Course SyllabusCourse DescriptionProvides a framework .docx

Course Syllabus
Course Description
Provides a framework for conducting and evaluating
independent research in the fire
service by examining the basic principles and methodology for
analyzing current fire-
related research.
Course Textbook(s)
Kumar, R. (2014). Research methodology: A step-by-step guide
for beginners (4th
ed.). London, United Kingdom: Sage.
Course Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:
1. Locate, evaluate, and analyze fire-related research.
2. Demonstrate the application of fire research to a research
problem.
3. Conduct a literature review of current research on a fire-
related topic.
4. Determine the appropriate use of both qualitative and
quantitative methodologies within a research project.
5. Draft a fire-related research proposal.
6. Write a fire-related research report.
Prerequisite(s)

No prerequisite courses are required for enrollment in this
course.
Credits
Upon completion of this course, the students will earn 3 hours
of college credit.
Course Structure
1. Study Guide: Course units contain a Study Guide that
provides students with the learning outcomes, unit lesson,
required reading assignments, and supplemental resources.
2. Learning Outcomes: Each unit contains Learning Outcomes
that specify the measurable skills and knowledge
students should gain upon completion of the unit.
3. Unit Lesson: Unit Lessons, which are located in the Study
Guide, discuss lesson material.
4. Reading Assignments: Units contain Reading Assignments
from one or more chapters from the textbook and/or
outside resources.
5. Suggested Reading: Suggested Readings are listed within the
Study Guide. Students are encouraged to read the
resources listed if the opportunity arises, but they will not be
tested on their knowledge of the Suggested Readings.
6. Discussion Boards: Students are required to submit
Discussion Board posts in Units I-VIII. Discussion Boards
provide students the opportunity for student-to-student and
professor-to-student interaction based on relevant course
concepts and ideas. Specific information about accessing the
Discussion Board rubric is provided below.

7. Unit Assignments: Students are required to submit for
grading Unit Assignments. Specific information and
instructions regarding these assignments are provided below.
Grading rubrics are included with each assignment.
Specific information about accessing these rubrics is provided
below.
8. Ask the Professor: This communication forum provides
students with an opportunity to ask their professor general
FIR 4308, Applications in Fire
Research
FIR 4308, Applications in Fire Research 1
questions or questions related to course content.
9. Student Break Room: This communication forum allows for
casual conversation with other classmates.
CSU Online Library
The CSU Online Library is available to support your courses
and programs. The online library includes databases, journals,
e-books, and research guides. These resources are always
accessible and can be reached through the library web page.
To access the library, log into the myCSU Student Portal, and
click on “CSU Online Library.” You can also access the CSU
Online Library from the “My Library” button on the course
menu for each course in Blackboard.
The CSU Online Library offers several reference services. E-
mail ([email protected]) and telephone
(1.877.268.8046) assistance is available Monday – Thursday

from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The
library’s chat reference service, Ask a Librarian, is available
24/7; look for the chat box on the online library page.
Librarians can help you develop your research plan or assist you
in finding relevant, appropriate, and timely information.
Reference requests can include customized keyword search
strategies, links to articles, database help, and other services.
Unit Assignments
Unit I Article Review
For this assignment, use the CSU Online Library databases to
locate a peer-reviewed article that is in some way related to
the principles of fire chemistry and fire dynamics as well as
their effects on emergency situations. You can select any article
of interest dealing with this broad topic, which should give you
plenty from which to choose. Some examples are reports
analyzing a fire or other articles that research what took place
at a fire incident. You may also find an appropriate article on
the National Fire Protection Association, National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health, National Institute of Standards
and Technology, United States Fire Administration websites. Be
sure to select a full-length article. Letters to the editor,
editorials, roundtable discussions, blog postings, or press
releases made to look like articles are not acceptable for this
assignment. This assignment is to give you practice reviewing
articles that contribute to the industry.
The article you choose must meet the following requirements:
be peer-reviewed or scholarly in nature;
relate to the concepts within this course and, if possible, to your
research proposal topic; and
be at least eight pages in length.

