Abstract Need

Research Paper Instructions

Summary

You will be writing the full research paper after the Topic has been reviewed and approved.

Topic Selection and Research Paper Requirements

Prior to writing your paper, submit a short topic proposal not to exceed one (1) page and half in the form of a paper abstract.

The purpose of feedback is to provide comments on the appropriateness of your proposed topic’s coverage, (both breadth and depth), as well as your research approach, sufficiently early in the course to allow for topic revision if necessary. While submission of your topic proposal is not mandatory it is encouraged.

The topic proposal can be a full page abstract stating what research question will be answered (or what problem will be solved) by the analysis your paper proposes to perform. In other words your topic proposal should define the focus of the paper by stating a question or describing a problem to be analyzed in the Information Assurance domain. It should also explain what types of resources and references will be used to perform the analysis to answer this question or solve the stated problem. Note that the references or sources found early may not be the same references you choose to use in the final paper. An adequate literature search will include at least five (5) reputable scholarly sources such as those available through the online library. It is anticipated that reputable Internet sources will also be helpful and appropriate.

Your final Research Paper will focus on one or more themes covered in this INFA 670 capstone course. Being a capstone course it gives you an opportunity to incorporate knowledge from other INFA courses which you have taken. It needs to be strongly emphasized that papers must not be "recycled" from these previous INFA courses, even if written by you. To do so is unacceptable and will result in a “zero grade” for the assignment.

The research paper should be focused on one or more specific topic areas covered in this course. You are required to research a specific issue in your chosen topic area concentrating on analyzing the issue and evaluating the available solutions to the issue. The paper needs to discuss the corresponding benefits and limitations of these solutions and then provide recommendations.

For example; Session 4 covers vulnerability analysis in five subheadings:

· Penetration Studies

· Vulnerability Classification

· Frameworks

Your research paper could focus on an issue that spans one or more of the above subheading topics. Your task would be to analyze your chosen specific issue in Vulnerability Analysis corresponding to your chosen subheading topics and then produce a research report on same.

The reference to Session 4 above is for example only. It does not mean you must base your research paper on the Session 4 subtopics, although one could choose to do so. Feel free to focus your research paper on other sessions (Sessions 1,2,3,5,7,8,9,10,11) which may cover issues and topics which are of more interest or perhaps more applicable to your present endeavors. Choose one of the Sessions topic attached here in (See attached)

Alternatively you may find it appropriate to focus your research on an issue spanning two or more session topics. As a hypothetical example, you could conceivably analyze a commercial software tool (Session 10) targeted at performing software verification and validation (Session 9).

Your Research Paper must demonstrate graduate-level writing ability and comply with the format requirements of the Publications Manual of the American Psychological Association. Careful attention should be given to source citations, proper listing of references, and the presentation of tables and graphs. Be sure to carefully cite (using correct APA-Style in-line citations) all sources of information in your paper.

A final note on source citations and the use of reference material in your research paper: It is expected that much of the information you put in your paper will relate to topics which are new to you. For this reason, it is also expected that you will rely heavily at times on material found through references discovered in your research. It is essential that you give proper attribution to these sources of information. You should not quote extensively from your sources, but instead should express the ideas found in your own words, applying them to the specific points you are making in your paper. Short word-for-word excerpts are acceptable but should always be placed in quotation marks to clearly indicate a verbatim use of source material.

Your instructor is extremely well-read in the subject areas addressed in this course, and it is generally quite apparent when a given section of content originates from a source rather than that of the author, so please be diligent about using source material appropriately. It is always better to err on the side of too much citation rather than too little. Remember is the abstract you will use to write a 12 pages research paper later so make sure it’s detailed enough!