LEADERSHIP RESEARCH PAPER
Please note that the paper is not without its flaws, but it is a good example. Also, I include a sample of a literature review. If you have not done so already, please contact the leader you plan to interview now and schedule a convenient time to talk appropriately, i.e., in-person, telephone, webcam, Skype, FaceTime, email, or any other manner to allow enough time to write a quality, scholarly document. Please remember to incorporate the interview questions you used for this assignment in your interview section in some format, i.e., A. Jackson (personal communication, June 1, 2019) defined servant leadership as… You may be creative in how you insert your exact questions in the paper; however, it is important that I can discern your interview questions based on your research and the course concepts. Another example: When asked the definition of servant leadership, A. Jackson (personal communication, November 1, 2019) stated… A third example: When asked how servant leadership impacts organization success, A. Jackson posited… (personal communication, November 1, 2019). If the entire paragraph represents the servant leader’s response, please place the citation at the end of the paragraph outside of the punctuation. (A. Jackson, personal communication, November 1, 2019)
While I may be able to discern your questions based on the summary of your interviewee’s response, it is still important to provide the exact questions you asked during your interview. One suggestion to incorporate your precise interview questions via an Appendix page that immediately follows your references.
Also, an abstract is required for this assignment and should range between 150-250 words. An abstract is a comprehensive summary of the contents of your paper and findings and is written in the past tense. I have attached a good sample of a former student’s leadership paper. While this paper is not perfect, it represents very good content and quality. You may use this paper as a guide only to write your paper. Please note that every sentence in the literature review section must be cited. In addition, you must cite a minimum of 15 peer-reviewed/scholarly journal articles in addition to your course materials including all journal website articles, audio, and video presentations, Duby, Greenleaf, all three Fischer presentations, and both Blanchard and Hodges (and Hendry) books throughout your paper. Specifically, your literature review should include the 15 peer-reviewed/scholarly journal articles, which are in addition to all required course readings that will be incorporated throughout your paper. Please be sure to read the assignment instructions and grading rubric to increase your opportunity to earn a high-grade value. Please begin working on this project sooner than later to avoid any unforeseen circumstances.
Leadership Research Paper Instructions
Part 1 – Literature Review
In this portion of the paper, you will conduct a literature review of the major studies of servant leadership.
You must employ 15 peer-reviewed/scholarly journals, in addition to the required reading.
Based on this literature review, you should develop the major criteria of servant leadership behavior.
Though this is to be an individual assignment, you should include as part of your criteria a summary from your team’s Biblical Integration paper. This part is to be 2–3 pages in length, 12 pt. font, double-spaced and APA format. Please include the abstract immediately following your cover page.
Literature reviews focus on research regarding a specific topic. For this assignment, servant leadership is the main focus, which means you would research scholarly journal articles relative to this topic. In my detailed announcement regarding this assignment, I will provide tips on how to search for scholarly articles and describe literature reviews in more detail. Because you will be researching another’s work, nearly every line in this section must be cited in scholarly journal articles. You are summarizing previous research efforts on the topic of servant leadership and then analyzing the data researched and identifying similarities and any gaps relative to your servant leadership interviewee’s responses. I am also attaching a document (literature review handout final) that may be more helpful to you as you develop this part of your paper. Also, please review the APA 6th edition for additional information on literature reviews.
Part 2– Leadership Interview
You will interview an established servant leader.
Interview your chosen leader based upon the following criteria:
o The leader must be from a large organization (e.g., Fortune 1000 company, a national non-profit organization, a branch of the Armed Services or a mega-church with membership over 10,000).
The selected leaders must have both ranks (e.g., Business: a Division Head or Vice President; Military: Full Colonel or Navy Captain (O-6 or above); Ministry: Executive or Senior Pastor of a mega-church) and command (e.g., he must have managerial authority). A high-ranking accountant does not qualify. However, the director of the accounting department for the whole company may qualify). The selected interviewee may be active or retired. NOTE: For diversity, Liberty University and Thomas Road Baptist Church leaders are not eligible.
You will develop a set of questions for the interviewee; based on the literature review and whatever else you feel that is appropriate from what you have learned in this course.
Tips for the interview process:
o Identify yourself as a graduate student doing research and make it clear that you will take no more than 30 minutes of the executive’s time.
o Explain that you are in a leadership class and that you are learning about servant leadership.
o Tell your interviewee that you have identified him or her as a servant leader and that you want to find out a real executive’s perspective of servant leadership. Have a good reason. (e.g., personal knowledge, an article you have read, the testimony of subordinates, etc.)
o Be sure that you can contact your interviewees again if you need to ask follow-up questions or just to say thank you for their time.
Provide a summary of the leader’s answers.
