Instructions
From the assigned module readings, the weekly discussions, and from your supporting research compile a literature review sharing what you have learned with your colleagues and community and that will help you to measure your innovation plan. Throughout the course discussions you have been collaborating with your peers and in particular, have been working with other classmates who have similar or related innovation plans.
To support your action research plan your literature review must, at minimum, address the following questions or issues and follow this format:
Introduction
- Describe your overall topic, why it is important and why are interested in it.
- List major themes, subtopics, or trends in research questions, results, and or conclusions.
Body
- The body of your literature should deal with each theme by providing an overview of the characteristics of them and then sub-topics and related studies in each sub-topic.
- Each sub-topic should be a narrowly grouped findings related to the theme.
- There should be a continual narrowing focus of the literature review as you progress through the themes and sub-topics.
- See the Planning Your Action Research Literature Review example document.
Summary
- Discuss the contributions of this body of literature to the broader field of education.
- Identify and discuss the pros/cons, strengths/weaknesses of this body of literature.
- Discuss what is missing from this body of literature and what will serve as the focus of your study/methodology.
How many references will you need? Mertler, the author of your text, Action Research: Improving Schools and Empowering Educators, recommends that you have as many references as you need to cover all sides of your topic and that will give you the confidence you can design an effective action research plan. He also points to the fact that published action research articles will have anywhere from 2-25 references. We recommend that you shoot for a minimum in the mid-point of this range. Furthermore, most editors and reviews will suspect the thoroughness of your work if it has a single-digit reference list so we encourage you to be thorough.
While we normally give you the choice of format for your assignments the literature review is a formal academic document and we ask that you refer to the following sample literature review and use the following APA format:
This literature review must be used to help support your action research plan that will address the measurement strategy for your innovation plan that you have developed in EDLD 5305 and that you updated in subsequent courses.
- Use the APA format to cite your sources.