Leadership and the role of organizational culture
Assignment Instructions You will start to construct your final research paper due in Week 7. The final paper will be at least 10 pages. This does not include the title page, abstract or the reference page. This week you will write on your chosen topic and select one scholarly article. Instructions Your first assignment in this course is simple but very important. You need to select a specific area of interest in the field of leadership (from among the options below) that you will use each week as you engage the different methods and processes of research. You will use the topic you select each week throughout the duration of the course, so select a topic (from the list) that you are interested in studying. At the end of the course, you will have a useful collection of documents (and increased knowledge) pertaining to one area of leadership research. The following topics are typical of the theoretical areas associated with leadership research. Leadership and the role of organizational culture Ethics and leadership Remember that you will be using the same selected topic with all the assignments during the eight weeks of the course. DETAILS for assignment 1: 1. Make sure to utilize your topic of interest for the course. 2. Find a scholarly journal article (NOTE: SELECT AN ARTICLE THAT WAS PUBLISHED WITHIN THE LAST FIVE YEARS) that presents scholarly research associated with the topic. At this early point in the course, you are asked to “jump right in” and utilize the online library to locate an appropriate scholarly journal article that presents research concerning your topic. Keep in mind that scholarly research involves solving problems. If your article does not present qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods research then you do not have an appropriate research article. Again, for the purposes of this assignment, you want to intentionally find a research article that contains one of the three methods of research: qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods. Save the article to your computer to have as a reference and also to attach to the assignment when your paper is completed. 3. Write a short paper (450-600 words) that demonstrates a brief analysis of the scholarly research article you selected. You are to write your APA paper in such a way as to answer the questions/issues below. However, do not include the list on your paper. Instead, let the items guide the content expressed in your paper, which should be in typical paragraph form. Because of the shortness of the assignment, several of the items may be contained in a given paragraph. Be precise and you will be concise. Remember in the first paragraph you need to have a thesis statement. • After a brief introductory sentence. Tell whether the title is appropriate to the focus of the study. (Note: select an actual research study; avoid selecting a lecture on a topic. Research studies involve the collection and analysis of data, whereas lectures on a topic typically discuss a variety of research studies and do not provide the details of data collection and analysis.) • State the problem. Is the problem clearly stated? Does the problem have a theoretical rational? How significant is the problem studied in the research? • Is there a review of the literature? If so, is the literature relevant? Summarize (in a couple of sentences) the review of the literature. • Fully and completely describe the research method that was used to attack and answer the problem. Was the research method used to solve the problem qualitative or quantitative, or both? What instruments were used to answer the problem? Was there a sample used? If so, how was the sample selected? • State the hypothesis/questions or objectives. Were they stated clearly? • Are there any probable sources of error that might influence the results of the study? If so, have they been controlled? • What were the statistical or evaluative (quantitative/qualitative) techniques used to analyze the data? If so, were they appropriate? Note: There are many scholarly articles in appropriate journals that inform your topic. However, not all of them will describe research that evaluates data. Make sure that your selected article includes the evaluation/analysis of data. If you are unsure, this is the time to contact your professor and discuss it. • Summarize the results. How clearly were the results presented? • What are the limitations of the study? Are they stated? • Summarize the conclusion(s). Are the conclusions presented clearly? Does the data support the conclusions? Does the researcher over generalize the findings? • How can the results and conclusions presented in this study be applied in your particular field of study or work environment?