The article review you submit must meet the following
requirements:
be at least two full double-spaced pages in length not including
the title page or reference page;
identify the main topic/question;
critique the article and share your thoughts on what appears to
be valid or invalid; and
include your thoughts on whether you agree with the author’s
position, and why, or why not?
Be sure to summarize, paraphrase, and cite the information. Do
not copy directly from the textbook or from any other
source. All sources used, including the textbook, must be
referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have
accompanying citations and entries in the reference section. All
references and citations used must be in APA style.
Information about accessing the grading rubric for this
assignment is provided below.
Unit II Scholarly Activity
Developing the Research Problem and Question
Developing the research question can be one of the most
challenging parts of the whole process. A well-defined research
question should be narrow in scope and should be a question to
which the answer is not already known through other
published material. After all, if the answer is already known,
there is no need to create a research study to answer that same
question again.
This assignment focuses on developing your research problem,
the purpose statement, and research question.

First, discuss your research problem. Be sure to support your
points with scholarly material. For example, do not simply
assert that health and wellness is a problem in the fire service.
Demonstrate this by supporting your point with scholarly
material. Include a few solid paragraphs of description.
Next, include the purpose statement. This should be a sentence
that clearly tells the reader what you intend to accomplish
by creating the study.
Finally, create a research question you would like to investigate
for your project. Remember that the question needs to be
unique. One way to accomplish this is to make the question
specific to a particular department or jurisdiction.
This activity should be at least one page in length. Be sure to
summarize, paraphrase, and cite the information. Do not copy
directly from the textbook or from any other source. All sources
used, including the textbook, must be referenced;
paraphrased and quoted material must have accompanying
citations and entries in the reference section. All references and
mailto:[email protected]
citations used must be in APA style.
Unit III Scholarly Activity
United States Fire Statistics

The United States Fire Administration (USFA) collects fire-
related data to provide information and analysis on the fire
problem in the United States. Fire departments may use this
information in multiple ways, including creating a baseline for
evaluating programs, increasing awareness, and targeting public
education programs.
For this assignment, access the USFA fire statistics page at the
following link: https://www.usfa.fema.gov/data/statistics/.
Select any one of the topics for which the site provides
statistics, including:
trends,
causes,
where fires occur,
who fire affects, and
firefighters and fire departments.
In a paper of no fewer than three full double-spaced pages not
including the title page or reference page, analyze the
information on the USFA fire statistics page under the topic you
selected, and explain how the data may be applied to
community risk reduction methods in your community. For
example, your department may be looking for data to support a
public outreach program related to the causes of fire or any of
the other topics listed. How can the data presented on the
USFA fire statistics page be used to accomplish this? Once you
have discussed how the data could support a public
outreach program, explain how you would design a study for the
community based on those data.
source. All sources used, including the textbook, must be
referenced; paraphrased and quoted material must have

accompanying citations and entries in the reference section. All
references and citations used must be in APA style.
Unit IV Annotated Bibliography
Develop an annotated bibliography of at least three scholarly
sources excluding the course textbook that utilize empirical
studies for your final paper topic. The purpose of this
assignment is to help you prepare for the final research proposal
due
in Unit VII.
The annotated bibliography submission should include:
Summaries for each source should include the following
information:
A brief explanation/summary of the source. (Identify what the
article is about or explain what the author tested, etc.)
Do not copy and paste the abstract or the summary from the
article to your paper. Paraphrase and summarize the
information in your own words. The whole summary may not be
one long quotation.
A brief explanation of how this source will contribute to your
final paper.
The following are NOT acceptable for academic research and
referencing:
Encyclopedias
Dictionaries
Wikipedia, other wikis, or blogs
Ehow.com, Ask.com, About.com, Howthingswork.com, or any
similar site
Websites and other sources that do not provide quality

