Capella dissertation milestones

Action Research Dissertation

Handbook School of Public Service Leadership and School of Nursing and Health

Sciences

Version 2.0 Effective July 2017

Capella University

225 South Sixth Street, Ninth Floor

Minneapolis, MN 55402

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PSL/NHS ACTION RESEARCH MANUAL

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Table of Contents .................................................................................................... 3

Introduction ............................................................................................................ 5

CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE DISSERTATION PROCESS .................................... 5 Doctoral Program Coursework ................................................................................ 6 Dissertation Courseroom ......................................................................................... 6 ePortfolio ................................................................................................................ 6 Dissertation Milestones ........................................................................................... 6

CHAPTER 2: UNDERSTANDING THE DISSERTATION .............................................. 7 Defining the Dissertation ........................................................................................ 7 Acceptable Methods ................................................................................................ 8

CHAPTER 3: MENTEE, MENTOR, AND COMMITTEE ROLES AND

RESPONSIBILITIES ................................................................................................ 9 Role of Dissertation Mentee .................................................................................... 9 Role of the Dissertation Mentor ............................................................................... 9 Mentor-Mentee Relationship ................................................................................. 10 Role of the Dissertation Committee ....................................................................... 10

CHAPTER 4: UNDERSTANDING THE DISSERTATION MILESTONES ...................... 12 Milestone 1: Research Ethics Education Completion .............................................. 12 Milestone 2: Topic Approval .................................................................................. 12 Milestone 3: Mentor Approved Research Plan (SMART form) ................................ 12 Milestone 4: Committee Approved Research Plan (SMART form) .......................... 13 Milestone 5: School Approved Research Plan (SMART form) ................................. 13 Milestone 6: Institutional Review Board (IRB) Approval ....................................... 13 Milestone 7: Pre-Data Collection Call ..................................................................... 13 Milestone 8: Mentor Approved Chapters 1-4* ........................................................ 13 Milestone 9: Mentor Approved Chapter 5 and Final Dissertation* ......................... 14 Milestone 10: Committee Approved Dissertation ................................................... 14 Milestone 11: School Approved Dissertation ......................................................... 14 Milestone 12: Format Editing Completed ............................................................... 14 Milestone 13: Final Conference Call ....................................................................... 15 Milestone 14: Final Manuscript Approved .............................................................. 15 Milestone 15: Manuscript Submitted for Publication ............................................. 15 Milestone 16: Dean’s Final Manuscript Approval ................................................... 15

CHAPTER 5: ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS .................................................. 16 University Policies ................................................................................................. 16 Doctoral Manual .................................................................................................... 16

CHAPTER 6: DISSERTATION SUCCESS AND SUPPORT SERVICES ........................ 17 Dissertation Success ............................................................................................. 17 Advisors ................................................................................................................ 17

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PSL/NHS ACTION RESEARCH MANUAL

CHAPTER 7: ADDITIONAL RESOURCES ................................................................ 18 Dissertation Research ........................................................................................... 18

Acceptable Methods Document ............................................................ 18 Dissertation Writing Template ............................................................. 18 Scientific Merit Information ................................................................. 18

IRB Resources ....................................................................................................... 19 IRB Process Resources ........................................................................ 19

Format Editing Guidelines ..................................................................................... 19 APA ...................................................................................................... 19 Dissertation Format Guidelines ............................................................ 19 Writing and Revising Toolkit ................................................................ 19

Library .................................................................................................................. 20 TurnItIn ................................................................................................................ 20

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PSL/NHS ACTION RESEARCH MANUAL

INTRODUCTION

This manual is intended to support learners and faculty at Capella University in

understanding the Action Research dissertation process. It provides an overview of the

Action Review dissertation process and outlines sixteen milestones by which learners fulfill

the academic and administrative requirements for the professional doctorate degree at

Capella University. The manual also describes in broad terms the roles and responsibilities

of the learner, the mentor, the dissertation committee members, and the university support

staff.

