Course Outline 603.23 Winter 2013 Eaton

1

University of CalgaryFaculty of Education - Office of Graduate Programs in Education

EDER 603.23 - Writing Educational ResearchWinter 2013

Instructor: Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D. Office: onlinePhone: (403) 244-9015 Office Hours: by appointmentEmail: [email protected] Skype: Sarah Elaine Eaton

Term Dates:January 8 – April 16, 2013

No Classes:Reading Week - no classes Sunday, February 17 - Sunday, February 24, 2013Family Day- Monday, February 18, 2013Good Friday - Friday, March 29, 2013

Elluminate Sessions: TBD

Course Description:

This course will focus on examining and developing the skills associated with crafting an academic paper. Topics will include genres and purposes of academic writing, and venues for presentation and publication. An academic paper is more than a compilation of a literature review, some relevant information, and a conclusion. An acceptable paper- whether intended for an academic or a professional audience, and whether a research report or a theoretical-philosophical argument – takes a clearly defined topic or idea, situates it in the current literature, and supports it with a well-structured discussion. The principal intensions of this course are to introduce students to the various structures of academic and professional papers and to provide support in their efforts to craft and publish their written work.

A traditional approach to writing educational research involves first learning about writing, then learning to write. Learners first study sample texts, analyzing them and then dissecting them, examining their structure, argument and style. The next step often involves producing an original piece of writing that mimics the style, tone and structure of the sample text. The final step is to integrate elements of the student’s own voice and style with elements of the texts they have previously studied. The rationale behind this approach is that students must first learn what counts as excellent writing by learning about writing. Only then are they prepared to write themselves.

This course takes a non-traditional approach to learning to write for scholarly or professional purposes. Students will focus on writing, revising, and incorporating feedback. That is to say, students will spend the majority of their time in this course focused on learning to write for research purposes, rather than learning about writing.

mailto:[email protected]

2

Assumptions:

We take this non-traditional approach in part, because we assume that students have already learned about writing through their own professional journey and previous studies. Given that students have already taken previous research courses, we assume that they have learned how to read and dissect a research article.

We expect that students enrolled in this course already have a solid grasp on concepts such as:General vs. specialized writingReporting vs. interpretingFact-based writing vs. speculationProfessional journals vs. academic journalsEmpirical vs. interpretive researchPeer-reviewed (open, blind, and double-blind) vs. Non-refereed

Given this previous experience, we will focus on taking students to the next level. In other words, we will focus on supporting students as they produce their own original research writing and build writing skills as a researcher and as a professional.

Likewise, Belcher (2009) contends revision and improving drafts is an essential component of scholarly writing with a focus on the macro aspects of writing, such as developing a succinct and logical argument with a clearly organized structure. The emphasis in the course will be on the micro aspects of academic and professional writing, peer revision and ultimately preparation for publishing or sharing your work to a broader academic or professional audience.

Learner Outcomes:

Participate and contribute to online scholarly community of inquiry during synchronous sessions and asynchronous discussions Select and examine academic papers in the field and compare and contrast structures Produce authentic, original academic or professional writing through assigned learning tasksProvide constructive feedback to peersRevise and re-submit writing based on feedback

Course Design and Delivery

This is an online course. Students are expected to participate in the asynchronous learning tasks using the Blackboard learning environment and synchronous whole-class Elluminate sessions. We recognize the importance of working in collaboration with others and learning with others in a scholarly community of inquiry and have designed learning tasks accordingly. As part of learning task #1, ongoing contribution to the discussion forum is required regularly throughout each week of the course. Peers will depend on your participation and shared commitment to foster a collaborative knowledge-building environment. Learning task #2 will provide students with an opportunity to co-author with a peer. Finally, learning task #3 will support individuals in developing an in-depth manuscript with peer-review.

The instructor’s role is to facilitate the course work and to support students as they engage in the learning tasks; to provide students with ongoing, timely and constructive feedback to further their learning and growth in writing educational research.

3

Required Readings:

Books

Belcher, W. L. (2009). Writing your journal article in 12 weeks: A guide to academic publishing success. SAGE Publications, Inc. URL: http://www.sagepub.com/books/Book231055#tabview=title

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. (2010). (Sixth ed.). Washington, D.C: American Psychological Association.