researched materials or that do not use credible sources to
support the information in the document.
Each summary should be at least 100 words in length. Your
document must use proper APA elements such as a title page,
running head, and more. Click here to access the annotated
bibliography template.
Unit V Scholarly Activity
Developing the Methodology
Selecting the right research method for the project is essential.
The wrong research design can result in information that
does not answer the research question or data that are not
helpful to the researcher. It is important to carefully select the
methodology that best suits the research question.
For this assignment, select the most appropriate research
method to test the research question for your research report.
Begin by explaining whether your research question is asking
for quantitative or qualitative data. Then, consider which type
of research design you would select if you were actually going
to conduct the study. Remember that you will design the
study but not actually do the data collection portion for the final
paper. This means you can carefully design the most
appropriate study for your project without worrying about time
constraints that would normally play a role in the data
collection step. Which research design is most appropriate?
Which design will provide you with results to directly address
your research problem?

https://www.usfa.fema.gov/data/statistics/
https://online.columbiasouthern.edu/CSU_Content/courses/Emer
gency_Services/FIR/FIR4308/16C/UnitIV_AnnotatedBibliograp
hyTemplate.docx
In no fewer than two full double-spaced pages, include at least
the following for this assignment:
List the most current version of your research problem at the
top of the page.
Include the most current version of the purpose of your research
report next.
Explain whether you are designing a quantitative, qualitative, or
mixed methods study, and what constitutes such a study.
Be sure to support your points with scholarly material.
Include the following information to clearly describe your
research design:
participants;
instruments, if any;
design; and
procedure.
Explain why this research method is the best fit for your study.
Include a specific design in your response.
Support your research method choice with scholarly material
from at least three outside sources. At least two of those
sources must come from the CSU Online Library.
Remember, this assignment is designed to help you work toward
your research proposal.

Unit VI Outline
Developing the Outline
Develop a thesis and detailed outline for your final paper topic.
The purpose of this assignment is to help you prepare for the
research proposal due in Unit VII.
Include at least the following elements in your outline:
an APA formatted title page,
a thesis for the introduction,
the purpose of your paper with support for your points from
scholarly material taking into consideration the benefits and
ethical issues associated with the purpose,
research question or questions,
at least five main section headings for the body of the
document,
sub-sections to each of those main sections, and
recommendations and conclusions.
Click here to utilize the template for this assignment. Be sure to
replace template headings with your own content.
Your outline should be at least one page in length. Remember to
use in-text citations throughout to show from where
information came and to support your points with scholarly
material. Include an APA style reference section at the end.
source. Sites such as Wikipedia, e-how.com, history.com,
howthingswork.com, and other similar sources are not scholarly
in nature and may not be used for this assignment. All sources
used, including the textbook, must be referenced;

Unit VII Research Proposal
The research proposal in this course is designed to allow you to
discover, analyze, and interpret a fire-related research
problem. A problem is not necessarily a troublesome area but an
area of desired improvement. In other words, something
may be performing well, yet someone still wants to see it
perform even better. That is what a lot of research is all about—
how can we do it better?
Include at least the following elements in your research
proposal:
a title page;
a table of contents;
an introduction;
the purpose of the research with support for your points from
scholarly material;
a literature review, which is different from the annotated
bibliography,
a hypothesis;
a description of the research method, what you would do if you
were to carry out the study;
conclusions and recommendations; and
a reference page.
Click here to view the short video for more guidance concerning
the proposal assignment. Click here for a transcript of the
video.

