LS504: Applied Research in Legal Studies Unit 1 Professor Inman linman@kaplan.edu

Important Features in the Course I will post the PowerPoint slides for our weekly seminars, as well as any additional guidelines for assignments. During each unit, be sure to check Doc Sharing for any applicable required guidelines for your work. There is a Short Guide to APA Style in Doc Sharing. Please refer to this when citing sources, print and internet.

In Doc Sharing Let’s to go Doc Sharing now, to view APA style guide Written Assignment Rubric Plagiarism Policy

Email Issues Please note that when I send an all-class email, I use a drop-down menu with your names only. I don’t see which email address it is going to. Usually, this will be the personal email address you gave KU before you registered at KU. If you would like to change this address, to, say, your KU one, please talk to Tech Support. I frequently send out important announcements via all-class email: please check this email at least twice a day.

General Guidelines for the Course Please email me if you need to request an extension for an assignment. Please email me if you miss a seminar and would like to write a seminar paper (a one-page summary) to make up the points. Please post at least three substantive posts to the DB on at least three days. At least one of your posts should be your own response to the questions; at least two of your posts should be a substantive response to your classmates’ posts. In my classes, students cannot make up DBs. Please do all of your posting before the end of the unit, Tuesday night at midnight, ET.

Assignments 1 Quiz (Unit 6) 8 Graded Seminars 8 Graded Discussion Boards 7 Written Assignments Unit 1—Discussion of differences between “traditional/pure/basic” research and applied research Unit 2—Analysis of potential problem statements Unit 3—Refined problem statement and proposed solution Unit 4—No writing assignment / Unit 5—Mid-term break Unit 6—Evaluate and revise Unit 4 problem statement / Quiz Unit 7—Analysis of research challenges in article Unit 8—Literature Review due (10-15 pp.; at least 10 sources) Unit 9—Your research plan (5-7 pp.) / Unit 10—No assignments

Overview of Your Work for This Course In this course, you will learn the basics of applied research and the ways that it differs from traditional scholarly research. You will decide on a specific topic, or “problem” for your research. You will stay with this topic for this course and for LS698: Applied Research Project. You will produce a literature review on your topic, which will consist of thorough research and a paper detailing previously published scholarly studies on your topic.

Looking ahead to LS698 In the second course, LS698: Applied Research Project, you will spend more time studying data collection and analysis issues. You are not required to carry out your research study by collecting and analyzing data. In LS698, you will have a data collection and analysis plan, which you will describe in detail, and which will focus on how research can be applied to improve an organization or impact policy in a community. However, I encourage you to carry out your project, in LS698, if you wish to. Some of the best projects I have seen were carried out by students during the 10 weeks of LS698.

Avoid Plagiarism See the Kaplan policy in the syllabus. First strike: the student fails the assignment; second strike: the student fails the course; third strike: the student is expelled. Be sure that all of the work that you submit consists of your own work and ideas. Whenever you use a source to borrow words or ideas, cite it with proper APA citation. When you consult a source for your Discussion Board posts, cite the source informally. Please email me with any questions.

Introduction to Applied Research What is applied research, and how does it differ from traditional research?

Introduction to Applied Research “Applied qualitative research is concerned, first and foremost, with the usefulness and application of knowledge. Its primary focus is on the production of knowledge that is practical and has immediate application to pressing problems of concern to society at large or to specific public or private research clients. It is research that is designed to engage with people, organizations, and interests and is aimed to inform human services, public policy, and other local, national, and international decision makers.” Brodsky, A.E. & Welsh, E.A. (2008). Applied research. In L.M. Given (Ed.), The SAGE encyclopedia of qualitative research methods (pp. 17-20). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Introduction to Applied Research What are some potential uses for applied research? Can you think of examples of ways in which applied research has been used to influence social policy and provide solutions for social problems? Can applied research also be used on a smaller scale, within an organization or specific institution? How? What are some potential problem statements?

Introduction to Applied Research Remember to keep your problem / topic focused, practical, and narrow. Choose a topic that is relevant to / useful for your organization, employer, or community.

Your topic You need: A problem that can be solved through your research project; A problem that is addressed by at least 10 scholarly articles in peer-reviewed journals; A problem about which you can gather and analyze data (statistics, surveys, focus groups) A problem that can be solved through your research, analysis, and proposed solution. You will probably want to focus on a particular community, school, or other group.