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Northwest University

ICD Fieldwork & Thesis Guide

MA in International Community Development

2020-2022

Cohort Thirteen

Fieldwork & Integrated Project Guide

The College of Social and Behavioral Sciences


5520 108th Ave NE

Kirkland, WA 98033

425-889-5328

Contents

Table of ContentsFieldwork3The Integrated Project8External Reader8Case Examples10Thesis Project Guidelines13Guided Thesis Guidelines17Crafting a Thesis Statement and Introduction25Incorporating Interviews28Appendices29To the Fieldwork Site Supervisor:30Fieldwork Guidelines/Expectations31Fieldwork Hours Record32Fieldwork Interview Tracking Form33External Reader Feedback Form34Research Interview Release Form36

Fieldwork

The ICD integrated project (IP) is based on research that you carry out in an actual community. The “project” part of the thesis is something that you design in response to actual needs in that community. The process by which you come to understand the community in order to think about ways to meet their needs is fieldwork.

The fieldwork site then is the context where you will carry out a minimum of 80 hours of individual field research for your integrated project, primarily through qualitative research methods. The site is the physical location you will be in (i.e., Kampala, Uganda, or Federal Way, Washington). However you will almost always be operating in the context of a specific organization as well (i.e., Living Hope Orphanage of Kampala, or The Enterprise Initiative in Federal Way), so that organization constitutes a key element of the site as well. The general guidelines for an appropriate site are these:

· It must provide an opportunity to learn in-depth about the specific type of service/social change activity that your IP is likely to address.

· It must grant you access to 10-15 respondents in your research focus, each of whom you will interview at least once. These may be employees of the organization, clients (with the organization’s permission), broader community members, or experts in your field of interest.

If you are already involved in context of service pertinent to the ICD degree and to your future interests, you may opt to undertake a thesis project that addresses a need in that context.

Above all, you’ll want to consider a site that fits with your general research and vocational interests. In other words, be sure to choose a site that will help you to explore something you really care about, and which will help you to become better equipped to do the sort of work you are called to do. It does not need to be a perfect match—simply be close enough to keep you engaged and curious. However, you shape the thesis project, it should provide opportunities for you to engage with people who know what you need to know (the “respondents” referred to above). Ideally these will be either people who actually do the sort of work you want to do in the future, and/or those who are integral members of the social context/community you are researching. In the spirit of contextualization and copowerment, it will be important to stay open to anyone with “local knowledge” of the context—anyone who can help you learn and think creatively about the particular research questions you are grappling with.

When possible, choose a fieldwork site at which you can make even a small contribution as you carry out your research—either through the actual research you are doing for your project, or general volunteer work. You may consider adapting your research process, for example, in such a way that your data might actually aid the organization in its work. (Ask the organization in advance about this.) Or, you might simply volunteer your time/work in a way not directly tied to your observations and site research; the volunteer work simply gives you a role to play while you are making your observations. While you should seek ways to be useful in the midst of the fieldwork process, keep in mind that, eventually, the project you will complete in the next semester will also be aimed at helping the organization or the community it serves—albeit with a more systemic, long-term approach.

While it might be ideal to find that perfect site that will integrate all your interests, there are other factors to consider, such as:

· Practicality: What can you reasonably do, given your life circumstances (i.e., full-time school, job, family, etc.)?

· Affordability: While international travel might be your ideal, it may simply be too costly given your financial situation as a graduate student.

The primary praxis in fieldwork is learning through participant observation: that is, direct experience, observation, and interviews. So as long as you find a fieldwork context that is interesting AND proves to be something you can do given the realities of your life, you’ve got a perfectly suitable fieldwork site.

You will need to be proactive about finding this site. Some ideas regarding where and how to look:

· Network, network, network. Ask everyone you know. And ask them to be on the lookout too for possible contacts.

· Talk to fellow students; they may well be able to find opportunities in the organizations where they are doing their own projects.

· Reach out to the ICD alumni network.

· Look close to home: Consider your local church, school, community center, or local government office.

· And of course, work closely with the instructors of both your Research and Fieldwork courses.

The ICD program does have connections to sites that could provide opportunities. Most students, however, find their own site to match their unique interests. In any event, you are responsible for making the contact with the organizations that interest you and establishing the terms of your research and service.

Timeframe: The ICD program schedule is set up on the assumption that most students will complete their 80 hours of fieldwork experience in the roughly three-month time frame of the Fieldwork course. You do have the option of accumulating the 80 hours of fieldwork over the course of up to four months. With the approval of the Fieldwork instructor, you could begin this process as early as the start of your third semester, and extend your fieldwork by a few weeks into the fourth semester. (It is in the fourth semester that you will begin processing your research data and creating your integrative project.)

As you consider the approach you will take to fulfilling field research hours, remember that you may count only those hours when you are actively engaged in some aspect of the research process. This includes observing or participating in the field context, arranging research opportunities, conducting interviews, doing text or internet research on your research topic, or processing/recording data. The time spent in plane travel or sleeping, for examples, cannot be counted.

The Fieldwork Proposal: The Fieldwork Proposal is a description of your proposed site and the activities you will carry out there. It includes all the details of the site including the name of a primary site contact(s) (see below), as well as substantial information about the history, philosophy, and affiliations of your chosen organization. This will be due at the start of the Fieldwork course in the third semester, but you will have opportunities to work on the proposal as part of the Research course in the second semester.