The proposal should be 10 full double-spaced pages not
including the title page, references, abstract, or any appendices.
You proposal should provide 12 sources that include empirical
studies.
source. Websites such as Wikipedia, e-how.com, history.com,
howthingswork.com, and other similar sources are not
gency_Services/FIR/FIR4308/16C/UnitVI_OutlineTemplate.doc
x
gency_Services/FIR/FIR4308/16C/UnitVIIResearchProposal.mp
4
gency_Services/FIR/FIR4308/16C/UnitVII_ProposalInstructions
Transcript.pdf
scholarly in nature and may not be used for this assignment. All
sources used, including the textbook, must be referenced;
Unit VIII PowerPoint Presentation
Reviewing the Eight-Step Model

Our textbook presented eight steps to completing a research
report. While your final paper in the previous unit went through
the research proposal step, it is still important to be familiar
with the final steps in the process for future endeavors. For this
assignment, take on the role of instructor, and design a
PowerPoint assignment explaining each of the eight steps in the
process. Do not simply paste information from the textbook or
any other source. Use text sparingly on each slide and use
the Notes section to further explain the bullet point material you
have included on each slide. Please do not paste
paragraphs of small font onto the slides. Include at least one
slide for each of the eight steps.
Remember to support your points with scholarly material and
include citations where needed to show from where the
information came. Include a full APA style reference slide at
the end. Do not forget to include a title slide with your name on
it.
For guidance in creating an effective PowerPoint presentation,
review the following resource created by the CSU Writing
Center.
http://columbiasouthern.adobeconnect.com/powerpointbestpracti
ces/
For a simple guide on inserting speaker notes into your
presentation, click here to view the document PowerPoint
Speaker
Notes.
APA Guidelines

The application of the APA writing style shall be practical,
functional, and appropriate to each academic level, with the
primary purpose being the documentation (citation) of sources.
CSU requires that students use APA style for certain papers
and projects. Students should always carefully read and follow
assignment directions and review the associated grading
rubric when available. Students can find The CSU Citation
Guide by clicking here. This document includes examples and
sample papers and provides information on how to contact the
CSU Writing Center.
Grading Rubrics
This course utilizes analytic grading rubrics as tools for your
professor in assigning grades for all learning activities. Each
rubric serves as a guide that communicates the expectations of
the learning activity and describes the criteria for each level
of achievement. In addition, a rubric is a reference tool that
lists evaluation criteria and can help you organize your efforts
to
meet the requirements of that learning activity. It is imperative
for you to familiarize yourself with these rubrics because
these are the primary tools your professor uses for assessing
learning activities.
Rubric categories include (1) Discussion Board, (2) Assessment
(Written Response), and (3) Assignment. However, it is
possible that not all of the listed rubric types will be used in a
single course (e.g., some courses may not have
Assessments).
The Discussion Board rubric can be found within Unit I’s
Discussion Board submission instructions.
The Assessment (Written Response) rubric can be found

embedded in a link within the directions for each Unit
Assessment. However, these rubrics will only be used when
written-response questions appear within the Assessment.
Each Assignment type (e.g., article critique, case study,
research paper) will have its own rubric. The Assignment
rubrics
are built into Blackboard, allowing students to review them
prior to beginning the Assignment and again once the
Assignment has been scored. This rubric can be accessed via the
Assignment link located within the unit where it is to be
submitted. Students may also access the rubric through the
course menu by selecting “Tools” and then “My Grades.”
Again, it is vitally important for you to become familiar with
these rubrics because their application to your
Discussion Boards, Assessments, and Assignments is the
method by which your instructor assigns all grades.
Communication Forums
These are non-graded discussion forums that allow you to
communicate with your professor and other students.
Participation in these discussion forums is encouraged but not
required. You can access these forums with the buttons in
the Course Menu.
Click here for instructions on how to subscribe/unsubscribe and
post to the Communication Forums.
http://columbiasouthern.adobeconnect.com/powerpointbestpracti
ces/
gency_Services/FIR/FIR4308/16C/UnitVIII_PowerPointSpeaker

