Research Design Development and Analysis

As in Weeks 2 and 3, for the first Discussion in Week 4 you should not prepare the draft of content for the Prospectus. Rather, you will create an Approach Statement, which will consist of a list of bullet points that will indicate step by step how you will go about preparing for the draft due on Day 5 as part of Week 4 Discussion 2.

As previously mentioned, metacognition is crucial to your success as a student and as a researcher. For that reason, you are being asked once again to discuss how you plan to prepare the assignment due on Day 5, rather than simply dispatching you to create a draft.

The Approach Statement for Week 4 is a good yardstick for your Instructor to perform a similar cognitive monitoring of your understanding of the goals and processes to formulate a problem statement. As in Weeks 2 and 3, an Approach Statement will be the deliverable for each discussion in Weeks 4 and 5. From your Approach Statement, your Instructor will be able evaluate your ability to conceptualize individual tasks to execute to achieve your research goals. This type of assessment is not often done and is invaluable in guiding your ability to evolve your research skills and strategies.

Post by Day 2 your Approach Statement in the form of a bulleted list of the steps you will take to select and justify an appropriate selection of (a) the research method and (b) the research design, which are due on Day 5 as part of Week 4 Discussion 2. As a reminder, the Discussion Rubric and any handouts or resources your Instructor has provided may be good background