If you have questions about the content or structure of a Learning Agreement or a KAM, please contact your program leadership and/or the mentor in your Research Forum (SBSF 7100, SBSF 7101/MGMT 9000, or EDUC 8800).

The Time to Completion Information is found in the student handbook.

Conceptualize the KAM as an inverted triangle

Though the components of KAMs are presented linearly (Breadth, Depth, Application), imagine them as an inverted triangle:

Approaching the KAM "in order" and starting with the Breadth leads to multiple possibilities at every stage. While keeping options open is good, it can be overwhelming.

Additionally, if you have ideas (even vague ones!) for your Depth and Application, the theorists you choose might not fit your KAM as a whole. Theories are flexible and can be applied in creative ways, but you might be excluding a different major thinker who better corresponds with the other components. However, you wouldn't know this without first, or simultaneously, diving into the Depth and Application.

We suggest developing your LA backward—or at least developing it holistically.

Develop your Learning Agreement backward

Rather than starting with the Breadth, work backward:

1. Think about the problem or project you want to work on for your Application (see Curriculum Resources for suggestions for each KAM).
2. Collect peer-reviewed articles for your Depth section that address your Application problem. Remember, this topic will be broader than your specific problem or project.
3. See what theorists the Depth articles refer to as a starting point for theorists to use in the Breadth section. You might not identify all of your theorists this way, but you'll at least narrow your focus.

You might also define your topic of interest—the Depth—and work backward to the Breadth and forward to the Application. Both nonlinear approaches help reign in the scope. With either approach, the inverted triangle metaphor still works, but you might operate within a narrower spectrum of possibilities compared to the original, full range. This will save you time and probably some frustration. Remember: the goal is not to cover an entire field of knowledge—only a sliver of it. The sooner you can define that sliver of interest, the faster your LA will fall into place. Nonetheless, the approach you choose will not affect the success of your final KAM, provided you develop it holistically.

Develop your LA holistically

The KAM should function as a whole with logical, thematic connections between its components.

While starting backward helps define your focus, you might not initially know what you want to do for your Application and Depth, so starting with the Breadth may be preferrable. This is OK—fantastic, in fact! Learning about theories more generally develops a solid foundation for scholarly practice.

Nevertheless, consider and develop sections simultaneously, especially if otherwise mostly working "in order." This will promote better cohesion among the sections and help prevent unnecessary work.

Above all, do not finalize your theorists before considering your Depth or Application. You may end up with a "default topic," chosen only because it fits your theorists, and not because it interests you. You may also find that theories, though interesting on their own and in synthesis together, don't make sense when applied to any single, specific topic. As a result, you would need to change your theorists or risk a disjointed KAM.

Examine and consider your sources carefully

Finding resources for your KAM is more than gathering books and articles that seem on target. 

Read—or browse with great care—each item before including it in your Learning Agreement.

Though you can postpone deep levels of analysis and synthesis until writing the KAM, examining your sources will:

• ensure the ones you choose will help you fulfill your learning agreement objectives.

• help you formulate more specific and feasible objectives, because you'll have a better understanding of what the theories and issues are about and how (and whether!) the resources work together. 

Bibliographies that aren't carefully considered may be rejected by your KAM assessor, which means you would need to revise it. Worse (yes, worse!), your mediocre bibliography may be approved only to create havoc when you're trying to write that particular component, and you discover:

• the sources aren't about what you thought they were.

• they don't work well together, whether within a component or across the entire KAM.

Remember: The LA is a contract that you will include each item you list in your finished KAM. While your KAM assesor may permit you to add additional key sources that you discover later, excluding an item from your original list may result in failing the rubric.

Learning Agreement Templates

Learning agreements (LA) are the first step toward completing a knowledge area module (KAM). Complete KAM resources are available at the Office of Student Research Administration's KAMs page.

Primary sources are the original works of an author—in this case, your theorists.

These books and articles will form the basis of your Breadth section. You might know exactly what you want, having gathered references from encyclopedias, websites, etc., during exploratory research. You might also search for random items written by your theorist so you know the full extent of what's available.

Walden Library may not have access to everything you want. This can be especially true for older works that may not be available in online formats.

First check Walden Library for full text. Then consider other sources—freely online, through purchase, or in local libraries. 

Secondary sources comment on and critique primary sources.