Notes.pdf
http://www.columbiasouthern.edu/downloads/pdf/success/citatio
n-guide
https://online.columbiasouthern.edu/CSU_Content/common_file
s/instructions/DB/Create_New_Thread_Subscribe.pdf
Ask the Professor
This communication forum provides you with an opportunity to
ask your professor general or course content questions.
Questions may focus on Blackboard locations of online course
components, textbook or course content elaboration,
additional guidance on assessment requirements, or general
advice from other students.
Questions that are specific in nature, such as inquiries regarding
assessment/assignment grades or personal
accommodation requests, are NOT to be posted on this forum. If
you have questions, comments, or concerns of a non-
public nature, please feel free to e-mail your professor.
Responses to your post will be addressed or e-mailed by the
professor within 48 hours.
Before posting, please ensure that you have read all relevant
course documentation, including the syllabus,
assessment/assignment instructions, faculty feedback, and other
important information.
Student Break Room
This communication forum allows for casual conversation with
your classmates. Communication on this forum should
always maintain a standard of appropriateness and respect for
your fellow classmates. This forum should NOT be used to
share assessment answers.

Schedule/Grading
The following pages contain a printable Course Schedule to
assist you through this course. By following this schedule, you
will be assured that you will complete the course within the
time allotted.
Unit I Introduction to the Research Process [ Weight: 12% ]
Read/View: Unit I Study Guide
Chapter 1: Research: a way of thinking
Chapter 2: The research process: a quick glance
Chapter 3: Reviewing the literature
Discuss: Unit I Discussion Board 2%
Submit: Unit I Article Review 10%
Unit II Developing the Research Problem [ Weight: 12% ]
Read/View: Unit II Study Guide
Chapter 4: Formulating a research problem
Chapter 5: Identifying variables
Chapter 6: Constructing hypotheses
Discuss: Unit II Discussion Board 2%
Submit: Unit II Scholarly Activity 10%
Unit III The Research Design [ Weight: 12% ]
Read/View: Unit III Study Guide
Chapter 7: The research design
Chapter 8: Selecting a study design

Discuss: Unit III Discussion Board 2%
Submit: Unit III Scholarly Activity 10%
Unit IV Selecting a Methodology [ Weight: 12% ]
Read/View: Unit IV Study Guide
Chapter 9: Selecting a method of data collection
Chapter 10: Collecting data using attitudinal scales
Discuss: Unit IV Discussion Board 2%
Submit: Unit IV Annotated Bibliography 10%
Unit V Sample Selection [ Weight: 12% ]
Read/View: Unit V Study Guide
Chapter 11: Establishing the validity and reliability of a
research instrument
Chapter 12: Selecting a sample
Discuss: Unit V Discussion Board 2%
Submit: Unit V Scholarly Activity 10%
Unit VI Considering Ethical Issues [ Weight: 12% ]
Read/View: Unit VI Study Guide
Chapter 14: Considering ethical issues in data collection
Discuss: Unit VI Discussion Board 2%

Submit: Unit VI Outline 10%
Unit VII The Research Proposal [ Weight: 16% ]
Read/View: Unit VII Study Guide
Chapter 13: Writing a research proposal
Discuss: Unit VII Discussion Board 2%
Submit: Unit VII Research Proposal 14%
Unit VIII The Eight-Step Model [ Weight: 12% ]
Read/View: Unit VIII Study Guide
Chapter 17: Writing a research report
Discuss: Unit VIII Discussion Board 2%
Submit: Unit VIII PowerPoint Presentation 10%
FIR 4308, Applications in Fire ResearchCourse SyllabusCourse
DescriptionCourse Textbook(s)Course Learning
OutcomesPrerequisite(s)CreditsCourse StructureCSU Online
LibraryUnit AssignmentsUnit I Article ReviewUnit II Scholarly
ActivityUnit III Scholarly ActivityUnit IV Annotated
BibliographyUnit V Scholarly ActivityUnit VI OutlineUnit VII
Research ProposalUnit VIII PowerPoint PresentationAPA
GuidelinesGrading RubricsCommunication
ForumsSchedule/Grading

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