Learners are responsible for the requirements detailed in this manual as well as for

requirements of their specialization. Information concerning specific requirements for

dissertation, guidance for writing the dissertation, and additional resources to support the

dissertation process is located in the dissertation courseroom.

Learners should be aware that the contents of this manual are subject to change. Learners

are responsible for ensuring that their dissertations meet the guidelines outlined in the

current version of the dissertation manual. Learners are encouraged to remain aware of

updates to this manual as they continue through the dissertation process.

CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE DISSERTATION PROCESS

As an institution, Capella University’s mission and philosophy has always been to extend

access to high quality education with a clear focus on the learner and learning. Our scholar-

practitioner model emphasizes the importance of connecting theory and practice and offers

a constructivist synergy: the experiences that learners bring to their studies are the

platform on which new knowledge can be built through dialogue and scholarly activity. The

process of “becoming doctoral” represents a historically rich tradition of transitioning from

being a consumer of knowledge to exploring one’s own character, intellectual capacity,

intelligences, identity, habits of mind, and overall developmental formation as an emergent

knowledge producer.

For a novice researcher, the action research dissertation experience represents a process

that emphasizes learner development and growth as a reflective scholar-practitioner. The

dissertation process has been designed to provide you an opportunity to train as a

researcher and to learn the knowledge, skills and thought process necessary to conduct

action research. Further, the dissertation serves to demonstrate your mastery of a

discipline’s knowledge base, acquired professional skills and competencies, and aptitude in

doing action research in the future.

In engaging this endeavor, you enter the research phase of your program and are dedicated

to developing a dissertation that 1) contributes to society by improving or changing a

practice, 2) utilizes evidence to document need for change and 3) meets Capella

University’s hallmarks of good research.

The dissertation is the culminating event of the professional doctorate program at Capella

University. Your doctoral coursework helps prepare you for collaborative research and

writing skills that goes into a dissertation.

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PSL/NHS ACTION RESEARCH MANUAL

Doctoral Program Coursework

Doctoral Program Coursework provides the competency framework for each professional

doctorate program. While in courses, doctoral learners should become familiar with relevant

theories and research methods in their program. As learners progress through their

coursework they are building the skills necessary for action research. Having completed

their coursework, learners should be comfortable with the differences between qualitative

and quantitative analysis, and understand the strengths and limitations of each. Learners

should also understand key concepts and definitions related to research epistemology and

recognize how problems in the field have been measured and analyzed.

Dissertation Courseroom

The dissertation learner will be placed in a dissertation courseroom. The mentor will be

assigned as the courseroom instructor. Learners will use the courseroom as their main point

of contact with their mentor and with other learners in the dissertation process. Individual

mentors will differ in their management of the courseroom; learners should contact their

mentors or academic advisors with questions.

Learners are encouraged to network with their learner peers in the courseroom, as this is an

excellent source of support during the Action Research dissertation process. One of the

most commonly cited benefits of the academic community fostered in the courseroom is

networking among learners. Learners are strongly encouraged to interact with their peers

by offering and accepting feedback.

ePortfolio

It is highly recommended that dissertations are saved in the electronic portfolio (ePortfolio)

provided by Capella. Dissertation learners should save drafts, assignments, forms, and

other artifacts to their ePortfolio to verify successful completion of their dissertation

milestones. The ePortfolio travels with a learner from quarter to quarter, and can be

updated at any time.

Complete information regarding the use and management of ePortfolio can be found on

Campus iGuide: ePortfolio

Dissertation Milestones

Every Action Research dissertation is unique, but the process of creation moves through a

similar sequence of steps. Capella refers to these steps as milestones. Progress in the

Dissertation is measured by progress through these steps.

Timelines for completing each Dissertation Milestone vary as learners progress through the

dissertation at different rates. The speed of progress depends on the nature of the research

plan and how quickly, carefully, and effectively the learner applies academic and research

competencies to completion of Dissertation Milestones.

https://campus.capella.edu/web/programs/eportfolio

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PSL/NHS ACTION RESEARCH MANUAL

CHAPTER 2: UNDERSTANDING THE DISSERTATION

Defining the Dissertation

The purpose of Action-oriented studies is to bring about change or improvement in the area

of the problem. In action research, methodology is designed to solve the problem rather

than test a hypothesis.