Most importantly, the Fieldwork Proposal includes a description of the particular research questions you will be exploring through field research. Your research must be focused on some general areas of challenge faced by people in your chosen context, or set of questions to be answered, such as:

· How can the Linnert Foundation create a match between the values of corporate donors, to specific development need in the Amazon Basin? What innovative strategies might it use to link developed world resources with developing world needs? What unique approaches can the foundation consider to engage human resources as well as financial resources? What are the opportunities for copowerment and collaboration between the foundation, and indigenous groups in the rain forest?

· Does Parker Elementary effectively address the needs of children at risk? Why have indicators of student success been showing a consistent decrease in the past decade? In a context with a high incidence of poverty, what are the strategies that have been tried to encourage student success? Why has there been little success in engaging the broader community in efforts to alleviate the potential drawbacks of the socio-economic risk factors of that community? What does success look like, and who defines that? Who are the stakeholders in the problem, and what if any voice do, they have to speak into the solution?

· What would be a contextualized model for sustainable income generation that could operate alongside Calcutta Mercy Ministry’s new rural health clinics? What new experiments and innovations in development-based entrepreneurship could be taken into consideration for future clinics? What local resources are present that could be considered as opportunities for future economic development?

These questions should eventually lead into your IP, so you need to have that eventuality in mind as you formulate your research questions. At the same time, you will need to choose a field site that will likely yield the sort of data you need to eventually design a project of some sort that is contextually relevant, and responsive to actual needs. Keep in mind that your research questions should be “open” enough that there is room for surprise; don’t begin with questions that your more or less know the answer to. It is also important to note that, almost always, you will add to and adapt your questions in the process of asking them. Such is the nature of qualitative research: Theory is emergent.

Again, everyone will be creating some project component of their Integrative Project. Your qualitative field data should contribute to that project in some way, so you will need to think about what your possible project options are, even as you are doing your field research.

Please note well: The Fieldwork Proposal must be submitted and approved by BOTH your site contact AND your program advisor before you can proceed with the implementation of the plan. Please obtain the site supervisor approval first before giving the form to your advisor. A brief letter or copy of an email will suffice; simply send a copy to the Fieldwork course instructor with your proposal.

Site Contact Role: For the fieldwork experience you must identify one person who will serve as your site supervisor. This person serves as the primary (or one of the primary) contacts for your engagement with the fieldwork activities. Usually this will be a person who serves in the main organization you are associating with during fieldwork, or may be a member of the broader community you are researching. This is a person who will serve as a general information resource, and is usually a gatekeeper of sorts into the organization or community of your fieldwork site. In addition to being the “point person” for your research experience, they will also need to sign your Fieldwork Proposal, and approve your final report of the research hours and interviews that you turn in at the end of the fieldwork process.

The site contact can be as involved as you want them to be—or more to the point, as involved as they want to be! Ideally, a site contact:

· Helps the student to define the components of the field experience, including any service work.

· Provides occasional advice/guidance as needed during the fieldwork period.

· Serves as the main contact for the fieldwork site (if an organization is involved), or help the student coordinate various fieldwork experiences (if multiple sites are involved).

· Provides authorizing signatures for the student’s project proposal, and sign the report of fieldwork hours.

· Helps the student to identify project design opportunities

So you can see that the site contact role can be minimal. In great part, how you shape the experience and what you draw from it is up to you and not those who oversee you. However, do be aware that there is great value in learning from the experience of those in the field. So if you have opportunity to solicit more input from your site contact in the form of regular advice, vocational counsel, or even guidance on your eventual IP work, it would be well worth pursuing a quasi-mentoring relationship as far as that is possible. Again, this is advisable but not required; quite often people who are engaged in works of service are hard pressed to offer more than basic input, and this is just fine.

In any case, you will want to provide your site contact with clear information about their role. At the same time, you must solicit their expectations of you – and this is something you would be wise to put in writing.

To this end, there is a form provided in the Fieldwork and Thesis Guide. This form should be filled out by the student and the site contact; the student then makes sure that copies are sent both to the site contact and to the Fieldwork course instructor.

The Record of Hours, Record of Interviews, and the Fieldwork Report:

You will be asked to submit a detailed log of your fieldwork hours throughout the fieldwork semester. In addition (and at the same times), you will also be submitting a record of the interviews you undertake.

When your fieldwork is done, you will be asked to submit a report that summarizes the fieldwork experience, including a recap of the data gathered and an initial estimation of research conclusions. You will be asked as well for some subjective “processing” of the experience on a personal level. To this end you should plan to take extensive field notes as part of your research data-gathering process, and also to keep a regular personal/reflexivity journal throughout the fieldwork timeframe.

Your general field notes may take any form that is useful to you. Your program advisor may ask to see/hear them at the end of the field experience, so make sure they are in a form that allows such access. Field data includes written/print notes, transcripts, audio recordings, video, photographs, drawings, and collected artifacts among other things. So be creative in how you gather data. The personal/reflexivity journal too is not something you will turn in for evaluation. However, in the final semester of the program (and as part of the thesis project process) you will absolutely need to be able to refer to a record of such things as your subjective reactions and personal growth in the fieldwork experience.

