Assignment: Gap Analysis (Fall 2022)

Assignment: Gap Analysis (Fall 2022)

Weight: 35% (FLPL 37545)

Due: Week 4

Course Readings from the Capstone Library (SLATE): As assigned.

Associated Learning Outcomes:

1. Identify a current real-life, leadership-oriented issue that will enhance the theory or practice in ECEC.

2. Analyze the needs and the nature of any program issues in an EC organization.

3. Evaluate various strategies in research and project designs.

4. Determine appropriate methods or instruments that support the discipline-specific research or project.

5. Conduct contextual interviews, observations and document review techniques to determine what research instrument fits the context.

Description:

Reflect on your experiences and knowledge of early childhood education and care (ECEC).

Identify an emerging, contemporary or educational leadership-oriented debate, issue or problem which can be explored using qualitative and/or quantitative methods.

Your chosen research area should be oriented toward enhancing ECEC practice and the wider field of Early Education, and will be further explored through a study that you will conduct during the Winter capstone research course.

Locate and read research articles from peer-reviewed journals related to your research problem. While you may include older articles which you consider excellent or relevant, the majority of articles should be RECENT (last 10 years). The research should be EMPIRICAL (pertaining to a study with participants involving data collection and analysis). Consider: each authors thesis sentence*, research methods, findings, and conclusion; reflect on strengths and weaknesses; and assess relevance to your research.

*A thesis sentence focuses your ideas for the paper; it is your argument or insight or viewpoint crystallized into a single sentence that gives the reader your main idea (https://www.esc.edu/online-writing-center/resources/academic-writing/process/shaping-information/thesis-definition/ ).

Choose SEVEN of your relevant studies and complete a Gap Analysis Chart for EACH article.

Completing a chart for each study will help you in multiple ways.

You will:

- Use the charts to assist with your Literature Review, and other assignments.

- Become more familiar with scholarly research

- Become more familiar with academic writing and structure

- Situate your area of research interest in order to provide context to your study and demonstrate how your study can contribute toward the broader existing body of knowledge related to your topic.

- Explore the possibilities of both qualitative and quantitative methods and their suitability as you consider your research question.

Gap Analysis Chart

(Complete 7 charts - one for each article. Each one is worth 5%)

ARTICLE # ____________ Type your comments into this column

Research Article (must be relevant, empirical, and published within the last 10 years)

(Where applicable, older articles may be used) Provide article reference in APA Style. (If you use an electronic APA Style reference generator, double check the formatting to ensure it follows the APA Guidelines.) Effective Practice List one ECEC effective practice as identified in your chosen article. Problem/Issue in the Field How does the article relate to your research problem of interest?

From your own experience, describe the current reality in the field/ community, and explain how it is different from effective practice. Data Collection Methods What instrument was used to collect data?

Was the data qualitative, quantitative, or both (mixed)? Participant Demographics Provide details about the study participants (Demographic info.: position, gender, age, language, economic status, geographic location). Recommendations for Future Research What do the author(s) recommend for future research on the topic? Potential Research Project Themes Identify 2-3 key themes related to your research problem. (These themes will be useful when writing your Literature Review.) Identifying interesting and important quotations Choose one or two quotations or key words which relate to your research problem.

*Note quotations should be used carefully in a literature review. You can also choose a phrase or expression rather than the whole sentence After reviewing this article, which reference might you pull out as a primary source? Within your article, you may have noticed a reference the author has used or referred to. Look in the reference list and make a note of the full reference. Find one primary source per article. Are personal intentions examined, for example did you note any bias? When reading your article, did you notice any bias from the author? Did the article itself or the question suggest the research orientation of the author. For example, were the arguments balanced or not. Why? What did you notice? Has adequate attention been made to various contexts? For example, have the author(s) critiqued themselves, the data collection methods, or the type of analysis? Within academic articles, it is expected that the authors examine why their data may have revealed certain points of view. You may also expect to see some reference to their data collection methods and any issues they may have encountered and/or limitations of their research. Make some comment here on what you found. / 5

RUBRIC

Gap Analysis Evaluation (35% = 5% x 7 articles)

The chosen article meets all requested criteria: highly relevant to the research problem; peer-reviewed; recent (where applicable); and reports on an empirical study.

The submission is complete, accurate, and reflects that the full article was read and analyzed.

1

Article #

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Mark /5

T O T A L /35 Comments

PLEASE NOTE EXPECTATIONS BELOW FOR WRITING, PROFESSIONALISM, REFERENCES, AND APA STYLE.

MARKS WILL BE DEDUCTED IF THE LIST BELOW IS NOT ADHERED TO

Few or no stylistic or grammatical errors

Few or no spelling errors

Language is concise, precise, and easily understood

Professionalism is consistent throughout (e.g., objective, unbiased language)

Follows APA format CONSISTENTLY

Includes proper in-text citations, and references follow APA Guidelines

Has been carefully proofread