For the final milestone for your final project, 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 assignment will use the same three articles as you used in Milestones One and Two.
Be sure that your submission addresses the following critical elements:
Select an additional research article that aligns with the appropriate standards and guidelines of the field 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 help conduct future research in this area?
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?
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.
Describe how the evidence in the chosen studies (preselected and additional) contributes to the collective understanding of the topic.
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?
Predict what future research in the topic area of the chosen studies could explore.
In Milestone One you described the articles, and in Milestone Two you critiqued them. Now you will move onto a big-picture summary and future directions. See the following detailed instructions:
First you will need to conduct a literature search to find a new article in the same topic area as the other three papers. The “same topic area” has a small amount of room for interpretation. You have developed some expertise in the area so assume that you are introducing the topic to a new person—what additional article would you include that you believe would enhance their understanding of the topic as a logical next step? So long as you can justify this selection (a requirement of this milestone),then it should work. Make sure you have read and fully understand the article yourself before continuing.
Once you have found and are familiar with your new article, you are ready to start writing. Copy and paste the title page and reference list from Milestone Two into a new document. Hopefully the running head copies over as well, but if it does not, add that back in. Be sure to address any feedback from your instructor on these sections regarding proper APA style formatting so you have the best version moving forward.
Next, begin the new narrative by briefly describing the article you have chosen. This does not have to be in depth but must cover the following appropriate standards and guidelines:
Hypothesis
Participants
Brief overview of methods
Brief overview of results and discussion
This should be more in depth than an abstract but does not need to be as detailed as what you have written for Milestone One. Basically, you want to provide enough information that readers can form an opinion on the claims you will make later in this assignment. Also, discuss why you have decided this particular article is credible. Why should a reader trust this article? In addition to the questions posed in the guidelines, consider a similar review as you did for the other three articles in Milestone Two. Make sure to discuss reliability and validity.
Then, discuss how this particular article is relevant to the topic at hand. What does it add to the discussion that you found particularly meaningful? How would it guide someone as they considered future directions for research in this topic area?
Typically students choose articles that they consider credible, but if you have chosen an article that you do not feel is credible, discuss why you feel that it still has value in light of the concerns you outlined above. It is certainly possible that an article has value, even if the conclusions drawn are not credible.
Finally, reflect on the overall topic and the work done in all three milestones.
Discuss how this article contributes to the collective understanding of the topic. What is your current understanding of the topic? How did all four articles contribute to this understanding? Can you integrate all four articles into a cohesive overview? Is there conflicting information? How have you attempted to deal with that information?
Based on the evidence provided in your chosen articles, what new conclusion can be reached? What does it all mean? Be sure to consider your conclusions on the credibility of each article.
Predict one new idea for a future direction of the research. Given everything you have learned, what would you recommend for somebody wanting to take the next step in this topic area?
