Applied Research

Upon completion of this course, a student will:

• Apply appropriate research methods.
• Formulate an appropriate research question.
• Compose a publication quality substantive research paper that reviews previously published articles.
• Format this research paper which is a literature review in appropriate APA style (no original research is allowed).

Students must have reliable and continual computer and Internet access. All course activities will be completed using WebCT.

 Prerequisites: RADS 3503 Research (must be successfully completed BEFORE this course can be taken)

 

Assignment 1 – Research Question and Outline
The student must continue with the topic/research question presented during RADS 3503 and the topic must be approved by the instructor.

This course only allows topics related to Radiologic Sciences (which emphasize the role of technologists), not papers related to clinical radiology (which emphasize the role of radiologists). For example, “Factors Contributing to Job Satisfaction for MRI Technologists” is acceptable, but “Treatment of Obstructive Bowel Syndrome” is not acceptable. Also for example, “Positions for Radiographic Demonstration of the Trauma Knee” is acceptable, but “Diagnosis of Cerebral Hemorrhage” is not acceptable. Topics cannot deal with subjects that are outside the scope of practice of the radiographer.

The outline should be based on published literature.  Students will not develop their own surveys or conduct experiments to write this paper.

Students must complete the Research Question Approval Form, include a detailed outline of the paper, and include the reference list created in RADS 3503. The assignmentmust be submitted to the Assignment I Dropbox in Blackboard by the due date.

The following documents are available for guidance, and are located in this assignment dropbox: Grade Rubric, Proposal Form, Formulating a Research Question document, & Sample Outline.
 

Assignment 2 – Title Page
Title page – pages 23 and 24 of the 6^th edition of the APA Manual describes the components of the title page.  Use the sample title page available under Course Materials on the course homepage because it includes additional information not included on the APA version. It helps distinguish assignments submitted in different classes.

The following documents are available for guidance, and are located in this assignment dropbox: Grade Rubric & Sample Title Page.

Assignment 3 – Reference List

Refer to Chapters 6 and 7 in the APA Manual for an explanation on how to construct a reference list. Also, refer back to RADS 3503; you should have your graded reference list from that class. A minimum of eight (8) references is required.

NOTE ON REFERENCES:References should be from a variety of sources with the majority of references beingfrom peer review journals or other scholarly works. Peer review journals use an editorial review board that evaluates the article for accuracy. Publications or magazines like RT Image, Advance, Decisions in Imaging Economics, and Applied Radiology are not peer-reviewed. Journals such as Radiologic Technology, Radiologic Science & Education, and Radiology Management are peer-reviewed. You should be able to look at the inside cover of a journal or on a web site to see if the journal has a review board. Most likely if you can not find anything about a review board then the journal is not peer reviewed. The journal homepage should also indicate if the journal is peer-reviewed.

The following documents are available for guidance, and are located in this assignment dropbox: Grade Rubric.

Assignment 4 – Body

The body of this paper is to include the following sections:   introduction, methods, discussion, conclusion, and suggestions for future research.  All sections except the Introduction should have a header – see APA Manual page 62 Section 3.03. This part of the paper must be no less than 5 pages and no more than 7 full length pages (Times New Roman, 12 pt font).  Students should ALSO submit the corrected and revised Reference List from Assignment 3 so the reference list can be checked against the in-text citations.

The following documents are available for guidance, and are located in this assignment dropbox: Grade Rubric, Sample Paper, Writing a Methods Section, Writing a Literature Review article, & How to Read Literature article.

An expanded explanation of each component follows.

Introduction(includes background, purpose, research question, hypothesis) - pp. 27, 26 and 63 (APA Manual). This is where you develop the reason for the problem. Note:  The word Introduction is not used as a header.  The first section of the paper is assumed to be the Introduction section.

Methods (how references were found and what resources were used). The APA Manual describes methodology for original research.  Because no original research is allowed in this course, use the methods section to describe how information was obtained.

Example:  Searches were conducted using the following key words: knee injuries, radiology, radiography, infection control, (etc. to include all the appropriate search terms).  Academic First Search, ERIC, EbscoHost were the primary databases used and were accessed through the Midwestern State University Library. 

Discussion - pp. 35-36 (APA Manual).  Compare the literature with the approved research question.  This is where all the literature is pulled together so that the reader doesn’t have to read each separate source.  The writer’s job for this section is to enlighten the reader by synthesizing the literature and reporting on it. For example one can formulate thoughts based on the literature, but a personal opinion is not appropriate in a research literature review.  The writer is reporting on what was found; therefore, it must be supported with reference citations. Do not use personal pronouns such as “I found this…” or “we see this …”

For example if this were written:

Firms must take the initiative in retaining gifted and competent employees to effectively deal with this expected predicament. Proactive exploring is the catalyst for discovering various methods that could improve the retention rate of radiologic technologists and provide direction for organizations looking to implement and maintain a successful employee retention program.

