la 498 liberal arts capstone 4
This assignment builds upon the 3 I have attached for reference.
Last week, you started reading the research articles relating to your selected topic within your field of study and collecting information using the Literature Review Matrix. This week, you will complete and submit your draft Literature Review. Review your completed matrix, and consider the extent to which you drew upon a diverse collection of studies. What have you discovered in terms of themes, trends, and opportunities for further research? Is your list of articles both broad in scope and up to date (current)? If you’re using older studies (<10% of total sources), will you be able to draw explicit connections between those historical studies and contemporary theory and practice? Remember, your literature review will not advocate for or against a particular position, and should not reflect personal opinions, beliefs, or values. Focus on analysis and synthesis, not on summary or description of article content.
A well-structured literature review cannot be written in one or two attempts; we expect you to develop multiple drafts. As you draft and revise, ask yourself: have you constructed a framework that will illustrate the extent of your understanding of current research related to your topic, with headings and subheadings to make it easy to follow? Is your draft appropriately organized to present diverse arguments and themes? Have you avoided advocating for or against a particular position? Have you omitted personal opinions, beliefs, or values from your draft? Have you included at least 9 scholarly (peer reviewed) sources related to your field of study? Is your working thesis statement still effective, or does it need to be adapted to reflect the overall work?
As noted in the last module when we introduced this assignment, the compressed nature of this Capstone does not allow you enough time to extend your literature review into identifying new opportunities for research. Instead, we ask you to conclude your literature review by summarizing key points of agreement and disagreement in the research, with a special focus on the impact of the issue on disenfranchised/vulnerable populations around the world. You must support your summation by drawing upon well-reasoned evidence from the journal articles included in your literature review and explaining how these findings contribute to the collective knowledge in your field of study. Please do not include any discussion of the methodologies used in the studies.
Depending on the number of scholarly sources used, your literature review should be approximately 2,000-2,500 words, and should not exceed 3,000 words. (Word counts exclude title pages, headers, and reference list.)
This step establishes the foundation for your final research paper and is consequently of vital importance to your overall success in the Capstone. Review, reorganize, revise, and rewrite until you’ve demonstrated the level of scholarship expected of a degree-seeking candidate.
