Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the student will create a thread in response to the provided prompt for each discussion. Each thread must be at least 700 words in length and demonstrate a clear understanding of course-related knowledge. In addition to the thread, the student will reply to the threads of at least two classmates. Each reply must be at least 250 words. Each thread and reply must also include two peer-reviewed source citations in current APA format, the text, and the integration of 1 biblical principle as outlined in the Discussion Grading Rubric. The use of all three course texts, the Bible, and journal articles from the online library is required in the discussion posts.

Students will develop a research proposal that utilizes a flexible design to explore a problem they would like to investigate. Students are encouraged to choose a topic related to their doctoral program project so that the research completed will contribute to their overall applied project. Applied Research projects are often designed to answer practical questions and involve applying specific theories (Fixed Designs /Quantitative Studies) and findings to a specific real-world problem that a particular organization is experiencing.  This course focuses on the use of flexible designs that utilize qualitative methods, including phenomenology, Narrative, Grounded Theory, Case Study, and Ethnography.  While fixed designs and Quantitative approaches will be reviewed, your proposal should be a flexible design using a Qualitative method of study. 

The Doctor of Strategic Leadership (DSL) degree at Liberty University culminates in a Case Study that is comprised of three parts:

1. Foundation of the Study
2. The Project
3. Application to Professional Practice

To be clear, for the Doctor of Strategic Leadership (DSL) degree, you will be writing a single Case Study for the Doctoral Research Project (DRP).

As a side note, PhD dissertations in some schools traditionally have five parts, including: (1) Introduction, (2) Background (Literature Review) 3. Methods 4. Results 5.Conclusion.  Textbook readings for this class will generally follow the traditional five-part dissertation concept.  In this class, students will complete parts 1 through 3 (Introduction, Background/Literature Review, and Methods).  Specific to this class, Part 1 deals with the Introduction, Part 2 covers the Background (Literature Review), and Part 3 covers Methods.

The students will complete a proposal only and will not complete the research project in this course. Students should incorporate the Merida (2015) text in parts 1 and 2 of this paper as it relates to the chosen applied research topic. Each area of the project proposal will be discussed in further detail in class and will be associated with the corresponding textbook chapters.

Regarding the textbooks chosen, Robson and Creswell will use slightly different terminology in their writings.  Robson writes of flexible and fixed designs, whereas Creswell references Qualitative and Quantitative methods.  Generally speaking, flexible designs are normally aligned with Qualitative methods, and fixed designs are aligned with Quantitative methods. 

Project Justification (Introduction): Students will submit their research topic, problem statement, purpose statement, the importance of the study, the central question for conducting the research (Creswell, p. 161), research questions, nature of the study, and definitions of key terms. Part 1 will be between 5 and 8 pages in length.  The “Simple but Effective Problem Statements and Research Questions” white paper will be of great assistance.

Background (Literature Review): Students will discuss the search strategy and then conduct a review of the existing literature on this topic, writing the literature review in APA format. The background will consist of 15 pages in length, using a minimum of 10 academic references.  Students should start researching and collecting scholarly references as soon as possible, as this can be a very time-consuming process. 

Project Approach (Methods): Students will identify the research process, including how they will collect data, analyze data, and the instrumentation used. This can include selecting the qualitative research method to use, as well as the research target (population and sample). Through a flexible design, using qualitative methods, a concept will be discussed.  The methods section will consist of five to eight pages, using the Robson and Creswell textbooks, along with two other academic references on the chosen methods.

Bible and Research Assignment:  Using three of the listed Bible verses, students will analyze, synthesize, and evaluate how these verses are foundational to quantitative, qualitative, and/or mixed methods of research, considering the various aspects of research they have learned about in the course.  

Completed Final Project – Students should combine the previous three parts of the paper into a final research proposal. Students should update the sections based on the feedback from their instructor.

Final Project Presentation – Students will compile at least ten slides that outline the major components of their presentation. A title slide and a references slide are required, formatted in APA style.

Students must follow the instructions provided by the instructor in the weekly announcements, in addition to those outlined in this syllabus.  

Bible and Research Assignment

Students will utilize 3 Bible verses of those provided. They will analyze, synthesize, and evaluate how the verses are foundational to quantitative, qualitative, and/or mixed methods of research in a minimum of 1500 words (not including the title page, abstract, and
references). Students must reference the Bible, three scholarly peer-reviewed resources, and the textbook, and adhere to the current APA format.