Note that one component that is required in your field notes will be transcriptions from your 10-15 required interviews. You will need these transcriptions because they will become valuable sources to integrate into your thesis project. Transcriptions of your interviews need to be completed only for those sections of the interview that yield potential data for the thesis project process.

During your fieldwork you will also be asked to share your experience with your instructor and your peers through regular forum posts. Through this venue you will be encouraged to find points of connection and resonance between their experiences and your own, as well as offer insights into one another’s learning processes.

The Integrated Project

The Integrated Project (IP) is intended to give you an experience of focused, extensive research and problem-solving. It is also meant to help you become an expert (or “master” if you will), in a particular subject germane to the ICD program foci. The IP should reflect that level of mastery. Finally, it offers an opportunity for integration and application of various course concepts and texts from the whole ICD program experience.

There are two options for fulfilling the thesis requirement:

· Thesis Project: The thesis project is comprised of two parts: A practical project with real-world application to a specific context, or one that meets a specific need, paired with a research-based document comprised of 7,500-10,000 words (including the title page, table of contents and works cited, but not including the project or any other appendices). The practical project may or may not be a document (see examples below), but if it is, there is no set page requirement; the form should suit the need. The thesis section provides the rationale and theoretical/ academic underpinning for the project component.

· Guided Thesis Project: The guided thesis option is comprised of two sections as well: A practical project proposal, plus three essays of 2,500-3000 words, based on ICD program themes and content. This document should fall into the range of 7,500-10,000 words (including the title page, table of contents and works cited, but not including the project or any other appendices). The practical project may or may not be a document (see examples below), but if it is, there is no set page requirement; the form should suit the need.

Please note that the questions in part two of the guided thesis option address essential areas of ICD program content. No matter what thesis option you choose, use these questions as a broad-strokes guide to the general areas of information that any good thesis is expected to touch upon.

External Reader

In all cases, you must secure an “external reader” for your thesis—one who knows the chosen thesis topic well. Ideally this person will serve as a mentor at best, or a consultant at least, to help guide your research and writing. They will read the final draft of the thesis and offer written feedback as part of the evaluative process. This role is NOT to be confused with that of an editor or proofreader. You will need those sorts of writing helpers to be sure, but the role of the external reader is to act as a sounding board for ideas and IP content, a general consultant in the research process, and a reader of the final draft of the IP. This person may also serve as your site supervisor, but the roles are not necessarily the same.

Case Examples

The best way to understand what an IP looks like is to observe what has been successfully submitted in the past. Below you will find summaries of several typical IP submissions. (You may opt to read any of the IPs submitted to the program in the past; these are available in the NU library.)

· In his research, a student asked the question: “How can services for the disabled in a Nigerian context be made more accessible and effective through cultural contextualization?” This question emerged out of his experiences working with the disabled in Nigeria. His thesis explained the issues there, explored multiple causative factors for the problems the disabled face, and proposed a number of guiding principles for service providers to expand and improve services offered. He opted for a thesis project format, and his thesis statement made the case for new approaches to the problem. His actual thesis statement (included in both the project proposal and the accompanying thesis): “In order to increase access to services for the disabled in Nigeria, it is necessary to both work to change cultural biases against the disabled, and to utilize indigenous, context-relevant resources that already exist in Nigerian society.” In this case, the student used his thesis project to propose public re-education programs about the rights and personhood of the disabled, as well as the creation of schools for disabled kids that would create jobs and contribute to the local economy. His thesis section explained how the values of copowerment, and contextualization were the underpinnings of the approach/strategy to the specific social problem in that specific national context. At the same time, he made a broader case that a similar approach to the one he was proposing might offer possibilities for other similar contexts.

Note that this student did not include the research question in his thesis document. The research question(s) must always lead to a thesis statement. The thesis statement is the answer to the research questions, and the questions themselves are only a means to an end in the process of researching and preparing to write.

Note too that the student didn't write an overly general or abstract thesis. He could have made a case such as: "Disabled people should have more equal rights in the world," or "In Nigeria, certain core cultural beliefs work against the just and humane treatment of disabled people." Those are important points, and in fact they are important points develop as part of this particular thesis example. However, he made sure that his thesis ideas were grounded in a particular, real-world context of application.

Could this student have opted for a guided thesis over a thesis project? Yes indeed. Rather than write a thesis section to accompany his proposal, he could have instead written three essays in response to the guided thesis questions (provided later in this guide). In each of these essays, he would be expected to refer to his fieldwork and his project proposal to illustrate his points.

Here is another example:

· For her fieldwork, a student designed a “kids with cameras” project for a city in Turkey—one that taught photography skills to disabled children and helped them to gain a “voice” in a culture that otherwise sought to ignore them. In the process of her fieldwork, she came to understand the broader need for such projects in various contexts of human need. And so, for her thesis project she created a nonprofit agency to promote social justice photography projects around the world.

For the program requirements she opted to do a thesis project that included both a book of photographs from her project, and the business proposal for the nonprofit. In the thesis document that accompanied the project component then, she developed the values, methodologies, and rationale that informed her project. Her thesis statement: “In Turkish society, disabled people are hidden away due to deep cultural beliefs that make them a source of shame to their families. It is possible to change the perceptions of the disabled through programs that promote their social visibility, and foster engagement and interaction with members of mainstream society.”

