project proposal

Final Project

Final project is a critical aspect of CSC 560 Web Systems and Technologies course.

Each student is required to work on a final project, which is to complete and submit

a research paper.

Objectives of the Final Project:

 To become more knowledgeable about finding and using varied research

sources in web architecture, application development, protocols and related

technologies.

 To further develop your critical thinking skills and back up your points with

evidence.

 To become more adept at synthesizing information and developing informed

views.

 To discipline yourself to follow a scholarly research format to document in-

text sources and a reference page (bibliography).

 To compose a well-organized, clear, concise, research paper to expand your

knowledge on a subject in web architecture, application development,

protocols and related technologies.

Instructions for the Research Paper:

The body of your research paper must be a maximum of 10 pages, including a

separate title page and abstract (10 pages of actual paper text). References, tables

or figures, and appendices are outside the 10 page limit.

You are required to comply with APA, 6th ed., rules and style in this final project.

The paper must be typed in 12 point font, double spaced, on 8 ½ by 11 in. paper.

Please use two spaces after a period, format section headers properly, use correct

formats for lists, figures, and diagrams, and construct citations and references list

entries properly. 15% of the score will be based on APA style, correct grammar and

punctuation. If you are new to technical writing or would like to brush up your

skills using APA, please see Course policies for APA style information or visit CUW

writing center.

Please structure your final project/research paper including:

1. What is your research area, the motivation of research, and how important is it

for the industry practice/knowledge advancement?

2. Problem statement provides a clear and concise description of the issues that

need to be addressed - What is the specific problem in that research area that you

will address (e.g. lack of understanding of a subject, low performance …)?

3. Objectives provide a list of goals that will be achieved through the proposed

research – What are the benefits/impact (e.g. better understanding, improved

productivity …) that will be generated if the research problem is answered?

4. Preliminary literature review: provide a summary of previous related research on

the research problem and their strength and weakness and a justification of your

research - What is known/what have been done by others? And, why your research

is still necessary?

5. Define the research methods and/or logic steps - What to do and how to solve the

problem and achieve proposed objectives?

6. Describe the outcome of your study, including figures from your models, data or

simulations. Summarize your results, interpret them, note any drawbacks or flaws

that you discovered in your study design, suggest potential resolutions or possible

follow-up studies.

7. All factual material that is not original with you must be accompanied by a

reference to its source. Please use APA guideline on reference and citation style.

Deliveries and Due Dates:

 Project Proposal – At the end of Week 3

 Final Project – At the end of Week 8

Comments on the Final Project/Research Paper:

Research papers should be technical in nature, appropriate for an audience

knowledgeable in web architecture, application development, protocols and related

technologies at the graduate level.

Determining appropriate topics for the final project is part of the assignment.

Give careful thought to how to express your investigation or evaluation. That is,

how do you write up what you have figured out in a way your readers can

understand?

Have a target audience in mind. Who would be interested in and benefit from your

treatment of the subject? By anticipating your audience, you can anticipate the

kinds of questions that may arise.

In this final project, depth beats breadth. I would rather see a good job covering a

few issues than a superficial job covering many. That means you may want to cover

in detail the issues from only one or two chapters in the text.

Write something to add to your employment portfolio. What you learn depends on

your choice. You are likely to learn more if you choose an investigation of a web

related topic or a web application design evaluation for which little has been done.

You will do better work if you think of this final project as a work assignment

rather than a school assignment.

Good scholarship is expected. Research papers in this assignment are subject to be

submitted to TurnItIn service for originality evaluation, which CUW subscribes.

Finally, consult me when needed throughout the process - I'm happy to help.

Dr. Charlie