SECTION One [Section One provides an overview of the study, including the statement of the problem, a rationale for the study, research question(s), a discussion of the research design, and limitations that could impact the research results. Add an Introduction here. There is no heading used for the Introduction in the manuscript. The introduction to Section One tells the reader what the final paper is to be about, how the whole paper will be organized, and, in particular, how Section 1 will be organized. According to APA sixth edition, this section should not have a heading.] Topic Overview/Background [Every dissertation begins somewhere. Students are expected to pursue research that reflects the emphasis of their program, their concentration within the program, and their personal interests. This section provides an opportunity for the student to share a bit about their particular interest in pursuing this study and the background that will provide the reader with some context for what follows. Do not use first person. You should include citations to the most relevant references that support the topic you will be studying.] Problem or Opportunity Statement [All research should be aimed at addressing a gap in the body of knowledge, as observed in the literature that surrounds the topic of choice. Once this is identified, the researcher translates it into a discussion inserted here so that the reader is clear about the direction of the research. Not only does research address gaps in the body of knowledge, it often seeks to contribute to practical knowledge that can be applied in the field. Provide citations that support your topic.] Purpose Statement [Following on from the problem or opportunity discussion, the purpose statement explains why the research is being pursued. It serves as a beacon for both the researcher and the reader, stating the focus of the research and rationale for its pursuit. Provide sufficient citations from relevant reference sources to justify the topic of study.] Research Question(s) [As a result of the explorations detailed in the sections above, the researcher must shape his or her research intention into the form of one or more concise questions. The research question explicitly illuminates the variables (also referred to as concepts or categories in qualitative research) that will be under study. Near the conclusion of the research, final discussions highlight the specifics of, and the extent to which, the research question or questions were addressed. At times a central question is posed and followed by several sub questions.] Hypotheses (Quantitative)/Propositions (Qualitative) [Hypotheses are assumptions about a phenomenon that the research will seek to prove or disprove. Hypotheses are stated in two forms: the null hypothesis and the alternate hypothesis. The null hypothesis is proved or disproved by the research. If the null hypothesis were disproved, there would be no relationship between the variables being.

1. SECTION One
[Section One provides an overview of the study, including the
statement of the problem, a rationale for the study, research
question(s), a discussion of the research design, and limitations
that could impact the research results. Add an Introduction here.
There is no heading used for the Introduction in the manuscript.
The introduction to Section One tells the reader what the final
paper is to be about, how the whole paper will be organized,
and, in particular, how Section 1 will be organized. According
to APA sixth edition, this section should not have a heading.]
Topic Overview/Background
[Every dissertation begins somewhere. Students are expected to
pursue research that reflects the emphasis of their program,
their concentration within the program, and their personal
interests. This section provides an opportunity for the student to
share a bit about their particular interest in pursuing this study
and the background that will provide the reader with some
context for what follows. Do not use first person. You should
include citations to the most relevant references that support the
topic you will be studying.]
Problem or Opportunity Statement
[All research should be aimed at addressing a gap in the body of
knowledge, as observed in the literature that surrounds the topic
of choice. Once this is identified, the researcher translates it
into a discussion inserted here so that the reader is clear about
the direction of the research. Not only does research address
gaps in the body of knowledge, it often seeks to contribute to
practical knowledge that can be applied in the field. Provide
citations that support your topic.]
Purpose Statement
[Following on from the problem or opportunity discussion, the
purpose statement explains why the research is being pursued. It
serves as a beacon for both the researcher and the reader,
stating the focus of the research and rationale for its pursuit.

2. Provide sufficient citations from relevant reference sources to
justify the topic of study.]
Research Question(s)
[As a result of the explorations detailed in the sections above,
the researcher must shape his or her research intention into the
form of one or more concise questions. The research question
explicitly illuminates the variables (also referred to as concepts
or categories in qualitative research) that will be under study.
Near the conclusion of the research, final discussions highlight
the specifics of, and the extent to which, the research question
or questions were addressed. At times a central question is
posed and followed by several sub questions.]
Hypotheses (Quantitative)/Propositions (Qualitative)
[Hypotheses are assumptions about a phenomenon that the
research will seek to prove or disprove. Hypotheses are stated in
two forms: the null hypothesis and the alternate hypothesis. The
null hypothesis is proved or disproved by the research. If the
null hypothesis were disproved, there would be no relationship
between the variables being examined. The alternate hypothesis
is examined when there is a relationship between the variables.
Hypothesis testing is commonly found in research, typically
accompanying quantitative research. Propositions are similar to
hypotheses; however, when a proposition is stated, the
relationship between the variables will not be proved or
disproved by experiment within the context of the research
proposed. Propositions help direct the focus of research such
that ultimately testable hypotheses can be developed.
Propositions typically accompany qualitative research.]
Theoretical Perspectives/Conceptual Framework
[The theoretical framework presents the logic you have
developed, supported by the literature that informs the
development of your research design. The theoretical
perspectives assist the reader in understanding and following
the design of your study. Frameworks and theoretical
perspectives or models are most often found in foundational
research related to your topic of study.]