· A student traveled to Africa to observe orphan care; while there he realized

that biometric and developmental data were being gathered in a haphazard and inefficient way. Based on interviews and observations there, and further research in the US, he developed a cheap, efficient, field-based system of data gathering that utilized smart phones and the internet. Out of this, he then developed a business plan with a proposal to start a company that would offer these services to organizations with similar needs. His proposal was accompanied by three guided thesis essays, in which he referred to his research and proposal as a case example to illustrate his points.

Had he chosen the thesis project option, he could have written a thesis section instead, and perhaps made the case that service providers need to do a better job of evaluating and demonstrating the impact of their program efforts—both for the sake of efficient and effective use of resources, and for the sake of keeping the donor base educated and informed.

· A student sought to pair her passion for environmental justice with her concern for disaster relief. In Haiti and India, she took note of the fact that disaster relief organizations—in their efforts to meet needs quickly and efficiently—were actually creating environmental problems because of waste generated by the packaging of emergency food and supplies. In her research she asked the questions: “What IS the problem [since most disaster relief organizations were not aware of the problem], and what can be done to alleviate it? Her eventual thesis statement for her thesis project: “Relief organizations should increase their awareness of environmental issues in their contexts of service so that they do not end up causing problems even as they seek to solve them. Specifically, such organizations should work to integrate creation-care values into their organizational culture, to implement zero or low-waste relief strategies, and to increase post-intervention evaluation processes to remediate any negative environmental impact.”

For her project component, she devised a four-part, two-year program for a relief agency in Haiti, by which they could integrate creation care values into their organizational culture, and evaluate and redevelop their existing relief work methodologies. Her project was intended for a specific context for implementation, but she was also able to make the case that the same practices could benefit other organizations in similar contexts with similar challenges.

Thesis Project Guidelines

The thesis project is comprised of two parts: A practical project with real-world application to a specific context, or one that meets a specific need, paired with a research-based document comprised of 7,500-10,000 words (including the title page, table of contents and works cited, but not including the project or any other appendices). The practical project may or may not be a document (see examples below), but if it is, there is no set page requirement; the form should suit the need. The thesis section provides the rationale and theoretical/ academic underpinning for the project component.

Here are some guidelines for shaping a thesis project. (The guided thesis has its own format, which is determined by the assigned questions below.) This is not an exhaustive framework; this offers a general sense of the content and shape expectations, with room for adaptation and added components.

Some important points to remember about the Thesis Project:

· By convention, all Integrated Projects are made available to the public via the Northwest University library website.

· You must always research and write your IP with attention to the question, "What difference do my ideas make in the real world?” A core ICD value, remember, is: The best sort of knowledge is that which makes a difference in people’s lives. Thus, ICD theses should never be ONLY about ideas or ideals, or about abstract, esoteric matters. They must therefore be tied to particular people, places, needs and challenges.

· You must incorporate data obtained through your own qualitative research (participation, interviews and observations).

· You should seek to create “new knowledge”—that is, offer a perspective or solution that is unique, and which contributes something to the broader field. (Always have in mind the option of publishing something out of your thesis, and be making note of possible publishing venues even as you carry out your research.)

· Always incorporate information from the annotated bibliographies done in the Thesis courses. (This is usually done by adapting relevant components of the reviews to support various points you make throughout the thesis. Don’t insert a separate Literature Review section in your thesis.)

· Include the External Reader Feedback form with the final draft of the thesis (you’ll find this in the appendix of this Guide).

Be reminded that the ICD thesis guidelines allow you to adapt and incorporate sections of papers previously written for program courses. You simply need to note his on the thesis cover page: “Some material included in this thesis was previously submitted to meet the requirements for the ICD courses [list them here]”. You must list these courses specifically, in order to avoid any appearance of plagiarism.

Part One of the Thesis Project Option: Project

The nature and possibilities for your project are described above in detail (see Fieldwork and Integrated Project Guide). As noted above, the project section of the thesis project option needs an introduction that includes a thesis paragraph, as part of an introduction that explains the grounding in qualitative fieldwork. (See above for guidelines about how to write an introduction with a thesis paragraph.) Here though are additional requirements for the document itself:

· Any project you envision must be tied to the research outcomes from your fieldwork research. You will need to cite your fieldwork interviews and observation notes in the proposal.

· The proposal must clearly demonstrate principles and practices of Community Development, and should reference materials from that course.

· The proposal must reflect the innovative thinking and creative problem-solving skills learned in the Social Entrepreneurship course.

· The project document should include references to 10-15 peer reviewed sources, including at least 5 personal interviews interviews.

· Attach your project document to the thesis section of the thesis project as an appendix. (It is called Part One in this document because you will complete this project element first, before you work on the thesis component.)

The project document must integrate answers to the following questions:

· What is the need you are seeking to meet, and what is the context of the problem?

· What is the proposed or actual intervention? (I.e., a new business, a school, a curriculum, a water project, conference, etc.)

· What resources will be required, and where will they come from?

· How and by whom will it be implemented?

· What is the timeline for implementation and evaluation?

Sources:

· Always integrate references to lessons learned and texts read throughout the ICD program (since the thesis is an integrative document).

· The project document should include references to 10-15 peer reviewed sources.

· Draw from a wide variety of ICD program resources as needed, but refer at least twice to the materials from each of the following courses:

· Community Development

· Project Management

· Program Evaluation

· Funding

· Social Entrepreneurship

· Include references to at least 3 of your interview sources as well.

