DBA 9101, Comprehensive Exam Course Syllabus Course Description Establishes that a doctoral candidate has acquired the essential knowledge and skills covered in each of the courses, not including dissertation courses, leading to the Doctor of Business Administration degree. Proficiency is demonstrated through an essay response to questions that cover the essential content of each course in the doctoral program. Course Textbook No Textbook Needed Suggested Reading OWL Purdue Online Writing Lab. (2013). Annotated bibliographies. Retrieved from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/614/01/ Course Learning Outcomes Upon completion of this course, students should be able to: 1. Synthesize research information to support an argument. 2. Discriminate between peer reviewed research and popular press. 3. Compose an APA formatted paper. 4. Write with a clear command of standard, academic English. Credits Upon completion of this course, the students will earn two (2) hours of college credit. Course Structure The comprehensive exams are designed to determine if an individual is ready to move to the next stage of scholarly growth: independent research. It is expected that your work will conform to APA formatting and citing guidelines. In addition, the use of peer reviewed journal articles from the university library is also an expectation for scholarly research. The comprehensive exam papers should be written to a level and quality that would be expected in a library journal article. Successful completion of comprehensive exams advances the student to doctoral candidacy. The comprehensive exam will cover four general areas. The first is theoretical and conceptual knowledge. This question emphasizes both the synthesis and integration of theory. The second area is application and emphasizes applying foundational theory in various situations. The response to this area would consider social, cultural, ethical, and other issues. The response should solve specific problems and the implications for practice. The third broad topic that the comprehensive exam will cover is research methods, and the fourth is ethics. The Unit I Assignment is designed for you is to share a little about your research interests and career with the instructor. The professor will use that information to select the exam questions from a pool provided by the university. It is recommended that you complete assignment one as quickly as possible to allow maximum time for your research. DBA 9101, Comprehensive Exam 1
CSU Online Library There is a virtual library with resources, including both journals and ebooks, to support your program and your course at Columbia Southern University. eresources are accessible 24 hours a day/7 days a week from the CSU Online Library gateway page. To access the library, log into mycsu, and then click on CSU Online Library. Resources are organized in the library by title, but if you click on Research Guides, you will find eresources arranged by subject. The Library Reference service is available 7 days a week; you can reach CSU s virtual librarians by emailing thevirtuallibrarian@columbiasouthern.edu. These professional librarians will be glad to help you develop your research plan or to assist you in any way in finding relevant, appropriate, and timely information. Librarian responses may occur within minutes or hours, but it will never take more than 24 hours for a librarian to send a response to the email address you have provided. Replies to reference requests may include customized keyword search strategies, links to videos, research guides, screen captures, attachments, a phone call, live screen sharing, and meeting room appointments, as well as other forms of instruction. Unit Assignments Unit I Assignment Brief Summary of Interests Briefly describe (a bullet list is also acceptable) the key business topics that interest you, align with your current position, are related to your dissertation topic, or your future career plans. (Examples might be international business, finance, teams, employee performance, leadership, TQM, etc.). The instructor will assign the research questions for Units IV, VI, and VIII from a pool of questions, if possible, aligning with some of your interests. Otherwise, the instructor will randomly select questions from the list. Submit your summary via a Word document attached to the assignment drop box. In the feedback for this assignment, the instructor will list the research questions for the Units IV, VI, and VIII assignments. Unit I Annotated Bibliography Submit an Annotated Bibliography of at least five peer reviewed, non-literature review scholarly references, in APA format, that could be used to complete the Unit II Assignment. Unit II Assignment Research Methods Compare and contrast the following three research designs: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods. Explore the benefits and drawbacks to each, and identify the primary criteria used to determine which methodology is appropriate. Be sure to address reliability and validity in your response. The final Research Paper should be eight - ten pages in length, excluding the cover page, table of contents, A minimum of ten peer reviewed, non-literature review scholarly references, that are less than five years old are required. Unit III Annotated Bibliography Submit an Annotated Bibliography of at least five peer reviewed, non-literature review scholarly references, in APA format, that could be used to complete the Unit IV Assignment. DBA 9101, Comprehensive Exam 2
Unit IV Assignment Theoretical and Conceptual Knowledge Respond to the Unit IV question that the instructor communicated in the feedback to the Unit I: Brief Summary of Interests assignment. The final Reference Paper should be eight - ten pages in length, excluding the cover page, table of contents, A minimum of ten non-literature review scholarly references, that are less than five years old are required. Unit V Annotated Bibliography Submit an Annotated Bibliography of at least five peer reviewed, non-literature review scholarly references, in APA format, that could be used to complete the Unit VI Assignment. Unit VI Assignment Professional Application Respond to the Unit VI question that the instructor communicated in the feedback to the Unit I: Brief Summary of Interests assignment. The final Research Paper should be eight - ten pages in length, excluding the cover page, table of contents, A minimum of ten non-literature review scholarly references, that are less than five