►Senior Seminar

UPDATED FOR S'19 interim update - 4/1/19 / Teams' Methodologies pending / presentation dates pending

This is a multi-part activity designed to synthesize and provide a "low cost" opportunity to practice the various goals of this course: testing theory, quantitative analysis & presentation of results, and eloquent scholarly writing. This activity will enable you to practice these skills which you will be expected to demonstrate in your own Senior Thesis.

The entire Maslow-And-More activity is a progressive, workshop unit; therefore some (but not all) of the work will be conducted during class time—often occurring simultaneously with Professor-conference sessions. This semester, the planned in-class workshop time = 4/1, 4/3, 4/8, 4/10[tent]. Check online course calendar for any updates. For all of these workshop days, you will want to have your Laptop/Tablet with you.

'■ Matt C & Petal & Emma// Survey w/ 5 likerts | N=20 | pie chart //Presentation > 4/27:

Rationale for Part I: The theory known as “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs” is widely familiar as an explanation for various motivating factors which underlie our communication behaviors and many of our personal choices. Abraham Maslow devised this as Basic Research but it also has been utilized as Applied Research in a variety of fields such as the recent book: Peak: How Great Companies Get Their Mojo from Maslow by Chip Conley. Because most of you are already quite familiar with Maslow’s concepts, we can jump right to the testing (of theory).

Activity’s goal = To experience the quantitative investigation process by performing some rudimentary, numbers-based research. Participants will gain additional familiarity with the procedures of conducting and understanding positivist /quantitative techniques. It is not designed to be as statistically comprehensive as a fully realized Senior Seminar research project, nor to provide training in serious statistical projects, nor to turn you into a full fledged quantitative researcher. Also, since most of these mini-studies will be done using very small, nonrandom samples or assignments [mostly using the people in this class & nearby classrooms/hallways] we are not likely to achieve “statistical significance” or "reliability”. Nevertheless, to some degree, this project should help to increase your understanding when you encounter numerical research. It should also reinforce your skill in structuring investigative tasks; several of you are including some sort of survey data in your projects. {In summary, you & your partner(s) will Devise & Conduct & Report Back to class on a SURVEY /or/ EXPERIMENT /or/ INTERACTION ANALYSIS/CODING methodology that you used to test the Maslow Hierarchy concept from a BASIC /or/ APPLIED [tbd] research approach.}

Overview of Testing Maslow: [ specific steps are listed in shaded box below]

· With your partner(s) (matchups will be announced in class or listed above), select a hypothesis from the list below. All of them pertain to Maslow’s theory. Then select a methodology to test it. You can devise a mini-survey /or/ a mini-experiment /or/ a mini-focus group /or/ mini-observation, etc. —whatever you decide is the best way to achieve your investigative goal.

· Conduct your research using your classmates ( mostly uyour seminar-mates) as your subjects. Since all teams will be working on this activity simultaneously, in class, over the next few weeks, you may find that your own Team’s brainstorming , creating of a research instrument, completing any needed Literature Review, etc. will be interrupted by being called upon to serve as another team’s research subjects. If you want, you also can go outside of class & solicit the use of additional subjects ( anyone you can grab) .

· Compile your “raw data” (e.g. questionnaire results, coding results , etc.)

Step-by-Step for the Testing Maslow Teams

I Pick a hypothesis to “test”. Select one from this list [ first come-first served] :

1 – “Given a choice, most people in contemporary U.S. would prefer to have their belonging needs met before their actualization needs” TEAM: S

2- “Although many people have heard of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, the average college student is

unaware of the other major Needs Theorists (such as Wm Schutz [often misspelled] , McClelland, Herzberg, Alderfer, .............). "TEAM: M

3- “ Although mention of Maslow’s basic idea is quite ubiquitous throughout society, the majority of people are unable to name

the steps in the correct sequence.” TEAM: C

4- “There is a positive correlation between a person’s concern with physiological needs & their annual income.” TEAM: M

5- “Most non-psychology writers who refer to “self-actualization” in their writing do not use the

term with the same meaning that Abraham Maslow originally intended.” TEAM: M

6 – “When engaged in oral discussion & explanation of Maslow’s concepts of esteem & safety, most people

cite more real-life, personal experiences than they do when discussing physiological needs &

belonging”. TEAM: M

7- “Contrary to Chip Conley’s business-oriented application in this book, college students are more likely to encounter

Maslow’s theory being applied to Psychological &/or Humanities contexts, such as ...”. TEAM: M

8- “Most people at Seton Hall interpret 'Servant Leadership' as an example of sublimating all of one's own needs."