Create a separate Works Cited page for the project document. ALSO include all the resources listed on this project-specific Works Cited section in the general Works Cited section for the whole Thesis Project.

The project section has no hard word count requirements, but in most cases a minimum length would be 2,500-3,000 words, including the Works Cited. Be sure to craft an introductory paragraph, as well as a summary conclusion.

Part Two of the Thesis Project Option: Thesis

General content guidelines: Remember that the thesis part of the thesis project option is a demonstration of both integration and application of ICD ideas and principles. In particular, you want to be sure that you address issues of contextualization, research, and social justice at a minimum. You should familiarize yourself with the questions posed in the Guided Thesis option (below) for broad ideas of what you could include. (However, those not doing the Guided Thesis option should not try to answer all of the questions; these questions only give you a general sense of how and what to include.)

Note: For the sake of readability and accessibility, ICD thesis documents you should not include a literature review. It is assumed that you will bring in the perspectives from your literature research throughout the thesis, wherever they support your case.

The thesis part of your IP should contain these elements:

1. Title page

2. Table of Contents

3. Introduction

4. Thesis paragraph, including:

· Brief summary of the problem

· The thesis statement

· The roadmap

· Be sure to communicate what the project is and its connection to the thesis

5. Overview of the field research, (similar to a methodology section, but not as formal) including:

· The fieldwork context

· The type of qualitative research you did

· Why qualitative research was the necessary means to gather needed data

· The research questions you explored

· The relationship between the data gathered and the thesis/thesis project

· Some reflexive commentary about your connection to the topic, or the impact of fieldwork on you

The thesis section should also include these elements (with some flexibility in how you order them):

· Detailed description of the context about which you are writing

· Extended explanation of the challenge/problem you are proposing to address

· Full development of your proposed solution/approach (this is the heart of your thesis), including:

· A general rationale for your approach

· A detailed section for each component of your strategy/design

· An explanation of how/when/whether your solution will be applied

· An explanation of how the project demonstrates the ideas above

· Conclusion

· Appendices (the project itself is always the first appendix)

· List of Works Cited (always after the appendices) that includes the sources listed for the project component

Sources:


· Incorporate a minimum of 20 program sources. This could include such sources as course textbooks, articles, forum discussions, videos, presentations, etc.

· Include at least 20 additional (mostly peer reviewed) sources that were not required for any ICD course.

· Include multiple references to at least 5 of your interview transcripts, and include these sources in your works cited pages.


Guided Thesis Guidelines

The guided thesis option is comprised of two sections: A practical project proposal, plus three essays of 2,500-3000 words, based on ICD program themes and content. This document should fall into the range of 7,500-10,000 words (including the title page, table of contents and works cited, but not including the project or any other appendices). The practical project may or may not be a document (see examples below), but if it is, there is no set page requirement; the form should suit the need.

Some important points to remember about the Guided Thesis:

· By convention, all Integrated Projects are made available to the public via the Northwest University library website.

· You must always research and write your IP with attention to the question, "What difference do my ideas make in the real world?” A core ICD value, remember, is: The best sort of knowledge is that which makes a difference in people’s lives. Thus, ICD theses should never be ONLY about ideas or ideals, or about abstract, esoteric matters. They must therefore be tied to particular people, places, needs and challenges.

· You must incorporate data obtained through your own qualitative research (participation, interviews and observations).

· Always incorporate information from the annotated bibliographies done in the Thesis courses. (This is usually done by adapting relevant components of the reviews to support various points you make throughout the thesis. Don’t insert a separate Literature Review section in your thesis.)

· Include the External Reader Feedback form with the final draft of the thesis (you’ll find this in the appendix of this Guide).


Part One of the Guided Thesis: Project

The nature and possibilities for your project are described above in detail (see Fieldwork and Integrated Project Guide). As noted above, the project section of the guided thesis option needs an introduction that includes a thesis paragraph, as part of an introduction that explains the grounding in qualitative fieldwork. (See above for guidelines about how to write an introduction with a thesis paragraph.) Here though are additional requirements for the document itself:

· Any project you envision must be tied to the research outcomes from your fieldwork research. You will need to cite your fieldwork interviews and observation notes in the proposal.

· The proposal must clearly demonstrate principles and practices of Community Development, and should reference materials from that course.

· The proposal must reflect the innovative thinking and creative problem-solving skills learned in the Social Entrepreneurship course.

· Attach your project document to the thesis section of the thesis project as an appendix. (It is called Part One in this document because you will complete this project element first, before you work on the thesis component.)

The project document must integrate answers to the following questions:

· What is the need you are seeking to meet, and what is the context of the problem?

· What is the proposed or actual intervention? (I.e., a new business, a school, a curriculum, a water project, conference, etc.)

· What resources will be required, and where will they come from?

· How and by whom will it be implemented?

· What is the timeline for implementation and evaluation?

Sources:


· The project document should include references to 10-15 peer reviewed sources.

· Draw from a wide variety of ICD program resources as needed, but refer at least twice to the materials from each of the following courses:


· Project Management

· Program Evaluation

· Funding

· Social Entrepreneurship

· Include references to at least 3 of your interview sources as well.

· Create a separate Works Cited page for the project document. Please highlight the ICD course sources in the Works Cited.