Online readings (no cost):

Basics of APA Style (Tutorial): http://www.apastyle.org/learn/tutorials/basics-tutorial.aspx

U of C Graduate Studies Calendar (Section on Academic Honesty and Plagiarism) http://www.ucalgary.ca/pubs/calendar/current/k-2-1.html

University of Calgary Research Services: Ethics Support, Online: http://www.ucalgary.ca/research/ethics University of Calgary Conjoint Faculties Research Ethics Board (CFREB), Online: http://www.ucalgary.ca/research/compliance/cfreb TCPS 2 - CORE Tutorialhttp://www.ucalgary.ca/research/ethics/CORE_Tutorial

Suggested supplementary readings:

Workbook Forms to accompany Belcher’s text - http://www.wendybelcher.com/pages/WorkbookForms.htm

Learning Tasks Overview:

LEARNING TASK NUMBER

DESCRIPTION OF LEARNING TASK

PERCENT OF FINAL GRADE

GROUPING FOR TASK

Learning Task #1 Participation in and Contribution to Online Scholarly Community

35% Individual

Learning Task # Presentation and Facilitation of One of the Weekly Course Topics.

35% Group

Learning Task #3 Major Writing Assignment: Journal Article/ Academic Conference Paper

30% Individual

http://www.wendybelcher.com/pages/WorkbookForms.htm

http://www.ucalgary.ca/research/ethics

http://www.ucalgary.ca/research/compliance/cfreb


http://www.ucalgary.ca/pubs/calendar/current/k-2-1.html

http://www.apastyle.org/learn/tutorials/basics-tutorial.aspx

http://www.sagepub.com/books/Book231055#tabview=title

4

Weekly Course Schedule:

A detailed, suggested daily schedule of Course Topics. This schedule may change to meet the emerging needs and dynamics of the participants in the course.

Date Topic Class content Reading / Assignments Due

Jan. 7 to 13 Course Introduction and

Expectations of Writing Educational Research

Discussion Forum –

Provide self-introduction in the Blackboard Discussion forum. In your introduction, you may wish to share information about what you do professionally, your scholarly interests, your challenges and positive experiences with writing (see Belcher p.2-4 for ideas). You may also add a photo or yourself.

Question Bank:Why do we reference and cite others?What impact does APA have on you as a researcher?How will you learn the rigorous style of APA for your citations, references and papers?What are ethics and why do they matter?

Self-introduction due by Friday, January 11 by 11:59 p.m. Mountain time.

Basics of APA Style (Tutorial): http://www.apastyle.org/learn/tutorials/basics-tutorial.aspx

U of C Graduate Studies Calendar (Section on Academic Honesty and Plagiarism) http://www.ucalgary.ca/pubs/calendar/current/k-2-1.html

University of Calgary Research Services: Ethics Support, Online: http://www.ucalgary.ca/research/ethics University of Calgary Conjoint Faculties Research Ethics Board (CFREB), Online: http://www.ucalgary.ca/research/compliance/cfreb TCPS 2 - CORE Tutorialhttp://www.ucalgary.ca/research/ethics/CORE_Tutorial

Jan. 14 to 20

Designing your plan for writing and Starting your article

Group #1 - Pecha Kucha-style presentation and facilitation of the discussion board for the week.

Belcher - Introduction and Chapter 1 -- pp. xi - 42 and

Jan. 21 to 27

Starting your article Group #2 - Pecha Kucha-style presentation and facilitation of the discussion board for the week.

Belcher - Chapter 2 - pp. 43 - 66

Jan. 28 to Feb. 3

Advancing your argument



Feb. 4 to 10 Selecting a journal Group #4 - Pecha Kucha-style presentation and facilitation of the discussion board for the week.


Feb. 11 to 16

Beginning to think about your final paper

Elluminate session #1- Date TBD Note: This week concludes on Saturday, February 16. All postings must be in by 11:59 p.m. on Saturday night.











