capstone research 1

The assignment for this week is very important because you will select a topic in an I/O psychology area that will be used for the remaining assignments in this course working towards your Capstone research literature review paper. As you conduct your literature search, you will evaluate and establish the importance of the problem you have chosen to review.

Topic and Formulation Interaction

Some general notes before narrowing the topic and formulating your problem:

Choose a topic of interest to you, so you will be motivated and enthusiastic in completing this course successfully. You might use this research as a potential platform for future endeavors in academic or professional work.
Your topic must be worthwhile (valid); that is, it should be meaningful (ethical) to obtain results that provide new or add to I/O theories and potential implications to the field accordingly.
Your topic should be doableâ€”which should be a given, initially, since you are developing a literature review of I/O research (searching and collecting literature in valid scholarly databases). However, considering the second part of the Capstone assignment and future research, this is a valid point to consider and ensure (time, ethics, accessibility, resources, etc.).

This process involves finding a topic that is not only interesting to you personally, but also needed by the research community. Review the search matrix that you started last week (plus any additional articles you may have added to it) and identify an area of I/O psychology that you would like to focus on for this class. Please remember that this topic should be an issue in the field of I/O psychology that has both research and practice implications. It should also have the potential to improve the condition of human behavior in the workplace.

Examples of the kinds of topics that you may look at include fostering organizational citizenship behavior in the workplace, using psychological assessments in selecting employees, or promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace. These are but a few of the many domains that I/O psychology touches on. If you need help brainstorming, look at www.siop.org. The topic that you finally choose will be the focus of your Signature Assignment, an evidence-based review of the pertinent literature on this topic.

When thinking about your topic, please remember to focus on the research need, not just the social need. For example, a social need would be how to increase the presence and direction of minority women in senior leadership positions in organizations because there is obvious disparity in this area. What is hotly debated is the reason for such inequality. Depending on which articles you read, the reasons are varied. As such, a research problem might be: â€œIt is now known why there is still in underrepresentation of women and minorities in senior positions.â€ Starting off your research problem with â€œIt is not knownâ€¦â€ is a fantastic way to make sure you stay focused on the research issues and have a proper research question. You could take the work from this assignment and incorporate it into your Capstone Signature Assignment so that your audience understands the background of your topic and how your topic influences society.

Concept Mapping

Conduct a thorough and comprehensive literature search to identify as many sources as possible that are relevant to your topic. You will use your scholarly resources to build a concept map to help you organize your literature review. Generate lists of topic headings (themes/categories) using a concept map as suggested in the readings for this week. You should aim to identify at least four to six themes with respect to the purpose of your I/O psychology topic and Signature Assignment requirements. The themes could focus on the components of the problem of practice, the context of the problem, differing perspectives or controversies, etc. As you identify the themes in your concept map, consider the purpose of the literature reviewâ€”remember, you are developing a compelling argument for why this problem of practice is important to study and evaluate.

You do not need to obtain special software to complete this assignment; you can use Microsoft Word or free mapping tools noted in the resources.

Your professor will give you feedback regarding the appropriateness of the topic you have chosen. Remember, the topic must be one that relates to an issue in the I/O psychology area that is related to improving the performance of the organization and the people in that system (e.g., psychological issues, social and cultural implications, etc.). It also must be a topic for which solutions have been proposed and researched in the literature because you will eventually evaluate the evidence-based programs related to your topic.

Concept Map Length: 1 page, not including reference pages

References: Include a minimum of 4 to 6 scholarly resources. In addition to these specified resources, other appropriate scholarly resources, including older articles, may be included.

All submitted assignments should demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the ideas and concepts presented in the course by providing new thoughts and insights relating directly to your topic. Your response should reflect scholarly writing and current APA standards.