The project section has no hard word count requirements, but in most cases a minimum length would be 2,500-3,000 words, including the Works Cited. Be sure to craft an introductory paragraph, as well as a summary conclusion. Include a single title page that precedes all four sections of the guided thesis.

Part Two: Essay Questions

Note: Each question requires an essay of 7,500-10,000 words, including a Works Cited page. Don’t create a separate title page for each essay; rather include a single title page that precedes all four sections of the guided thesis.

Essays should follow conventional expository essay structure (as described in MLA guidelines; see the OWL website). You must include an introduction with a thesis statement and a roadmap of main points, one or more paragraphs for each of those points, and a summary conclusion. In addition, each essay should cite sources drawn from:

· A range of ICD course sources (texts, videos, lecture notes, etc.) In the works cited for each section of the thesis, please highlight all ICD course resources that you cited.

· External, peer reviewed sources that were not required as ICD reading. Note too that while you may use the same external sources in multiple sections, they cannot count toward the required number of external sources in each section unless they have NOT been previously used.

· When possible, fieldwork data/interviews

All sources should be listed on a separate works cited page for each essay.

The questions below address “essential” ICD program content. No matter what thesis option you choose, use these questions as a broad-strokes guide to the general areas of information that any good thesis is expected to touch upon.

1. Contextualization

Explain your understanding of contextualization and its importance to community development. In crafting your essay, please be sure that the following questions are addressed somehow:

· Why is contextualization such an important factor when it comes to designing and implementing programs, processes, and interventions?

· How do creativity and innovation figure into the contextualization process?

· Explain how you intend to apply the values and practices of contextualization in your future vocational work.

Address the topic above in an essay of 7,500-10,000 words, including a Works Cited page.

Sources:

Draw from a wide variety of ICD program resources as needed, but refer at least twice to the materials from each of the following courses:

· Culture Studies in a Global Context


As supportive material for this essay, you are required to include three examples of contextualization that you employed in your project or fieldwork. Specifically:

· One example of general, macrocultural cultural contextualization (such as the application of Hofstede’s indices)

· One example of more localized contextualization shaped in response to the culture of the specific community that the project is intended to serve

· One example of unique, local assets or capacities that you engaged (such as local wisdom, particular skill sets, physical spaces, environmental resources, etc.)

At a minimum, please cite 10-12 sources, including:

· Your fieldwork data /interviews

· ICD resources from the courses above

· at least three external, peer-reviewed sources that were not required reading in the ICD program, and that you did not count toward the number of external sources required in other sections.

· Each of the three sections of the Guided Thesis should have a separate Works Cited page. Please highlight the ICD course sources in the Works Cited.

2. Qualitative Inquiry

Write an essay in which you discuss the strengths of qualitative research methods for understanding contexts of need. In your answer, be sure to include perspective on the following questions:

· What are some of the values that inform qualitative methods, and how do those values resonate with core ICD values?

· What is distinctive about the qualitative approach, and why is it particularly useful in the practice of community development?

· Using your project as a case example:

How was the usefulness of qualitative methods demonstrated in the research you did for your project?

Identify the types of outcome markers you will be looking for in a future, hypothetical evaluation of your proposed project.

How can you plan to utilize either Qualitative or Quantitative research methods to measure the impact of your proposed project?

Why should community developers include qualitative elements in their effectiveness evaluations?

· In summary, how will qualitative approaches to inquiry make you a more impactful agent of social change?


Sources:

Draw from a wide variety of ICD program sources as needed, but refer at least twice to the materials from each of the following courses:

· Research for Social Change

· Fieldwork






3. ICD Values

Looking back over your experience of the ICD program, discuss the ways in which your values have been impacted. Please be sure that you answer the following questions at some point in your essay:

· How would you describe your process of personal transformation?

· What has social justice come to mean for you, and how do you hope to serve as an influence for social justice in the future?

· How do you understand copowerment, and how will you seek to express that dynamic in your future work?

· As your own theology or philosophy of service has developed thus far, how will it influence your future vocational choices?


Sources:

Draw from a wide variety of ICD program sources, but refer at least twice to the materials from each of the following courses:

· Spirituality, Culture, and Social Justice

· Leadership

· Social and Environmental Justice






Tips for Writing a Good Integrated Project

Crafting a Thesis Statement and Introduction

Crafting a Thesis Statement, Paragraph, and Introduction:

Note that the process below applies to both versions of the IP, since every thesis needs a thesis statement paragraph. The same is true for proposals, grant applications, program designs, and nearly every project option that includes a written document. In all cases, this paragraph must include the following elements.

· A brief statement of the problem/challenge

· The thesis statement (what is the solution in a general sense)

· A statement of the actual solution/what will be proposed

· A roadmap outline the general shape of the proposal/preview of the main sections of the document in broad strokes.

Sometimes the thesis statement paragraph is the first paragraph of the document. More often though it follows some introductory material, such as a description of the challenge being addressed, or a story that illustrates the challenge.

· The thesis statement: The primary research question that you have been working on set you up to write the thesis statement. In effect, the thesis statement is the answer to your question. As you near the end of your research process, the things you have discovered via archival research and fieldwork should provide you with the understanding you need to pose an answer to that thesis question. For example, here is a research question:

What processes can be put into place that will allow churches in a given community to positively impact their local public schools?

