Unit 6

Course Syllabus

Course Description

Provides a framework for conducting and evaluating independent research in the fire service by examining the basic principles and methodology for analyzing current fire- related research.

Course Textbook(s)

Kumar, R. (2014). Research methodology: A step-by-step guide for beginners (4th ed.). London, United Kingdom: Sage.

Course Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:

1. Locate, evaluate, and analyze fire-related research. 2. Demonstrate the application of fire research to a research problem. 3. Conduct a literature review of current research on a fire-related topic. 4. Determine the appropriate use of both qualitative and quantitative methodologies within a research project. 5. Draft a fire-related research proposal. 6. Write a fire-related research report.

Prerequisite(s)

No prerequisite courses are required for enrollment in this course.

Credits

Upon completion of this course, the students will earn 3 hours of college credit.

Course Structure

1. Study Guide: Course units contain a Study Guide that provides students with the learning outcomes, unit lesson, required reading assignments, and supplemental resources.

2. Learning Outcomes: Each unit contains Learning Outcomes that specify the measurable skills and knowledge students should gain upon completion of the unit.

3. Unit Lesson: Unit Lessons, which are located in the Study Guide, discuss lesson material. 4. Reading Assignments: Units contain Reading Assignments from one or more chapters from the textbook and/or

outside resources. 5. Suggested Reading: Suggested Readings are listed within the Study Guide. Students are encouraged to read the

resources listed if the opportunity arises, but they will not be tested on their knowledge of the Suggested Readings. 6. Discussion Boards: Students are required to submit Discussion Board posts in Units I-VIII. Discussion Boards

provide students the opportunity for student-to-student and professor-to-student interaction based on relevant course concepts and ideas. Specific information about accessing the Discussion Board rubric is provided below.

7. Unit Assignments: Students are required to submit for grading Unit Assignments. Specific information and instructions regarding these assignments are provided below. Grading rubrics are included with each assignment. Specific information about accessing these rubrics is provided below.

8. Ask the Professor: This communication forum provides students with an opportunity to ask their professor general

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questions or questions related to course content. 9. Student Break Room: This communication forum allows for casual conversation with other classmates.

CSU Online Library

The CSU Online Library is available to support your courses and programs. The online library includes databases, journals, e-books, and research guides. These resources are always accessible and can be reached through the library web page. To access the library, log into the myCSU Student Portal, and click on “CSU Online Library.” You can also access the CSU Online Library from the “My Library” button on the course menu for each course in Blackboard.

The CSU Online Library offers several reference services. E-mail (library@columbiasouthern.edu) and telephone (1.877.268.8046) assistance is available Monday – Thursday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The library’s chat reference service, Ask a Librarian, is available 24/7; look for the chat box on the online library page.

Librarians can help you develop your research plan or assist you in finding relevant, appropriate, and timely information. Reference requests can include customized keyword search strategies, links to articles, database help, and other services.

Unit Assignments

Unit I Article Review

For this assignment, use the CSU Online Library databases to locate a peer-reviewed article that is in some way related to the principles of fire chemistry and fire dynamics as well as their effects on emergency situations. You can select any article of interest dealing with this broad topic, which should give you plenty from which to choose. Some examples are reports analyzing a fire or other articles that research what took place at a fire incident. You may also find an appropriate article on the National Fire Protection Association, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, National Institute of Standards and Technology, United States Fire Administration websites. Be sure to select a full-length article. Letters to the editor, editorials, roundtable discussions, blog postings, or press releases made to look like articles are not acceptable for this assignment. This assignment is to give you practice reviewing articles that contribute to the industry.

The article you choose must meet the following requirements:

be peer-reviewed or scholarly in nature; relate to the concepts within this course and, if possible, to your research proposal topic; and be at least eight pages in length.

The article review you submit must meet the following requirements:

be at least two full double-spaced pages in length not including the title page or reference page; identify the main topic/question; critique the article and share your thoughts on what appears to be valid or invalid; and include your thoughts on whether you agree with the author’s position, and why, or why not?

Be sure to summarize, paraphrase, and cite the information. Do not copy directly from the textbook or from any other source. All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations and entries in the reference section. All references and citations used must be in APA style.

Information about accessing the grading rubric for this assignment is provided below.

