Each student will prepare a 25-35-page report that analyzes a problem, issue, or topic confronted in a professional public or nonprofit setting. In order to assure that each student has sufficient background knowledge of the issue and/or organization necessary to complete the assignment, this paper may be directly related to your professional employment, internship, or negotiated as an approved consultancy with a local organization.
The paper must demonstrate the application of frameworks, theories, and concepts acquired through the MPA curriculum, as well as the skills and capacities developed during the program.
This Research Project may take several forms:
Program Evaluation
Case Study
Policy Assessment
Research Paper
Students must undertake the Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval process if their Capstone Project includes human subjects, such as interactions during interviews, observations, or surveys.
If a student’s project includes any of these components, that student MUST make an appointment with the instructor early in the semester in order to ensure that all documents are completed and submitted correctly to the IRB for approval.
The components of this research paper should include:
Executive Summary: Overview of the: organization and/or policy, the problem/issue/topic, and why it is important; analysis framework and literature upon which the project relies; and research project itself and how it will be presented in the paper
Introduction/Organizational Background and/or Identification of the Issue
Discussion of the organization’s or policy’s background, historical context, and broader environment in which the problem, issue, or topic has developed
Identification of the specific problem or issue to be addressed by the research
Literature Review: Identification and review of previous literature, relevant frameworks and theories which support this research, and best practices which have been used to address similar problems or conduct similar research
Research Design and Methods
Information on the specific framework or model, research question (and hypotheses, if appropriate), variables and their operationalization, data collection techniques, and data analysis methods utilized in the assignment.
The selection of variables, operationalization, data sources, and data analysis methods should be supported by previous research and literature from the field
Analysis and Results: Presentation of the data analysis and evaluation of results o May include tables, charts, and diagrams as needed
Recommendations
Explanation of a specific organizational, program, or policy action plan developed from and supported by the results and analysis of the research
These recommendations should be supported by the research analysis and results, as well as previous studies, literature from the field, and best practices
Conclusions: A summary of each major component of the Capstone project paper, including recommendations
Reference List/Bibliography: Alphabetical order by author’s last name
Appendices or Exhibits (as needed): For example, interview protocols or survey questionnaires
Last Completed Projects
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