Research Project Introduction: This project will require you to show initiative, to work effectively in a group, and to do research on a chosen topic. It will require you to write an individual research paper, and do a group presentation on the topic. Technology and Information Systems are constantly changing.  It is important that you learn how to investigate and understand current and emerging trends throughout your career.  This project will aid you in learning how to identify and synthesize multiple perspectives on important topics.  It will also help you to appreciate and utilize the contributions of team members that will augment your own personal efforts. The research project will involve two phases as described below. 1. Identify a topic and write an individual research paper on that topic. 2. Work with a group to do a group presentation in which one or more of you will highlight important findings from your research. Part 1 Individual Paper: If your paper is late, you will receive a 25% deduction per day. Plagiarism detection will be enabled, you must put other source content into your own words.  You will get zero points on the paper if too much (an excessive amount of) content is copied word for word from another source. Topics that students can research on include but are not limited to: Big Business Topics · IT Outsourcing · IT Security · Business Intelligence/DSS · App development · NoSQL · Data Warehousing · Salesforce · Investigate an Information System known as a CRM or an ERP · Virtualization · Software project management · Software product management Small Entrepreneurial Business Topics · Search Engine Optimization · Link Building · Affiliate Marketing · Email Brokering If you are interested in choosing a topic that is not on this list, the only requirement is that you find at least one other person to do the presentation with you on this topic. Write this paper as if you were writing a structured report/letter to another person in this class who would be interested in this topic and would appreciate an overview of it.  In considering what to write about, consider addressing many of the questions that an uninformed but curious person would have about this topic, such as: What does the phrase that describes this topic mean? How is work in this field conducted? What are the major components of this topic? Who are the major vendors involved (if any) and what are their product lines and how are they differentiated from other vendors? How much money is involved with this field/topic? What are the trade offs (pros and cons/risks) to consider within this topic? If you wrote a tutorial on this topic, how would explain to another person how you do it? Why did this field/topic come about? What preceded it? Which individuals with which type of training are best situated to take advantage of the opportunities in this space? Any other questions that you would ask about this topic as you dive into it.  The t.

1. Research Project Introduction:
This project will require you to show initiative, to work
effectively in a group, and to do research on a chosen topic. It
will require you to write an individual research paper, and do a
group presentation on the topic.
Technology and Information Systems are constantly changing.
It is important that you learn how to investigate and understand
current and emerging trends throughout your career. This
project will aid you in learning how to identify and synthesize
multiple perspectives on important topics. It will also help you
to appreciate and utilize the contributions of team members that
will augment your own personal efforts.
The research project will involve two phases as described
below.
1.
Identify a topic and write an individual research paper on that
topic.
2.
Work with a group to do a group presentation in which one or
more of you will highlight important findings from your
research.
Part 1 Individual Paper:
If your paper is late, you will receive a 25% deduction per day.
Plagiarism detection will be enabled, you must put other source
content into your own words. You will get zero points on the
paper if too much (an excessive amount of) content is copied
word for word from another source.
Topics that students can research on include but are not limited
to:
Big Business Topics
·

2. IT Outsourcing
·
IT Security
·
Business Intelligence/DSS
·
App development
·
NoSQL
·
Data Warehousing
·
Salesforce
·
Investigate an Information System known as a CRM or an ERP
·
Virtualization
·
Software project management
·
Software product management
Small Entrepreneurial Business Topics
·
Search Engine Optimization

3. ·
Link Building
·
Affiliate Marketing
·
Email Brokering
If you are interested in choosing a topic that is not on this list,
the only requirement is that you find at least one other person to
do the presentation with you on this topic.
Write this paper as if you were writing a structured report/letter
to another person in this class who would be interested in this
topic and would appreciate an overview of it. In considering
what to write about, consider addressing many of the questions
that an uninformed but curious person would have about this
topic, such as:
What does the phrase that describes this topic mean?
How is work in this field conducted?
What are the major components of this topic?
Who are the major vendors involved (if any) and what are their
product lines and how are they differentiated from other
vendors?
How much money is involved with this field/topic?
What are the trade offs (pros and cons/risks) to consider within
this topic?
If you wrote a tutorial on this topic, how would explain to
another person how you do it?
Why did this field/topic come about? What preceded it?
Which individuals with which type of training are best situated
to take advantage of the opportunities in this space?
Any other questions that you would ask about this topic as you
dive into it. The traditional questions of
who/what/where/when/why may also be useful in organizing a

