Week 1: Instructor Notes
Case/Project
This section presents in detail the Integrated Studies 6000 course project and explains the principle requirements and terms.
Each project must list the following:
title of paper or project,
course number,
instructor name,
summary of premise or problem that was investigated and
conclusion or critique.
Model
The sequence of the Integrated Studies course uses the following model:
Present a situation analysis of the problem environment and industry. You should include secondary research in constructing your situation analysis.
State the premise.
State disclaimers or study limitations.
Present the applied research work plan – Research Methodology. Present the primary research methodology to be used in developing the applied research project along with a rationale for your choice of methods.
Present the applied research work plan – core course content. Present and discuss the content to be used from each of your core courses in completing the project.
Conduct the primary applied research activity, and analyze the results of the collected data.
Provide an abstract of approximately three to five pages which will include a brief overview of the situation analysis, premise, disclaimers, method of research used, core course content used, findings, conclusions, acceptance, rejection or modification of the premise, and the recommendations for further study. (The abstract is often actually developed at the conclusion of the project.)
Prepare an analytical report indicating whether you accept or reject the original premise, in part, or in total. You must state and discuss new issues, modification of the premise developed in the research, and include recommendations for further study. You report must contain at least twenty to thirty pages of original work presented in an acceptable and consistent academic format together with all the preliminary sections, exhibits, charts, and questionnaires.
Include bibliography, footnotes and endnotes in the report.
Provide research documentation in appendix at the end of the report.
Key Concepts
The situation analysis is just that, the student’s analysis of a given situation which is usually a situation that warrants a change from the student’s perspective. The situation analysis should be written succinctly, but still include all salient and relevant data. Example: Workers at the office of the Z firm are habitually late. Morale is low and productivity is falling off. The company is involved in manufacturing parts for oil rigs, and with the world oil glut spawning oil price drops and production cut backs, it seems that employee insecurity is developing within the company. The noted declines in the office commenced at about the same time national attention on the oil situation began. The company has not offered any communications to the work force and this seems to be a factor in fostering rumors, most of which foretell pending cutbacks, layoffs, and other actions deemed detrimental by the office force.
A premise is a statement used in applied research stating what is expected to be found in the research or what will result after prescribed action is taken. It is similar to the hypothesis used in other types of research studies. When a formal hypothesis is utilized, you may wish to state a null hypothesis which stipulates that there will be no change from the current situation; then an alternate hypothesis is written wherein possible change, or a new understanding of the variables is stated. For example, if one believes that if people eat a piece of chocolate pie each day for one month they will have significant weight gain, the null hypothesis would state that eating a piece of chocolate pie each day does to result in significant weight gain; the alternate hypothesis or premise would simply state that eating a piece of chocolate pie each day will cause significant weight gain.
When using the applied research process, you generally use a simple premise only. A simple premise will deal with a single concept or proposition. After the premise is stated, disclaimers or study limitations then are enumerated so the reader can clearly understand and appreciate the nature and limitations of the study. The purpose of the premise then is to focus and help clarify the nature of the study. Premises should be clearly stated and subject to measurement for verification.
Disclaimers or study Limitations–You may be able to identify specific variables in a given situation and still be unaware that other factors exist that could affect the outcome. This failure could result in faulty research. However, if you could identify these other variables or situations that could affect results, exclusive of the variables being studied, you minimize their negative impact on the research. Your responsibility is to locate these other variables and to indicate what impact they might have on any results. When thus stated, they are referenced as disclaimers or study limitations. Example: The “Hawthorne” effect of anyone being studied, or recent happenings in the work environment. A variety of disclaimers should be developed when contemplating applied research, particularly in a non-controlled multi-variable environment.
The step by step, week by week, requirements of ITM 6000
The student’s final work product will consist of the following sections, many of which are to be developed and discussed in private discussions with the student conducted during the course. It is expected that this development schedule will serve the student as a structure to master the requirements of the integrated studies course.
