For your final paper, you will create a 7- to 10-page literature review of material from within your own discipline. This document provides the guidelines for your discipline literature review. literature reviews are exceedingly formal, comprehensive assignments. This means that they cover much of the printed material available on the given topic. A typical literature review surveys well over thirty sources. While many literature reviews serve as contextual settings for further research, your Discipline Literature Review will be self-standing. For the Obedience Literature Review, you were constrained to a thematically organized paper. However, your Discipline Literature Review may be organized chronologically or thematically. Choose the strategy that works best with both your discipline and your specific focus. The Abstract An abstract is a self-standing summary of a paper’s main points; however, the abstract is always written in original language (e.g., do not cut and paste selections from your paper). In APA, it is placed immediately following the title page—and it receives its own page. It is titled “Abstract” (centered) and double-spaced with no paragraph indent. Your abstract should be between 100-120 words. The Introduction Your introduction should establish the context of discussion and present the forecast statement: · Establish context of discussion. To establish the context of discussion, begin by discussing the topic, then narrow to your specific content. You could begin with quotations, as this often helps establish context. · Present the forecast statement. Your next step is to craft a forecast statement. Remember that a forecast statement presents the main structure and topic of your paper, but it does not suggest a stance. Finally, be sure the forecast statement answers the what, when, why questions: what is the topic, when were the works published, and why is the topic important. The Body and Visual Now that you have finished writing the introduction, it is time to tackle the paper’s body: · Develop ideas. The development of your paper should follow your forecast statement’s structure. Each theme or time increment should get at least one paragraph, and your organization will depend heavily on whether you are focusing on themes or times. · Transition as needed. As you develop your paper’s main themes, remember to add transitions between sentences, paragraphs, and main sections of your paper. · Add only minimal quotes. Your evidence in a literature review will normally consist of summaries and paraphrases. While you have between 7 and 10 pages, you will probably gravitate more towards summary and paraphrase than quotation since literature reviews usually focus on ideas, not the way something was originally written. As part of the body of your paper, you will develop a visual. You could use a table, bar/column graph, line graph, pie chart (or other proportional visual), map, diagram, flow chart, image, or other visual format to show your work. It can be up to one page if you are submitting a minimum 7-page paper; otherwise, be sure to add more pages to your page count. Additionally, if the work is over one page, you should add it to the appendix, not the main body of the paper. The Gap Statement Your next step is to write the gap statement, about a paragraph or more (for a paper this long) that pinpoints areas of future research development on the topic. It allows professionals within your field to understand where research is most needed, avoiding repeated studies on the same subject and furthering research agendas. The Conclusion Now comes that wonderful final section, the conclusion. Here, you will summarize the main focus of your argument, then reflect on the importance of the issue: · Summarize the main focus of argument. Keep this concise, for you do not want to draw attention from the issue’s import. Typically, three or four sentences should do the job. · Reflect on the importance of the issue. Your audience will need to clearly understand why the topic is so important to not only them, but also to your discipline as a whole. Literature Review Assignment Your task is to write a literature review on a focused topic within your discipline; be sure to narrow the topic, for you cannot cover the past five year’s worth of material on genetics. Also keep in mind that you should have a focused range of dates, such as the past two or five years. If you choose time ranges beyond five years, you will probably have too much material. You may work with up to two students to produce a collaborative work. NOTE. You could start with a foundational work (such as one that is fifteen years old), comparing it to more recent publications. I would not, however, trace the evolution of a topic in research for fifteen years. Just use that foundational study as a starting point. This is especially important since everyone must use at least one foundational study in the paper. Unlike the Obedience Literature Review, for this assignment, you will be choosing a topic from your own discipline. The topic should be narrow enough to research; choosing too large of a topic will weaken your review. For your sources, you must meet the following guidelines: · You must choose at least eight articles or works from within your field, with the following restrictions: o At least five of your eight works must come from journals. o At least one of your eight works must be a foundational source. · You will need to add a source for each additional student in the group. · All of your sources must be peer reviewed and must come from your own research. Literature Review Criteria Your literature review must meet the following criteria: · length is 7-10 pages, not including title page, abstract, or References page(s) · format is followed carefully, with o title page o Abstract o introduction o main areas of discussion (organization thematic or chronological) with visual o gap statement o conclusion o References · strong forecast statement drives the paper’s organization · organization is easy to follow, logical, and effective (especially in order of ideas) · organization (thematic or chronological) is appropriate to topic and discipline · at least three strong themes or incremental (chronological) units presented · strong examples provided · correctly handled and meaningful visual provided (such as a table, line/bar graph, pie chart, picture, …) · correct tone is rigidly formal · paragraphs are well developed · appropriate number of sources met: o 8+ sources total o 5+ of the eight sources must be from journals o 1+ of the eight sources must be foundational research o At least one source added for each additional student in a group · APA format correctly applied in References, citations, and title page/overall page format · grammar rule applies (see syllabus) RESEARCH PROPOSAL: Assignment Guidelines As part of your final paper, the Discipline Literature Review, you will need to craft a research proposal. This paper will discuss the guidelines for creating your proposal. Theory of Research Proposals Assigned in many upper-division courses, proposals are written as the preliminary step in researching and constructing a research paper. Overall, they tell readers · what topic you plan to research · why you plan to research the topic (establish Kairos) · what major points you plan to tackle · what sources you are likely to use in your research (use an APA References page) Components There are rigidly formal research proposals—ones with summaries, backgrounds, proposed procedures, and conclusions—and there are less formal research proposals. Our research proposal will be of the second kind. For a more informal research proposal, there is no specific layout or subheading format that you must use. Essentially, answer the questions listed above. Of course, should you wish to break your paper into subheadings, you are more than free to do so! You can also add any concerns you have for completing the research project, usually at the end of the proposal. NOTE. Informality, for an informal research proposal, means that you can use first person, but you will still want to avoid second person, contractions, and shorter paragraphs.