These articles and books will supplement your Breadth section. While most of your content should focus on your own critique and analysis of the primary works of your theorists, you may also want to analyze and cite what other scholars have said.

Learn how to search the Library databases for articles, books, and more, including choosing keywords, creating complex searches using Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT), and more.

Sample search

1. Use Thoreau, our multiple database searcher, or search for articles by topic by selecting a topic from the Subject Resources drop down menu on the Library homepage.

2. Search using the theorist's name and/or their theory or related terms. Different combinations of terms will produce different results, so experiment! Try only the theorist's name, or only the theory, or perhaps the title of a specific work by the theorist (not to find the work itself, but to find others writing about it).

If you find too many items by and not about your theorist, change the drop-down menu to Title, Subject Terms, or Abstract.

TIP: In Thoreau, do not check the Peer Review box if you also want to see books.  

Seeing the articles and books that have cited your theorists' works is another way to find related, secondary sources. Learn how to see research that cites an older item using Google Scholar.

Writing the Breadth

Body Paragraphs

Use of a Direct Quotation and Paraphrasing

According to Lauer (1991), in order to understand social change, one not only has to define it; one has to evaluate the myths that surround it. For some, social change occurs with a change in attitude by an individual or group. For others, social change results from a change in a social structure or organization. Lauer's perspective was that "social change is an inclusive concept that refers to alterations in social phenomena at various levels of human life from the individual to the global" (p. 4). Some of the levels he described include organizations, community, and society. Lauer believed that social change is evident whenever there is "alteration at any level of social life" (p. 6). The direction of the change and how rapidly or slowly the change occurs should be the focus of study. Invariably there is a relationship between change on one level and change on another.

For instance, an individual's attitude about affirmative action may lead that individual to try to effect change in the company (institution) for which she or he works. However, Lauer (2009) cautioned that one cannot assume that change on one level (individual) will automatically lead to change on another (organization). (Patricia Bresser, Breadth)

In this paraphrase, the student effectively puts most of her source's ideas into her own words, which allows her to clearly and concisely connect these ideas to her own argument. She also includes direct quotations, but she only uses them when the author's exact wording helps to accurately describe an idea, and she integrates them into her own text.

Effective Use of Secondary Sources

Bandura (as cited in Crain, 1992) has been criticized for minimizing the impact or interplay of developmental stages in learning because he argued that the child's environment was more of an influence on new behaviors than was the child's intrinsic desire to learn new skills. The followers of Piaget, focused on the cognitive processes of the child rather than the influences in the immediate environment, are particularly prone to this position (Holm, 1995). Bandura also drew criticism for raising questions about Kohlberg's stages of moral development in children (as cited in Crain, 1992). Like Skinner, Bandura (as cited in Crain, 1992) focused on observable behavior instead of hypothesizing about what occurs during the thinking process.

Bandura's disagreement with these developmental theorists stems from a weakness in the social learning approach in which theorists examine the "black box," or the brain as the cognitive and emotional center, from the outside rather than the inside (Johnson, 1989; Bandura, as cited in Crain, 1992). In contrast, Bandura's work offers little acknowledgment of internal thought processes responsible for creativity and individuality. Indeed, if Bandura is to be believed, people are great imitators, using their cognitive skills to choose who they will imitate. While the self-efficacy appraisal is a form of reflection, there is no generalization of that sort of self-evaluation to the human condition, to an appreciation of the human capacity for philosophy, art, and love. (Diana White, Breadth)

In the first paragraph, the writer states the criticism of Bandura and determines if there is any basis for it. Then, in the second paragraph, she expands on this criticism, adding her own reasons and arguments. Also, this student effectively uses a secondary source to support her own ideas about the theories that the secondary source addresses. Note that she uses secondary source citation rather than the standard citation style to indicate to her readers that her source is secondary (i.e., cited within a work by another author) rather than primary. Secondary sources are acceptable within academic writing as long as they are kept to a minimum. You should use secondary sources only if you are unable to find or retrieve the original source of information.

Effective Synthesis of the Literature

Sperry (1996) added that structure specifies how an individual in a role should perform. In most cases, a performance appraisal can be used to measure how well an individual is performing in a given role (Sperry, 1996). Finally, the structure subsystem is responsible for helping to control and coordinate information to and from other systems, such as subsystems and the suprasystem (Sperry, 1996).

