Strategies for Finding Resources

By now, you may have a research topic in mind. Your topic must emphasize a social problem and your research must have implications for social change. Think about what is known in the field of public policy and administration and what you want to explore. Whether you have a topic yet or not, the literature search will help you to define and refine it. Finally, selecting a topic and conducting a literature review will give you the basis for drafting your Premise.

ORDER NOW FOR CUSTOMIZED SOLUTION PAPERS

There is a multitude of research databases in the Walden Library. Some may be more useful than others for finding articles related to your Dissertation topic. Before you begin to search for articles, it is important to identify the databases that will be most useful. It also is important to use the best searching strategies. If you search using keywords that are too broad, you may be inundated with useless information. If you search using keywords that are too specific, you may miss articles that are pertinent to your Dissertation topic.
To prepare for this Discussion, review the Dissertation and Writing Resources in this week’s Learning Resources.

Your Week 1 Application Assignment was to describe your Dissertation topic and how you came to select it, what your interest is in studying it, the problem that makes it worth studying, and its significance. To prepare for this Discussion, use the Litmus Test listed in your Learning Resources to develop and revise your topic and problem statement you drafted in Week 1.

Post by Day 4 a response to the following:

Briefly describe your Dissertation topic and the problem statement that you have developed or revised from Week 1, together with its significance. Both your topic and the problem statement are required in your Premise.
Describe how you will use the Walden’s Doctoral Capstone Resourceslocated in this Week’s Resources throughout the Dissertation process.

Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the Learning Resources.
Read a selection of your colleagues’ postings.

Respond by Day 6 to the postings of at least two of your colleagues, responding to the same colleagues in both the Week 2 and Week 3 Discussions. Work with your colleagues to determine your statement’s feasibility and appropriateness as it relates to your topic. Use their feedback to hone and refine your problem statement.

Evaluate your colleagues’ problem statements, judging their clarity and strength: To what extent is the problem significant enough to warrant study? What other components or issues might be added to the problem statement? What other feedback can you provide that will strengthen the statement? Explain and justify your decisions and feedback. Support or challenge your colleagues’ choices of key words.

http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/researchcenter/osra/phd

http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/doctoralcapstoneresources

http://dissertationrecipes.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Problem-Statement-Checklist.pdf

http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/assignments/literaturereview

http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/assignments/annotatedbibliographies

Walden University, Center for Research Quality. (n.d.-f). Research resources. Retrieved from http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/researchcenter/resources/planning
- Research Planning and Writing Litmus Test
  To access the Research Planning and Writing Litmus Test, click on “Research Planning and Writing,” then click on “Research Planning.” Click on “Litmus Test” to download the Word document.
Simon, M. K. (2011c). Writing an annotated bibliography. In Dissertation and scholarly research: Recipes for success(pp. 1–3). Retrieved from http://Dissertationrecipes.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/annotatedbibexplainedrevised.pdf