Unit II Scholarly Activity

Developing the Research Problem and Question

Developing the research question can be one of the most challenging parts of the whole process. A well-defined research question should be narrow in scope and should be a question to which the answer is not already known through other published material. After all, if the answer is already known, there is no need to create a research study to answer that same question again.

This assignment focuses on developing your research problem, the purpose statement, and research question.

First, discuss your research problem. Be sure to support your points with scholarly material. For example, do not simply assert that health and wellness is a problem in the fire service. Demonstrate this by supporting your point with scholarly material. Include a few solid paragraphs of description.

Next, include the purpose statement. This should be a sentence that clearly tells the reader what you intend to accomplish by creating the study.

Finally, create a research question you would like to investigate for your project. Remember that the question needs to be unique. One way to accomplish this is to make the question specific to a particular department or jurisdiction.

This activity should be at least one page in length. Be sure to summarize, paraphrase, and cite the information. Do not copy directly from the textbook or from any other source. All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations and entries in the reference section. All references and

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citations used must be in APA style.

Information about accessing the grading rubric for this assignment is provided below.

Unit III Scholarly Activity

United States Fire Statistics

The United States Fire Administration (USFA) collects fire-related data to provide information and analysis on the fire problem in the United States. Fire departments may use this information in multiple ways, including creating a baseline for evaluating programs, increasing awareness, and targeting public education programs.

For this assignment, access the USFA fire statistics page at the following link: https://www.usfa.fema.gov/data/statistics/. Select any one of the topics for which the site provides statistics, including:

trends, causes, where fires occur, who fire affects, and firefighters and fire departments.

In a paper of no fewer than three full double-spaced pages not including the title page or reference page, analyze the information on the USFA fire statistics page under the topic you selected, and explain how the data may be applied to community risk reduction methods in your community. For example, your department may be looking for data to support a public outreach program related to the causes of fire or any of the other topics listed. How can the data presented on the USFA fire statistics page be used to accomplish this? Once you have discussed how the data could support a public outreach program, explain how you would design a study for the community based on those data.

Be sure to summarize, paraphrase, and cite the information. Do not copy directly from the textbook or from any other source. All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations and entries in the reference section. All references and citations used must be in APA style.

Information about accessing the grading rubric for this assignment is provided below.

Unit IV Annotated Bibliography

Develop an annotated bibliography of at least three scholarly sources excluding the course textbook that utilize empirical studies for your final paper topic. The purpose of this assignment is to help you prepare for the final research proposal due in Unit VII.

The annotated bibliography submission should include:

Summaries for each source should include the following information: A brief explanation/summary of the source. (Identify what the article is about or explain what the author tested, etc.) Do not copy and paste the abstract or the summary from the article to your paper. Paraphrase and summarize the information in your own words. The whole summary may not be one long quotation. A brief explanation of how this source will contribute to your final paper.

The following are NOT acceptable for academic research and referencing: Encyclopedias Dictionaries Wikipedia, other wikis, or blogs Ehow.com, Ask.com, About.com, Howthingswork.com, or any similar site Websites and other sources that do not provide quality researched materials or that do not use credible sources to support the information in the document.

Each summary should be at least 100 words in length. Your document must use proper APA elements such as a title page, running head, and more. Click here to access the annotated bibliography template.

Information about accessing the grading rubric for this assignment is provided below.

Unit V Scholarly Activity

Developing the Methodology

Selecting the right research method for the project is essential. The wrong research design can result in information that does not answer the research question or data that are not helpful to the researcher. It is important to carefully select the methodology that best suits the research question.

For this assignment, select the most appropriate research method to test the research question for your research report. Begin by explaining whether your research question is asking for quantitative or qualitative data. Then, consider which type of research design you would select if you were actually going to conduct the study. Remember that you will design the study but not actually do the data collection portion for the final paper. This means you can carefully design the most appropriate study for your project without worrying about time constraints that would normally play a role in the data collection step. Which research design is most appropriate? Which design will provide you with results to directly address your research problem?

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In no fewer than two full double-spaced pages, include at least the following for this assignment:

List the most current version of your research problem at the top of the page. Include the most current version of the purpose of your research report next. Explain whether you are designing a quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods study, and what constitutes such a study. Be sure to support your points with scholarly material. Include the following information to clearly describe your research design:

participants; instruments, if any; design; and procedure.

Explain why this research method is the best fit for your study. Include a specific design in your response. Support your research method choice with scholarly material from at least three outside sources. At least two of those sources must come from the CSU Online Library.