Develop criteria which describe the leader’s perspective on servant leadership behavior.
This part is to be 2-3 pages in length, 12 pt. font, double-spaced.
Part 3 – Comparison/Contrast
How does the leader’s criteria for servant leadership behavior compare to the criteria you discovered from the servant leadership academic research?
How does it compare to the things you have learned about servant leadership from the group discussions?
This part is to be 3-4 pages, 12 pt. font, double-spaced.
Completed Paper
7-10 pages in total length (please do not exceed the 10-page limit), PLUS a title page, abstract page, and reference page.
Use of 15 peer-reviewed/scholarly journal articles PLUS the required course readings and PowerPoint and audio presentations.
Appropriate use of citations to avoid plagiarism
12 point font, double-spaced
APA format
The abstract, title and reference pages are not included in the page count for any of your sections.
LEADERSHIP RESEARCH PAPER GRADING RUBRIC
Superior work in all areas. The student consistently exceeds minimal expectations in all areas regarding content, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of topics, timeliness, and writing style.
Content:
PART 1:
o The literature review provides seamless integration of ideas from the required sources.
o A clear and organized explanation of what current research has to say about servant leadership practices is provided, and criteria for servant leadership behavior is built solidly upon this research.
o Ideas from the Biblical integration paper are integrated into a seamless fashion into the research discussion.
PART 2:
o The leader interviewed meets the criteria outlined in the directions.
o The student’s list of questions/criteria is based solidly on course concepts and research.
o The summary of the leader’s answers is concise and detailed.
o A framework for the leader’s approach to servant leadership is directly linked to the answers provided.
PART 3:
o The leader’s framework for servant leadership is explicitly compared and contrasted with: a) the ideas found in the literature review in part 1 and b) with what the student has learned from the Group Discussions about servant leadership.
o The analysis reveals a substantial understanding that the above three mentioned areas are separate components and yet demonstrates links between and among them and also shows gaps between and among them.
Citations:
All required sources are used — the Duby article, all relevant “presentations,” Fischer, Greenleaf, Blanchard and Hodges, website articles, Scripture, and 15 peer-reviewed/scholarly journal articles.
Each source is cited numerous times with minimal reliance on direct quotes.
Ideas from the various sources are synthesized precisely with minimal reliance on direct quotations.
Length:
2-3 pages for Part 1
2-3 pages for Part 2
3-4 pages for Part 3
Grammar/APA: Minimal to non-existent grammatical and APA errors.
Additionally, according to APA (6th ed.), interviews are considered to be personal communications. Below is a sample retrieved from https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/11/. Click or tap if you trust this link.” style=”margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;”>https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/11/. Click or tap if you trust this link.” style=”margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;”>https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/11/. https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/11/. Personal Communication: For interviews, letters, e-mails, and other person-to-person communications cite the communicator’s name, the fact that it was personal communication, and the date of the communication.
Do not include personal communication in the reference list. Examples: (E. Robbins, personal communication, October 1, 2018). A. P. Smith also claimed that many of her students had difficulties with APA style (personal communication, November 1, 2019).
Peer-reviewed/Scholarly Articles
As you continue to search for scholarly or peer-reviewed articles, please note that these journal articles are the preferred source for scholarly work. When an article is peer-reviewed, it undergoes a stringent process by professionals in the industry who have extensive knowledge about the specific topic. Unfortunately, no academic database includes all scholarly/peer-reviewed/professional journals. You have to refine your search to find them. Please see below.
Before you conduct your search, go the main page of LU’s Online Library, http://www.liberty.edu/informationservices/ilrc/library/index.cfm?PID=178, then, search “servant leadership.” This web page should result:
http://liberty.summon.serialssolutions.com/search?s.q=%22servant+leadership%22. Click or tap if you trust this link.” style=”margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;”>http://liberty.summon.serialssolutions.com/search?s.q=%22servant+leadership%22. Click or tap if you trust this link.” style=”margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;”>http://liberty.summon.serialssolutions.com/search?s.q=%22servant+leadership%22.
To the left of the page, there is a section entitled, “Refine your search.” Select the second option, “limit to articles from scholarly publications including peer-reviewed.” You should “exclude newspaper articles.”
Next, ensure you indicate your publication date range immediately following the search field.
Third, select a journal article as the content type and continue down the column to make your search as specific as possible.
Many articles may indicate if it is peer-reviewed or not. If it is not peer-reviewed, then my suggestion is to omit it from your reference list.
Please review the links below for additional information on scholarly journal articles.
http://libguides.liberty.edu/graduate-research.
http://www.liberty.edu/library/choose-search-words/
I hope this information helps you develop an excellent scholarly paper. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. I am here to help you succeed.