Fast forward to the end of the fieldwork research process, and let’s transform it into a thesis statement that answers the question:

In order for the local church to invest in their community public schools, it must act as a catalyst to establish collaborative partnerships.

Notice that, while we started with a question, the resulting thesis statement must be an assertion. In other words, you need to take a stand, i.e., This must happen. This is how it should be. Here is a better way. To do this takes courage, and it means that you risk being wrong and/or having people disagree with you. But so, what? You are a MASTER of International Community Development, so you get to say what you want. But you have to say it boldly if you want to pass this final IP requirement on the way to earning your degree. So, decide what you stand for, and make a case for it to the world.

· Expanded thesis statement: Notice how simple and straightforward the thesis statement is so far? Yours has to be that clear. In other words, the reader should have no doubt at all about what your position is, and what in general you will argue for. But know too that what you see here is really only part one of a thesis statement. For this reason, you will decide how many other sentences you need to add to the thesis statement. As long as you have one clear statement of the core purpose, you may craft several additional sentences to add layers of detail. Let’s do that with the working thesis statement above:

In order for the local church to invest in their community public schools, it must act as a catalyst to establish collaborative partnerships. When religious institutions, local businesses, nonprofits, and public schools work together, unrealized and untapped resource are released, and the local community is drawn together, inspired and galvanized around the common cause of serving children.

You see how the additional sentence both expands on the key idea and adds some detail to it. It gives the reader an even better idea of what to expect from the thesis document. But in fact, what I haven’t told you yet in the thesis so far is that this particular IP is based in field research, and has a very practical aim that is expressed in a thesis project component (one of your two program options, of course). So, let’s add that information as well.

In order for the local church to invest in community public schools, it must act as a catalyst to establish collaborative partnerships. When religious institutions, local businesses, nonprofits, and public schools work together, unrealized and untapped resource are released, and the local community is drawn together, inspired and galvanized around the common cause of serving children. Drawing on lessons learned through a case study at Cedarwood Covenant Church, this thesis will identify core motives, critical challenges, and practical strategies for church engagement in community collaboration. Finally, this thesis includes a Handbook for Collaborative Community Partnership—a set of practical guidelines for any religious community that wants to adopt this model of social engagement.

That’s it. You’ll notice that I’ve given you the details on HOW I am going to develop my ideas, as well as the ORDER (or a rudimentary roadmap) in which I will do it. In point of fact, now that I am at this point, I COULD opt to go back and remove the second sentence; it would certainly simplify my thesis, but it also takes the heart and soul out of it—so that is a decision I might come back to later (a thesis statement can always be adjusted later).

· The introductory thesis paragraph: We have been working from the core idea (thesis statement) outward. Now we need to expand a bit more so that we have an actual introductory paragraph. While there ought to be an aesthetic component to the whole document, it is particularly important in the initial paragraphs. Not only does the introduction make it clear what you stand for and how you will make your case—it also represents your opportunity to engage the reader and make them intrigued to hear more about your beautiful idea. Let’s add some aesthetic-engagement-orientation material to our current thesis statement:

·

Children are our future (goes the oft-repeated maxim), so we need to invest in their development. And yet it would be hard to discern that value by looking at public education in America today. Most public schools are under-resourced and struggling to meet basic standards. Are we to assume then that in fact Americans just don’t care about kids? Clearly, if you have any connection at all to children in your life, you know that isn’t true. So why don’t communities invest more in the education of their children?

Churches in particular need to take that question seriously, for at the core of Christian ideology is a mandate to advocate and care for “the least of these.” And yet, historically, religious institutions and public schools have kept their distance from one another, in great part because of the constitutionally mandated (but often misunderstood), separation of church and state. Yet this need not be the case; quite simply, the lack of cooperation between the two entities means that children are not served well.

There must be a different way of thinking about how communities invest in their young, and churches need to be at the forefront of modeling a new way forward. In order for the local church to invest in community public schools, it must act as a catalyst to establish collaborative partnerships. When religious institutions, local businesses, nonprofits, and public schools work together, unrealized and untapped resource are released, and the local community is drawn together, inspired and galvanized around the common cause of serving children. Drawing on lessons learned through a case study at Cedarwood Covenant Church, this thesis will identify core motives, critical challenges, and practical strategies for church engagement in community collaboration. Finally, this thesis includes a Handbook for Collaborative Community Partnership – practical guidelines for any religious community that wants to adopt this model of social engagement.

For the project part of an IP, this introduction then could be placed at the start of a grant proposal, a community action plan, or even a curriculum. For those doing the thesis project rather than the guided thesis, some adaptation of this might appear at the start of the thesis section that accompanies the project as well.

My instinct tells me that my next paragraph ought to introduce my fieldwork context, Cedarwood Covenant Church, and signal my rationale for choosing this community (Cedarwood is at the forefront of risk-taking experiments), or for doing a case study at all (I am using a case study because the last thing I want is for my case for change to be stuck in the realm of the abstract). But I can always come back to this later.

The point is that you have a lot of leeway in how you shape the introduction. But do take the time and effort required to engage your reader, to make them care, and to make them want to know more.

Incorporating Interviews

When you cite an interview, you should sometimes call attention to the fact that it IS an interview. This emphasizes the fact that you as the researcher-author have direct connection to the issue you are writing about, and thereby supports the authority of your perspective.