4. description of this topic.
Requirement
Points
Length: Write a 4 page, single spaced paper. Citations do not
count toward the length of the paper.
Note, if you only do 2 pages, you can only get 50% on the paper
even if everything else is done perfectly.
0-100% of the points listed below are available based on the
length of your paper.
Formatting: No more than 1” margins on all sides using Calibri,
11 point font. The paper should have the following headers in
Bold
: Introduction, Key Information, Personal Observations,
Summary, References. Use at least 6 references (books, articles,
youtube, websites, etc.).
The references will go on an additional page and not count
toward the 4 written page total
. I will provide an example of a completed paper. Make sure
you include a title on the first page so it is understood what the
topic is.
You can write on one topic in particular, or create multiple
chapters and describe different aspects of your topic.
10
Introduction (1-2 paragraphs). Identify the definition of the
topic you will be discussing and its main features (at a high-
level). Describe why it is important. Mention the key pieces of
information that you will elaborate on in the Key Information
Section.
20
Key Information (4-10 paragraphs, more if needed). Discuss in
depth answers to questions such as those posed above this
section. Define any terms that would be unfamiliar to another
student in this class. Avoid discussing only your opinion about

5. the topic but rather provide factual and useful information about
the topic.
60
Personal Observations (1-4 paragraphs). Quote a statement or
passage from your references that elicits a reaction from you.
Describe the reason for your response such as a personal
experience, content from another class, or personal principles.
20
Summary (1-2 paragraphs). Give your overall impression of
this topic. What did you discuss in this paper that the average
person reading your paper likely did not know about before?
What aspects of this topic are important but not covered in your
paper that you would suggest the reader learn more about?
20
References. Key information is cited in the paper when you are
paraphrasing their ideas. Also, a references section is at the
end of the paper. See examples below for both of these items.
20
The available points in each category will be awarded as
follows:
A.
Followed all instructions (100% of possible points) B. Followed
Most instructions (40% of possible points) C. Missed or did not
follow the instructions (0% of possible points)
Plagiarism:
It is considered stealing to copy words from others and not give
them credit for those words. It is also considered dishonest to
copy other sources word for word (extensively) rather than
using your own words. Copying and pasting from the internet
to write your paper is not an acceptable way to write a paper.
For some students it is unclear what it means to re-write
something in your own words. I will provide an example.
On wikipedia it states the following about learning management

6. systems: “A Learning Management System (LMS) is a software
application for the administration, documentation, tracking,
reporting and delivery of e-learning education courses or
training programs.”
You could read that, understand it, and put it into your own
words as follows:
“Learning management systems are software that help facilitate
e-learning. Some features of learning management systems are
the ability to administer, document, track, report, and deliver e-
learning content.”
Example of proper citation and referencing:
Citation in text
:
ERP importance is further illustrated by the significant
investment organizations have been making in these systems for
over a decade (Somers, Nelson, and Karimi 2003) and the
market for small and midsize business ERP systems continues to
grow (D’Aquila, M. et al., 2009).
References section at end of paper
:
References
D’Aquila, M. et al. (2009). The Global Enterprise Application
Market Sizing Report.
AMR Research
.
http://www.amrresearch.com/Content/View.aspx?compURI=tcm
:7-44652, accessed February 8, 2010.
Somers, T., Nelson, K, & Karimi, J. (2003). Confirmatory
Factor Analysis of the End-User Computing Satisfaction
Instrument: Replication within an ERP Domain.
Decision Sciences

7. 34(3),
595-621
Example of
improper
citation and referencing:
ERP importance is further illustrated by the significant
investment organizations have been making in these systems for
over a decade
(Somers)
and the market for small and midsize business ERP systems
continues to grow
(http://www.amrresearch.com).
Somers, T., Nelson, K, & Karimi, J. (2003). Confirmatory
Factor Analysis of the End-User Computing Satisfaction
Instrument: Replication within an ERP Domain.
Decision Sciences
.
Somers, T., Nelson, K., (2004) A taxonomy of players and
activities across the ERP project life cycle
, Information & Management
, Volume 41, Issue 3, 257-278.
AMR Research,
http://www.amrresearch.com
o
What’s wrong?
§
There are 2 Somers articles and it is impossible to determine
which was cited in the text.

8. §
The main web page is cited (AMRResearch.com) and referenced
but not the specific article on the Web site that was read. Also
no date is provided when the Web site was accessed.
§
No
Many students do not include citations in their papers
at all, and this is not the correct way to do things. After you
paraphrase or directly quote the work of someone else, end the
sentence with a citation.