5

Feb. 17 to 24

Reading Week - No classes Sunday, February 17 - Sunday, February 24, 2013

Feb. 25 to March 3

Reviewing the related literature



March 4 to 10

Strengthening your structure and Presenting your evidence


Belcher - Chapter 6 - pp. 171 - 188 and Belcher - Chapter 7 - pp. 189 to 200

March 11 to 17

Opening and concluding your article



March 18 to 24

Giving, getting and using others’ feedback and Editing your sentences


Belcher - Chapter 9 - pp. 221 - 234 and Chapter 20 - pp. 235 - 266

March 25 to 31

Tips for preparing your outline

Elluminate session - #2 - Date TBD Note: No classes on Good Friday - Friday, March 29, 2013Final paper outline due by Sunday, March 31, 2012 by 11:59 p.m. Mountain Time

April 1 to 7 Wrapping up your article and sending it.


Belcher - Chapter 11 - pp. 267 to 270 and Chapter 12 - pp. 271 to 286

April 8 to 14

Responding to journal decisions


Belcher - Final chapter - pp. 287 - 320

April 15 to 16

Course wrap up. No discussion board postings this week.

Final paper and Reflections and Rationale (2 separate documents) due by Tuesday, April 16, 2013 by 11:59 p.m. Mountain Time

Changes to Schedule: Please note that changes to the schedule may occur in response to student questions and conversations.

Learning Tasks and Assessment

There are three (3) required Learning Tasks for this course. Post any questions to the instructor using the Q&A forum or via email.

1. Learning Task 1: Participation in and Contribution to Online Scholarly Community (35%)

Due: ongoing, January 8 to April 16, 2012

Active participation in the course discussion board, a minimum of once per week throughout the course. You are expected to contribute a minimum of two to three paragraphs per week to the class discussion on the assigned weekly readings and course topics.

6

This learning task involves not only posting your own original contributions, but also providing feedback to peers. Reflect on the assigned readings and presentations. Discuss these in some depth with your classmates. Consolidate ideas, formulate questions, and demonstrate deep reflection, etc. Students are expected to demonstrate professional deportment in an online learning environment and to use the discussion board as a virtual space to develop an online community of scholarship as graduate students.

Scholarly writing is expected and all writing in the discussion forum should be in APA style. When appropriate, APA citations are to be used.

Due date: This is an ongoing component of the course. You are expected to contribute regularly and on a weekly basis. Your instructor encourages you to contribute by the Wednesday of each week in order to provide more opportunity for ongoing discussion. At the latest, your contributions for the week must be posted by Sunday evening 11:59 p.m. Mountain Time each week of the course.

Overall tasks required:

· Reflections on assigned readings and presentation each week.· Friday, January 11 by 11:59 p.m. Mountain time.

Criteria For Assessment of Learning Task 1

Criteria “Surface” Discourse: Does not meet requirements (B- to B)

Meets Requirements for Scholarly Discourse (B+ to A-)

Deeper Scholarly Discourse: Meets All and Exceeds Some Requirements (A to A+)

Constructive Uses of Authoritative Sources

Readings are summarized with little or no critical analysis or thoughtful interpretation.

You critically evaluate information sources and recognize that even the best are fallible.

You draw upon content from the readings and experiences, along with additional information sources, as data for one’s own knowledge building and ideas-improving processes.

Democratizing Knowledge

You add your contribution with little recognition of others in the group.

You recognize and praise everyone’s work and help others find needed information.

You treat all participants as legitimate contributors to the shared goals of the community; all have a sense of ownership of knowledge advances achieved by the group.

Epistemic Agency

You demonstrate a personal sense of direction, power, motivation, and responsibility.

You mobilize personal strengths to set forth your ideas and to negotiate a fit between personal ideas and ideas of others.

You mobilize personal strengths to set forth your ideas and to negotiate a fit between personal ideas and ideas of others, using contrasts to spark and sustain knowledge advancement rather than depending on others to chart that course for you.

7

Idea Diversity

You participate in brainstorming different ideas.

You play an active role in putting forward different ideas to create a dynamic environment.

You play an active role in putting forward different ideas to create a dynamic environment in which contrasts, competition, and complementarity of ideas is evident, creating a rich environment for ideas to evolve into new and more refined forms.

