This guide is for BUSI 815 Week 1 Discussion Board Forum 1, start to submission. The forum on the week's qualitative research readings, following the requirements in the course content.
BUSI 815 is Qualitative Research Methods, 3 credit hours, in Liberty University's Doctor of Business Administration. Canvas and the course guide file print the code as BUSI815; it is the same course.
| Course | BUSI 815 Qualitative Research Methods |
|---|---|
| Module/Week | 1 |
| Points | 50 points |
| Length | Not set in the guide; requirements are in the course content |
| Replies | As the forum instructions require |
| Sources | Creswell and Poth and scholarly research |
| Faith integration | Not required by the guide |
| Format | Canvas discussion thread |
What BUSI 815 Week 1 Discussion Board Forum 1 asks for
The course requires 6 distinct forums whose specific requirements, rubrics and due dates are in the course content. Forum 1 is due in Module/Week 1 with Creswell and Poth chapters 1 to 3 and Keller and Alsdorf chapter 6. Worth 50 points.
Where it fits in BUSI 815
In the published schedule, Discussion Board Forum 1 is one of 13 graded written assignments in BUSI 815. It is the first written assignment in the course; the next is Week 1 Discussion Board Forum 2. The same week also has Discussion Board Forum 2, so plan the week's writing together.
How BUSI 815 Week 1 Discussion Board Forum 1 is graded
Liberty grades Discussion Board Forum 1 with the rubric attached to the assignment in Canvas, worth 50 points in the published guide. That is about 5% of the course's 1,000 points. The rubric rows are the real instructions. Draft against them, and you will rarely be surprised by the grade.
Course grades in BUSI 815 use Liberty's point scale: an A is 960 to 1000 points of the course total. Missing the length or source minimum usually costs points on several rows at once, which is why the checklist below starts with them.
Timing in the published guide: Each course module/week begins on Monday morning at 12:00 a.m. (ET) and ends on Sunday night at 11:59 p.m. (ET). The final module/week ends at 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Friday. Check the due dates in your Canvas section, which govern.
The BUSI 815 Week 1 method, step by step
Read the prompt against the week's material
Copy the Discussion Board Forum 1 prompt into your notes and number each question inside it. Then skim the Module/Week 1 reading for the pages that answer each number, so the thread is built from Qualitative Research Methods material rather than general opinion.
Take a position in the first two sentences
Graders read dozens of threads. State your answer to the main question at the top, then spend the rest of the thread earning it. A thread that warms up for a paragraph loses the reader before the course concepts arrive.
Build the body from course concepts
Each body paragraph should carry one idea from the Qualitative Research Methods reading, put to work on the prompt. Define it briefly, apply it, and say what it changes. Repeating the chapter back is the most common reason threads score in the middle of the rubric.
Place the sources where they do work
Meet the source rule (Creswell and Poth and scholarly research) inside the argument, not in a closing sentence. Cite the textbook where you define a concept and a peer-reviewed article where you make a claim that needs evidence.
Connect it to practice
Show what the answer changes in a real setting: a unit, a team, an organization or a client. Graders in BUSI 815 look for the line between the concept and its use.
Write replies that add something
Each reply (As the forum instructions require) should extend the classmate's thread: a counterpoint, a second source, or an application to a different setting. Quote the line you are answering so the reply reads as a conversation.
At the doctoral level, use the methodological vocabulary precisely, cite Creswell and Poth and methodological articles, and relate the discussion to a business research problem you might study.
A structure for BUSI 815 Week 1 Discussion Board Forum 1
Word targets are planning numbers for about 600 words of body text, set by the length in the guide; the rubric decides where to spend more.
| Section | What it must do | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Opening | Answer the main question of the prompt directly and state your position. | ~100 words |
| Concept | Define the course concept from the week's reading that the prompt turns on. | ~160 words |
| Application | Apply the concept to the case, setting or question in the prompt. | ~180 words |
| Evidence | Bring in the required sources where they support a specific claim. | ~120 words |
| Close | Restate the answer and what it means for practice or the field. | ~40 words |
A topic angle that works
The opening chapters cover qualitative research, philosophical assumptions and interpretive frameworks, and designing a study. If the prompt concerns assumptions, explain how a researcher's view of reality and knowledge shapes the design.
Model paragraph with notes
An original paragraph written by our desk to show the register that earns full rubric credit. It is study material: learn the moves, then write your own.
Creswell and Poth describe ontological, epistemological, axiological and methodological assumptions. A researcher who believes reality is constructed through people's experiences will favor designs, such as phenomenology, that capture participants' meanings. For a business question like why employees resist a new system, that view leads to interviews rather than a survey.
- Assumptions.
- Their effect on design.
- A business example.
Mistakes that cost points on BUSI 815 Week 1
- Loose use of method terms.
- No business application.
- Ignoring the forum rubric.
Checklist before you submit
- Length: Not set in the guide; requirements are in the course content
- Sources: Creswell and Poth and scholarly research
- Replies: As the forum instructions require
- Every question in the prompt is answered, in order
- The thread is typed into the text box, not attached
- Each rubric row read against the section that answers it
Questions students ask
How many forums are in BUSI 815?
Six, worth 50 points each.
How many points is BUSI 815 Week 1 Discussion Board Forum 1 worth?
50 points in Liberty's published course guide for BUSI 815, out of a course total of 1,000 points (about 5% of the grade). The rubric attached to the assignment in Canvas shows how those points are divided.
Is BUSI 815 Week 1 the same in every section of BUSI 815?
This guide follows Liberty's published course guide for BUSI 815. Liberty notes that course content can change from term to term, so if your Canvas section shows different instructions, a different week or different points, follow Canvas and your instructor.
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