Section 1–Situation Analysis (S.A.) (Completed by Week 2). Describe the situation your project will explore. Note: Your completed situation analysis will include a description of the industry, the organization involved, its culture and the competitive environment together with the issue to be explored in your project. Also, include those factors that caused you to select your particular subject.
Section 2–Premise (Completed by Week 2). Present a concise positive statement of what the student proposes to substantiate by the correlation of the primary research project. Qualitative terms must be defined, and the premise should be measurable. Example: That productivity has been improved by Human Relations training.) In the example premise, the following terms would be defined in a presentation entitled “Definitions” immediately following the premise statements: (a) Productivity. (b) Improved, and (c) Human Relation Training.
Section 3–Disclaimers or Study Limitation (Completed by Week 2). Because the student realistically can deal only with limited variables, there should be statements of other variables not entertained in the study which could distort results or findings. Example: The impact of unexpected massive layoffs.
Section 4–Work Plan – Applied Research Methodology (Completed by Week 3). This section tells what primary and secondary research methodology will be used in the paper.
Survey Instrument–The survey instrument or questionnaire in applied research should be completed and available by Week 4 for review and approval.
Section 5–Work Plan – Core Course Content (Completed by Week 8). The core course content will be handled on the final exam. To be discussed later in the course.
Section 6–Project Development (Completed by Week 6). The student is expected to report on progress and problems encountered in weekly sessions with peer students and the instructor.
Section 7–Abstract (Three to five pages completed by Week 7). The abstract to be presented will be a brief synopsis and will include a summary of the project, the situation analysis, premise, study limitations, work plan, key findings, conclusions, acceptance, rejection or modification of the premise and recommendations.
Section 8–Actual Paper (Completed by Week 8 or 9). The body of the paper will be a minimum of twenty to thirty pages of original work.
Section 9–Bibliography/Footnotes/Endnotes/Appendix (Completed by Week 8 or 9). Bibliography and notes should be listed at the end of the actual paper.
Section 10–Research Documentation (Completed by Week 8 or 9). Questionnaires, tables, exhibits, charts and other inclusions must be provided as part of the project paper and may be placed in the appendix of the paper.
Students will submit all documents via e-mail to the instructor. All documents must be completed in Microsoft Word. The final project and abstract will be submitted to the discussion board as well. Students are required to read all projects and to post an original comment/question to each project.
Format
The chosen academic writing style and form of APA will be accepted, the student should take care to:
1. Include a Table of Contents.
2. Clearly label each section and topic.
3. Start each new topic on a separate sheet.
4. Number the pages.
5. Provide the footnotes and bibliography in a consistent fashion.
6. Use proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
7. Give appropriate recognition to any quotations or content presented which may not be the student’s
own original work product.
8. Make all submissions in type written format, double spaced on 8 1/2 x 11 paper in a suitable binder.
9. Understand that the original work and abstracts will remain in the possession of the instructor.
Applied Research Information Summary:
I. Identifying a premise for research
A. Sources of premise
1. From lectures and reading in courses
2. From exploratory reading on a topic
3. From practical, on the job, problem
4. From reading specific prior research
5. From prior research experience
B. Narrowing the premise
C. Clarifying the premise
D. Stating the precise premise
II. Gathering in-depth information
A. Primary and secondary sources
B. Library skills, computer searches
C. Abstracting
D. Reading professional journals
E. Gathering reference sources
III. Research
A. Secondary Research
1. Library research
2. Reference sources
3. Existing case studies
4. Historical research
B. Primary Research
1. Exploratory
2. Directional
3. Quantitative
4. Qualitative
5. Formal
6. Informal
Resources
Webster Library Passport Video Series outlines basic research methods and suggests specific databases and Internet resources to use for research in a subject area.
APA References:
APA Formatting and Style Guide –Purdue University
Electronic Reference Guide–APA Online
Citation Styles Handbook–University of Illinois
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