Improvable Ideas

You accept or reject ideas as truth on the basis of logical argument and evidence.

You treat all ideas as factual, informed by argument and evidence, and improvable.

You treat all ideas as improvable by aiming to mirror the work of great thinkers in gathering and weighing evidence, and ensuring that explanations cohere with all available evidence.

Knowledge Building Discourse

Your contribution to discourse allows participants to express and gain feedback on their ideas, defend different points of view, arrive at conclusions.

Your contribution to discourse serves to identify shared problems and gaps in understanding.

Your contribution to discourse serves to identify shared problems and gaps in understanding and to advance understanding beyond the level of the most knowledgeable individual.

Scholarly Writing

Non-scholarly writing is presented

Scholarly writing – mostly using APA writing style with some editing considerations to achieve clarity.

Clear scholarly writing in APA writing style.

APA citations You tend not to cite sources using APA standards.

You consistently cite sources using APA standards with very few errors.

You consistently cite sources using APA standards, paying particular attention to details, resulting in error-free citations.

Frequency of contributions

Your contributions average less than once per week.

You contribute a minimum of once per week.

You contribute a minimum of twice per week.

2. Learning Task 2: Presentation and Facilitation of One of the Weekly Course Topics (35%)

This group assignment is comprised of three discrete, yet inter-related components:1. Presentation2. Group discussion facilitation3. Confidential peer evaluation

8

Due dates:

Part 1: Presentation due: Monday morning at 9:00 a.m. Mountain time.Part 2: Group discussion facilitation: Ongoing throughout the week, starting at Monday morning at 9:00 a.m. Mountain time and concluding Sunday evening at 11:59 p.m.Part 3: Peer evaluation is e-mailed to your instructor by Tuesday at 11:59 p.m. of the week following your facilitation.

This is a group project. You are responsible for one entire chapter of Belcher’s book. Your main goal is to ensure that your classmates understand the key points of the chapter so that they can apply this new knowledge to their own scholarly writing. This assignment is comprised of three discrete, yet inter-related components.

Part 1: Develop a Pecha Kucha-style presentation (20 images x 20 seconds) designed to highlight the key points of the weekly reading. Your presentation should include narration (20 seconds per slide). Though you may use any technology you wish to develop your presentation (e.g. PowerPoint, Keynote, etc.) ultimately, your presentation should be presented to the class in a format that is accessible to all students (e.g. ideally Vimeo or YouTube). Please note that Blackboard has limited disk usage capabilities and may not handle large multimedia files very well. If you have the ability to post a link to a video site, this helps to avoid exceeding the allowed space for our course.

Your presentation is a group endeavour, but the final result should be one cohesive, seamless presentation, rather than “chunks” of individual presentations poorly linked together. Your objective is to work together as a team to produce a final product that this polished, scholarly and ultimately aids in other students’ understanding of they key concepts of the chapter you are responsible for.

Resources to aid in the design and development of your presentation:

http://www.pechakucha.org/http://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/magazine/15-09/st_pechakuchahttp://avoision.com/pechakucha

Part 2: Facilitate the class discussion for the week. This includes responding to student comments and feedback, providing supportive feedback in a professional manner as a peer presenter, adding additional resources as appropriate. At least one member of your group will facilitate at least once per day during the week. All group members must actively participate in the facilitation of the class discussion.

Part 3: Peer evaluation. Even though this is a group assignment, grades will be assigned on an individual basis. The final component of this assignment is to provide to your instructor an assessment of your group peers, using the feedback form provided by your instructor. This evaluation will be used to assist with the assignment of grades to individual group members.

E-mail your instructor the peer evaluation form after you have completed it. Do not send it to your group members or post it on Blackboard. This is your confidential assessment of your peers.


Criteria Does not meet requirements (B- to B)

Meets Requirements (B+ to A-)

Meets all and exceeds some requirements (A to A+)

http://avoision.com/pechakucha

http://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/magazine/15-09/st_pechakucha

http://www.pechakucha.org/

9

Presentation deadline

Your presentation was posted after the deadline of Monday morning at 09:00 Mountain time.