years old are required. Unit VII Annotated Bibliography Submit an Annotated Bibliography of at least five peer reviewed, scholarly references, in APA format, that could be used to complete the Unit VIII Assignment. Unit VIII Assignment Ethical Considerations Respond to the Unit VIII question that the instructor communicated in the feedback to the Unit I: Brief Summary of Interests assignment. The final Research Paper should be five - seven pages in length, excluding the cover page, table of contents, A minimum of seven non-literature review scholarly references, that are less than five years old are required. APA Guidelines The application of the APA writing style shall be practical, functional, and appropriate to each academic level, with the primary purpose being the documentation (citation) of sources. CSU requires that students use APA style for certain papers and projects. Students should always carefully read and follow assignment directions and review the associated grading rubric when available. Students can find CSU s Citation Guide in the mycsu Student Portal by clicking on the Citation Resources link in the Learning Resources area. This document includes examples and sample papers and provides information on how to contact the CSU Success Center. DBA 9101, Comprehensive Exam 3
Grading Rubrics This course utilizes analytic grading rubrics as tools for your professor in assigning grades for all learning activities. Each rubric serves as a guide that communicates the expectations of the learning activity and describes the criteria for each level of achievement. In addition, a rubric is a reference tool that lists evaluation criteria and can help you organize your efforts to meet the requirements of that learning activity. It is imperative for you to familiarize yourself with these rubrics because these are the primary tools your professor uses for assessing learning activities. Rubric categories include: (1) Discussion Board, (2) Assessment (Written Response), and (3) Assignment. However, it is possible that not all of the listed rubric types will be used in a single course (e.g., some courses may not have Assessments). The Discussion Board rubric can be found within Unit I s Discussion Board submission instructions. The Assessment (Written Response) rubric can be found embedded in a link within the directions for each Unit Assessment. However, these rubrics will only be used when written-response questions appear within the Assessment. Each Assignment type (e.g., article critique, case study, research paper) will have its own rubric. The Assignment rubrics are built into Blackboard, allowing students to review them prior to beginning the Assignment and again once the Assignment has been scored. This rubric can be accessed via the Assignment link located within the unit where it is to be submitted. Students may also access the rubric through the course menu by selecting Tools and then My Grades. Again, it is vitally important for you to become familiar with these rubrics because their application to your Discussion Boards, Assessments, and Assignments is the method by which your instructor assigns all grades. Communication Forums These are non-graded discussion forums that allow you to communicate with your professor and other students. Participation in these discussion forums is encouraged, but not required. You can access these forums with the buttons in the Course Menu. Instructions for subscribing/unsubscribing to these forums are provided below. Click here for instructions on how to subscribe/unsubscribe and post to the Communication Forums. Ask the Professor This communication forum provides you with an opportunity to ask your professor general or course content questions. Questions may focus on Blackboard locations of online course components, textbook or course content elaboration, additional guidance on assessment requirements, or general advice from other students. Questions that are specific in nature, such as inquiries regarding assessment/assignment grades or personal accommodation requests, are NOT to be posted on this forum. If you have questions, comments, or concerns of a nonpublic nature, please feel free to email your professor. Responses to your post will be addressed or emailed by the professor within 48 hours. Before posting, please ensure that you have read all relevant course documentation, including the syllabus, assessment/assignment instructions, faculty feedback, and other important information. Student Break Room This communication forum allows for casual conversation with your classmates. Communication on this forum should always maintain a standard of appropriateness and respect for your fellow classmates. This forum should NOT be used to share assessment answers. DBA 9101, Comprehensive Exam 4
Grading Discussion Board = 4% Annotated Bibliographies (4 @ 6%) = 24% Unit I Assignment = 4% Unit II Assignment = 17% Unit IV Assignment = 17% Unit VI Assignment = 17% Unit VIII Assignment = 17% Total = 100% Course Schedule/Checklist (PLEASE PRINT) The following pages contain a printable Course Schedule to assist you through this course. By following this schedule, you will be assured that you will complete the course within the time allotted. DBA 9101, Comprehensive Exam 5
DBA 9101 Comprehensive Exam Course Schedule By following this schedule, you will be assured that you will complete the course within the time allotted. Please keep this schedule for reference as you progress through your course. Unit I Discuss None None Discussion Board Response: Submit your response to the Discussion Board question by Saturday, 11:59 p.m. CST (Central Time) Discussion Board Comment: Comment on another student s Discussion Board response by Tuesday, 11:59 p.m. CST (Central Time) Assignment by Tuesday, 11:59 p.m. CST (Central Time) Annotated Bibliography by Tuesday, 11:59 p.m. CST (Central Time) Unit II None None Assignment by Tuesday, 11:59 p.m. CST (Central Time) Unit III None None Annotated Bibliography by Tuesday, 11:59 p.m. CST (Central Time) Unit IV None None Assignment by Tuesday, 11:59 p.m. CST (Central Time) DBA 9101, Comprehensive Exam 6
DBA 9101 Comprehensive Exam Course Schedule Unit V None None Annotated Bibliography by Tuesday, 11:59 p.m. CST (Central Time) Unit VI None None Assignment by Tuesday, 11:59 p.m. CST (Central Time) Unit VII None None Annotated Bibliography by Tuesday, 11:59 p.m. CST (Central Time) Unit VIII None None Assignment by Tuesday, 11:59 p.m. CST (Central Time) DBA 9101, Comprehensive Exam 7