Essay

San Francisco State University

HTM 515 - Final Paper/Project Format/Rubric – On Line Purpose/scope - The final analytical research paper/project is intended to engage students in a real-world issue pertaining to your respective internship. The paper’s general topic will be determined and agreed to by the intern supervisor and student. The topic should be beneficial to the company and educational to the student. Once the general topic is determined, the student is expected to define the research problem (problem statement), collect the necessary data, and report on the findings. The length of the paper is not specified; however, quality is preferred over quantity. It is expected that papers should be at least 15+ pages long (not including cover page, references, or appendices). Finally, it is required that the paper/project and findings will be presented to the internship supervisor by the student. Tutorial – For more information about the research paper, please see the online video tutorial on iLearn. Format – The final paper/project format should be double-spaced using 12-point Times New Roman font with 1” margins. Final documents for upload/submission must be MSWord or PDF. The length of the paper is not specified however, the minimum length should be at least 15+ pages long (not including cover page, references, or appendices). Content, structure, writing logic/flow, spelling and grammar will be graded as part of your final grade (see assessment rubric). Final Paper Structure – The final paper MUST include the bolded section headings as directed and be organized in the following manner:

1. Cover/Title Page – Title of the paper, course name and number, semester year, student name and identification number and instructor’s name.

2. General Topic and Research Question – Two statements identifying and articulating the topic and research question.

3. Abstract – Brief summary of the research paper – 250 words or less. 4. Introduction/Background and Statement of the Research Problem

a. Introduction – Provide the reader with a description and background of the topic that is being researched. Give a contextual backdrop to why this is an important issue to be addressed. For example, what are competitors doing? What is the marketplace currently doing or headed? What happens if this isn’t addressed? How important, influential, or popular is this problem? Would research findings lead to some useful change in best practice? If a study, for instance, is researching management stress in a hotel, why is this needed? Is there turnover? Low morale? Answer the “So what?” question, why is this topic worthy of investigating.

b. Statement of the Research Problem – Provide a brief discussion of the specific topic that will be investigated and addressed and why it is important. (e.g., What is the problem? Why is this problem worth investigating? Be clear about the problem statement and most importantly explain why the study is needed and valuable.

5. Manuscript Body a. Literature Review – Provide an in-depth analysis of what currently is or has been written

about this topic. Students are expected to provide a variety of sources including but not limited to academic journals, textbooks, industry publications, internal company documents, etc. All sources must be cited.

b. Methodology/Data Collection – A discussion of how you went about approaching and solving the problem or research project. In other words, how did you collect the data you

needed to analyze for the project? This section, for example, should included details on what type of survey you conducted including where you found the survey instrument and/or how you collected data, etc. Tables, charts and figures are strongly encouraged to demonstrate your data.

c. Analysis and Results – A presentation of the factual (truth and facts – not opinion) information you found regarding the problem to be solved or the research project. For example, the data showed that 22% of customers preferred the old menu design versus the new menu design. Tables, charts and figures are strongly encouraged to demonstrate your data.

d. Discussion, recommendation and conclusions – This section wraps together the entire research document. Here you will relook at the research question, literature, data collection and results and provide a discussion of the study. Moreover, given the findings of fact, what are your conclusions as to what the underlying topic are, or conclusions as to the research project? How would you address the research questions given the study’s results? What are your specific recommendations to solve the problems or achieve the objective of the research study? What were the strategic alternatives that might have been used to solve the problem or research project? What alternative(s) did you decide to use and why? What could future study’s do to address this topic more thoroughly?

6. References – 3-5 references minimum but more are expected. Please provide a reference section when you cite any source in your paper. Plagiarism is not acceptable and is grounds for failure. All citation and references should follow the APA format. Please see (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01) or (www.apastyle.org) for exact specifications.