This structural subsystem most closely aligns with Goffman's thoughts on interaction rituals. Goffman (1982) explained that individuals carry out actions instinctively when those actions are governed by specific sets of rules. In other words, in the structural subsystem, a clear definition of the rules surrounding each role will lead to the employees carrying out their respective roles on a nearly automatic level; they will know what to do and when to do it. One could argue that Bandura's (1995) social cognitive theory also lends credence to this subsystem classification. While Goffman's (1963) ideas reveal that employees will carry out each task without conscious thought, Bandura's ideas expose how the employees reach that level of action.  Bandura's social cognitive theory also identifies the ways employees learn the methods required to carry out their actions, such as mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, social persuasions, and interpretations of their own emotional state at a given time. (Adam Jones, Breadth)

In this student's synthesis, he not only conveys his sources' ideas; he also uses those ideas to advance his own argument. For example, he connects Sperry's ideas about the structural subsystem to Goffman's ideas about interaction rituals and Bandura's social cognitive theory, synthesizing a foundation based in scholarly literature for the conclusions he will make later in his Breadth. Notice, too, that this student does not restrict each author to his or her own paragraph; instead, the student cites each of these authors in multiple paragraphs. He bases the structure of this portion of his paper around his own ideas rather than the ideas of the authors he cites. This student also makes sure to include a citation, per APA style, whenever he uses the words or ideas of another author.

In the Breadth component, I explored the theoretical underpinnings of organizational and social systems from the perspectives of Bertalanffy (general systems theory), Passmore (sociotechnical systems theory), and Scott (organizational systems theory) to understand the relationship between systems and subsystems in the workforce.  These theorists all emphasized the importance of understanding, predicting, and controlling the influence of the environment and technology on organizational change or redesign.  In the final analysis, the comprehensive examination of Bertalanffy, Passmore, and Scott contained philosophical and practical strategies to evaluate the interrelationship between the USPS and USPIS and to employ techniques and strategies to decrease occupational stress and reduce occupational stressors.
 
From their unique perspectives, Bertalanffy, Passmore, and Scott provided system techniques to implement organizational change.  For example, Bertalanffy (1975, 1968) argued that traditional problem-solving techniques are no longer effective to execute organizational change in an increasingly complex society.  Consequently, Bertalanffy (1975) asserted that an open system approach should be utilized when assessing social systems or organizations.  In fact, Bertalanffy (1975) stated that understanding comes from the investigation of the entire system and the interrelationship of its parts.
 
Similar to Bertalanffy, Passmore (1988) emphasized the importance of interrelationships between systems and subsystems.  As I noted previously, he argued that social, technical, and environmental systems all influence the success of organizational change or redesign (Passmore, 1988).  Furthermore, he defined joint optimization as social and technical systems working together in harmony (Passmore, 1988).
 
Finally, Scott (2008, 2003) argued that organizations are the leading force of change within social systems, and they affect every area of life.  In fact, Scott and Davis (2007) stated that the study of organizations has led to a better understanding of people and society.  Whereas Bertalanffy and Passmore asserted that environmental factors influence organizations, Scott and Davis emphasized that organizations are ubiquitous, and they influence status, power, personality, and performance.  As I noted previously, Scott and Davis provide techniques from a rational, natural, and open system-perspective on how to manage organizational change.  (Gregory Campbell, Breadth)

In his conclusion section, this student summarizes all of the major points he makes in his Breadth, including the foundational theories he examined and the ways that they connect to his topic. Notice that he goes beyond a "bullet point" summary and leaves the reader with an understanding of how he will use these theories in the later components of his KAM.

Abstracts have specific formatting rules that should be followed.  For example, page numbers should not appear on the abstract page, and the abstract should be flush left (rather than indented).  Each abstract should be properly labeled with a heading that is centered and in plain text, and the abstract should be limited to 120 words or fewer.  There should be an abstract for each section, Breadth, Depth, and Application, prior to the main text of the KAM.

In addition to the formatting requirements, each abstract should concisely summarize the subject, methods, purpose, and results of each KAM component. Think of it as being similar to the information on the back of a DVD case that lets you determine whether you want to watch that movie. Your abstract should give your readers a clear idea of what you cover in your KAM component and the conclusions you draw in it. Many students find it helpful to write their abstracts after they write their KAM components; that way, they have a clear idea of what their components include before they summarize them.

