Northeastern
Summer 2007 syllabus for
SPCH 4993 Capstone Experience
(last updated 03.08.07)
Professor: Amy Aldridge Sanford, PhD Office:
E-mail: aldridga@nsuok.edu (This is the best way to contact me) Office Hours: See Contact Info on webpage.
Required Text:
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA). (5th ed.)(2001). American Psychological Association. ISBN: 1557987912.
Catalogue Description
of Course:
The student will
design and complete a major project related to his/her option. Required of all majors.
Pre-requisites:
Completion
of 90 hours, including at least 30 in the major and approval of the faculty
committee.
Schedule:
Completing your
capstone in the summer is difficult. You
will have to work on it EVERY DAY. We
need to get in your IRB paperwork ASAP. If
I agree to be your capstone director, you will be required to meet with me
weekly until further notice.
Additionally, this is the progress I will expect you to achieve in order
to finish the research project within the semester:
|
Week |
Progress |
|
1 |
Meet with
Amy. Discuss what you would like to do
for a research project with her. You
need to propose original research. It
can be either qualitative or quantitative. |
|
2 |
Read journal
articles about your idea(s). Know
specifically what you want to do when you see Amy this week. Send in your IRB paperwork (It will need to include
your research instrument, your research questions, and Amy will need to sign
the paperwork); start writing your literature review (LR) |
|
3 |
Begin the research
once you have the OK from Amy and the IRB (Keep notes about how you conduct
the research—You will need it for the methodology section of the paper) |
|
4 |
Continue writing
the LR and doing the research |
|
5 |
Continue writing
the LR and doing the research |
|
6 |
Write up your
methodology, research results, discussion, limitation, and conclusion/future
research. Have other people edit your
paper, especially for grammar and mechanics.
|
|
7 |
Final paper is due
to Amy. The paper can be submitted
electronically to Amy’s email address.
The sooner you give the paper to Amy the more time you have to
correct edits. |
Suggested structure for the final paper:
Grading:
You will earn an “A” if the literature review is incredibly thorough, includes multiple journal sources and the research appears to make a nice contribution to the existing scholarly community. The RQ(s) need to be mature, well thought out, and related to the discipline of communication. An “A” paper will not include any grammar or mechanical errors and will follow APA style thoroughly. Students who make an “A” will be at all of their weekly appointments with Amy.
A “B” paper is similar to an “A” paper but has a less thorough LR, which may include less credible sources than journal articles. The RQ(s) should be related to communication but are less mature than that of an “A” paper. “B” papers will have grammar and mechanical errors and may miss on APA style. The methodology, research results, and discussion will not be as well developed as an “A” paper. Students who make a “B” may miss an appointment or two with Amy.
A “C” paper is very average work and may be missing some of the final paper components outlined above. However, they will have a developed LR and RQ(s). Their papers have multiple grammar, mechanical, and stylistic errors. These “C” students will miss appointments with Amy.
A student making a “D” has done less than “C” or average work.
Students who have done no work at all will earn an “F.”
In some cases an “I” or “Incomplete” can be given to a student when they have begun their capstone project but have not been able to complete it satisfactorily within the span of a semester’s time. This is left to the discretion of the professor.