PRTH 846 Practical Theology Literature Review II

This course applies the principles, resources, and skills learned in previous courses for conducting an academic literature review, including the theoretical framework and research methodology. Students will accomplish this by creating a literature review of the academic conversations around their proposed topic for the purpose of determining both their topic’s suitability for a dissertation as well as positioning the student’s research as a contribution to the on-going scholarly conversations of the topic.

This course extends the principles and skills learned in Literature Review I into the development of the student’s literature review in support of their proposed dissertation.

Textbooks readings and lecture presentations

No details available.

Course Requirements Checklist

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

Peer-Review Discussions (5)

Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the student will complete 5 Peer-Review Discussions in this course. Peer-Review Discussions facilitate collaborative learning in which the student will share insights on peers’ work, noting strengths and weaknesses and offering suggestions for improvement. The student will upload the appropriate Peer-Review Discussion assignment for his or her classmates’ review, together with a thread of at least 400 words explaining and elaborating on the uploaded assignment. The student will then post at least 2 replies of at least 200 words each to classmates’ threads offering additional insights, helpful critique, noting strengths and weaknesses, and making suggestions for improvement. (CLO: A, B, C, D)

Research Topic Statement Assignment

In this assignment, the student will create a Research Topic Statement that will capture his or her research interest as a research problem to be solved or question to be answered by means of his or her research on the topic. The student will do this by: (1) identifying a subject for study, (2) translating this personal interest or concern into a formal academic research query, (3) connecting the research query to the appropriate academic discipline, and (4) writing a preliminary topic statement. (CLO: A, C)

Methodology Identification Assignment

In this assignment, the student will reflect on the nature and character of the research required by his or her research topic. The student will do this by describing the kind and character of the research required to investigate the object of his or her research proposal, identifying the contribution the student expects his or her research to make to ongoing scholarly conversations around the topic, and explaining why he or she thinks the research method he or she has described will be successful in addressing the topic, answering research questions, and solving the research problem. (CLO: A, C)

Literature Review Matrix Assignment

The Literature Review Matrix tracks formative resources and key ideas so that the student can readily access and assess them by providing a visual repository of important sources and key ideas to which the researcher can return when needed. The Literature Review Matrix Assignment assembles and analyzes key resources by compiling a spreadsheet of 20 or more resources that are analyzed for their potential utility for dissertation research. (CLO: B)