The Capstone Project Definition
If the main goal of science is the production of new knowledge, then in education the goal of research activity is to make students enhance a functional research skill as a universal way of learning reality. It allows developing the ability for a research type of thinking and enhancing a learner’s position in the educational process through the acquisition of subjectively new knowledge (that is, independently obtained knowledge, which is new and personally significant for a particular student). This is the essence of the capstone project writing process.
Beginners face a significant number of problems in research work. These issues are primarily related to the fact that students do not know what exactly they will have to do; they cannot find good capstone ideas.
Research implies independence. You have to determine the direction of your interest, choose a research topic, study the literature on this theme, organize an experiment, receive and process data, compare your results with available data, and make conclusions.
The Structure of the Paper
The best capstone project examples have the following structure: title page, table of contents, list of conditional abbreviations, introduction, the body of the text, conclusion (and practical recommendations), list of references, and applications.
In the introduction (3-6 pages), the author can justify the choice of the research topic, reflect its relevance, show the scientific novelty, and theoretical and practical significance of the work. The logical conclusion of the introduction will be the formulation of the goal, the objectives of the research, the object of the study, the working hypothesis (which was supposed to be obtained as a result of the research), and the main points to be argued.
The Object of Study
The object of study is a phenomenon or a process of objective reality at which the scientific search of the author of the work is directed. The object is distinguished basing on the analysis of the problem chosen by the student; in medicine, there some themes that can be applied as the object of study:
- a disease or group of diseases,
- one of the aspects of medical work (direction, technology, etc.).
The Objectives of the Capstone Project
The goal is the main research strategy that defines its boundaries. It should be achieved as a result of the work. The objectives are research tactics; way to achieve the goal. Research tasks may include the following elements:
1. The solution to certain theoretical issues that are parts of a common problem (for example, identifying the essence of the concept, phenomenon).
2. Studying the practice of solving this problem (identifying its usual state, typical flaws and difficulties, their causes), best practices.
3. Justification of the necessary system of measures to solve the problem.
4. Experimental verification of the proposed system of measures in terms of compliance with the criteria of optimality (achieving the maximum possible results in the appropriate conditions in solving this problem).
5. Development of recommendations for those who will use the results of research in practice.
Research Methods
This part of the capstone project usually contains a description of the research methods and the subjects, which should be suffice to describe in detail the organization of the experiment and give detailed information about the subjects.
Conclusions and Applications
This paragraph is usually a statement of research results. It may include the table with the data obtained, pictures, and the comments from the author. Usually, this part is divided into paragraphs in accordance with the logic of presentation of the material. The number of conclusions in research work must match the number of tasks. However, in practice, this is a rare phenomenon.
Appendix of research work include materials that are not included in the main text (tables, sample questionnaires, tests, etc.). The volume of the capstone project (excluding the list of references, applications, figures, and tables) is usually 30-50 pages. A rather difficult moment is the correct formatting of the research work. It is necessary to withstand all the requirements very strictly. Learn the BSN nursing capstone project examples to understand how to write your papers correctly.