While this may be true, it must be backed by research so here is how it might have been rewritten:

During this literature review, a common theme was evident among many of the authors (Ackerman, 2000; Bated, 2003; Devlin, 2000; Myers, 2006; & Zuckerman, 2007) that organizations must take the initiative in retaining gifted and competent employees.  It appears that proactive exploring is the catalyst for discovering various methods that could improve the retention rate of radiologic technologists and provide direction for organizations looking to implement and maintain a successful employee retention program.  For example, Veale' (2008) said, "Passive attitudes towards employee retention are no longer effective.  Healthcare organizations are bleeding to death by ignoring the loss of talent” (p. 45). 
 
 

It seems then that the answer to the question of how to keep talent is to contemplate, renovate, innovate, and create new best practices to achieve institutional goals and thereby add to the existing body of knowledge on radiographer retention.  Watts (2005) and Johnston (2007) support these notions by strongly encouraging healthcare organizations to work with employees instead of against them and to actively engage employees in the development of best practices for retention.

Conclusion– See the sample paper under Course Materials on the course home page. This is where you remind readers of the purpose, what was discovered, and if the findings were in line with the research question. Remember, this sectionshould be no longer than 1 page.
 

Suggestions for future research- Explain where the literature was lacking and possible future research studies.

Appendices(if needed) - Place any graphics, tables, etc. after the references.

Assignment 5 – Abstract

See page 25, 26 and 229  in the APA Manual . The abstract should be no more than 120 words. Explain what the focus of the paper is and a little bit about the literature. Sell your paper here. Write something that is going to make people want to read this. The abstract is essentially a snapshot of the entire paper; it is what hooks people and convinces them to continue reading. Write the abstract after you complete the paper.

The following documents are available for guidance, and are located in this assignment dropbox: Grade Rubric & Writing an Abstract.

Assignment 6 – Final Paper

This research paper is to be a substantial manuscript (5-7 full length pages for the body). The length of the body of the paper is in addition to the title page, abstract, appendices, and reference list. The paper MUST reflect baccalaureate level effort and MUST incorporate the suggestions for revision provided by the instructor for assignments #1 - #5.  It should demonstrate the student's ability to gather and discriminate pertinent resources, synthesize information from a variety of sources, apply new information to a topic, and correctly use the APA Reference Style.

The following documents are available for guidance, and are located in this assignment dropbox: Grade Rubric.

Evaluation:

Research Question & Outline      3%

Title Page                                 2%

Reference List                           25%

Body of Paper                          35%

Abstract                                    5%

Final Paper                               30%

Grade Scale:

A = 100 - 90

B = 89 - 80

C = 79 - 70

D = 69 – 60

F = 59 and below

The assignments should be written using standard technical writing skills. This includes appropriate spelling, grammar, sentence structure, transitions, text flow, currency of knowledge, and scope of research.

Any assignments submitted electronically as a Word document attachment must follow these guidelines:

• IBM compatible format (not MAC)
• Word 97 or newer version (Microsoft WORKS or WordPerfect is not acceptable)
• Times New Roman (12 point for bulk of text)
• Double spaced
• 1” margins on all sides

If a student cannot meet these requirements for electronic submission, he or she should meet individually with the faculty member to make other suitable arrangements.

All assignments must reflect baccalaureate level effort. Unless otherwise indicated, all assignments must be submitted as a single Word document attachment to the appropriate assignment dropbox.

Assignments must be submitted on time; late submission will not be accepted.

This is an online course and there are no mandatory sessions.  However, the student should be vigilant in logging onto WebCT.  Regular checks will ensure that messages from the instructor are received in a timely manner. This course is on a schedule that will be strictly adhered to.

Honor System: RADS 4913 adheres to the MSU Code of Conduct.  In particular, academic dishonesty, however small, creates a breach in academic integrity.  A student’s participation in this course comes with the expectation that his or her work will be completed in full observance of the MSU Code of Student Conduct.  A student should consult the course syllabus and current Student Handbook for answers to any questions about the code.

Academic dishonesty (cheating, plagiarism, etc.) will not be tolerated in this class. Whenever a student is unsure of whether a particular situation will be interpreted as academic dishonesty, he/she should ask the instructor for clarification.  If students are guilty of academic dishonesty, a grade of zero (0) may be given for the quiz, assignment, etc.  Cases may also be referred to the Dean of Students for possible dismissal from the university.

By enrolling in this course, the student expressly grants MSU a “limited right” in all intellectual property created by the student for the purpose of this course.  The “limited right” shall include but shall not be limited to the right to reproduce the student’s work product in order to verify originality and authenticity, and for educational purposes. Specifically, faculty may submit student papers and assignments to an external agency to verify originality and authenticity, and to detect for plagiarism.