For this assignment, you will submit Chapter 1 of your Final Capstone Project
“What is the relationship between college students’ exercise habits and mental health outcomes?”
. Â This chapter provides an overview of the final capstone project. This chapter should include a discussion under the following headings:
Introduction
Background of the Study
Problem Statement
Purpose of the Study
Research Questions
Advancement of Scientific Knowledge and Significance of the Study
Definition of Terms
Summary and Organization of the Remainder of the Study
The Project Title Appears in Title Case and is Centered
Your Name
Online Business Department, Herzing University
BU491 Capstone Project
Dr. Denise Greaves
Date
Table of Contents
List of Tables………………………………………………………………………………………………………..xi
List of Figures ……………………………………………………………………………………………………..xii
Chapter 1: Introduction to the Study ………………………………………………………………………… 1
Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 1
Background of the Study …………………………………………………………………………………… 1
Problem Statement …………………………………………………………………………………………… 2
Purpose of the Study ………………………………………………………………………………………… 3
Research Questions ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 4
Advancing Scientific Knowledge and Significance of the Study ……………………………. 5
Definition of Terms ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 7
Summary and Organization of the Remainder of the Study …………………………………. 10
References ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 44
Appendix A. Site Authorization Letter …………………………………………………………………… 45
Appendix B. Informed Consent …………………………………………………………………………….. 46
Appendix C. Copy of Instruments and Permissions Letters to Use the Instruments………. 47
List of Tables
Table 1. Correct Formatting for a Multiple Line Table Title is Single Spacing and
Should Look Like this Example ………………………………………………………………….
Table 2. Equality of Emotional Intelligence Mean Scores by Gender …………………………..
List of Figures
Figure 1. Correlation for SAT composite score and time spent on Facebook. …………………
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Chapter 1: Introduction to the Study
Introduction
This section describes what the researcher will investigate, including the research
questions, hypotheses, and basic research design. The introduction develops the significance of
the study by describing how the study is new or different from other studies, how it addresses
something that is not already known or has not been studied before, or how it extends prior
research on the topic in some way. This section should also briefly describe the basic nature of
the study and provide an overview of the contents of Chapter 1.
Background of the Study
The background section of Chapter 1 describes the recent history of the problem under
study. It provides a summary of results from the prior empirical research on the topic. First, the
learner identifies the need for the study, referred to as a gap, which the capstone project will
address.
Next, the learner builds an argument or justification for the current study by presenting
a series of logical arguments, each supported with citations from the literature. This need,
called a gap, developed from the literature, is the basis for creating the problem statement. A
local need is appropriate for a study. However, the learner needs to situate the “need” or
problem by discussing how it is applicable beyond the local setting and contributes to societal
and/or professional needs. The problem statement is developed based on the need or gap
defined in the Background to the Study section.
Problem Statement
Research problems are socially constructed, meaning that a problem may not be
considered one until society recognizes it as a problem. For example, spousal abuse was
recognized as a problem after women earned more rights. Research problems are not determined
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only by how much one knows about it, but by the need to investigate phenomena that affect
people in order to improve their lives (Krysik & Flynn, 2013).
The Problem Statement section begins with a declarative statement of the problem under
study, such as “It is not known if and to what degree/extent…” or “It is not known how/why…”
•
Other examples are:
•
It is not known
•
Absent from the literature is
•
While the literature indicates
.
.
(school/district/organization/community) if
, it is not known in
.
This section then describes general population affected by the problem along with the
importance, scope or opportunity for the problem and the importance of addressing the problem.
Purpose of the Study
The Purpose of the Study section of Chapter 1 provides a reflection of the problem
statement and identifies how the study will be accomplished. It explains how the proposed
study will contribute to the field. The section begins with a declarative statement, “The purpose
of this study is….” Included in this statement are also the research design, target population,
phenomena (qualitative) to be studied, and the geographic location. Further, this section
describes the nature of the phenomenon/a to be explored. Keep in mind that the purpose of the
study is restated in other chapters of the capstone project and should be worded exactly as
presented in this section of Chapter 1.
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Research Questions
This section narrows the focus of the study and specifies the research questions to
address the problem statement. Based on the research questions, it describes the phenomena
under investigation. The research questions should be derived from, and are directly aligned
with, the problem statement and theoretical foundation (theory(s) or model(s). The Research
Questions section of Chapter 1 will be presented again in Chapter 3 to provide clear continuity
for the reader and to help frame data analysis in Chapter 4.
State the research questions the study will answer, and describe the phenomenon to be
studied. You will have one overarching research question with no more than three subquestions.