[ N.B.: this year SHU's Annual Servant Leadership Day w/ guest speaker is 4/10/19.] TEAM: M

II. Pick a method:

EXPERIMENT /or/ CONTENT/TEXTUAL ANALYSIS via CODING /or/ SURVEY [avoid making this the default]

III. Pick a unit of measurement: e.g. words, actions, Likert rankings, etc.

IV. Pick a numerical analysis technique: e.g. EXCEL / SAS / SPSS / SYSTAT / basic math

V. Pick a statistical approach: Descriptive Statistics / Inferential Statistics

VI . Conduct your investigation : Gather your data by carrying out the research model specified above (II, II, III)

VII . Create a visual that summarizes your study results.

Rationale for Part II: Using quantitative analysis actually has multiple considerations: What numbers will enhance your DISCOVERY? What do the numbers mean; what is their significance to the body of knowledge? What’s the best way to visually depict the numbers?

Overall, the statistical approach to handling data can be useful what you want a concrete way of measuring and interpreting countable results. However, it requires the researcher to make strategic choices concerning visual representations of the patterns found in the resulting numbers. (e.g. a bar graph depicts one kind of relationship & a line graph depicts another kind & a histogram another kind & a table another kind ,etc.etc.)

· Apply your planned statistical analytical tool. Depending upon your level of knowledge in quantitative research, you could use simple arithmetic (e.g. computing a mean or a percentage) or you could utilize formulas from your text or you can use whatever statistical software you are familiar with. (e.g. SPSS)

· Depending upon whether your goal is toward descriptive or toward inferential statistics, create an appropriate visual depiction of your stats. [ e.g. a powerpoint graph slide]

· Eventually, each team will have 5-10 minutes to present to the class. Teams will get to explain ( briefly) their quantitative process & their choice for visual depiction of the findings [e.g. chart, graph, histogram, etc]. A copy of the slide with your "visual" + a team written abstract should be emailed to the Professor in advance. This presentation should be based on supporting these two(2) core claims:

____________THIS SEMESTER, PART III SECTION BELOW WILL BE ASSIGNED & UPDATED IF THERE IS TIME & NEED______________________

Rationale for part III: To enable you to experience a microcosm of the scholarly paper process:

Writing> Peer Review > Revision > Resubmit . Since this is only a mini-paper activity, each person’s

submission is meant to be merely a sample of your writing & will be no longer than 1-2 paragraphs.

Step 1 (Writing) – Use the details from the data & results that you gathered while “Testing Maslow” for

writing 1-2 paragraphs of one section of your mini-research report on this topic. In other words, imagine that

you were writing an article for journal submission & you are basing it on the research you ( & your partner)

conducted in order to test the Maslow theory & you then are writing a segment of a research report based

For the purposes of this activity, your choice of a possible section to write is limited to:

“Introduction” | Method” | “Results” | “Discussion” . Only one section is required for submission.

However, IF you want additional feedback, practice, & (possible) extra credit , you can write & submit an

additional section. {In summary: minimum submission = any 1 of the above-listed sections / maximum = any 2 of the above-

In order to accomplish the reviewee part of this process, upon completing the writing of your sample, you will

email your “mini-paper” to a designated seminar-mate for evaluation. (see designated match-ups below)

Similarly, someone will be emailing his/her “sample” to you - in which case you will serve as their reviewer.

