AS 411 Research Component Assessment
AS411, Jet Systems is a capstone course, and as such, you will be required to complete several assignments throughout the semester in order to fulfill the research component:
First assignment: Find a good topic after researching sources; submit your proposal for 10 points
Second assignment: A seven-source APA Annotated Bibliography (5 scholarly, 2 non-scholarly minimum)
Third assignment: 5-7 page APA research paper (use your pre-formatted References section from the annotated bibliography, add extras if you would like)
One of the Jet Systems course goals is to provide a research opportunity relevant to aviation technology. Specifically, please choose a topic that relates to a large aircraft system or sub-system. You may also choose to compare two similar systems. Please, stay away from human factors papers such as crew coordination issues and/or hypoxia, etc. – that is a different class!
Successful research synthesis requires a foundation of knowledge in research gathering and formatting. Learning objectives for the final paper include the following:
1. Identify a topic that lends itself to in-depth analysis using multiple sources of information found in the literature, as well as interviews, etc.
2. Examine and evaluate selected literature using skills required to be an informed and critical consumer of research.
3. Synthesize current information on the selected topic in order to reach a conclusion and/or recommendations.
4. Prepare well-written report of findings using accepted scholarly publication standards (APA 7th ed.).
5. Writing and/or presentation assignments increase the student’s skills in professional writing, research and firm adherence to scholarly writing and formatting standards (Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association – 7th edition).
APA ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY RUBRIC: 100 pts.
USE APA ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY EXAMPLES & TEMPLATES IN MODULES!
Source Selection & Research Skill – 50%
20 pts. — Do these sources describe and fit the chosen aircraft system or sub-system? Will they work for the paper to come?
10 pts. — Do these sources fit the topic selection?
10 pts. — Are there SEVEN TOTAL sources included, five of which are scholarly?
10 pts. — Is it spell checked and grammatically correct?
Writing Mechanics – 20%
10 pts. — Writing quality: Does the student use complete sentences, proper punctuation, and grammatical skill?
10 pts. — Scholarly writing style: Does the student use professional language while avoiding the use of personal pronouns and passive voice?
Required APA Elements – 30% (note: most of the points lost are in this section)
5 pts. — APA page numbers properly formatted? Hint: make sure you review 7th ed. Paper guidelines on the OWL, and pay careful attention to what should/should not be included in a STUDENT paper. Use the example paper.
25 pts. — APA title page (5pts), body of the bibliography with template-provided headings (5pts), and references page (15 pts) included and properly formatted?
APA PAPER RUBRIC: 200 pts.
USE APA PAPER EXAMPLES & TEMPLATES PROVIDED IN MODULES!
Material & Writing Mechanics – 40%
10 pts. — Does this topic describe an aircraft system or sub-system?
10 pts. — Does it give a qualitative analysis of a problem or comparison?
10 pts. — Is it interesting with a logical flow? Professional and scholarly without the use of passive voice and personal (I, you, we) pronouns?
10 pts. — Is it spell-checked and grammatically correct? Example: Acronyms spelled out the first time they are used.
Required APA Elements – 30%
5 pts. — Are the page numbers properly formatted, integrating 7th edition changes?
20 pts. — All of the following must be included in proper APA format, integrating 7th edition updates:
– Title page (5 pts),
– Abstract with key words (5 pts)
– 5-7 FULL pages in the body of your paper (one letter grade deduction for too long/too short papers)
– Conclusions and Future Research section
– References page with seven sources minimum (graded in the next section)
– Level 1 and Level 2 headings in 7th edition APA format (use the OWL)
Citations/References – 30%
10 pts. — Five scholarly sources and at least two other relevant sources in the resources section (Feedback from the Annotated Bibliography assignment must be incorporated into the references section for credit here.)
10 pts. — In-text citations properly formatted? APA citations in text are: (Author surname, year, pg. #). Page numbers are not required in most cases.
10 pts. — Proper paraphrasing and citing.
NO DIRECT QUOTATIONS except in draft-approved, necessary situations. This is also your senior capstone research project and a research synthesis – NOT an opinion piece. I fully expect to see a citation after most of your paraphrased sentences. There is nothing wrong with an entire paper full of well-organized and properly cited facts. You must learn to organize and synthesize the seven (or more) required sources. Almost as important is the ability to follow APA instructions! You will all hopefully become professional aviators someday very soon. Following written guidelines is critical to your professional success. So start here by visiting the latest 7th edition APA manual and/or OWL Purdue website.