Peer Review

Throughout this course you have been developing your skills in the area of action research. You have had the opportunity to reflect on the action research process and how it can support student populations in the field of education. You selected an action research topic that was of interest to you, either in your current or future professional setting, and had the chance to work collaboratively with your peers in discussing the action research process.

The purpose of this assignment is the culmination of the learning achieved in this course through a real-world application of the content. This summative assessment supports your achievement of Course Learning Outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 [and the MACI Program Learning Outcomes 3, 5 and 6 MAED Program Learning Outcomes 4, 6, 8, and 9; MASE Program Learning Outcomes 4, 6, 7 and 8 and MATLT Program Learning Outcomes 4, 5 and 8].

For this assignment you will be assuming the role of a peer reviewer. As you have read in the Instructor Guidance, a peer reviewer is an independent expert in the field who evaluates manuscripts for academic journals. When one becomes involved in the peer review process, it can be an incredibly informative experience. There are a myriad of reasons why one becomes a peer reviewer. First and foremost, this professional contribution to the field is an excellent item to include on your Curriculum Vitae often noted under the “service” section. Second, you have the opportunity to read and learn from others’ cutting edge work. Finally, by taking an objective and critical perspective reviewing others’ work, you can hone your own teaching and professional skills. Bridging this real-life experience with the theories of instruction in the virtual course environment, this assignment mirrors a career-building experience.

Instructions
Using support from your assigned reading, the Instructor Guidance, and the discussions, submit the following for evaluation. Use the guidelines below to create your written assignment. If you have questions about the assignment or the rubric, please contact your Instructor using the Ask Your Instructor discussion board before the due date. 

Content Expectations
*Note: There are two parts to this assignment.

In your paper, 
Part One:Using the

rubric attached

, analyze the research report you chose in the Week Two Action Research Selection discussion to include

• Reference entry (1 point): Provide the complete 6th edition APA citation for the action research proposal you are reviewing.
• Title (1 point): Provide the title of the research proposal. It is usually a statement based on the research question—short and to the point.
• Research Topic (3 points): Describe the specific topic to be studied in a paragraph. (Be certain that the research question relates to the topic.)
• Research Problem (2 points): Provide a brief statement that fully describes the problem being addressed. Present this in one sentence or no more than one clear concise paragraph.
• Research Purpose (2 points): Write a brief statement that fully describes the intent of the study or the reason for conducting the study. Present this in one sentence or no more than one clear concise paragraph.
• Research Participants (2 points):Describe in detail the participants of the study.
• Research Question(s) (2 points):List the primary research question and any sub questions addressed by the proposed study. The primary research question should flow logically from the problem statement and purpose statement and be very similar in wording although phrased as a question. This may include alternative and null hypotheses as appropriate.
• Literature Review Section (2 points): Provide a brief overview of the conceptual framework upon which the study is based. Identify the seminal research and theories that inform the study. Discuss the topics and themes that are used to organize the literature review.
• Research Design (2 points): Describe the research design and state the type of approach used (e.g., quantitative or qualitative).
• Ethical Consideration (2 points): Describe all ethical considerations and provide a rationale for the considerations.
• Research Findings (2 points): Report all research findings and conclusions found from the study.
• Need for the Study (1 point): Describe the need for the study. Provide a rationale or need for studying the particular issue or phenomenon.
• Practical Implications (1 point): Describe any stated practical implications.

Part Two: Narrative – Submit a separate document that includes the following elements:

• Relevancy (3 points): In one page analyze how the study is relevant to your current profession or future professional goals.
• Reflect (2 points):In one page reflect on the process of reviewing a completed action research proposal.

The Peer Review Final Project

• Must be seven to eight double-spaced pages in length (not including title and references pages) and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center (Links to an external site.).
• Must include a separate title page with the following:

  Title of Peer Review Final Project
  Student’s name
  Course name and number
  Instructor’s name
  Date submitted

• Must use at least six scholarly sources in addition to the course text.

  The Scholarly, Peer Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources (Links to an external site.) table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source for a particular assignment.

• Must document all sources in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
• Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.

Provide the complete APA 6th edition citation for the action research proposal you are reviewing.

Title
Provide the title of the research proposal. It is usually a statement based on the research question–short and to the point.

Research Topic
Describe the specific topic to be studied in a paragraph. (Be certain that the research question relates to the topic).

Research Problem
Provide a brief statement that fully describes the problem being addressed. Present this in one sentence or no more than one clear concise paragraph.

Research Purpose
Write a brief statement that fully describes the intent of the study or the reason for conducting the study. Present this in one sentence or no more than one clear concise paragraph.

Research Participants
Describe in detail the participants of the study.

Research Question(s)
List the primary research question and any sub questions addressed by the proposed study. The primary research question should flow logically from the problem statement and purpose statement and be very similar in wording although phrased as a question. This may include alternative and null hypotheses as appropriate.

Literature Review
Section
Provide a brief overview of the conceptual framework upon which the study is based. Identify the seminal research and theories that inform the study. Discuss the topics and themes that are used to organize the literature review.

Research Design
Describe the research design and state the type of quantitative or qualitative approach used.

Ethical Considerations
Describe all ethical considerations and provide a rationale for the considerations.

Research Findings
Report all research findings and conclusions found from the study.

Need for the Study
Describe the need for the Study. Provide a rational or need for studying the particular issue or phenomenon.

Practical Implications
Describe any stated practical implications.