7. Tables, figures, and appendix (provided within the manuscript body or here as needed)

Research Paper Grading Criteria/Rubric – The final paper will be graded using the assessment rubric provided. Nine (9) criteria are used in the grading of each research paper using an Unacceptable, Acceptable, and Exemplary scale:

1. Research Question; Problem/purpose statement; point of view established 2. Sense of audience 3. Organization and development 4. Knowledge, Comprehension, Understanding & Support of topic 5. Data Analysis; Evaluate information and its sources critically 6. Application 7. Conclusion 8. Grammatical structure, sentence formation 9. Citation of secondary sources

10. Additionally, feedback (comments and grade A, B, etc.) by your supervisor will also be used to determine your

grade. Students are required to present their findings to their supervisor during the semester.

Turnitin.com Requirement 1. All final papers must be uploaded and submitted through Turnitin.com link on iLearn for plagiarism and

grammar checks. Final documents for submission must be MSWord or PDF. 2. Directions and feedback: http://at.sfsu.edu/support/how-submit-turnitin-assignment 3. The paper must be uploaded and submitted to Turnitin.com no later than the final packet due date outlined on

the course schedule. You can review the Turnitin feedback and make changes to your paper prior to the due date.

4. Turnitin Helpful links: a. To view you Turnitin Originality Report clink on the directions link: http://at.sfsu.edu/support/how-

view-your-turnitin-originality-report b. Student Training – About Originality PDF - http://turnitin.com/en_us/training/student-training/about-

originalitycheck c. Viewing originality reports: http://turnitin.com/en_us/training/student-training/viewing-originality-

reports

5. Cheating and Plagiarism/Self Plagiarism: See course syllabus for strict rules and guidance on cheating and plagiarism/Self-Plagiarism. This class has a zero-tolerance policy towards cheating behaviors. Plagiarism/Self-Plagiarism is a specific form of cheating which consists of the misuse of the published and/or unpublished works of others or self by misrepresenting the material (i.e., their intellectual property) so used as one’s own work. Penalties for cheating and plagiarism range from 0 or F on a particular assignment, through an F for the course, to expulsion from the university. For more information on the University’s policy regarding cheating and plagiarism, refer to the University Office of Student Conduct (‘Polices and Regulations’).

Hospitality & Tourism Management HTM515 Internship Research Paper/Project

Assessment Rubric

9/2019

Criteria Unacceptable (U) Acceptable (A) Exemplary (E)

Research Question; Problem/purpose statement; point of view established

Vague/ inconsistent statement of purpose

Able to identify a problem/issue, clearly define a problem/issue, and dissect the problem/issue into subproblems or pieces

Able to identify and clearly define a problem/issue, dissect it into sub-problems or pieces, and formulate possible solutions.

Sense of audience Inconsistent sense of audience; Uses language inappropriate to target audience

Conveys an accurate sense of audience with appropriate use of disciplinary language

Strong sense of audience demonstrated through form and language

Organization and development

Some organization evident, but inconsistent

Connects ideas within document and to other sources and ideas; Points are logically developed and flow logically from one idea to the next

Effective organization contributes to full development of written presentation

Knowledge, Comprehension, Understanding & Support of topic

Demonstrates some understanding of topic; Does not make connections among ideas

Beyond surface understanding; Demonstrates facility with topical and disciplinary knowledge

Demonstrates disciplinary understanding and interconnections; makes links that suggest discovery of new information or new ways of relaying information

Data Analysis; Evaluate information and its sources critically

Evaluates a limited number of sources using a restricted set of criteria (such as survey).

Evaluates a variety of sources that are appropriate to the scope of the research question using multiple criteria (such as relevance to the research question, currency, authority, reliability).

Evaluates a variety of sources appropriate to the scope and discipline of the research question.

Application Paper does not solve problems to a new situation

Paper solves problems to a new situation by applying acquired knowledge, facts and techniques in a different way.

Paper solves multiple problems in a new situation by applying knowledge, facts and technique in different ways.

Conclusion None or extremely weak Good summary Reviewed main points and tied everything together; future directions proposed

Grammatical structure, sentence formation

Errors in grammar, sentence structure or spelling

Uses correct grammar, sentence structure and spelling throughout document

Readability enhanced by facility in language use, range of diction and syntactic variety

Citation of secondary sources

None; or majority are inappropriate or inappropriately cited; and/or portions are plagiarized

Most sources are appropriate and cited adequately

All sources are appropriate and cited completely and accurately