In a paragraph prior to listing the research questions, include a discussion of the
research questions, relating them to the problem statement. Then, include a leading phrase to
introduce the questions such as: The following research questions guide this capstone project
study:
RQ:
Add a research question here following the format above. Additional research
questions should follow the same format.
SQ1: Add sub-question one here.
SQ2: Add sub-question two here.
SQ3: Add sub-question three here.
Advancing Scientific Knowledge and Significance of the Study
The Advancing Scientific Knowledge and Significance of the Study section identifies
the “gap” or “need” in the literature that was used to define the problem statement and develop
the research questions. Further, it describes how the study will address the “gap” or “identified
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need.” The section describes how the research fits with and will contribute to or advance the
current literature or body of research. Although this advancement may be a small step forward
in a line of current research, it must add to the current body of knowledge and align to the
learnerÂ’s program of study. The section also discusses the implications of the potential results
based on the research questions and problem statement, and the investigated phenomena.
Further, it describes the potential practical applications from the research. The section identifies
the theory(ies) or model(s) that provide the theoretical foundations or conceptual frameworks
for the study. Finally, it connects the study directly to the theory and describes how the study
will add or extend the theory or model.
Definition of Terms
The Definition of Terms section of Chapter 1 defines the study constructs and provides
a common understanding of the technical terms, exclusive jargon, variables, phenomena,
concepts, and technical terminology used within the scope of the study. Terms are defined in
lay terms and in the context in which they are used within the study. Each definition may be a
few sentences to a paragraph in length. This section includes any words that may be unknown
to a lay person (words with unusual or ambiguous meanings or technical terms).
Definitions must be supported with citations from scholarly sources. Do not use
Wikipedia to define terms. This popular “open source” online encyclopedia can be helpful and
interesting for the layperson, but it is not appropriate for formal academic research and writing.
Additionally, do not use dictionaries to define terms. A paragraph introducing this section prior
to listing the definition of terms can be inserted. However, a lead-in phrase is needed to
introduce the terms such as: “The following terms were used operationally in this study.” This
is also a good place to “operationally define” unique phrases specific to this research. See
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below for the correct format:
Term. Write the definition of the word. This is considered a Level 4 heading., Make
sure the definition is properly cited (Author, 2010).
Summary and Organization of the Remainder of the Study
This section summarizes the key points of Chapter 1 and provides supporting citations
for those key points. It then provides a transition discussion to Chapter 2 followed by a
description of the remaining chapters. For example, Chapter 2 will present a review of current
research on the centrality of the dissertation literature review in research preparation. Chapter 3
will describe the methodology, research design, and procedures for this investigation. Chapter
4 details how the data was analyzed and provides both a written and graphic summary of the
results. Chapter 5 is an interpretation and discussion of the results, as it relates to the existing
body of research related to the dissertation topic.
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References
Armstrong, J. (2010). Naturalistic inquiry. In N. J. Salk (Ed.), Encyclopedia of research
design (pp. 880-885). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Barzun, J., & Graff, H.F. (1992). The modern researcher: A classic work on research and
writing completely revised and brought up to date. San Diego: Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich.
Brands, H. W. (2000). The first American: The life and times of Benjamin Franklin. New
York: Doubleday.
Calabrese, R. L. (2006). The elements of an effective dissertation & thesis: a step-by-step
guide to getting it right the first time. Lanham, MD: Roman & Littlefield
Education.
Chess, P.S. (2017). Chapter 3: Validity and reliability in qualitative research. In Grand
Canyon University (Ed.), GCU doctoral research: Advanced qualitative research
methods. Retrieved from http://lc.qa.gcumedia.com/res855/gcu-doctoral-researchadvanced-qualitative-research-methods/v1.1/#/chapter/3
Faul, F., Erdfelder, E., Lang, A.-G., & Buchner, A. (2007). G*Power 3: A flexible statistical
power analysis program for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences. Behavior
Research Methods, 39, 175-191.
Faul, F., Erdfelder, E., Buchner, A., & Lang, A.-G. (2009). Statistical power analyses using
G*Power 3.1: Tests for correlation and regression analyses. Behavior Research
Methods, 41, 1149-1160.
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Appendix A.
Site Authorization Letter(s)
This is a required Appendix for Level 2 and Level 5 Reviews.
For purposes of confidentiality, this will be removed prior to DeanÂ’s signature and
the following text will be inserted:
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Appendix B.
Informed Consent
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Appendix C.
Copy of Instruments and Permissions Letters to Use the Instruments
