APPLIED SUMMARY PAPER

ASSIGNMENT OVERVIEW
Today’s leader is required to examine organizational issues and dynamics in order to
capitalize on strengths and opportunities, and mitigate or resolve potential problems.
Information and research are needed to make effective strategic decisions. The purpose of a
research overview proposal is to communicate to organizational executives and stakeholders
that you have a research project opportunity that is sound and worthy of pursuing. As such,
the research overview proposal should identify the problem, the purpose and significance,
and the limitations, in order to provide the stakeholders with sufficient information to
evaluate the need for the proposed study.
ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS
You will assume that you have been tasked with developing a research proposal for an
organization of your choice (it should be an organization that the learner is personally
familiar with). You will investigate and identify an organizational issue or opportunity,
develop a problem statement, and develop a business research overview/proposal.
ASSIGNMENT REQUIREMENTS
This is a multi-part assignment, with each part requiring separate deadlines throughout the
course. Refer to the Upcoming Events block for specific due dates for each part.
• Formatting: APA, including title page and reference page.
• Page Count (excluding title and reference page):
• Part 1: 1 page
• Part 2: 2-3 pages
• Part 3: 2-3 pages
• Part 4: 3-5 pagesAPPLIED SUMMARY PAPER
PART 1: SELECTION OF RESEARCH TOPIC AND RESOURCE IDENTIFICATION
• Project topic identification: Identify an existing problem plaguing a specific organization
that you are (or have been) affiliated with; and identify either
• (a) a new opportunity that an organization is considering pursuing or
• (b) a problem that the organization is facing.
• Identify problem statement
• Identify a minimum of 10 key search terms or phrases that can be used to search the
databases (to yield a minimum result of 10 academic resources within the last 5 years)
PART 2: REFINED PROBLEM STATEMENT AND ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
• Refined problem statement (modified after having conducted initial research, or
polishing of the phrasing if it has not changed after conducting research)
• Background of the problem (per Research Proposal Template)
• Annotated bibliography (per Annotated Bibliography Template) of a minimum of 10
sources from within the last 5 years, identifies current and relevant sources that inform
the research problem and can be developed into a literature review
• Meets APA style and citation format, minimum of 10 citations
PART 3: DRAFT OF THE PURPOSE, SIGNIFICANCE & LIMITATIONS
• Purpose of the Study (per Research Proposal Template)
• Significance of the Study (per Research Proposal Template)
• Limitations (per Research Proposal Template)
• Meets APA and requirements outlined in template provided
• Minimum of 2 citations
PART 4: FINAL SUBMISSION OF COMPLETED SECTION 1
Final draft of completed Research Overview which includes:
• Introduction
• Background of the Problem
• Statement of the Problem
• Purpose of the Study
• Significance of the Study
• Limitations of the Study
• Meets format requirements outlined in template provided and incorporates instructor
feedback from drafts
• Minimum of 3 citations