Your presentation was posted by the deadline of Monday morning at 09:00 Mountain time.

Your presentation was posted prior to the deadline of Monday morning at 09:00 Mountain time.

Pecha-Kucha format

Your presentation did not follow the Pecha Kucha format or exceeded the 6:40 time limit.

Your presentation followed the Pecha Kucha format.

Your presentation followed the Pecha Kucha format in a captivating and compelling manner.

Presentation organization

Your presentation had no discernible introduction, body or conclusion; or your presentation was poorly organized.

Your presentation had a clear introduction, body and conclusion.

Your presentation had a clear introduction, body and conclusion, with each section transitioning seamlessly into the other.

Key ideas Ineffective presentation of key ideas.

Effective presentation of key ideas of your topic.You explicitly define and highlight the central points of your chapter.

Effective presentation of key ideas of your topic.You explicitly define and highlight the central points of your chapter in a compelling and memorable manner. Your classmates will remember the main ideas because of your stellar presentation of key ideas.

Presentation coherence and flow

Your presentation appeared disjoined or appeared to be a patchwork of individual presentations, rather than one coherent presentation.

Your presentation was coherent and flowed seamlessly from one slide to the next.

Your presentation was coherent and flowed seamlessly from one slide to the next. The final result was a presentation that was captivating and engaging.Presenters fully embrace the challenge of offering a compelling and persuasive presentation in a very short time period.

Group facilitation frequency

Group members do not actively facilitate the class discussion on a daily basis during the week you are facilitating.

Group members actively facilitate the class discussion on a daily basis during the week you are facilitating.

Group members actively facilitate the class discussion more at least twice per day during the week you are facilitating.

Group facilitation

No or minimal interaction with the class. One-word responses or replies that do little to further the discussion.

You provide clear and helpful support to your peers in a manner that engages further thoughtful discussion.

You provide clear and helpful support to your peers in a manner that engages further thoughtful discussion, adding additional resources to the discussion. Your enthusiastic facilitation continually co-constructs knowledge with your classmates throughout the week.

10

Peer evaluation deadline

You missed deadline or required an extension to complete the work.

Your confidential peer evaluation was submitted via e-mail to your by the deadline of the Tuesday morning at 09:00 Mountain time, of the week following your group facilitation.

Your confidential peer evaluation was submitted via e-mail to your prior to the deadline of the Tuesday morning at 09:00 Mountain time, of the week following your group facilitation.

Peer evaluation substance

There was a lack of peer review or the peer review was not constructive.

You assign each group member a “peer review letter grade”. You add commentary that justifies the grade you have assigned.

You assign each group member a “peer review letter grade”. You add commentary that justifies the grade you have assigned, providing clear, helpful and fair assessment.

Scholarly Writing

Non-scholarly writing is presented

Scholarly writing – mostly using APA writing style with some editing considerations to achieve clarity.

Clear scholarly writing in APA writing style.

APA citations

You tend not to cite sources using APA standards.

You consistently cite sources using APA standards with very few errors.

You consistently cite sources using APA standards, paying particular attention to details, resulting in error-free citations.

3. Learning Task 3: Major Writing Assignment – Final Paper (30%)

Using the content you have learned in this course as a foundation, develop an original article manuscript (in the form of a final paper for this course) that is suitable for submission to an academic journal for consideration for publication.

You may write on any scholarly subject that interests you, but the topic must clearly address a problem of practice or a research question. As this assignment includes reviewing current journals in your field, your chosen topic should also align with the journal you have selected. Your intended audience for your final paper is not only your instructor, but also the journal’s editors, reviewers and readers.

This final learning task is as much process-oriented, as it is product-oriented. You are to demonstrate that you have thoughtfully engaged in the writing process from concept through to final production, keeping in mind the objective of producing a paper that is worthy of submission to an academic, peer-reviewed journal.

Note: It is not a requirement of this course that you submit your final paper to the journal as a manuscript, although you may if you wish. One objective of your final paper is to begin to think differently about your scholarly writing, so that you are no longer simply writing a final paper for your courses for a grade, but also thinking about the larger context for your writing and sharing your written work beyond the context of a given course.