Remember, this assignment is designed to help you work toward your research proposal.

Information about accessing the grading rubric for this assignment is provided below.

Unit VI Outline

Developing the Outline

Develop a thesis and detailed outline for your final paper topic. The purpose of this assignment is to help you prepare for the research proposal due in Unit VII.

Include at least the following elements in your outline:

an APA formatted title page, a thesis for the introduction, the purpose of your paper with support for your points from scholarly material taking into consideration the benefits and ethical issues associated with the purpose, research question or questions, at least five main section headings for the body of the document, sub-sections to each of those main sections, and recommendations and conclusions.

Click here to utilize the template for this assignment. Be sure to replace template headings with your own content.

Your outline should be at least one page in length. Remember to use in-text citations throughout to show from where information came and to support your points with scholarly material. Include an APA style reference section at the end.

Be sure to summarize, paraphrase, and cite the information. Do not copy directly from the textbook or from any other source. Sites such as Wikipedia, e-how.com, history.com, howthingswork.com, and other similar sources are not scholarly in nature and may not be used for this assignment. All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations and entries in the reference section. All references and citations used must be in APA style.

Information about accessing the grading rubric for this assignment is provided below.

Unit VII Research Proposal

The research proposal in this course is designed to allow you to discover, analyze, and interpret a fire-related research problem. A problem is not necessarily a troublesome area but an area of desired improvement. In other words, something may be performing well, yet someone still wants to see it perform even better. That is what a lot of research is all about— how can we do it better?

Include at least the following elements in your research proposal:

a title page; a table of contents; an introduction; the purpose of the research with support for your points from scholarly material; a literature review, which is different from the annotated bibliography, a hypothesis; a description of the research method, what you would do if you were to carry out the study; conclusions and recommendations; and a reference page.

Click here to view the short video for more guidance concerning the proposal assignment. Click here for a transcript of the video.

The proposal should be 10 full double-spaced pages not including the title page, references, abstract, or any appendices. You proposal should provide 12 sources that include empirical studies.

Be sure to summarize, paraphrase, and cite the information. Do not copy directly from the textbook or from any other source. Websites such as Wikipedia, e-how.com, history.com, howthingswork.com, and other similar sources are not

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scholarly in nature and may not be used for this assignment. All sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying citations and entries in the reference section. All references and citations used must be in APA style.

Information about accessing the grading rubric for this assignment is provided below.

Unit VIII PowerPoint Presentation

Reviewing the Eight-Step Model

Our textbook presented eight steps to completing a research report. While your final paper in the previous unit went through the research proposal step, it is still important to be familiar with the final steps in the process for future endeavors. For this assignment, take on the role of instructor, and design a PowerPoint assignment explaining each of the eight steps in the process. Do not simply paste information from the textbook or any other source. Use text sparingly on each slide and use the Notes section to further explain the bullet point material you have included on each slide. Please do not paste paragraphs of small font onto the slides. Include at least one slide for each of the eight steps.

Remember to support your points with scholarly material and include citations where needed to show from where the information came. Include a full APA style reference slide at the end. Do not forget to include a title slide with your name on it.

For guidance in creating an effective PowerPoint presentation, review the following resource created by the CSU Writing Center.

http://columbiasouthern.adobeconnect.com/powerpointbestpractices/

For a simple guide on inserting speaker notes into your presentation, click here to view the document PowerPoint Speaker Notes.

Information about accessing the grading rubric for this assignment is provided below.

APA Guidelines

The application of the APA writing style shall be practical, functional, and appropriate to each academic level, with the primary purpose being the documentation (citation) of sources. CSU requires that students use APA style for certain papers and projects. Students should always carefully read and follow assignment directions and review the associated grading rubric when available. Students can find The CSU Citation Guide by clicking here. This document includes examples and sample papers and provides information on how to contact the CSU Writing Center.

Grading Rubrics

This course utilizes analytic grading rubrics as tools for your professor in assigning grades for all learning activities. Each rubric serves as a guide that communicates the expectations of the learning activity and describes the criteria for each level of achievement. In addition, a rubric is a reference tool that lists evaluation criteria and can help you organize your efforts to meet the requirements of that learning activity. It is imperative for you to familiarize yourself with these rubrics because these are the primary tools your professor uses for assessing learning activities.

