[Title of 12-15 words and includes method choice] Research Prospectus Colorado Technical University Student Name Month Year [Note. The Research Prospectus is a significant milestone in the journey toward your CTU dissertation research study. A Research Prospectus approved in RSCH861 demonstrates your achievement of a viable research problem and alignment of the research method choice, problem, purpose, and research question. Your Research Prospectus will be approved when the criteria highlighted in yellow on the Research Prospectus Evaluation Rubric are marked as Meets. This will enable you to pass the RSCH861 course. Please be cognizant of the fact that the Research Prospectus is regarded as a work in progress and content is subject to additional revisions as the research proposal/dissertation process continues. Your completed Research Prospectus should be 8-10 pages.] Please keep a clean version of this Research Prospectus template for your records, and use it to remind you what the stated expectations are for each section of the template. Introduction [A quality Research Prospectus presents a well-aligned Study Problem, Study Purpose, and Research Question, clearly articulated, and substantiated through citation of the appropriate theoretical, conceptual, and empirical peer-reviewed literature. In this introduction to the Research Prospectus provide enough context for the reader to understand the importance of your proposed study topic and its relationship to your doctoral field and concentration. Also include a reflexive discussion of how your positionality (e.g. race, gender, religion, culture, education, profession) may influence your approach to your study topic. The Research Prospectus is double-spaced throughout with Level 1 headers for each required section. The References, and any appendices headers (known as front and back matter in scholarly publishing) also use a Level 1 header. The introduction is no longer than 2 pages.] Start introduction here Study Problem [This study problem statement is one paragraph of text of between 250-350 well-supported words to describe and elaborate upon the study problem that is your focus. The University requires dissertation problems to be both practice-based and scholarship-supported, so the description of the problem must include both practice considerations and the current research. This section begins with the sentence: The problem to be addressed by this study is] The problem to be addressed by this study is Study Purpose [This section begins with one sentence to introduce the study: The purpose of the [research approach] [design choice] study is to. Following this short statement of your study purpose, the Study Purpose section will introduce a brief rationale for the choice of study design followed by an overview of research methods (e.g. possible research site, target population, sampling method, proposed sample size, data collection method, data analysis method). The Study Purpose section will close with a statement of the potential contributions of the study findings to professional practice and scholarship.] The purpose of the proposed study is Research Question [An introduction to the question or questions will be offered here and will be formatted as a Level 2 APA header as shown below. Clear alignment must be demonstrated between the problem, purpose, and research question(s).] The study research question(s). Q1 [Phrasing for the research question or questions must align with the traditions and conventions of the study design choice]? Q1a [Optional sub-research questions will be presented for quantitative or mixed methods studies and formatted using Level 4 APA headers as shown] Q1b Research Rationale [The Research Rationale section will present a continuation of the brief design rationale from the Study Purpose section above to fully describe the research traditions and paradigmatic perspectives that justify the choice of the research design as appropriate to address the study problem. In addition, provide a justification for how and why the research approach (i.e., qualitative, quantitative, design science, action research) and research design choice (e.g., case study, phenomenology, exploratory, correlational, quasi-experimental) align with the degree program discipline and area of concentration as supported by the current scholarship of the respective field.] The research tradition and design(s) selected for this study are Ethical Assurances [In this section, present a summary of the assurances you will employ to support principles of ethical research, which require researchers to minimize risk to human subjects. Specify how your proposed study aligns with principles of ethical research expected within the program discipline, and indicate what you expect to be the potential benefits of study findings to the discipline. Check the ethical assurances for responsible research expectations as indicated by the CTU Institutional Review Board.] Review of the Literature Plan [This section will begin with a brief introductory paragraph followed by a topical outline to present the primary areas of research as aligned with the study problem you plan to explore in your literature review. Be sure to consider the theoretical, conceptual, and seminal writings with an emphasis on empirical peer-reviewed literature as well as pertinent grey literature (e.g., government reports, white papers, conference proceedings, policy documents), as you categorically plan out the areas of the literature to be reviewed for your dissertation study. The topical outline will be formatted as Level 2 APA headers.] The plan to conduct the review of literature will involve [Theme 1 Label] [Theme 2 Label] [Theme 3 Label] Summary [Provide a concise summary of your research prospectus, 1-2 paragraphs.] References [References will be formatted per APA 7^th ed. guidelines, double-spaced, and left justified with proper hanging indent for second and subsequent lines of the source citation. Examples follow.] (Example of journal article) McCauley, S.M. & Christiansen, M.H. (2019). Language learning as language use: A cross-linguistic model of child language development. Psychological Review, 126(1), 1-51. https://doi.org/10.1037/rev0000126 (Example of dissertation published in a database) Hollander, M.M. (2017). Resistance to authority: Methodological innovations and new lessons from the Milgram experiment (Publication No: 10278373) [Doctoral dissertation, University of Wisconsin-Madison]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global. (Example of chapter in an edited book with a DOI) Balsam, K.F., Martell, C.R., Jones, K.P., & Safren, S.A. (2019). Affirmative cognitive behavior therapy with sexual and gender minority people. In G.Y. Iwamasa & P.A. Hays (Eds.), Culturally responsive cognitive behavior therapy: Practice and supervision (2^nd ed., pp. 287-315). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000119-012 (Example of data set) Pew Research Center. (2018). American trends panel Wave 26 [Data set]. https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/dataset/american-trends-panel-wave-26/ To achieve an approved prospectus, all criteria highlighted in yellow must be marked Meets. All students must achieve an approved Research Prospectus to pass RSCH861.

