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Final Project
The Final Project should demonstrate an understanding of the
reading assignments, class discussions, your own research and
the application of new knowledge. It should utilize previous
skills developed in foundational health care courses and apply
them within the context and viewpoint of a health care
administrator and their role in managing health and human
services.
For the Final Project, select one of the following topics and
conduct scholarly and professional research while integrating
the course’s learning outcomes to address a selected topic:
Present how strategic planning, performance improvement, and
information systems are interrelated and fundamental to the
delivery of quality health care.
Research Requirements
Academic research and papers must meet certain standards of
quality that are recognized by the academic community. What
constitutes quality academic research?
The use of primary (original), credible sources written by
experts in the field of study.
Ensuring secondary sources are supported by research in
primary sources.
Making sure all research is relevant and that material used is
pertinent to the area of study.
In graduate work, the use of peer-reviewed journal articles
(journal articles reviewed by recognized experts in the relevant
field of study) is required.
Keep in mind that educational websites may be appropriate, in
some cases, but should be evaluated carefully.
The Ashford University Library offers many excellent databases
and other resources to assist you in conducting scholarly
research.
What sources are not acceptable for academic research and
referencing?
Encyclopedias

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Dictionaries
Wikipedia, other wikis, or blogs
Websites and other sources that do not provide quality
researched materials (e.g., they do not use credible sources to
support the information in the document).
All research must reflect professional academic protocol and
must be documented according to APA standards as outlined in
the Ashford Writing Center.
Creating the Final Project
You may choose to present your research is the form of an
eight- to ten-page research paper (excluding title and reference
pages) or a comprehensive 10- to 15-slide PowerPoint
presentation (excluding title and reference slides) with detailed
speaker notes. In either case, the content of the assignment
must include each of the elements listed below:
Introduction
Describe the issue. Include why it was selected, the perspective
of your approach to the issue, and the scope of the paper or
presentation. In essence, describe in this area what is being
covered. Be specific and to the point. This is an important part
of the project as it engages the reader and sets the scope of the
research.
Statement of the Issue to be Investigated
Describe why the topic is a relevant problem or issue. It is
important to provide literature sources in support of the
importance of the need/issue/topic. For example, if you are
interested in researching the issue of nutrition in early
childhood brain development among American children – cite
literature identifying the scope of the problem (for example:
the number of malnourished children, the implications of
malnourishment on learning and brain development; and long
term implications). Overall, this section should detail what

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makes this topic or issue so important that you are spending
time and energy researching it. What is the impact of the
problem if nothing is done to correct the situation?
Research Sources
This section documents the relevant research reflecting the
topic of the Final Project. In this section, paraphrased
narratives of the actual research studies are reported and should
represent the current research related to the topic area. In
general, your research should:
Identify your chosen topic and what has happened in the
specific research of the topic (describe the study, sample,
findings, important points from the discussion in the research
article, and any variables that may influence the findings of the
research).
Discuss any key elements of the topic that may be instructional,
legal, ethical, social, etc. (what is projected if nothing is done?
what has been tried?). Support this section with relevant
resource citations.
Provide an analysis of the research articles used, including:
explaining what was done in the study, what the target
population was, information about who did the research (the
author), what was found with the study, and any implications of
the findings to your topic or issue.
Conclusion
In this section, provide a general, but thorough summary
reviewing: why the topic was selected; the problem or issue
briefly stated; the approach that was used; findings; and
solutions. In this section, the reader or audience should have a
good idea of what the researcher did and what was found.
References
The references should be listed on a new page or slide and must
be formatted according to APA requirements as outlined in the
Ashford Writing Center. You must use a minimum of six to
eight scholarly sources.