Rather than simply writing something like:

Jones explained, “The problem is complicated. . . .”

you should instead use writing that is more context-evoking and connection-building:

As I observed the Uptown after-school tutoring program, director Marissa Jones explained to me, “The problem is complicated. . . .”

or perhaps:

Over the noises of the children’s excited conversations and laughter, Marissa Jones, director of the Uptown Tutoring Center, told me, “The problem is complicated. . . .”

Again, this sort of contextualized writing tells your readers that you were there, witnessing first-hand what you are writing about, or at least engaging directly with on-the-ground experts. It also makes for more interesting, compelling reading.

Make sure that you include your interviews as sources listed in the Works Cited. List the interview by the name of the interviewee. Include the descriptor "Personal interview" and the date of the interview:

Maxwell, Bonita. Personal interview. 1 Dec. 2019.

In the body of your paper, the interviewee's last name is all you need in a parenthetical citation

(Maxwell)

If you have more than one interview of the same person, then include the date in the parenthetical:

(Maxwell, 1 January 2020)

Appendices To the Fieldwork Site Supervisor:

Thank you for being willing to provide accountability and guidance to this student. Please know that your investment will help shape a critical component of the student’s formation as a future agent of justice and social change.

In the Master of Arts in International Community Development program, the role of the Fieldwork Site Supervisor is defined by the following responsibilities:

· Help the student to define the components of the field experience, including any service work.

· Provide occasional advice/guidance as needed during the fieldwork period.

· Serve as the main contact for the fieldwork site (if an organization is involved) or help the student coordinate various fieldwork experiences (if multiple sites are involved).

· Provide authorizing signatures for the student’s project proposal and sign the report of fieldwork hours.

Any further investment on your part is optional. Please know that the student bears primary responsibility for making the fieldwork experience a valuable one, and for integrating that experience into the larger framework of the program.

The student has been advised to discuss and record any expectations you might have for them as part of the fieldwork experience. This could include frequency of contact, conduct in the field, service responsibilities, or even confidentiality parameters. If there are such terms to be clarified, these can be recorded on the following page (and copies of those terms will then be provided to both you and the ICD program director).

Thank you again for your willingness to be part of this student’s learning process.

Chair


Fieldwork Guidelines/Expectations

Northwest University, MA in International Community Development

Student ______________________________________________________________________________________

(print)

Supervisor __________________________________________________________________________________

(print)

Organization (if applicable)______________________________________________________________

The site supervisor and student agree to the following items:

Signature, Site Supervisor_________________________________________________Date__________

Signature, Student__________________________________________________________Date__________

Fieldwork Hours Record

Northwest University, MA in International Community Development

To be used in conjunction with the Fieldwork Interview Tracking form.

Name ________________________________________________________ Semester____________________

Supervisor Signature______________________________________________________________________

Date

Est. hrs.

Brief description of activity

Fieldwork Interview Tracking Form

To be used in conjunction with Fieldwork Hours Record

Name

Position

Organization

Date

Purpose

External Reader Feedback Form

For the student: A copy of this form must be turned in, completed, when you submit the final draft to the course instructor.

For the reader: Please return the hardcopy of this form to the student. If you would rather not use the hardcopy, please feel free to send the answers to these questions via email to the student.

Please return the hardcopy of this form to the student. If you would rather not use the hardcopy, please feel free to send the answers to these questions via email to [email protected], with a copy to the student.

Thank you for being willing to offer perspective on the content of a thesis draft. The time you spend is an investment in the future of this ICD student. Please offer any feedback you can to the student on this form, but certainly in the draft document as well if you think that would be helpful. Please note that you are being asked primarily for an evaluation of content, rather than proofreading or style/format editing. If you have any questions about the program and the place of this thesis in it, please don’t hesitate to contact me!

Chair


MA in International Community Development

Please take a moment to comment in the following evaluative categories:

(Please make suggestions as needed, and use an additional page if necessary.)

Does this thesis deal with a relevant and timely topic in its field? Please explain.

Does the student display a familiarity with the key resources in the field that could inform the thesis perspective? Please comment.

Is the quality of writing appropriate to a graduate level? (Note that you are reading a draft, but the writing issues even at this stage ought not to be distracting from content.)

Is the student persuasive and compelling in terms of how the thesis case is built or the argument is developed? Why or why not?

What if any general improvements would you suggest the student make? (Again, you can make summary comments here, while offering detailed suggestions in the thesis draft document itself.)

Your name ______________________________________________________________________________

Position (if relevant) ___________________________________________________________________

Thesis author’s name __________________________________________________________________

Signature ____________________________________________ Date _____________________________

fie

Research Interview Release Form

Purpose of study: (1-2 sentence summary of general purpose)

Process: (1-2 sentences describing nature of interview questions and method of delivery)

· I authorize that use of information from this interview can be used for quotation and publication as part of scholarly work, community work, and education.

· I agree that no compensation will be received for this interview and/or subsequent work resulting from it.

· I understand that I may limit or omit any portion of this interview by request.

· I hereby recognize the nature of this academic study, and assign any and all rights of this recording, video, transcript, and photography of this research interview for educational purposes to the researcher and his/her work at Northwest University.

IntervieweeDate

ResearcherDate

Rev 11/5/20 LFI26

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