Research Prospectus Evaluation Rubric
	Section	Meets (Instructor please check)	Does Not Meet (Instructor please check)	Instructor Feedback
	Template Use	Utilizes current CTU Research Prospectus Template	Does not utilize current CTU Research Prospectus Template
Front Matter	Title Page	Title reflects tradition and research design choice Title aligned with Trio Title aligned with discipline/ concentration	Title does not reflect tradition and research design choice Title lacks alignment with Trio Title lacks alignment with discipline/concentration
Introduction	No more than 2 pages Key terms defined Adequate introduction to the study problem Adequate citations for scholarship support	Exceeds 2 pages in length Missing term definitions Unclear introduction to the study problem Inadequate citations for scholarship support
Trio	Problem Statement	Problem well aligned with Purpose and RQ Problem phrasing aligned with conventions of the discipline/ concentration Adequate citations for scholarship support of the study problem	Problem not well aligned with Purpose and RQ Problem phrasing not aligned with conventions of the discipline/ concentration Inadequate scholarship citations to justify problem
Study Purpose	Purpose well aligned with Problem and RQ Purpose phrasing aligned with conventions of the discipline/ concentration Adequate statement of proposed contribution	Purpose lacks alignment with Problem and RQ Purpose phrasing not aligned with conventions of the discipline/ concentration Missing statement of proposed contribution
Research Question	RQ aligned with Problem and Purpose RQ phrasing aligned with traditions/ conventions of design choice RQ phrasing aligned with conventions of the discipline/ concentration	RQ lacks alignment with Problem and Purpose RQ phrasing not aligned with traditions/conventions of design choice RQ phrasing not aligned with conventions of the discipline/ concentration
Research Design	Research Description	Adequate description of research approach (qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods) Adequate paradigmatic perspective (e.g. positivist, post-positivist, interpretivist) Adequate description of proposed research design (e.g. quasi-experimental, correlational, ethnography, phenomenology, exploratory)	Missing research approaches Missing paradigmatic perspective Inadequate description of proposed research design
	Research Design Rationale	Adequate rationale for proposed research design	Inadequate rationale for proposed research design
Ethical Assurances		Addresses assurances used to support the ethical principles necessary for minimizing risk to human subjects, alignment with ethical research expected within the program discipline, and potential benefits of study findings to the discipline.	Does not address these assurances
Back Matter	Summary	Provides a concise summary of your research prospectus Summary of all required components	Does not provide Missing summary for required components
References	Double spaced with proper indent Formatted per APA guidelines Grammar/scholarly writing present	Spacing/indent errors High error rate of APA guidelines Grammar/scholarly writing not evident

Student Name: Status of Research Prospectus: ?Approved ?Not Approved Instructor: Please return this completed rubric to the student and retain a copy for your records.

Attachments:

Research-Pros....docx