Action Research Proposal: Literature Evaluation

[WLOs: 1, 2] [CLOs: 2, 3]

Assignment Overview and Context

Last week you worked on developing your area of focus based on an existing problem or challenge in early childhood education that you would like to change or improve. This week you will gain deeper insight into your area of focus by reviewing and evaluating literature related to your area of focus.

For this assignment, you will utilize appropriate databases and digital tools to identify two academic sources relevant to your action research area of focus. You will evaluate each source for research timeliness, relevancy, authority, accuracy, and purpose. You will identify, evaluate, review, and summarize these two relevant scholarly, credible, or peer-reviewed articles to inform your own action research proposal. The purpose of this assignment is to help you understand what others in the field have done to improve the same or similar challenges that you are interested in improving. Articles must be current, meaning each article must have been published in the past five years. For more information, watch the ECE660 Week 2 video (Links to an external site.) below.

Prepare

To prepare for this discussion, review the following resources as needed:

Use the UAGC Library or appropriate digital research tools (e.g., Google Scholar) to locate scholarly, credible, or peer-reviewed sources for this assignment. Remember, not all sources and articles in the UAGC Library are scholarly, so please be sure to refer to the Instructor Guidance for this week further tips and information on locating scholarly, peer reviewed journals.

RefWorks

Part of research is tracking and maintaining all the articles and other sources needed for your research. RefWorks is a tool available to UAGC students to help them save and organize resources for current and future research. Additionally, you can save your article notes (i.e., the information you included in the template used for the Week 2 discussion) using RefWorks. Review the RefWorks Notetaking and Peer-Sharing Guide (Links to an external site.) for more information. If this is your first time using RefWorks, review the following resources:

Write: Content Expectations

Using the ECE660 Week 2 Action Research Proposal Literature Evaluation Template  Download ECE660 Week 2 Action Research Proposal Literature Evaluation Template, similar to the one you used in the discussion this week, complete the below requirements. Keep in mind, in your final action research proposal, you will convert the information your added to the tables in the template into paragraph form.

  • Select two scholarly, credible, or peer-reviewed full-text articles related to your area of focus and research questions.
    • You may use the article you reviewed in the discussion this week as one of the two resources required for review and evaluation.
  • Summarize your area of focus and the associated problem statement or situation for your action research proposal.
  • Restate your research question.

Part 1: Article Summary Tables

For each of the two articles, complete one table with the following information below. Each section must be complete and add relevant information related to the article.

  • CRAAP Test: Evaluate each article for currency, relevancy, authority, accuracy, and purpose.
    • Provide the overall score and a narrative with a summary of your evaluation.
  • Title, Author, Year: Provide an accurate title, author, and year of publication.
  • RefWorks Link: Include the link to the location of the article saved in your RefWorks account.
  • Purpose of the Study: Explain the purpose of the study.
  • Subject/Participants: Discuss the subjects or participants involved in the study.
  • Variables: Identify the independent and dependent variables in the study.
  • Quantitative and/or Qualitative Instruments: Examine the instruments used to collect data, including any pertinent information on the validity and reliability of the instrumen
  • Interventions: Summarize the interventions used in the study to improve a situation or existing challenge that the research addressed.
  • Outcomes/Results: Explain what kind of evidence is used to support his/her claim
  • Implications: Examine the implications and conclusions of the study.
  • Relevance to Proposed Study: Appraise how the study relates to the challenge or situation you are interested in improving in your action research proposal.

Part 2: Literature Evaluation Table

Complete the summary table after completing each of the article summary tables. The purpose of this table is for you to synthesize information from the articles you reviewed to determine how each one will inform your own action research proposal, specifically focusing in the interventions and qualitative and quantitative instruments.

  • Literature Evaluation Table: Use the literature evaluation table to organize your decisions regarding which interventions and instruments are the most relevant to your own action research proposal, based on your two article summaries.

Part 3: Relevance, Terms and Application

  • Identify one early childhood theory that could be used to support your proposal.
  • Define research related terms.
  • Describe what intervention you would suggest and why.

Research and Resource Expectations

  • A minimum of two scholarly, credible or peer-reviewed sources, in addition to the course textbook, are required.

Next Steps

  • Review your assignment with the Grading Rubric to ensure you have achieved the distinguished levels of performance for each criterion. Submit the assignment for evaluation no later than Da

The Action Research Proposal: Literature Evaluation paper

Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA Style as outlined in the Writing Center. See the APA: Formatting Your References List (Links to an external site.) resource in the Writing Center for specifications.

Carefully review the Grading Rubric (Links to an external site.) for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignmen