Summary
Members of the class are required
to prepare an applied research paper, with a minimum of 10 pages but not to
exceed 15 pages in length (excluding cover page, table of contents and
appendices), on a specific issue related to leadership or organizational
behavior.
Guidelines
Topic Selection
Select a specific organization of
interest to you and identify a problem at the firm related to organizational
behavior (OB).
Think of yourself as an
organizational consultant and assume that a key manager has requested a
thorough analysis and recommended course of action to resolve an actual
organizational problem that will make a difference to the future performance of
the organization.
Identify which course Course
Objectives (COs) are related to the problem you identify.
Research Sources
All papers must have a minimum of
six scholarly sources cited within the text of the paper and identified in the
references section.
Additional research sources can be
attached in a bibliography.
Review the following document for
instructions on how to access and use EBSCOhost for your research: EBSCOhost
(Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..
Paper Format
All papers should be
double-spaced, using an 11- or 12-point font.
The length of the paper is to be
between 10 and 15 pages, not counting the cover page, table of contents, nor
appendices.
The first page should include the
title of the work, student name, course number and title, date, and professor
name.
The second page should be a table
of contents. It should, at a minimum, reflect the seven items listed in the
Grading Rubric.
Follow APA style for general
format and citations (see the APA Guidelines Tutorial in the Syllabus).
The paper sections must adhere to
the guidelines below, and each section must be labeled in the text.
The language should be clear,
concise, and precise.
The tone should be professional,
consistent, and not filled with jargon.
Grammar and syntax (sentence
structure) must be correct.
The report must be free of
misspellings and typos.
Tables and Figures
All figures and tables must be
referred to in your text before they appear on the page.
Figures and tables should appear
on the same page as, or the page after, the text that refers to them.
All figures and tables need
captions. Captions go below figures and above tables.
Quotations and Citations
Quotations and citations are
crucial components of a research paper and must be present.
Failure to properly cite research
sources and borrowed ideas is plagiarism.
Refer to the APA style guide for
assistance with properly citing quoted or borrowed materials and ideas.
Turnitin is used on all reports
and projects. A report can be obtained for your review prior to submitting your
final work. Make sure that you are in compliance with the University’s 20/80
rule.
Milestones
Week Action Required
1
Familiarize yourself with course
content and select an organization and problem area to research.
3
Submit a written Brief Proposal of
Research containing the following:
A brief overview of the chosen
organization and your role in it
A preliminary problem statement in
the form of a researchable question
A brief narrative description of
the organizational problem that you would like to research and resolve
Which Terminal Course Objective(s)
your problem is related to
3
Conduct library research on your
topic.
Identify a minimum of six
scholarly resources for your project.
All resources for the paper must
come from DeVry Library and must be of scholarly quality.
Use the librarians for assistance
in accessing materials.
Review the Using EBSCO tutorial.
Please Note: Articles found online
(many on consulting company websites, Internet magazines, or other blogs) will
not be considered an acceptable scholarly resource. Conduct your research
through a library where you can be assured that the sources are of scholarly
quality.
5
Submit a written Expanded Research
Proposal containing the following:
Title page and Table of Contents
Documentation of at least three
initial scholarly sources from the library
Expanded introduction to the
organization
Expanded description of your
chosen problem
Preliminary solution options (can
be bullet points)
Preliminary analysis of leadership
and organizational behavior concepts addressed in the paper
6
Continue to work on the class
project; seek professor help as required.
7
Submit the completed project.
