EDUC 798 Advanced Research and Writing

This course will provide an overview of current educational research and its use as an inquiry tool. Students will apply professional writing skills by completing a final research project for the Ed.S. program, and by writing and submitting an article for publication. This is the capstone course for the Ed.S. program, and it should be taken as the last course in the program. (Formerly EDUC 718)

For information regarding prerequisites for this course, please refer to the Academic Course Catalog.

This course is designed to help educational specialist candidates master basic research design and analysis, along with gaining an understanding of writing for publication.

Textbook readings and lecture presentations

No details available.

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the candidate will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Discussions (4)

Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, there will be 4 Discussions in this course to generate interaction among candidates in regard to current course topics. All key points and questions posed in the Discussion prompts must be summarized with balance, clarity, and relevance, and all threads and replies must apply the information learned appropriately with good personal insight for application or future use. The candidate will submit a thread of at least 400 words with at least 1 citation in current APA format to support assertions. The candidate will also submit 2 replies of at least 200 words each to classmates’ threads. All posts must follow writing expectations listed in the Discussion Grading Rubric. (CLO: A, D, E)

Article Reviews Assignment

This paper will consist of 3 separate 1-page reviews of 3 different research-based articles from scholarly, peer-reviewed research journals published within the last 5 years that match the research topic chosen in Discussion: Research Topic. Each review must include a 1-paragraph summary of the article, a 1-paragraph analysis of the article, and a 1-paragraph summary of the importance of the article to the field of education, following the assignment instructions for the organization and content of each section. The candidate will include the citation for the article at the bottom of the page for each review. Current APA formatting should be followed, and the paper must include in-text citations, a title page, and a references page. The submission will be formatted as 1 Word document with 3 content pages, in addition to the title and references pages, and will follow all other writing expectations in the grading rubric. (CLO: A, B, E)

Dissertation Reviews Assignment

This paper will consist of 2 separate 6-page reviews of 2 different doctoral dissertations. The candidate will locate 2 Liberty University doctoral dissertations written within the past 5 years. One of these dissertations must match the research topic chosen in Discussion: Research Topic; the other dissertation must employ a research design type similar to what the candidate will propose in the Research Methodology Presentation Assignment. The submission must include section headings, in-text citations, a title page, and a references page, and for each dissertation, the review must include a 2-page summary of the dissertation, a 2-page analysis of the quality of the research conducted, and a 2-page personal analysis and practical application discussion, wherein the candidate will describe personal lessons learned from the dissertation and the relevance of the reviewed work within the field of education. The candidate will follow the assignment instructions for the organization and content of each section. The submission must be formatted as 1 Word document. The body of the paper must be at least 12 pages, in addition to the title and references pages, must include references and citations for 2 dissertation sources, and must be formatted in current APA style. The submission will follow all other writing expectations in the grading rubric. (CLO: A, B, C, E)

Publication Manuscript: Journal Selection Assignment

The candidate will select a peer-reviewed, scholarly, or practitioner’s journal whose focus is appropriate to the research topic of personal interest the candidate identified in Discussion: Research Topic, which will be used for the Professional Publication Manuscript Assignment. The journal selected must have a minimum article word count of 2,500 words. The candidate will use Microsoft Copilot to search for appropriate journals, following the assignment instructions for prompts. The candidate will document all AI prompts and outputs used in the search and critically evaluate the AI output, describing how AI supported decision-making, how the accuracy of the outputs was determined, and the potential roles of AI in academic publishing and research. The candidate will identify the selected topic and journal, list a current APA in-text citation and reference for the selected journal, explain how its focus is relevant to the selected research topic, and summarize the submission guidelines for the journal (including the journal’s required style) and the source for the guidelines in an APA-formatted references page. The candidate will follow the assignment instructions for the organization and content of each section. The submission must be formatted as a Word document, follow current APA format (title page, section headings, and a references page) and follow all other writing expectations in the grading rubric. (CLO: F)

Before submitting the Professional Publication Manuscript Assignment, the candidate will submit his or her manuscript to the Professional Publication Draft Manuscript Assignment submission link to check that the work is sufficiently original, properly attributed, and reworded from any material used in previous assignments to avoid self-plagiarism. The draft is not graded. The candidate will then revise as needed and submit the final manuscript to the Professional Publication Manuscript Assignment.

Professional Publication Manuscript Assignment

Using the research topic of personal interest, the candidate will develop a complete manuscript for possible submission and publication in a professional, scholarly, peer-reviewed journal that is relevant to the proposed research topic in the selected field of study, chosen in previous assignments and discussions. Submission guidelines must be followed (length, style, number and type of references) for the journal chosen. The candidate may actually submit the article for publication, pending instructor feedback. The manuscript should follow a literature review or position paper-type approach, demonstrating depth and breadth of topic knowledge and highlighting what is known and not known on the topic. The manuscript should follow all organization and content requirements in the assignment instructions. This manuscript is to be submitted in Canvas (first in the Professional Publication Draft Manuscript Assignment and then in the Professional Publication Manuscript Assignment, with any revisions needed to avoid self-plagiarism if the candidate is using previous work from the course) and should be a minimum of 2,500 words (not including the title and references pages), grounded in research with relevant citations. The submission must follow all other writing expectations in the grading rubric. (CLO: A, B, C, E)

Research Methodology Presentation Assignment

A PowerPoint presentation will be developed that addresses a research question/problem related to the topic identified in Discussion: Research Topic and the Professional Publication Manuscript Assignment. The candidate must propose a research design that would include human participants and use 1 of the design types covered in the course. The candidate will describe the research design in the presentation without conducting any part of a potential study. The presentation must be 10–20 slides and include all elements listed in the assignment instructions, including a references slide with a minimum of 5 articles from scholarly, peer-reviewed journals. The presentation must be easily readable, aesthetically pleasing, and professional, including graphics, images, pictures, and/or charts to engage the audience. The presentation must follow all other writing and formatting expectations in the grading rubric. (CLO: A, B, C, D, E)