Your portfolio project for this course is a formal research proposal for a QUALITATIVE research study based on a subject of your choosing within your current or future career field. Following is a summary of what you will be required to do to successfully complete your research project.

Compose a 12 - 15 page research report on a topic of your choosing within your career field. This assignment requires that you reflect on, evaluate, analyze, synthesize, and apply your research on each of the topics listed in the project.

Your research proposal must include the following items:

• Title page

• Executive summary or abstract (use an executive summary if your topic is business related or an abstract if your topic is education related)

• Background of the problem (1-2 pages describing the history and importance of your chosen topic)

• Problem statement (a discussion of the topic or problem that clearly explains what the issue is and why it is important

• Purpose statement (say something like, "The purpose of this study is to...")

• Review of related literature. This should show the reader how the sources support your topic and explain their relationship to one another.

• Research methodology (a 1-2 page explanation of the qualitative methodology that your study will use, including the research question(s), population, sample, instrumentation, and methods for analyzing the data)

• Summary and recommendations (show how the literature supports your problem statement and how your research will support the problem statement, and make recommendations based on this information)

• Conclusion (a paragraph that summarizes the information, refers back to the introductory paragraph, or offers a future outcome of the information presented in the essay body)

• Reference page formatted in APA style

• Appendix (material that you do not include in the body of the paper, but ask your readers to refer to)

• Annotated bibliography (a final version of the Week 4 annotated bibliography, including any changes or new sources included in the final project)

• Two visuals in addition to any appendix material you provide.

• 12 - 15 pages in length, not counting the required title page, abstract, and reference pages.

• 10 to 12 scholarly sources that are not required or recommended readings for this course. The CSU-Global Library is a reliable place to find these sources.

• Formatted according to the CSU-Global Guide to Writing and APA Requirements

• Adheres to the standards laid out in the rubric, which can be found in the Module 8 folder