INDIVIDUAL RESEARCH PROJECT INSTRUCTIONS On a daily basis the MIS department observes a problem, questions the problem, analyzes the problem, then solves the problem. This project intends to emulate how an MIS operates using a structured methodology. O

INDIVIDUAL RESEARCH PROJECT INSTRUCTIONS

On a daily basis the MIS department observes a problem, questions the problem, analyzes the problem, then solves the problem. This project intends to emulate how an MIS operates using a structured methodology.

Our past experiences with writing papers is based on a well developed article review or a review of the literature. This is good training and experience as it develops

organization and writing skills. A graduate school curriculum, and this project, is about extending this experience to a research analysis project using a structured methodology.

The Point Is For This Project Is That We Want To Identify A Research Question

From An MIS Article Then, Using Pro/Con Outside Articles, Analyze The Research

Question To Accept Or Reject The Question Under Investigation. Otherwise, How

Do We Know That The Question Is Valid Or True?

If You Write A Traditional Article Review Or Literature Review You Will Not Do Well

On This Project. Please Follow These Instructions.

A research project differs from traditional writing in that we will be using a structured methodology, the scientific method, to answer a question. This method is used throughout the world in both science and business applications to solve a problem. In graduate school, and in this project, we use the scientific method to research a question in order to either accept or reject the question. Specifically:

Just Because The Author Of The Article It Says It’s So Does Not Make It So.

In general, this research based project attempts to find whether or not an assertion (statement) within the subject MIS article, turned into a research question, is accurate or factual. Finding outside articles that agree with the research question is appropriate but there is a need to also find outside articles that have other thoughts or contrast with the research question. Only through this approach where we have balanced points of views can we then either accept or reject an assertion made in the article.

Begin At The Beginning

While the first MIS essay was diagnostic in nature, it also helped us focus on this

project. In order to start this project we have to choose a subject article that focuses

on an MIS management issue. This does not include topics such as Google Glasses or

that your computer won’t boot. Consult your text, lectures, and or Google searching for

MIS management issues. Once you identify an MIS management issue you are ready to

get started. Do not hesitate to contact me for questions.

There are posted articles in the Assignments folder under this project to get you going. The scientific method article and the example paper are excellent resources. The example paper IS NOT PERFECT so double check yourself and these instructions for accuracy. But, the sample paper does show how to analyze articles. Please focus on the Analysis section as a concrete example for this writing and analysis style.

 Research, for the purpose of this project, is all about using outside pro and con literature to compare and contrast that information against the research question. After we have chosen an MIS article to review we must then find a one sentence statement in the subject article to analyzed for accuracy. Once we find a statement that we can analyze we would then turn the statement into a question that guides our analysis. We will be validating the accuracy of the statement via the question and analysis. This is MUCH easier than it may first seem so try not to over think this instruction.

NOTE: The spirit of this project is learning to perform a research project. This does not mean we have to use an article from the UMUC library. Any MIS management article from a Google search will do as well.

When developing a research question from an assertion in the subject article there may be a tendency to ad lib — add more to the question beyond the assertion. This makes the research invalid. The research question should directly address the assertion exactly. Just turn the statement into a question format without adding or subtracting information or variables.

Now that we have a question to analyze we would then consult other outside literature that discusses your question that can be used to either support or reject the question. You will need three articles that agree and three that disagree to perform your analysis. Thus, the minimum number of references is seven; one for the subject article, three for articles that agree with the question, and three articles that opposes the question.

If you cannot find outside articles that compare and contrast with the subject article’s question then perhaps the chosen article is not controversial or stated well enough or the statement is too general and unfocused.

Choosing a subject article to analyze is very important. Here are the steps:

1. Choose an MIS management topic of personal interest.

2. Find a one sentence statement within the article that needs to be verified for

accuracy.

3. Develop a one sentence research question. The best way to do this is to write down the one sentence statement then turn it into a question. Generally, this can be done easily by just adding “DO” or “Does” to the beginning of the statement. Be careful to not add anything else into the question. If the question is about moving company data to the cloud, for example, there is no need to expand on that topic with other words, variables, or personal thoughts. Put the question in a really small box and close the lid to extraneous information.

4. Find thee pro and three con outside articles useful to determining if the research question you developed can be validated.

5. Write your research project in a compare and contrast mode such as A agrees with B or A disagrees with B and state how or why. Justify your findings. No opinions please!

6. Write what you found (findings) and then a conclusion using supporting evidence in your research. Based on your analysis are you able to support or reject the basis of the research question.

Now that we have an MIS management article, a question, and outside references that

help to discern the accuracy of the question, it is time to write our research paper.

The following outline headings, or sections, will be used. Please follow this heading exactly as written. Instructions trump APA so there is no need for an abstract.

1. Title page

A. a. Your title will be your research question

B. b. Your name and class

2. Introduction

A. Introduce the article and discuss important points about it’s content. In this section you also should introduce the chosen statement found in your article and why you are curious about the factual nature of the statement. This sets up your research profile. At the end of the introduction section state the following:

I. The title and author of the subject article

II. The one sentence statement within the article to be verified.

III. The one sentence research question reorganized from the statement.

3. Analysis

A. Simply, this is where you use outside literature to discuss and investigate the validity or accuracy of the question.

4. Your analysis findings (what you found).

5. End with a conclusion section justifying why the question can be validated or invalidated. This is the time to make your case.

Section Examples

Analysis

According to the article’s author, shopping carts are the point of entry for personal information. They send your credit card and other information about your purchase from the cart website to a bank gateway for sales authorization. Entering your personal information and transmitting it to another site that you know nothing about is not secure and easy to capture.

Jones (2008) agrees with the author citing that government statistics show that most online fraud is perpetrated through shopping carts. Dickens (2009) disagrees with Jones’s findings citing that online shopping carts with SSL certificates provide a level of security that is less prone to fraud. In a more in-depth study, Jennings (2009) found that revoked certificates cannot generate an HTTPS browser URL and that modern browsers, upon receiving an invalid HTTPS URL protocol, will generate a message that the site’s certificate has been revoked causing a level of further security. Jennings then suggested that the subject article’s author did not consider the effect of a revoked certificate and so fraud is of a lesser consequence. And so on…

Findings

The incidence of online shopping fraud is real but there are circumstances under which a shopped can mitigate fraud exposure. And so on…

Conclusion

The author’s premise about online shopping has merit yet is an older article that may have been written at a time when SSL certificates and browsers may not have been mature, in the security sense. More recent articles agree that there was a problem but their examination of current certificates and browsers suggest that the problem has been solved. And so on…

Literature Section

Be sure to cite all your literature used here in the APA format. Literature used in your research but not cited does not belong here unless you wish to have a bibliography section.

Hopefully, this document is helpful to the understanding of writing a research paper and the example demonstrates a way to construct a research paper. After reading the example carefully you should note that the difference between a research paper and a traditional article review is very different.

Here are some website references that may add to your edification of writing a research

paper:

Finding a question - The article uses he word “thesis” but we will find a one sentence

question in the body of the article to analyze:

http://www.webster.edu/~corbetre/philosophy/critical/thesis.html

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/thesis

Developing a research question:

http://www.esc.edu/esconline/across_esc/writerscomplex.nsf/0/

f87fd7182f0ff21c852569c2005a47b7

Analyzing a research question:

http://papyr.com/hypertextbooks/comp2/analysis.htm

Composing a conclusion based on an analysis:

http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/conclusions.html

http://www.ehow.com/how_2062895_write-conclusion-discussion-section-lab.html

http://www.canberra.edu.au/studyskills/writing/conclusions