The American University DBA 7240 Doctoral Writing and Inquiry Into Research

Examines the basic principles and techniques of doctoral scholarship and offers an overview of the development of theory and research logic, explores the relationship between theoretical and empirical constructs, and provides a wide variety of specific research methodologies, including the scholarly publication process. Learners study the principles of the scientific method and research design techniques common to qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research, including sampling methods and data collection techniques. Material includes an examination of various research methods including electronic searches and retrieval methods. Students critically review research papers and articles and are introduced to the writing techniques necessary to produce expository and analytical papers to the standards of publishable work.

Learning outcomes

• Develop a topical research question based on a literature review.
• Determine the key steps for a comprehensive literature review.
• Formulate the rationale for a quantitative research study.
• Formulate the rationale for a qualitative research study.
• Construct a comprehensive concept paper outline.
• Distinguish between inductive and deductive reasoning.
• Appraise the differences between validity and reliability.

Prerequisites

None