Colorado College How Effective Social Entrepreneurs are In Measuring Social Impacts Paper

TOPIC: How effective are social enterpreneurs in measuring social impact

Part 1 (250-400 words)

Go to the Doctoral Resource Center and find the Dissertation Process Flowchart. Once there, locate and download the Dissertation Research Prospectus Template. You will also find the link to the Research Prospectus Template under the Learning Materials.

Once you have reviewed the Research Prospectus Template, respond to the following questions:

• What areas of the Prospectus have you already thought about and are confident you can address?
• What sections of the Research Prospectus have you already begun to draft in prior courses?
• What are the areas of the Prospectus that are new to you?
• What additional resources housed in the Doctoral Resource Center could you use to familiarize yourself with the Prospectus areas that you need to learn more about?
• What is your plan for addressing those areas with which you are less familiar?

Part 2 (2-3 pages)

For this assignment, you will turn your attention to the Problem Statement and Research Method Choice Alignment sections of the Research Prospectus Template. As you begin to think about your research topic, you must consider how it is related to your degree program (e.g., DM, DCS) and your concentration area. In addition, it is necessary to reflect upon the problem you plan to study and through this process of reflection to develop a justification of how your choice of research method is appropriate for addressing the study problem you have chosen.

Locate the Problem Statement section of the Research Prospectus, and draft 1 paragraph of no more than 250–300 words that addresses the following:

• Describe the study problem you will focus on for your dissertation project.
• The problem must be both practice-based and scholarship-supported, and therefore needs to consider both practice and recent research.
• Cite theoretical, conceptual, and empirical peer-reviewed literature to support the relevance of your proposed study problem.

Remember this is the first draft of your study problem and you will continue to refine this problem until your Dissertation Proposal has been approved.

Part 3 (400-600 words)

It is of great importance as you move forward on the dissertation journey to have a clearly defined “trio”—research problem, purpose statement, and central research question. For this Discussion Board assignment, you have three tasks to complete for your primary response:

• Restate your general research interest that you provided in the U1 DB (introductory) primary post.
• Refine your general research interest into a more specific topic and, using this topic, create a research problem, purpose statement, and central research question that are closely aligned with one another in content.
• Write a short statement justifying how your research topic is aligned with and appropriate to your degree field (e.g., DM, DCS) and concentration (e.g., project management, big data analytics).

Part 4 (1-2 pages)

For this assignment, you will compose a draft of the Study Purpose and Research Question sections of your Research Prospectus.

• Study Purpose section: Begin with “The purpose of the [method choice] [research approach/design] study is to….” Following this, provide a brief rationale for your method choice. Next, specify your research site, target population, sampling method, proposed sample size, data collection method, and the data analysis software you plan to use. Finally, briefly articulate what you expect to be the contribution of study findings to both professional practice and scholarship in your field/concentration.
• Research Question section: State the single overarching research question that will guide your study. (Note: For a quantitative or mixed methods study, you will also complete the Hypothesis(es) section; delete this section if you are planning a qualitative study.)
• Ensure that you are able to demonstrate a clear alignment of your “trio”—the problem statement, study purpose, and research question.
• Look ahead to the Research Method Rationale section, and provide an early draft of this section in your submission that matches the research method and research design choice included in your purpose sentence.

Note: Throughout this course, you will submit all of your Individual Project assignments in your Research Prospectus Template as a working draft. As the course proceeds through all sections of the Research Prospectus, it will provide an ongoing opportunity to refine each section based on instructor feedback.

Part 5 (400-600 words)

• Although what you complete for the Research Prospectus is a literature review plan and not a literature review itself, what is the purpose of a literature review for a research study?
• Why is it important, prior to beginning your literature search, that you have a well-reasoned sense of what types of sources you are seeking (e.g., topical areas, key concepts, theoretical literature, empirical studies)?
• How do you know if a source is scholarly?
• How do you know if a source is peer-reviewed?
• Based on your discipline and concentration, what academic databases available to you in the CTU Library are likely to lead you to relevant peer-reviewed literature?

