CMP-9701E v3

Academic Success Center. (2021). Academic success center: Home.
For information on annotated bibliographies, visit the Annotating and Outlining guide in the Academic Success Center (ASC). This guide can be found in Writing Resources. Use the navigation links on the left-hand side of the Academic Success Center website. The link to the Academic Success Center is on the NCUOne homepage under the Center for Teaching and Learning.

Bloomberg, L. D., & Volpe, M. (2019). Completing your qualitative dissertation: A road map from beginning to end (4th ed.). SAGE.
This text offers comprehensive guidance and practical tools for navigating each step in the qualitative dissertation process, including the planning, research, and writing phases. Blending the conceptual, theoretical, and practical, the book becomes a dissertation in action—an explanation and illustration of both content and process. There is also a companion website at (https://edge.sagepub.com/bloomberg-qualitative-5e)
Read Chapter 2 (“Gearing Up: There is Method in the Madness”). Read the section on identifying and developing a researchable topic. This chapter addresses identifying and developing a sound, researchable topic, which is the starting point for any research study.
Access the Redshelf book from your course, in the Getting Started module or from the Bookshelf link, on the top navigation bar.

Northcentral University Library. (2021). Learn the library: Interactive tutorials.
These tutorials from the NU Library will support efficient searching for scholarly, professional, and industry literature related to your doctoral project or dissertation in practice.

Northcentral University Library. (2021). Research process: Finding a research topic.
Selecting a topic can sometimes be the most difficult part of any research process. For information on selecting a workable topic (whether you are writing a topic paper or finalizing your dissertation topic), visit the Finding a Research Topic pages in the Library.

Northcentral University Library. (2021). Research process: Preparing to search.
Are you able to turn your topic idea into a general research question? This can help you to determine if your topic is too broad or too narrow. See the Preparing to Search page for more information

Mertler, C. A. (2019). Introduction to educational research (2nd ed.). SAGE.
Designed for the beginning educational researcher, this text covers all aspects of the research process and addresses both qualitative and quantitative designs and research methodologies.
Read Chapter 1 (“What is Educational Research?”). This chapter offers a broad overview of what educational research entails, and how to go about articulating a focused area as a topic for research.
Access the Redshelf book from your course, in the Getting Started module or from the Bookshelf link, on the top navigation bar.

Applied Doctoral Center. (2021). Section 1: Narrowing your topic.
In addition to guidance from your Chair, this resource located in the Applied Doctoral Center may help you to narrow your topic and scope.

National University. (n.d.). RefWorks. Libguide.

Cassibba, J. (2021). The effect of difficulty orientation and self-efficacy on performance in STEM: A quantitative correlational study (Order No. 28720200). Available from Dissertations & Theses @ Northcentral University. (2585939494).
Please refer to the Ph.D. dissertations written by NU alumni. This week as you are thinking about a viable research topic, review the first chapter of each dissertation to gain an idea of how the researchers explored a broad topic area, and then went on to define a narrower research focus, which becomes the research problem. Jump ahead to the literature review chapter and take a look at what theoretical or conceptual framework was selected. Keep this framework in mind as you review the broad topic area. Here is an example.