Example #1

In this Breadth section, I explore the concept of the jury system and its historical context, growth, and development.  I examine deliberative democratic theory and decision theory as they relate to the jury system. Further, I analyze how different jury systems across the world are conducted and have changed over time. I then examine the development of both civil and criminal law trial systems, notably in Canada, Germany, France, Australia, Britain, Brazil, India, China, Japan, and the United States. I further examine the effects of the jury system on social change in the administration of justice and public policy making. I conclude that there are genuine reasons for reforming the jury system. (Kennedy Marange, Breadth)

Example #2

In this Breadth essay, I compare and contrast Bandura's model of self-efficacy with Benner's skill-acquisition model for novice registered nurses in emergency departments.  In addition, I discuss the use of Knowles's theory of andragogy as a conceptual framework for these nurses.  I also discuss the relevance of Benner's skill-acquisition stages to the development of emergency-room nurses.  Lastly, I synthesize the theories of Bandura, Benner, and Knowles to develop a specific model and approach to emergency nursing care. (Laura Gallagher, Breadth)

In these abstracts, the students summarize the topics of their Breadth components and list the chief theories that they examine in these portions of their KAMs. Note that these students also include clear purposes for their Breadth sections--in the first example, the student's Breadth lays a theoretical groundwork for reforming the jury system, and in the second example the student uses the theories she read to develop a learning model for emergency-room nurses.

See the theorists and theories guide for more suggestions.

Theory Resources

• Theorists and Theories

• Theories & Models for the Health Sciences

• Nursing Theory & Theorists

Writing Resources

1. Learn or review search skills and strategies. 
2. Gather more than the minimum 15 articles! You should include the best of what's available—what is most pertinent to your theme and theorists, provides the most solid evidence for an argument, proposes the most interesting solutions, and so forth.

The goal of a literature review is to provide a comprehensive look at a topic, but this doesn't mean including everything. It requires making choices about what's important. You can't decide what's important—what meaningfully contributes to and connects with the rest of your KAM—if you look at only 15 items.

Gathering and evaluating a larger number of articles allows you to select the best ones to include on your final list (remember, you can have more than 15).

3. Articles you read may lead you to others. It's tempting to want to find everything at once—and you might make considerable progress in a single search session.

As you read articles, however, you learn about other research based on what it cites. You may also learn new terms you can use in a search or discover researchers whose work you wish to explore.

Conduct new searches based on the knowledge you gain as you read. This strategy is especially good if you initially struggle to find articles. Your reading might also compel you to shift your topic; run new searches to capture your revised focus so the articles you use align more closely with your theme and better support your overall KAM.

Writing Resources

• Literature Review and Annotated Bibliography Basics (webinar)

Learn about statistics

Learn about Zotero Reference Manager to stay organized

Writing Resources

Place the word Table and the table number above the table, flush left. Place the title of the table (in title case), double-spaced, under the table number, flush left in italics. Double-, triple-, or quadruple-space before and after the table; be consistent.  APA allows for the use of horizontal lines but not vertical lines within a table.

Information regarding abbreviations or symbols used in a table, copyright information, and probability must be located in a Note below the table. See section 5.16 in the APA manual for more formatting information.

Table 4
 
Comparison of Boys and Girls by Height and Weight

Note. From “Analysis of Middle School Hormones,” by W. Steeves, 2001, Journal of Despair, 98, p. 11. Reprinted with permission.

Place the word Figure and the figure number under the figure, flush left in italics. The title of the figure goes next to the number in sentence case.

Figure 1. Bar graph showing hours of television watched per week by age group. From “Impact of television on teenagers,” by A. B. Alphabet, 2010, Journal of Television, 4(1), p. 145. Reprinted with permission.

Your references for the sources you cite in your Breadth, Depth, and Application should all appear in a global reference list at the end of your KAM. See our APA references resources for more information on formatting your reference list.

Use an appendix for supplemental information that would distract from the narrative of your KAM if it were included in the main text. For example, you could use an appendix to provide the full text of a survey used in your research, a figure that supports but does not directly relate to your argument, or a list of technical terms relevant to your topic. Appendices appear at the end of your document, after the reference list, and each one begins with a Level 0 heading containing the word Appendix. If you have more than one appendix, the first heading of each one will also have a capital letter to differentiate the appendices from one another, such as Appendix A, Appendix B, and Appendix C. In general your appendix should follow the same rules for formatting and organization used in the main text of your paper. See our page, Appendices, for more on using appendices in your scholarly writing.