelines in the social sciences ● Assess the appropriateness of the claims made in published studies relevant to specific topics in the social sciences

● Interpret evidence in peer-reviewed research that support personal claims regarding a specific social sciences topic

Prompt

For this assessment, you will analyze and review a series of research publications for credibility, how the experiments have been designed, and how the authors’ results sections inform or do not inform their conclusions. You will choose a topic area which has three preselected research articles associated with it to perform your analysis; later in the assessment, you will be asked to locate an additional article that relates to this topic area. Following your analysis of all of the articles, you will reflect on them holistically and make claims about how they contribute to the understanding of the topic, and what future research into the topic area could explore.

Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:

I. Overview: For this part of the assessment, you will summarize the important information in the preselected studies that you have chosen in order to guide your analysis later in the assessment. This will include how the research was designed, as well as the results and conclusions that were reached.

A. Describe the research design of each of the preselected studies that you have chosen. Be sure to include the specific methodology as well as the hypothesis, the variables and details on the selection of participants.

B. Describe the results of each of the studies that you chose and how the results of the studies support or do not support the research hypothesis.

C. Describe the conclusions that the authors in each of the chosen studies reached based on their results.

II. Research Analysis: For this part of the assessment, you will begin your analysis of the studies that you have selected using the information that you have previously collected. Your analysis will focus on the research design of the studies, and how the conclusions are or are not supported by the results of the studies. Following your analysis of the preselected studies, you will research and select an additional study which pertains to the topic area.

A. Compare the research methodologies used in your chosen studies and explain why these methodologies were used over other methodologies. In other words, in your comparison you could include why methodologies are informed by the hypothesis created by the author of the study. Be sure to support your response with examples and support from the chosen studies.

B. Explain why the research designs of your chosen studies ensure that the study is or is not valid, reliable, and credible. Be sure to support your response with examples and support from the chosen studies.

C. Explain how the results of your chosen studies appropriately support the conclusions that were reached. If the results do not support the conclusions reached, briefly describe the more appropriate conclusions given the results presented. In other words, you could consider the results section and how the authors used that information to reach their conclusions, even if their claims are inaccurate.

D. Select an additional research article that aligns with the appropriate standards and guidelines used in the social sciences which would help inform future research into the topic area of the chosen studies. In other words, based on what the chosen studies have demonstrated about the topic area, what present research might inform future research in this area?

E. Explain how the article you chose follows the appropriate standards and guidelines of the field. Some questions to consider: Is the article peer reviewed? Is the article relevant to the topic? Is the article still currently relevant?

F. Explain how the research article you located would help inform future research into the topic area of your chosen studies. Be sure to support your response with examples and support from the chosen studies.

III. Reflection: For this part of the assessment, you will analyze the studies for how they contribute to their topic area. Be sure to provide examples and support from the studies presented in your research analysis and incorporate your personal claims and thoughts into your responses.

A. Describe how the evidence in the chosen studies contributes to the collective understanding of the topic.

B. Explain any new conclusions that you could reach about the topic area based on the evidence provided in your chosen studies. In other words, in

your interpretation of the evidence provided in the chosen studies, what conclusions can you reach that go beyond the research?

C. Predict what future research in the topic area of the chosen studies could explore.

Milestones

Milestone One: Reading & Summarizing

In Module Two, you will choose a set of preselected studies. Using these studies, you will summarize the important information in order to guide your analysis later in the course. This will include an overview of the methods used as well as the results and conclusions presented by the authors. This milestone will be graded with the Milestone One Rubric.

Milestone Two: Analyzing

In Module Four, you will begin your analysis of the previously selected studies using the information you presented in Milestone One. Your analysis will focus on a critique of the research design of the studies as well as the relationship between the design, the results generated from that design, and the conclusions drawn from those results. This milestone will be graded with the Milestone Two Rubric.

 

Milestone Three: Expanding Upon the Topic

In Module Six, you will research and select an additional study which pertains to the topic area you selected in the earlier milestone assignments. You will also evaluate the three studies you selected for their contribution to their topic area. Finally, you will integrate the information presented in the published studies and the information learned in this class to draw your own conclusions about the topic area using appropriate evidence to support your claims. This milestone will be graded with the Milestone Three Rubric.

Final Project Submission: Research Publication Credibility Analysis

In Module Nine, you will submit your final project. It should be a complete, polished artifact containing all of the critical elements of the final product. It should reflect the incorporation of feedback gained throughout the course. This submission will be graded with the Final Project Rubric (below).

Milestone

Deliverable

Deliverables Module Due

Two Four Six Nine

Grading

Graded separately; Milestone One Rubric

Graded separately; Milestone Two Rubric Graded separately; Milestone Three Rubric Graded separately; Final Project Rubric (below)

One Reading & Summarizing Two Analyzing

Three

Expanding Upon the Topic

Final Submission: Research Publication Credibility Analysis

 

Final Project Rubric

Guidelines for Submission: Your research analysis must be double spaced, with 12-point, Times New Roman font and research used is appropriately cited in APA

format.

Critical Elements Exemplary Proficient Needs Improvement Not Evident Value

Overview: Research Design [SCS-502-01]

Describes the research design of each of the selected studies and includes in response the hypothesis statement, independent and dependent variables, and participant selection (100%)

Describes the research design of each of the selected studies but description is cursory or is missing key elements (70%)

Does not describe the research design of the selected studies (0%)

8

Overview: Results

[SCS-502-03]

Describes the results of each of the chosen studies and how the results support or do not support the research hypothesis (100%)

Describes the results of each of the chosen studies and how the results support or do not support the research hypothesis but description is cursory or contains inaccuracies (70%)

Does not describe the results of each of the chosen studies and how the statistics support or do not support the research hypothesis (0%)

8

Overview: Conclusions [SCS-502-03]

Meets “Proficient” criteria and description demonstrates keen insight into the thought process used by the authors of the studies (100%)

Describes the conclusions that the authors in each of the studies reached based on their results (90%)

Describes the conclusions that the authors in each of the studies reached based on their results but description is cursory or contains inaccuracies (70%)

Does not describe the conclusions that the authors in each of the studies reached based on their results (0%)

8

Research Analysis: Research Methodologies [SCS-502-01]

Meets “Proficient” criteria and explains the appropriateness of the research design based on the hypotheses of the chosen studies (100%)

Compares the research methodologies used in the chosen studies and explains why those methodologies were used, supporting response with examples and support from the research (90%)

Compare the research methodologies used in the chosen studies and explains why those methodologies were used but explanation is cursory, contains inaccuracies, or does not support response with examples and support from the research (70%)

Does not compare the research methodologies used in the chosen studies and explain why those methodologies were used (0%)

8

 

Research Analysis: Valid, Reliable, and Credible [SCS-502-01]

Meets “Proficient” criteria and evidence referenced from the chosen studies makes cogent connections between how the methodology of a study ensures that it is or is not valid, reliable, and credible (100%)

Explains why the methodologies of the chosen studies ensure that the study is or is not valid, reliable, and credible, supporting response with examples and support from the research (90%)

Explains why the methodologies of the chosen studies ensure that the study is or is not valid, reliable, and credible but explanation is cursory, contains inaccuracies, or does not support response with examples and support from the research (70%)

Does not explain why the methodologies of the chosen studies ensure that the study is or is not valid, reliable, and credible