Homeland Security

The goal of this summative assignment is to create the Research Design, which will become the final research and analysis paper for the Homeland Security Capstone Course. Review the  Capstone Research Project.

This Research Design will collectively build throughout the course and encapsulate most of the research principles addressed in this course. The Research Design should be between 8-10 pages in length and address the items listed below.  Remember, the goal of the research design is to establish the research plan and the method by which research will be accomplished in order to produce the final research and analysis report which will be due in the Capstone Course for the Homeland Security and Emergency Management program. 

Focus of the Research Design
 Use the following structure and answer all elements of this design template:  
1.What is the Homeland Security Research question? ◦There should be one and only one research question that you are trying to answer. (roughly ½ page) 

2.Establish at least two hypotheses that you will research and analyze in an attempt to answer you research question.  Explain in a brief paragraph the logic for the generation of your hypotheses. (roughly 1 page) 
3.Conduct a literature review related to your homeland security research question and your hypotheses. Discuss the findings of this literature review. (roughly 1-2 pages) In addition, create a reference page that accounts for all sources you identified relating to your research topic. Your literature review must have no less than 8 fully documented resources.  
4.Establish variables that you will use to evaluate your hypotheses. Identify these variables and how they will be measured. (roughly 1-2 pages) 
5.Determine the method by which you will gather the data that informs your research. Identify the quantitative and qualitative methods you will use to collect the data on your variables. For example, will you conduct a survey? Use existing statistics? Or, create a focus group? (roughly 1 page) 
6.Identify the method you will use to analyze your variables and what techniques you will use to verify that your data is valid and representative of the population or theory you are examining.  
7.Finally, describe where you believe the greatest challenge will be in conducting research and analysis on your homeland security topic.  

The complete assignment should be 8-10 pages in length (exclusive of APA title and reference pages) and be in the format of a research design. Refer to Chapters 22 and 23 of the course text for additional information on the creation of research designs.   

Students must use at least 8 sources other than the course textbook when developing their research and analysis. At least 5 of these resources must be located via the Ashford University Online Library. In addition to the research design students must include a reference page, which complements their literature review. Each item of the reference page should be in APA format and include where the reference was located, i.e. the Ashford library, via the Internet, etc. 

Writing the Research Design
 The Research Design:
Must be eight to ten double-spaced pages in length and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the approved APA style guide. 
Must include a cover page that includes: â—¦Title of paper 
Student- name 
Course name and number 
Instructor- name 
Date submitted 

Must address the topic of the paper with critical thought. 
Must use at least eight resources, with a minimum of five from the Ashford Online Library. 
Must use APA style as outlined in the approved APA style guide to document all sources. 
Must include, on the final page, a Reference Page that is completed according to APA style as outlined in the approved