3. Assumptions/Biases
[All research is accompanied by assumptions held by the
researcher. It is extremely important to explore and state these
assumptions as they are related to your study. The assumptions
may arise from past experience or previous knowledge. The
assumptions may also be based in existing theory.]
Significance of the Study
[In this section, the researcher explains how the study will
benefit the stakeholders of the study. Stakeholders can be
defined as persons or groups that may have a vested interest in
the subjects explored in the study, as well as the research
question itself. This section provides an explanation of the
value your research will have on the body of knowledge related
to your topic.]
Delimitations
[Delimitations represent the boundaries of the study as
determined by the researcher. Example, the study covered
Savannah State University only. Give reason why it covered
only Savannah State University]
Limitations
[The limitations of the study are aspects of the research that
cannot be controlled by the researcher. Limitations may be
identified prior to the implementation of the research and/or
may emerge during the process of doing the research.]
Definition of Terms
[The definition of terms includes a list of terms used throughout
the study and is critical to the understanding of the study and its
documentation. The terms in this list can be defined both by the
researcher and the literature, resulting in an operational
definition for the term. Note: The definition of terms should not
be a laundry list of all the technical terms that can be found in
the study. When a term is mentioned infrequently in a study,
however important it may be, the definition should appear
where the term is mentioned in the study, not in the definition
of terms. The list here should be those terms unique to the topic
or field that are necessary for the reader to understand.]

4. General Overview of the Research Design
[Although the research design will be covered in depth in
Section 3 of the paper, it is helpful to present a summary of the
design in Section One so that the reader has a complete picture
of the proposed research. Obviously, this summary cannot be
introduced until Section 3 is completed.]
Summary of Section One
[As you conclude Section One, there should be a short summary
of the contents of topics mentioned above. This serves as a
transition into the next section.]
Organization of the Paper
[Concluding Section One requires a brief discussion telling the
reader how the paper is organized, section-by-section. Each
sentence or paragraph regarding a section should be short and
succinct.]
2
Final Paper
Section Two
[Of the five sections of a political science research paper, the
structure of Section Two is the most variable. The heading in
Section Two will be specific to the content of the chapter, as it
is related to the research topic and proposed study. However,
the following elements should be included in Section Two,
regardless of the subsections.
Section Two is a presentation of a review of the literature. The
researcher accomplishes three things during the process of
developing Section Two:
a) the researcher develops subject matter expertise in the topics
relating to his/her research,
b) the researcher identifies and substantiates a gap in the body
of knowledge (your topic) that will be addressed by the study,
and
c) the researcher develops a conceptual framework which

5. informs the research design.
Section Two shall contain the following content (although
headings may vary):
The introduction to Section Two tells the reader what the
chapter is to be about, and tells the reader how the chapter will
be organized. According to APA sixth edition, this section
should not have a heading.
*Review and Discussion of the Literature (the exact headings
will depend on the content)
The researcher presents and discusses key literature related to
his/her topic and makes the connection between these and
his/her research topic. The sections in the Review and
Discussion of the Literature should demonstrate the researcher’s
mastery of the literature in his/her area(s) of study. The
subsections throughout Section 2 should be descriptive of the
material being shared.
*A synthesis of the literature should also be included. The
synthesis is a purposeful organization of information that
reflects the researcher’s critical thinking that supports the
direction that this specific research takes. The synthesis
provides the foundation for the conceptual framework which is
a narrative (and visual, if desired) picture of how the literature
examination and subsequent critical thinking combine to form a
“whole” which represents the researcher’s intellectual approach
to the study. As a result, it is clear to both the researcher and
readers how the topics discussed are seen in relationship to each
other from the unique perspective of the researcher, and
supported by the literature. This synthesis may be presented in a
variety of ways, but often is topological or chronological, or
both.]
Conceptual Framework
[This section should discuss, in narrative form, how the
researcher sees the relationships between, and orientation of,
the theories, models, constructs, contexts, researcher
assumptions, etc. explored during the literature review and how
these fit together in the researcher’s thinking. This provides the

6. researcher with an opportunity to craft his/her own unique
approach to the research or to confirm that their proposed
research matches existing research by presenting a coherent
logic for the proposed research. It is highly recommended that a
graphic representation accompany the narrative in this section.
If using another author’s conceptual framework (because it
completely matches yours) please attribute the framework. If
using a graphic from another author that completely matches
yours you must have written permission from the copyright
holder to reprint their material.
Summary of Literature Review
The researcher provides a summary of the key elements of
Section Two and provides a brief transition to Section Three.
Sections 4 and 5 Activities Guidelines
Perform the following activities in Sections 4 and 5 of your
research paper:
Section 4
Data Presentation and Analysis
Provide data you collected and its analysis while doing your
literature review and based on the description you gave about
data analysis (refer to your data collection and analysis
procedure in Section 3). As a clue, how many literatures on
your research topic did you review? How of them supported the
proposition put forward in your section one? how many did not
support your proposition but helped to understand the divergent
views held on the phenomenon you researched on? After your
data presentation and analysis, provide a summary of Section 4
and a link sentence to Section 5.
Section 5
Summary of Findings, Recommendations, and conclusion
Provide a summary of the major things your research found.
Based on the findings, recommendation ways to improve or

7. consolidate any concrete steps taken to remedy the situations.
Provide a conclusion of your findings.