Assignment: Research Problem Development

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Walden University

Working Title

Background 1 paragraph

In this section, write one good paragraph that sets the stage for your research problem. Use the MEAL plan for organizing the paragraph to pursue doctoral-level standards for scholarly writing. The mnemonic MEAL has four letters, so all scholarly paragraphs will have a minimum of four sentences.

· M – Your first sentence must be a topic sentence that states the m ain idea of the paragraph.

· E – The next e vidence sentence(s) reports 3 references to research that substantiate(s) the main idea. Because they report evidence, all sentences in the evidence paragraph element require APA citations with references.

· A – Provide at least one a nalysis sentence in your own words. Do not use quotations. Analysis sentences connect the evidence back to the main idea of the paragraph. The best analysis sentences are also cited with references.

· L – Let’s conclude. Finally, end your paragraph let’s conclude sentence. Start the sentence with “Therefore…” or “So…” or similar. This does not require citations. Comment by Research: When your instructor reads your paragraph, s/he will be looking to fit each sentence into one of these four MEAL plan elements, and in the proper order. Author opinions communicate bias; an APA taboo, and they do not fit any of the MEAL plan elements. Do not include your opinions!

Problem Statement

(with 3-5 citations to evidence that the problem exists)

One paragraph – write one straightforward, sentence stating the problem. Make it clear, specific, & unambiguous. By “specific” we mean as narrow a problem as practical. Then provide 3-5 references to evidence that the problem exists in the current research literature. Explain in your own words, no quotations, please. If the problem is that the apples have worms in them, give evidence that the apples have worms in them. Don’t write about the benefit of apples, the cost of apples, or anything else about apples. Give evidence that the problem exists…that the apples do, indeed, have worms in them. The more cited evidence sentences you provide, the stronger case you build for studying the problem.

Evidence from the Local Setting (Level 2 APA Heading)

One paragraph – Use local evidence, not evidence from the literature unless it is a study in the local context. Use personal communications, local test scores, etc.)

The Gap in Practice (or the gap in the literature about practice) (Level 2 APA Heading)

One paragraph – Describe research from the past 2 to 3 years to show what has been discovered about your problem and discuss what still needs to be researched or discovered. What do researchers say still needs to be researched or discovered?