Let me take this opportunity to clarify and provide you with more specific guidance regarding your outline that is due Saturday.

1, Closely review the section in our syllabus entitled, “Guidelines for the Capstone Research Paper.”

2. From this section in our syllabus, your topic must fit in one of the “Description of Issues in Healthcare” categories under #1 (System, Clinical, Organizational, or Policy). I suggest that you begin your outline with a brief overview (no more than a paragraph) explaining your topic, what you plan to research, etc.

3.Also from this section, your outline AND your paper should follow the categories under #4.

This means that the shell of your outline (and your paper) should resemble the following:

I Identification of the Issue

II Background

III Problem Analysis/Literature Review

IV Discussion

V Proposed Solutions

VI Conclusions

VII Christian Worldview

Notice that I wrote “…shell of your outline.” Your outline must provide enough details for me to understand each proposed category within your outline.  Most outlines should be 1-2 pages (not a paper, not an abstract, not an idea…but an outline).  I encourage you to select a topic that is manageable for an 8-10 page paper.  For example, “The Impact of the Affordable Care Act on Healthcare Policies” is not a topic that you would want to attempt to cover adequately in 8-10 pages.  Select a topic that can be adequately covered and one that you can find the necessary amount of research.

1. You do not need to email me requesting topic approval before Saturday. I will approve/disapprove your topic after I read your overview paragraph and outline. If your outline/topic is approved, you will receive that feedback and you may proceed with your research.   If your topic is disapproved, I will ask for a revised outline before a specific date.
2. Please do some preliminary research on your topic and make sure that there are ample peer-reviewed studies/publications on your topic.