{In summary: you will serve as a pseudo-journal reviewer of the writing + clarity in your classmates’ writing sample. In addition, one of

Step 3 (Revise & Resubmit) Via email, your reviewer will reply to you by returning your writing sample with

specific comments & feedback, but probably not with many extensive edits. (It’s recommended that reviewers use

the “Track Changes” tool in Microsoft WORD & create a new name for the annotated document when you save it before

As the original writer, YOU will then rewrite your sample [ONLY ONE!] & then email your Professor a new,

clearly-labeled, three-part, document. This new document will be composed as follows: (1) a copy-&-paste

of the document you received from the peer reviewer + (2) your rewritten section + (3) the original writing

sample submission. {In order to make this three-part document easier for the Professor to navigate, you can

use varied fonts, colors, borders, shading, etc in addition to section labels/headings in order to delineate

FYI--as a quick reminder-- the standard sections: for a scholarly article/report/essay include: [also refer to your text & to the Frey chapters in eReserve]

ABSTRACT – summarizes the contents of the paper: incl. goals, method, findings, basic conclusions; helps the reader determine if this article is relevant to his/her needs. Freestanding.

INTRODUCTION – addresses the need/impetus/relevance for the research study; contains claim [RQ/H]

LITERATURE REVIEW – summarizes the key extant, relevant research in this area, also functions as warrant (why data will prove…)— i.e. uses discussion of the context of previous research (what has come before) to justify how the evidence of this current study is on this right track to support the current claim.

METHOD – explains the why[rationale] & how of the chosen investigative methodology(ies); includes key definitions

RESULTS – discusses the findings of the investigative research; often clarified via tables, graphs & models.

DISCUSSION /IMPLICATIONS/LIMITATIONS/FUTURE RESEARCH- as appropriate for researcher’s goals

CONCLUSION – Similar to Abstract but is less free standing & is more integral to the actual paper.

REFERENCES - using APA style sheet- refer to the 6^th edition manual or use one of the online “cheat sheets”.

Step 1: Re-read the 2 items on eReserve: Frey, et al. - Chapters: 15 [“Epilogue-Concluding Research “] & _3_ [“Finding.,Reading & Using Research “]

Step 2: Re-read the Professor’s online summary of criteria for grading written work [available via www.pirate.shu.edu/~plummeev]

Step 3: Read over any notes you & your partner have written about your procedures and findings in conducting the “Testing Maslow” research. That material = your “data set” for reference in whichever one(1) of the four(4) sections you choose to write.

Step 4: Select a section to write. Since this emphasis for this workshop is on your writing, not on the accuracy or the validity of the information, you might want to select a section based on the aspect of writing where you have the most difficulty and/or you have the least experience & therefore need the most practice.

Step 5: Write, Review, Submit your sample section to your designated reviewer via email. At about the same time, you will receive a paper to review as well. (NB: LENGTH: 1-2 well organized essay paragraphs should be about ¾ to 1 typed page.)

Step 6: Just as with “refereed” scholarly journals & conferences, your submission will be subjected to a review from a comparable researcher (& vice versa!) We won’t be using the blind review procedure which often occurs in such situations. Despite the reciprocal matchups, your reviewer will be ethically & objectively & honestly evaluating several things:

> how directly you say things-- avoiding vague generalizations (using “grounded” commentary)

> how professionally you express yourself ( i.e. the more complex, senior-level quality – analytical, not merely

Reviewers will add their general feedback comments & constructive criticism to the submitted writing sample. If major errors in structure, spelling, word use are noticed, the reviewer can highlight such errors but will not actually correct them. (& vice versa)

Step 7: Based on the reviewer feedback received, Re-write one page of the evaluated section. Submit a composite document to the Professor as an email attachment. This NEW document should contain, three clearly labeled sections: (1) a copy & paste of the peer reviewer’s feedback sheet + (2) the rewritten section + (3) the original mini paper. {you can use fonts, colors, borders, shading, etc to delineate these 3 different items within this composite document}

Step 8: In general, the submission dates are flexible, but aim to have your revised, 3 part document submitted the Professor on or before 4/29/13

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*Writer & Reviewer*	↔	*Writer & Reviewer*
Matt Bartel	↔	Nick Cahill

Patricia Henderson	↔	Brittany Klett

Gabby Ottaiano	↔	Allyson Horn

Ana Gonzalez Rivera	↔	Emily Governale

This semester, all of the matchups are fully reciprocal. You will submit your writing sample to the same person who is reviewing yours & vice versa.

Maslow Research teams: Matt & Patricia / Gabby & Ana / Nick & Allyson / Brittany & Emily