Arick D. Scott's Reflection

     During last week’s lecture, Dr. Dana Williams took the time to restate the purpose of the class and discuss the research project’s guidelines. Dr. Williams described the course as being a simple class in which we would all have the opportunity of hearing a lecture from a different individual every week. The only source of grades for this class is attendance, weekly blogs about the lectures, and the final research project presentation. At first, I wasn’t really sure of the research project’s requirements. Actually, I wasn’t really sure what the research project would focus on or what would be the topic of research. Dr. Williams started to explain the project by breaking the research process into steps that would make it easier for every group member to understand. The first step was the statement of the problem/challenge. In this step, the group says exactly what the purpose or focus of their research is. The second step is the current state of research. This step requires the groups to conduct a full lit review of their topic. This way, the groups will create a more direct research approach and so that the research wouldn’t be as broad. The third step is methodology, the study’s design. The fourth step is framework, which is the project’s structure. The fifth step is development of the thesis. This step represents the body/the essay of the research. Finally, the last step is the conclusion, where new insights or discoveries are stated. Group presentations begin November 1, 2010.