As you are going through the process of selecting your journal, focus on peer-reviewed journals, rather than newsletters or journals that are not peer reviewed. You are strongly encouraged to consult with your instructor through this process.

This learning task is comprised of three discrete, yet inter-related components:

11

1. Concise final paper outline.2. Final paper.3. Rationale and reflection.←Due dates:

Part 1: Two-page outline due by Sunday, March 31, 2012 by 11:59 p.m. Mountain TimePart 2: Final paper due by Tuesday, April 16, 2013 by 11:59 p.m. Mountain TimePart 3: Rationale and reflection due by Tuesday, April 16, 2013 by 11:59 p.m. Mountain Time←Details of your learning task

Part 1: Two-page outline

Provide a concise 1.5 to 2-page outline (exclusive of references) that clearly outlines your introduction, body (main points and supporting points), preliminary recommendations and conclusion.

Include at least 5 references formatted according to APA style.

Part 2: Final paper

One objective of your final paper is to begin to think differently about your scholarly writing, so that you are no longer simply writing a final paper for your courses for a grade, but also thinking about the larger context for your writing and sharing your written work beyond the context of a given course.

Elements of your final paper include, but are not limited to:

Length Ten (10) pages maximum, exclusive of title page, abstract, references and appendices.

Style APA Style throughout. Consult your APA Publication Manual (6th Ed.) for guidance on writing style.

Format APA formatting throughout including but not limited to: title page, running head, headers page numbers, double-spaced, 1-inch margins, 12 pt. serif font such as Times New Roman.

Resource to help you:

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

Part 3: Rationale and reflection

A two to three page document submitted under a separate cover that includes reflections about the scholarly writing process, along with information about the journal you have selected as a potential target for your paper. Using what you have learned from Belcher’s text, select a journal that would be an appropriate target to submit your final paper to as a manuscript for consideration. Provide a rationale about why you have selected this journal. Include:

• The complete title of the journal.• An active URL for the journal’s website.• Information about the journal’s submission guidelines.• Your rationale for choosing this journal.

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

12

You are encouraged to dialogue with your instructor throughout the writing process. Post any questions to the instructor using the Q&A forum or via email.


Criteria Does not meet requirements (B- to B)

Meets Requirements (B+ to A-)

Meets all and exceeds some requirements (A to A+)

Outline submission

You do not submit your outline by the deadline or require an extension.

You submit your outline by the deadline.

You submit your outline prior to the deadline.

Outline length

Your outline is less than 1.5 pages or exceeds the 2-page limit (exclusive of references).

Your outline is between 1.5 and 2 pages.

Your outline maximizes the allowable length of 1.5 to 2 pages.

Outline - APA formatting

Your outline does not follow the general formatting preferences of APA.

Your outline follows the general formatting preferences of APA: 1-inch margins, 12-point serif font, but uses single spacing.

Your outline demonstrates exemplary use of the general formatting preferences of APA: 1-inch margins, 12-point serif font, but uses single spacing.

Outline - References

Your outline contains fewer than 5 scholarly references. Your references are not formatted using APA or contain many APA errors.

You include at least 5 scholarly references formatted with few APA errors.

You include at least 5 scholarly references accurately cited using APA format

Final paper -Submission

You do not submit your final paper by the deadline; or require an extension; or you submit multiple versions or corrected revisions of your final paper.

You submit your final paper by the deadline via e-mail to your instructor with no cover letter in the body of your message.

You submit one final “clean” copy of your final paper by the deadline to your instructor via e-mail with an appropriate cover letter in the body of your e-mail.

Final paper - Writing

Non-scholarly writing is presented or your writing does not adhere to APA style.

Presents scholarly writing. Presents exemplary scholarly writing that requires little to no editing and demonstrates adherence to APA standards.

Final paper - Language register

Your writing is colloquial or employs a language register that is too casual or intimate for a scholarly paper.

You employ a consultative language register that is mostly free of colloquialisms.

You employ a consultative or formal register that strikes a balance between scholarly discourse and plain language, without using language that is of such a high register that it obfuscates your intended meaning.

13

Final paper - Spelling, grammar and structure

Your paper contains many spelling, grammar or structural errors.

