Competencies

Create a research question for a study that will help fill a gap and provide benefits in a field.
Design a research strategy in order to answer a research question.
Evaluate research and data that can help answer the research question and support a hypothesis.
Draft a paper that answers the research question based on findings.
Revise research and writing based on feedback.
Compose a report inclusive of research and data analysis.
Scenario
You have received your masters degree and now have a job in your field. Your boss has encouraged you to do research on a topic in your field and write a scholarly paper for publication. You remember that you took a graduate course in Research and Writing, in which you already did some work on a research question you have always been interested in. This will be an opportunity for you to pursue that research question in more detail and put everything together in a scholarly paper.

Instructions
Create a research question you are interested in, conduct the research to answer that question, and write a complete scholarly paper on your question. This paper should contain the following sections:

An introductory section that explains your research question, your purpose, and how your paper fills a deficiency or gap in the research. Also explain any limitations to your study and how you dealt with any potential ethical issues.
A section reviewing the current literature on this topic.  This section should discuss as least five relevant and current articles related to your research question.
A section on the methods you followed to perform your research.
A section on data collection and analysis.
A section that details your findings.
A concluding section that evaluates the usefulness of your study and any practical implications it has.
Resources
For writing assistance, please visit the Rasmussen College Writing Guide.

For help with APA, visit the Rasmussen College APA Guide.

Library databases such as the following are great resources for this project:

Health Sciences
CINAHL Plus
Health Sciences and Nursing via ProQuest
Medline
Business
Business Source Complete
Business via ProQuest
Another database that you may be interested in knowing about is ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.  You can view original research, view research design, data gathering techniques, e