Rubric categories include (1) Discussion Board, (2) Assessment (Written Response), and (3) Assignment. However, it is possible that not all of the listed rubric types will be used in a single course (e.g., some courses may not have Assessments).

The Discussion Board rubric can be found within Unit I’s Discussion Board submission instructions.

The Assessment (Written Response) rubric can be found embedded in a link within the directions for each Unit Assessment. However, these rubrics will only be used when written-response questions appear within the Assessment.

Each Assignment type (e.g., article critique, case study, research paper) will have its own rubric. The Assignment rubrics are built into Blackboard, allowing students to review them prior to beginning the Assignment and again once the Assignment has been scored. This rubric can be accessed via the Assignment link located within the unit where it is to be submitted. Students may also access the rubric through the course menu by selecting “Tools” and then “My Grades.”

Again, it is vitally important for you to become familiar with these rubrics because their application to your Discussion Boards, Assessments, and Assignments is the method by which your instructor assigns all grades.

Communication Forums

These are non-graded discussion forums that allow you to communicate with your professor and other students. Participation in these discussion forums is encouraged but not required. You can access these forums with the buttons in the Course Menu.

Click here for instructions on how to subscribe/unsubscribe and post to the Communication Forums.

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Ask the Professor

This communication forum provides you with an opportunity to ask your professor general or course content questions. Questions may focus on Blackboard locations of online course components, textbook or course content elaboration, additional guidance on assessment requirements, or general advice from other students.

Questions that are specific in nature, such as inquiries regarding assessment/assignment grades or personal accommodation requests, are NOT to be posted on this forum. If you have questions, comments, or concerns of a non- public nature, please feel free to e-mail your professor. Responses to your post will be addressed or e-mailed by the professor within 48 hours.

Before posting, please ensure that you have read all relevant course documentation, including the syllabus, assessment/assignment instructions, faculty feedback, and other important information.

Student Break Room

This communication forum allows for casual conversation with your classmates. Communication on this forum should always maintain a standard of appropriateness and respect for your fellow classmates. This forum should NOT be used to share assessment answers.

Schedule/Grading

The following pages contain a printable Course Schedule to assist you through this course. By following this schedule, you will be assured that you will complete the course within the time allotted.

Unit I Introduction to the Research Process [ Weight: 12% ]

Read/View: Unit I Study Guide Chapter 1: Research: a way of thinking Chapter 2: The research process: a quick glance Chapter 3: Reviewing the literature

Discuss: Unit I Discussion Board 2%

Submit: Unit I Article Review 10%

Unit II Developing the Research Problem [ Weight: 12% ]

Read/View: Unit II Study Guide Chapter 4: Formulating a research problem Chapter 5: Identifying variables Chapter 6: Constructing hypotheses

Discuss: Unit II Discussion Board 2%

Submit: Unit II Scholarly Activity 10%

Unit III The Research Design [ Weight: 12% ]

Read/View: Unit III Study Guide Chapter 7: The research design Chapter 8: Selecting a study design

Discuss: Unit III Discussion Board 2%

Submit: Unit III Scholarly Activity 10%

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Unit IV Selecting a Methodology [ Weight: 12% ]

Read/View: Unit IV Study Guide Chapter 9: Selecting a method of data collection Chapter 10: Collecting data using attitudinal scales

Discuss: Unit IV Discussion Board 2%

Submit: Unit IV Annotated Bibliography 10%

Unit V Sample Selection [ Weight: 12% ]

Read/View: Unit V Study Guide Chapter 11: Establishing the validity and reliability of a research instrument Chapter 12: Selecting a sample

Discuss: Unit V Discussion Board 2%

Submit: Unit V Scholarly Activity 10%

Unit VI Considering Ethical Issues [ Weight: 12% ]

Read/View: Unit VI Study Guide Chapter 14: Considering ethical issues in data collection

Discuss: Unit VI Discussion Board 2%

Submit: Unit VI Outline 10%

Unit VII The Research Proposal [ Weight: 16% ]

Read/View: Unit VII Study Guide Chapter 13: Writing a research proposal

Discuss: Unit VII Discussion Board 2%

Submit: Unit VII Research Proposal 14%

Unit VIII The Eight-Step Model [ Weight: 12% ]

Read/View: Unit VIII Study Guide Chapter 17: Writing a research report

Discuss: Unit VIII Discussion Board 2%

Submit: Unit VIII PowerPoint Presentation 10%

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