Overview For this assignment, you will develop a condensed literature review on a topic you chose. The literature you select should be relevant to a current issue, problem, innovation, change, or trend in your field or specialization. Writing a literature review is a key part of academic work. A literature review is a piece of writing that describes what has been learned about a topic through previous research efforts. The literature review is essentially a report on work previously done in a field, to show an understanding of the context for your own writing. Your literature review should include a minimum of five references from peer-reviewed journal articles related to your field or specialization. As a reminder, you can refer to How Do I Find Peer-Reviewed Articles? Be sure to analyze and evaluate the articles, not just report what was written. What should you add? Integration: Integrate information from across the sources in your review. Look for themes and commonalities. Do not just review one article after another in a linear fashion. Use headings and subheadings to organize your paper around themes you identify. Review of the rubric: Apply critical thinking to analyze scholarly articles and point out conflicting evidence or perspectives. Apply critical thinking to evaluate scholarly articles and identify criteria used for evaluation. Synthesize information to identify missing information that limits understanding of the topic. Critical Thinking Examples Apply principles of critical thinking to analyze scholarly articles and point out any conflicting evidence or perspectives. For example: ″Articles X and Y (citation) promote a constructivist approach, which is in direct contrast to the behaviorist approach advocated in article Z (citation).″ Apply principles of critical thinking to evaluate scholarly articles and identify the criteria used for the evaluation. For example: ″There is a weakness in the inference made by the author (citation), as the conclusion of XXXX was not clearly supported by the data.″ ″The author (citation) never clearly defined the concept of XYZ.″ Synthesize information gathered in a review of scholarly literature and identify any missing information that limits understanding of the topic. For example: ″The five articles addressed how schools are approaching XXX, but they all focused on suburban, public schools. More breadth of scope is needed to fully understand the implications of the issue.″ Instructions Before you begin your paper, examine the scoring guide to see the grading criteria. Use the Sample Course Paper Template [DOCX] as a guide for formatting and organizing your course papers. Use the Week 4 Writing Revision Matrix [DOCX] template to address feedback you receive on your paper from your instructor. Refer to the Writing Revision Matrix instructions below for further information. Paper Organization Start with a title page and organize your paper with the following guidelines: Title page: Use [Chosen Topic]: Literature Review as your paper title. Introduction: The opening content should directly follow the title of the paper (repeated from the title page) and provide an introduction of your chosen topic and overview of what will be included in your paper. Overview of topic: Begin the body of your paper with an overview of the topic you chose for this review. Your topic desсrіption can begin with a broad consideration related to education. Write in third person and include literature support. Topic relation to specialization: Provide a detailed desсrіption and examples of how the topic you chose to review specifically relates to your specialization. Write in third person and include literature support. Review of the literature: The literature review should include a minimum of five references from peer-reviewed journal articles related to your education specialization. Keep in mind, as you review your articles, the process of questioning. For example, how the articles present similar or contrasting information about your topic, how well the articles support your perspective on the topic, and if you discovered something new about your topic through your literature review. Continue to write in third person and leverage the literature. Apply principles of critical thinking to your analyses and evaluations of the literature you review. Conclusion: Your conclusion should emphasize the main themes in your paper and provide a synthesis of the literature reviewed. References: Include a minimum of five different scholarly, peer-reviewed journal articles (related to your field of specialization) that are also cited in the paper. Your citations must have references, and your references need to be included within your paper as in-text citations. Smarthinking Prior to submitting your paper for grading, submit it to Smarthinking. Make any needed changes to your paper based on the feedback you receive from Smarthinking. (Remember, it can take up to 48 hours to receive feedback from Smarthinking, so be sure to submit your draft to Smarthinking early enough so you will be able to incorporate the feedback, revise, and submit your assignment on time). REFWORKS RefWorks is a tool that is highly recommended for the EdD program learner. This tool is provided at no additional expense and is accessed through Campus. Writing Revision Matrix After you submit your assignment and receive feedback from your instructor, complete the Week 4 Writing Revision Matrix [DOCX] template. You will complete a revision matrix and summary for this assignment and the Week 7 assignment. Your Week 9 assignment will include your matrix and summary for each of these assignments and will reflect the progressive feedback you received from your instructor for each assignment, along with your summary of various writing resources. When your instructor grades your paper and provides feedback, copy and paste your instructor′s comments in the Instructor Feedback column of the writing revision matrix template. Then, write how you addressed, corrected, and/or applied your instructor′s feedback in the Learner Response to Feedback column. After completing the matrix, provide a summary of how you used Smarthinking and other Writing Center resources to help you with your writing skills and feedback to improve your paper. Research Guides Refer to the EdD Program Library Research Guide and the EdS Program Library Research Guide for guidance on gathering scholarly resources. The topical tabs offer more advice for each specialization. If you have questions about gathering articles or other materials, see the Library Help page for personal assistance through chat, e-mail, and phone. Additional Requirements In addition to the requirements outlined above, your assignment should meet the following: Assignment template: Use the Sample Course Paper Template [DOCX] for the assignment. Written communication: Written communication is free of errors that detract from the overall message. Sources: A minimum five peer-reviewed scholarly sources. APA formatting: Follow current APA style and formatting for in-text citations. For more information on the APA guidelines for in-text citations, go to Academic Writer and use the Learn tab to find the Quick Guides on Citing Sources and Paper Format and Organization. Include a title page with the following title: [Chosen Topic]: Literature Review. Be sure to include, on the references page, a minimum of five different scholarly, peer-reviewed journals (related to your field of specialization) that are also cited in the paper. Your citations must have references, and your references should be included within your paper as in-text citations. Length: The paper should be 7–10 double-spaced pages in length, in addition to the title page and references page. Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point. Submit your paper as a Word document in the Week 4 assignment area. SCORING GUIDE Your work will be evaluated using this criteria. VIEW SCORING GUIDE Competencies Measured By successfully completing this assignment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and scoring guide criteria: Competency 1: Determine how action research and systems thinking apply to professional problems, challenges, or issues in education. Describe details relevant to one′s critical reflection on the selected information. Analyze information gathered in a literature review. Competency 2: Apply information literacy skills to locate and critically evaluate scholarly data, theories, and research. Identify relevant scholarly journal articles that relate to one′s study. Evaluate scholarly articles using principles of critical thinking. Competency 5: Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and appropriate to purpose. Integrate appropriate use of scholarly sources, evidence, and APA citation style.
