CSCR Empirical Paper Requirement

All students who have been admitted to the CSCR named option AND who have completed a non-thesis Master’s degree or a professional doctoral degree (e.g. a Doctor of Education degree or a degree in social work, clinical psychology, medicine, or public health) will need to complete the empirical experience requirement before advancing to doctoral candidacy. The empirical requirement should provide evidence that the student has taken leadership in the design, implementation (including data analysis), synthesis and reporting of a study (see attached review criteria).

Capstone papers may be submitted in fulfillment of this requirement, but are typically deficient in meeting the criteria for an empirical paper. The requirements for the empirical paper do not result in the awarding of a master’s degree. Students who have completed a thesis or dissertation prior to admission must provide a copy of that document before the end of the first semester in the CSCR program. The following table outlines this requirement according to degree and the time period in which the empirical documentation is expected to be completed.

The purpose of this requirement is for students to demonstrate experience conducting empirical research in their area of study under faculty guidance and supervision before progressing to more independent dissertation research. It is also expected that the empirical paper that is submitted will have been completed within the last 5 years. The empirical paper may also result in a publishable piece of research.

Empirical paper: This type of manuscript is also known as a research report. It is typically written for academic audiences to describe why, how and what was learned from an evaluation or research study that contributes to knowledge in a field. An empirical paper typically includes an introduction and rational for a study, a literature review and the research questions generated from it, a detailed methods section (including a sample description and methods for data collection and analysis), the results of the study, and a discussion of the study’s findings (including the study’s limitations and implications for further research and practice). An evaluation report is acceptable providing that it is formatted for submission to a peer reviewed journal. The empirical paper or evaluation report should be at least 8000 words in length excluding figures, tables, and references.

The empirical paper should be submitted to the student’s advisor before the preliminary exam is taken and within the timeframe listed in the above table. The paper will be reviewed by three members of the CSCR faculty within one month of receipt. The paper will be reviewed first by the student’s advisor and then by two additional CSCR faculty members. Once approved, the student will be notified in writing if they have passed, provisionally passed, or not passed this requirement. Reviewers will provide constructive feedback, a list of expectations and a timeline for students who provisionally pass or do not pass this requirement.

For the empirical paper, a student may:

• Pass with no revisions
• Pass with minor revisions (to be assessed by the advisor only)
• Pass with major revisions (to be assessed by the advisor and reviewer(s) who required the major revision)
• Fail with a complete reworking of the empirical paper required

If a student fails the empirical paper, the student will be asked to further develop and resubmit the paper for another review by the advisor and two reviewers within 3 months of the decision. If the student does not pass a second time, the student will be asked to leave the CSCR program at the end of the current semester.

Once the requirement of an empirical paper is fulfilled, the student may advance toward doctoral candidacy.

Students are expected to conduct the research (to the extent applicable) and prepare the required materials for review. Advisors are to pre-review the student’s materials, identify two additional faculty reviewers, and communicate a decision and feedback to the student. One of the reviewers must be a current member of the CSCR graduate committee. Advisors will also retain a copy of the student’s empirical paper in the student’s file. The CSCR Graduate Program Committee may serve as the review committee in some circumstances and are responsible for monitoring the implementation and outcomes of this policy. CSCS faculty are to be available as reviewers and review the students’ materials according to the timeline described in this policy.