Scholarly, Peer Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources

Source type

What is it?

Examples

Best used for

Scholarly

A source written by scholars or academics in a field. The purpose of many scholarly sources is to report on original research or experimentation in order to make such information available to the rest of the scholarly community. The audience for scholarly sources is other scholars or experts in a field. Scholarly sources include references and usually use language that is technical or at a high reading level.

*Note: Different databases may define “scholarly” in slightly different ways, and thus a source that is considered “scholarly” in one database may not be considered “scholarly” in another database. The final decision about the appropriateness of a given source for a particular assignment is left to the instructor.

Scholarly Journals
· Journal of Management Information Systems
· American Journal of Public Health
· Early Childhood Research Quarterly

Scholarly Books (published by a university press or other high-quality publisher)
· Shari’a Politics: Islamic Law and Society in the Modern World
· The Grand Design: Strategy and the U.S. Civil War
· The Hidden Mechanics of Exercise: Molecules That Move Us

Journal articles:
· Recent research on a topic
· Very specific topics or narrow fields of research
· NOT good for an introduction to or broad overview of a topic
Books:
· In-depth information and research on a topic
· Putting a topic into context
· Historical information on a topic

Peer Reviewed

A publication that has gone through an official editorial process that involves review and approval by the author’s peers (experts in the same subject area). Many (but not all) scholarly publications are peer reviewed.

*Note: even though a journal is peer reviewed, some types of articles within that journal may not be peer reviewed. These might include editorials or book reviews.

**Note: some publications (such as some trade journals) can be peer reviewed but not scholarly. This is not common.

See “Scholarly Journals” above
Books go through a different editorial process and are not usually considered to be “peer reviewed”. However, they can still be excellent scholarly sources.

See above

Credible

A source that can be trusted to contain accurate information that is backed up by evidence or can be verified in other trusted sources. Many types of sources can fall into this category.

*Note: The final decision about the appropriateness of a given source for a particular assignment is left to the instructor.

See above. Also:
· Newspapers
· Magazines
· Books
· Trade journals or publications
· Government websites
· Websites from educational institutions (like universities)
· Websites or other publications from reputable organizations (like the Mayo Clinic)
· Encyclopedias (general or subject)
Many websites could be considered credible. The more information provided about the source, the more likely they are to be credible. Look for information about the author and/or the organization, how recently it was published, the intended audience, the intended purpose, and whether there is evidence of bias.

· Basic/general/background information about a topic
· Current events
· Local news
· Statistical data
· Information about specific organizations or companies (look at the organization’s or company’s website, or look for articles in newspapers or trade journals)
· Government information
· Information about popular culture
· Opinions or commentaries
· Topics of general interest

Ashford University Library, June 2015, CR 0130415

Scholarly, Peer Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources

Source type

What is it?

Examples

Best used for

Scholarly

A source written by scholars or academics in a field. The purpose of many scholarly sources is to report on original research or experimentation in order to make such information available to the rest of the scholarly community. The audience for scholarly sources is other scholars or experts in a field. Scholarly sources include references and usually use language that is technical or at a high reading level.

*Note: Different databases may define “scholarly” in slightly different ways, and thus a source that is considered “scholarly” in one database may not be considered “scholarly” in another database. The final decision about the appropriateness of a given source for a particular assignment is left to the instructor.

Scholarly Journals
· Journal of Management Information Systems
· American Journal of Public Health
· Early Childhood Research Quarterly

Scholarly Books (published by a university press or other high-quality publisher)
· Shari’a Politics: Islamic Law and Society in the Modern World
· The Grand Design: Strategy and the U.S. Civil War
· The Hidden Mechanics of Exercise: Molecules That Move Us

Journal articles:
· Recent research on a topic
· Very specific topics or narrow fields of research
· NOT good for an introduction to or broad overview of a topic
Books:
· In-depth information and research on a topic
· Putting a topic into context
· Historical information on a topic

Peer Reviewed

A publication that has gone through an official editorial process that involves review and approval by the author’s peers (experts in the same subject area). Many (but not all) scholarly publications are peer reviewed.

*Note: even though a journal is peer reviewed, some types of articles within that journal may not be peer reviewed. These might include editorials or book reviews.

**Note: some publications (such as some trade journals) can be peer reviewed but not scholarly. This is not common.

See “Scholarly Journals” above
Books go through a different editorial process and are not usually considered to be “peer reviewed”. However, they can still be excellent scholarly sources.

See above

Credible

A source that can be trusted to contain accurate information that is backed up by evidence or can be verified in other trusted sources. Many types of sources can fall into this category.

*Note: The final decision about the appropriateness of a given source for a particular assignment is left to the instructor.

See above. Also:
· Newspapers
· Magazines
· Books
· Trade journals or publications
· Government websites
· Websites from educational institutions (like universities)
· Websites or other publications from reputable organizations (like the Mayo Clinic)
· Encyclopedias (general or subject)
Many websites could be considered credible. The more information provided about the source, the more likely they are to be credible. Look for information about the author and/or the organization, how recently it was published, the intended audience, the intended purpose, and whether there is evidence of bias.

· Basic/general/background information about a topic
· Current events
· Local news
· Statistical data
· Information about specific organizations or companies (look at the organization’s or company’s website, or look for articles in newspapers or trade journals)
· Government information
· Information about popular culture
· Opinions or commentaries
· Topics of general interest

Ashford University Library, June 2015, CR 0130415