The Action Research dissertation is a scholarly document intended to demonstrate the

research competence of the author and to produce greater understanding of cultural, social,

psychological, or physical phenomena. It is written in the formal language and style of its

discipline or field of study, and it results from a comprehensive, logical, and ethical

investigation. The Action Research dissertation is the documentation of a study that involves

change or improvement of a problem or concern with an organization or within a

community. It is supported by published research and involves the acquisition, analysis, and

interpretation of new data. In some instances, extant data is appropriate for reanalysis. A

dissertation study is based on the assumption that there exists one or more of these

elements:

 An external reality that can be sampled, observed, measured, and analyzed

 An internal phenomenological reality that can be described in sufficient detail by the

person experiencing it

 A social or organizational reality that can be derived by examination of its structure

or communicated through its participants’ reports

Regardless of the underlying assumption, the Action Research dissertation should address

an important problem that is feasible to study within the learner’s field. The dissertation

study must be carried out through the application of accepted methods and procedures

appropriate to the stated problem. The dissertation is not just descriptive; it has to have a

sound or well-developed conceptual basis that leads to the question(s) under investigation.

This basis serves as the origin for conclusions and inferences that lead to further research,

to enhanced theoretical understanding, and to recommendations for community or

organizational improvement.

Finally, the dissertation is an expression of the highest level of critical thought and is

expected to be a substantive contribution to the theory or practice of its discipline or field of

study. The quality of the final draft of the dissertation will be appropriate for publication.

Capella University recommends a five-chapter dissertation, but allows for variation when

warranted. The specific organization of any dissertation is at the discretion of the learner in

consultation with the mentor and by approval from the committee. The five recommended

chapters are as follows:

 Chapter 1. Introduction and Statement of the Problem

 Chapter 2. Literature Review

 Chapter 3. Methodology

 Chapter 4. Data Analysis and Results

 Chapter 5. Conclusions and Recommendations

These five chapters are preceded by a series of introductory sections that are collectively

known as front matter. Front matter includes the title page, copyright page, abstract,

dedication, acknowledgments, table of contents, list of tables, and list of figures. The

inclusion of some of these sections, such as the copyright, dedication, and

acknowledgments, is at the discretion of the learner. Others, such as the list of tables and

list of figures, are dependent on their presence in the manuscript.

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PSL/NHS ACTION RESEARCH MANUAL

A dissertation also includes a collection of supporting materials following the presentation of

the main text. These materials are collectively known as end matter, which consists of

materials outside the main body of the document that may furnish useful references to the

reader. The end matter may include, but is not limited to, references and appendixes.

More information concerning contents and structure of each chapter of the dissertation can

be found in the appendix.

Acceptable Methods

Types of dissertation research methods at Capella follow closely those found in the scholarly

literature of learners’ disciplines or fields of study. Learners begin dissertation with the

development of a research plan, also called the Scientific Merit Action Research Template

(SMART). Learners select and defend a research topic, question, design, and methodology.

Selection of an appropriate topic, question, design, and method must be defensible on an

academic basis rather than on a personal preference.

Research methods focus on the choice of information and tend to follow two lines of inquiry:

deductive and inductive reasoning. Quantitative methods, those that present their results in

the form of numbers, are typically confirmatory or deductive. Qualitative methods, those

that present their results in the form of words or themes, tend to be exploratory, and use

deductive reasoning. Mixed methods, those that present their results in both numbers and

words, reflect a current trend in research that addresses the shortfalls in one design, such

as the reductionist nature of quantitative methods, by drawing on the strengths of the

other, such as a content analysis of responses to open-ended questions. More information

about acceptable methods can be found in the Acceptable Methods Documents for Action

Research.