Part 6 (2 pages)

For this assignment, you will compose a draft of your Review of the Literature Plan section of the Research Prospectus. The Research Prospectus Template provides guidance to help you through this process. Remember: Your deliverable for this assignment is NOT a literature review; rather, it is a literature review plan for what specific types of literature you will explore for your study and what rationale guides you in this process to ensure your plan is solid and appropriate for your chosen study topic.

Note: Throughout this course, you will submit all of your Individual Project assignments in your Research Prospectus Template as a working draft. As the course proceeds through all sections of the Research Prospectus, it will provide an ongoing opportunity to refine each section based on instructor feedback.

Part 7 (400-600 words)

In the Research Prospectus Template, there are several references to “practice” and “professional practice.” The document indicates that you must complete a dissertation study with a study problem that is “both practice-based and scholarship-supported.” You have undoubtedly heard yourself referred to as a “scholar practitioner.” These statements all point to the uniqueness of the “practitioner doctorate” as distinct from a “research doctorate.” For this assignment, reflect upon the following questions in your primary post:

• In your degree field and concentration area, what are some examples of “practice” and/or “professional practice” that will be addressed through your research study?
• What do you understand to be some of the unique characteristics of your practitioner doctorate?
• How would you describe someone who embodies the characteristics of the scholar–practitioner?
• What thoughts do you have at this time about your journey from doctoral learner to scholar–practitioner? How will you need to be successful for your future dissertation research?

Part 8 (8-10 pages)

The version of your Research Prospectus that you submit for this assignment is your first, full draft of the document and will culminate in a final polished Research Prospectus submission for Unit 6. You will receive feedback on this draft from your instructor and incorporate that feedback in a second, final version of the Research Prospectus to be submitted for the Unit 6 Individual Project. Your Research Prospectus will be a narrative that details the major components of your proposed research, developed at a relatively early stage of your doctoral program. The Prospectus guides your preparation of the full-blown Research Proposal, and will serve as a roadmap for continued refinement of your thinking as you progress into your second year of the doctoral program. A quality Research Prospectus is a milestone deliverable for this course and your dissertation journey. See the research course milestones in the Doctoral Resource Center.

As you complete the full draft, be sure to revisit the Research Method Rationale and provide a full justification for your research method choice and research design/approach that is aligned with your study problem. Consider revisiting your qualitative and quantitative course work where you may have begun a draft of this section and finalize your decisions. Be sure to cite the relevant and specific scholarly research guides aligned with your method and design choices. Please avoid general research texts such as Creswell, and instead choose specific guides that are well-aligned with your research approach.

The Prospectus should be 8–10 pages, not including title and reference pages, and formatted in APA 6th edition. The title page should include a working title of no more than 12 words for your dissertation.

In the body of the Prospectus, DO include headings for each section. You will use the Research Prospectus Template to complete the document. Remember to delete the rubric that is attached at the end of the template.

Part 9

Review and reflect on the knowledge you have gained from this course. Based on your review and reflection, write 250–400 words on the following:

• What did you learn as a result of working your way through the Research Prospectus in this course?
• How did this process help you in reflecting upon your proposed study?
• Which areas of the Research Prospectus process were most difficult for you? Which were the least difficult for you?
• What areas of the dissertation research process do you feel you must still delve into more deeply as you continue your journey from the Research Prospectus stage to the full-blown Research Proposal stage of the dissertation component of your doctorate?
• Evaluate your preparedness for the second year of the program and reaching the end of the second year with your research topic and study process crystal clear.

Part 10 (8-10 pages)

Prepare your complete, final version of your Research Prospectus that incorporates all feedback you received from your instructor when you submitted your Research Prospectus draft for the Unit 4 Individual Project. The Research Prospectus is an official university milestone document for your dissertation journey. A successful Prospectus is one that meets all requirements for content, length, and plan for your dissertation study; thus, a final instructor-approved Research Prospectus is expected for this assignment and so that you may continue on your dissertation journey.