Your paper contains very few spelling, grammar or structural errors.

Your paper is free of spelling, grammar and structural errors. You have employed consistent spelling throughout your paper, according to the preferences of the journal you have chosen and APA standards.

Final paper - length

Your final paper is shorter than 9 pages or exceeds the 10 page limit, exclusive of title page, abstract, references and appendices.

Your final paper is shorter than is 9 to 10 pages in length, exclusive of title page, references and appendices.

Your final paper is shorter than is 9 to 10 pages in length, exclusive of title page, references and appendices. You maximize the allowable submission length to create a pithy, concise and compelling research paper.

Final paper - title

The title of your final paper is vague or non-descriptive.

A clear title to your final paper is provided.

Your title is direct, clear powerful invitation describing article, suggesting argument or implications; includes searchable keywords in title.

Final paper - Abstract keywords

You do not provide keywords in your abstract

You provide a minimum of 3 precise keywords in your abstract.

You provide a minimum of 5 to 10 precise keywords in your abstract.

Final paper - Abstract content

Your abstract is missing, poorly written or disorganized.

You provide a clear, well-organized abstract for your paper.

Your provide a clear, well-organized, pithy and compelling abstract for your paper.

Final paper - Introduction

No discernible introduction, or the introduction is poorly written.

The paper starts with a clear introduction that clearly identifies the point of your paper.

Your paper starts with a gripping first sentence.The introduction clearly establishes the value of your paper.

The introduction serves as a “road map” to the reader; articulates originality, the topic’s novelty, appeal, timely interest, what’s new about the work and draws upon relevant literature.

Final paper - Organization & structure

Your writing is not clearly organized. No clear structure is discernible. Main ideas are difficult to identify.

Your article is clearly organized.

Ideas are clearly expressed.

Your work provides a compelling opening (anecdotal, subject, critical, significance, historical or argumentative) and conclusion that summarizes in a powerful way pointing beyond the article.

Your article is clearly organized with explicit APA headings and subheadings for structure.

14

Final paper - Context

No clear context for the research is provided.

Your research is clearly situated within the current and historical research or professional context, relating it to previous work conducted in the field.

Clearly describes the context for the problem of practice (i.e. may be related to previously completed literature review, your own classroom problem, an innovation you would like to design or try out, an action-research project, capstone project idea, etc.).

Your research is clearly situated within the current and historical research or professional context, relating it to previous work conducted in the field.

Your work adds an original and fresh perspective to the ongoing conversation and debate on your chosen topic.

Final paper - Argument

No clear argument is evident, or the argument is weak.Argument is illogical.

Your work develops and delivers a coherent, clear and logical argument, supported by pertinent examples and data.

Your work develops and delivers a coherent, clear and logical argument, supported by pertinent examples and data.

Expresses a coherent point of view intended to influence and persuade; directed to a broad academic audience.

Your work demonstrates a sophisticated development of your argument following scholarly writing techniques.

Final paper - Significance

Your paper presents no clear rationale or does not clearly demonstrate the significance of your work.

Clearly describes the rationale for the work, linking it to other relevant and current works in the field.

Clearly describes the rationale for the work, explicitly situating your research in the current context of research in your field. You articulate the difference this work is intended to make for other professionals or scholars and demonstrates why readers should care about it.

Final paper - Conclusions

A clearly articulated conclusion is not provided or the conclusion is poorly constructed.

The conclusion clearly and succinctly summarizes the argument.

Summarizes argument and restates the article’s relevance to literature. The conclusion points beyond the article to the larger context, highlighting its significance and provides direction for future research.

15

Final paper - Reference

Your paper contains fewer than 8 scholarly references or your references are incomplete or missing.

You pay little attention to APA standards.

Contains cited references with few APA errors.

Contains a complete list of references, accurately cited using APA format.

Rationale and Reflection -

You have not provided an additional reflective document containing your rationale and reflections about your final paper; or you have included it as part of your final research paper instead of submitting it as a separate document.

You provide a separate document containing your rationale for selecting a particular journal as a potential publication to which you might submit your final paper as a manuscript.

