Chapter Draft 2

Chapter Two (2): Literature Review

The literature review synthesizes existing research related to the topic, identifying key theories, trends, and gaps while establishing a solid theoretical framework to support the study. This chapter presents thematic connections within the research, offering both a synthesis and a critique of the literature. It includes viewpoints that support and challenge the research topic, ensuring a balanced analysis. Length guideline: 25-30 pages

Draft 2: Chapter 1: Introduction and Chapter 2: Literature Review

The purpose of this assignment is to guide you in completing Chapter 2 and ensuring your Chapters 1 and 2 are internally consistent and properly aligned.

You may find that you need to revise previous components of Chapter 1 to ensure that you are fully developing a systematic approach that you will use to investigate a real-world educational problem of practice.

By completing this assignment, you will demonstrate your ability to formulate a research problem, develop a conceptual and theoretical foundation, critically engage with existing literature, build a coherent research argument, and structure a comprehensive applied research project.

You will receive feedback from your review committee on this assignment that you will use to make revisions prior to submitting your cumulative Chapters 1 and 2 in the Unit 7 Assignment. The grading timeline is adjusted to allow for your review committee to complete the review process. Please refer to the for guidelines.

DIRECTIONS

Use the most current version of your applied research project paper to complete this assignment. Refer to the EdD Student Handbook for specific details, such as page length requirements.

This assignment will guide you in developing a full draft of Chapters 1 and 2 of your applied research project paper. You are expected to use your current version of your applied research project paper, ensuring consistency and alignment with program standards. This template is structured to help you organize your work, creating a cohesive and comprehensive document.

Assignment expectations include the following:

• Use the most current version of your applied research project paper.
• Add these components to your existing paper.
• Ensure content within Chapters 1 and 2 are aligned and consistent throughout.

Chapter 1 must be revised based on feedback from your instructor and/or review committee.

Submit the following as one paper using the most current version of your applied research project paper:

Chapter 1: Introduction

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

• Introduction
• Restate the research questions.
• Preview the structure of the chapter: framework, thematic review, and synthesis.
• Theoretical or Conceptual Framework
• Detail the selected theory or modelits origin, key propositions, and relevance to action research.
• Explain how this framework informs data collection and interpretation in their setting.
• Literature Review
• Organize the review around topical subheadings:
• Historical Background or Context
• Chronology of how the problem has been addressed.
• Definitions and Key Constructs
• Definitions and boundaries of core concepts.
• Findings and Gaps
• Synthesis of what is known and where applied research is lacking.
• Methodologies Used in Existing Studies
• Common research designs in similar contexts.
• Summarize at least 10-15 peer-reviewed sources and note methodological rigor.
• Synthesis of Literature
• Merge findings into 34 major themes directly linked to your research questions.
• Key Theme 1 (aligned to research question)
• Key Theme 2 (aligned to research question)
• Key Theme 3 (aligned to research question)
• For each theme, you should:
• Summarize key studies and their outcomes.
• Critique methodological strengths and weaknesses.
• Discuss implications for practice and how their project addresses gaps.
• Summary
• Identify key research gaps and synthesize major themes from existing studies while demonstrating how the reviewed literature supports the chosen theoretical framework and justifies the research questions.
• Show the contradictions or limitations in current knowledge that your study addresses.
• Conclude by connecting the literature findings to the chosen methodology.

This assignment is worth 70 points and is due by the end of Unit 4. The rubric that will be used to grade your assignment is available from the Grading Rubrics page under Course Resources.

SUBMITTING YOUR ASSIGNMENT

When you are ready to submit your assignment, select the Assignment tab at the top of the screen and choose the Unit 4 Assignment Dropbox to upload your completed assignment.

This assignment addresses the following unit learning outcomes:

• Critically analyze scholarly literature and professional sources to identify patterns, themes, and gaps related to the research topic.
• Synthesize information from multiple credible sources to construct a coherent and evidence-based narrative that supports the research problem and purpose.

It also addresses the following course outcomes:

ED810-3: Construct a comprehensive and critically synthesized literature review that establishes a scholarly context for the applied research project.

ED810-4: Draft a research project proposal that demonstrates alignment among the research problem, questions, and intended methodology.

ED810-5: Apply appropriate APA formatting in scholarly writing.

Required Reading

TEXTBOOK

Mills, G. E. & Jordan, A. W. (2023). Educational research: Competencies for analysis and applications (13th ed.). Pearson.

• Chapter 4: Reviewing the Literature

Chapter 2 Literature Review Draft

In this unit, you will focus on writing the first full draft of Chapter 2: Literature Review for your applied research project paper. Building on the outline and reference list developed in previous units, you will now begin analyzing and synthesizing the research you have gathered into a well-organized narrative that supports your studys problem statement, purpose, and research questions. The literature review is a critical component of your applied research project. Your literature review establishes a baseline of existing knowledge. When you complete your research and analyze your own data, you’ll compare your findings to the existing literature. This comparison helps you contextualize your results and discuss their implications. As you work on your draft, you will apply skills in critical analysis, synthesis, and scholarly writing to connect relevant themes, theories, and empirical findings. You will also work to ensure that your literature review is logically structured and properly cited. This unit is an important step in your research journey and sets the stage for further refinement and development in future stages of your applied research project.

After completing this unit, you should be able to:

• Critically analyze scholarly literature and professional sources to identify patterns, themes, and gaps related to the research topic.
• Synthesize information from multiple credible sources to construct a coherent and evidence-based narrative that supports the research problem and purpose.

Course Outcome practiced in this unit:

ED810-3: Construct a comprehensive and critically synthesized literature review that establishes a scholarly context for the applied research project.