Question 2: Practical Application

Your dissertation research must contribute to theory. Your research and the theory to which it contributes may or may not have a practical benefit or application. There is no doubt, however, that there is a theory in your dissertation topic area that does have a practical application.

Part 1
Referencing at least five peer-reviewed journal articles or scholarly books, discuss views on the relationship between theory and application or practice. How can a theory guide or inform practice? What are the issues involved in translating theory into practice? Be sure to keep in mind the various conceptions of theory you discussed in Question 1.

Part 2
Referencing at least five peer-reviewed journal articles, fully describe a theory of current interest in your topic area. A theory is currently of interest if there are articles published on it in the past five years. This theory may or may not be the same as the one you examined in Question 1, Part 3. Describe a current view of the theory, not the founder’s view or a classic view. Your answer should be no more than three pages long.

Part 3
Identify at least five scholarly articles (published in the last 5 years) that address how the theory you discussed in Part 2 has actually been applied. (Draw on your response to Part 1 in order to define what you mean by an application of a theory to an actual problem or situation.) Critically evaluate the appropriateness of the uses to which the theory has been applied. Consider, for example: Are the applications premised upon an accurate understanding of the theory and its scope? Do the applications “go beyond” what the theory claims? Is the reasoning linking application and theory sound?

The structure of your paper should be as follows:
Title page
Body (13-15 pages, no more or less; APA Style; use appropriate headings for organization of the paper)
References (APA Style)

Learning Outcomes:
2. Critique existing research and design a methodologically sound approach to research in the student’s academic specialization(s).

It is also very important that you critically analyze ALL the Comprehensive Examination requirements discussed in your syllabus.  Some these requirements are (this is a partial sample of the requirements):

The four Comprehensive Examination questions—address the entire question.

Submission directions—follow them.

Demonstrate a passing score per the Comprehensive Examination Grading Rubric.

Do not write summary report papers—see the Tips for Success document that discusses expectations for doctoral level writing versus summary report writing.

Use only scholarly peer reviewed research (studies)—see the Tips for Success document that describes how to ensure that you are using peer reviewed sources.  Do not risk your Comprehensive Examination by using professional journals that may have slipped through a database—it is the Student’s responsibility to ensure that ALL sources are peer reviewed.

Follow APA formatting.  References that state something like Retrieved from EbscoHost are not following APA and will negatively impact your grade.  See section 7.01 in your APA Manual.  Look at the Grading Rubric and how incorrect APA may impact your Comprehensive Examination score.

Review the minimum and maximum page requirement (excluding the title pages and references, 13-15 pages.  No more and no less).  Poor APA formatting with extra white space (extra paragraph spacing, widow/orphan control default on), margins larger than one-inch or font other than Times New Roman 12pt may result in a paper not meeting the Comprehensive Examination minimum requirements.

Read all of this email and re-read it when making your quality assurance check prior to submitting your work.

Following the Grading Rubric for the Comprehensive Examination, I will be particularly looking for the following in evaluating your papers:

That the minimum Comprehensive Examination requirements were met.

That the papers clearly address the questions.

That the papers exhibit a theoretically sound and conceptually rich essay that demonstrates knowledge of the fundamental subject areas identified in the four exam questions.

Critical analysis and synthesis of scholarly (peer-reviewed) sources (studies) to frame your arguments.

Use of scholarly (peer-reviewed) sources to support any assertions.

Clear divisions between your writing voice and the literary sources.

Proper English grammar and punctuation.

Clean formatting and following the style detailed in the APA Publication Manual 6th Edition. 

Purpose of the Comprehensive Examination:
 

The Comprehensive Exam questions are a comprehensive assessment of a Student’s knowledge and skills related to your specific discipline and shows that the Student is ready to move forward to the dissertation phase of their learning.  In your activity outcomes, identifies the purpose of the Comprehensive Examination:

Compose a theoretically sound and conceptually rich essay that demonstrates knowledge of the fundamental subject areas of the Student’s academic discipline and specialization.

Critique existing research and design a methodologically sound approach to research in the Student's academic specialization(s).

Apply relevant theory and research from the Student's specialization coursework to real life situations to solve specific problems and discuss implications.

Integrate knowledge of ethical practices with principles of professional practice as they apply to specific scenarios within the Student's academic discipline and specialization.

The coversheet should not be numbered and starting with the first title page as page 1, you may number all the pages in sequence or you may start with page 1 for the introduction on each paper.  You do not need an abstract and should pay particular attention to the requirements.  The Course Resources are there to help you and ignoring the resources may result in overlooking a critical requirement.

One final note: There are several requirements for the Comprehensive Examination in the syllabus (and your Activity Page) that are mandatory such as page length, peer reviewed sources, formatting, etc.  I strongly suggest that you create a check list for all the requirements and the grading rubric so that you ensure that you are meeting the requirements of the exam.  It is all too easy to get started on writing the papers and miss university requirements that must be met for a passing grade.