You provide a separate document containing your rationale for selecting a particular journal as a potential publication to which you might submit your final paper as a manuscript, linking your research topic to the journal with precision and thoughtfulness.

Rationale and Reflection - Journal selection

You have not targeted your final paper towards a particular journal or no active journal URL has been provided.

You provide an active URL for the selected conference or journal.Includes expectations and considerations for submissions

Provides a clear rationale for selecting a current and authentic conference/journal.

Provides an active URL for the selected conference or journal.Includes expectations and considerations for submissions.

Rationale and Reflection - Journal submission guidelines

You have not provided your selected journal’s writing and guidelines.

You have provided a copy of your selected journal’s writing and submission guidelines.

You have provided a copy of your selected journal’s writing and submission guidelines with a description of how your final paper adheres to these guidelines.

(Note: If there are differences between the journal submission guidelines, and APA standards, for the purposes of this course, APA standards take precedence.)

16

Grading Scale

Distribution of GradesGrade GP Value Graduate Description A+ 4.0 Outstanding

A 4.0 Excellent - superior performance showing comprehensive understanding of the subject matter

A- 3.7 Very good performance B+ 3.3 Good performance B 3.0 Satisfactory performance

Note: The grade point value (3.0) associated with this grade is the minimum acceptable average that a graduate student must maintain throughout the program as computed at the end of each year of the program.

B- 2.7 Minimum pass for students in the Faculty of Graduate Studies

C+ 2.3

All grades below B- are indicative of failure at the graduate level and cannot be counted toward Faculty of Graduate Studies course requirements.

C 2.0 C- 1.7 D+ 1.3 D 1.0 F 0.0

*Based upon Faculty of Graduate Studies 2009/2010 Calendar, “Distribution of Grades”

All material used in the course is for the sole use of the individual and should not be recopied in either print or digital format. For copyright guidelines, including those relating to photocopying and electronic copies, please refer to the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) fair dealing guidelines: https://library.ucalgary.ca/sites/library.ucalgary.ca/files/Fair_dealing_policy_final_revised_March_2011-2.pdf

Academic Accommodation: Students with a disability, who require academic accommodation, need to register with the Disability Resource Centre http://www.ucalgary.ca/UofC/Others/DRC MC 295, telephone 220-8237. Academic accommodation letters need to be provided to course instructors no later than fourteen (14) days after the first day of class. It is a student's responsibility to register with the Disability Resource Centre and to request academic accommodation, if required.

Campus Security provides a range of services intended to promote and facilitate a safe and secure learning and living environment, e.g. the SafeWalk program for students attending classes on campus. For more information please visit http://www.ucalgary.ca/security/ or telephone (403) 220-5333.

The Freedom of Information Protection of Privacy Act prevents instructors from placing assignments or examinations in a public place for pickup and prevents students from access to exams or assignments other than their own. Therefore, students and instructors may use one of the following options: return/collect assignments during class time or during instructors' office hours, students

http://www.ucalgary.ca/security/

http://www.ucalgary.ca/UofC/Others/DRC

https://library.ucalgary.ca/sites/library.ucalgary.ca/files/Fair_dealing_policy_final_revised_March_2011-2.pdf

https://library.ucalgary.ca/sites/library.ucalgary.ca/files/Fair_dealing_policy_final_revised_March_2011-2.pdf

17

provide instructors with a self-addressed stamped envelope, or submit assignments, or submit/return assignments as electronic files attached to private e-mail message.

----------------------------Students are advised to become familiar with the Faculty of Graduate Studies policies and the University of Calgary support services in these areas: intellectual property, academic integrity, plagiarism, research ethics, effective writing, and English language proficiency. Information about these topics is available through the following web addresses:

· http://www.grad.ucalgary.ca/Policies%20and%20Procedures.aspx · http://www.ucalgary.ca/honesty/ · http://www.ucalgary.ca/research/compliance/ethics/

http://www.ucalgary.ca/research/compliance/ethics/

http://www.ucalgary.ca/honesty/

http://www.grad.ucalgary.ca/Policies%20and%20Procedures.aspx

Documents

Course Outline 603.23 Winter 2013 Eaton