MIS 650 Project Seminar
Project Report Format and Content
Introduction and General Information
The format of the project report as well as its content depends on the purpose of the project. Projects may be divided broadly into two types:
o Research projects:
projects whose purpose is to uncover or demonstrate new knowledge or techniques
applicable to the world in general. Research projects result in
research reports.
o Campaigns: projects whose purpose is
to change something specific in the real world by implementing, building
or acquiring things or processes. Campaigns result in
technical reports.
The appearance of the displayed report should adhere to these guidelines:
§ Maximum 20 pages exclusive of
title page, figures, and bibliography
§ Double-spaced, 1" margins all around, numbered pages
§ All figures and tables are to be placed in-line within the body of the text
§ Active links to the Internet are not encouraged
§ 12-point typeface, Times Roman preferred
§ Footnotes are allowed and should appear on the page they are cited
§ Full and correct bibliographic citation and reference is expected
§ Electronic submission as MS Word document. Hard copies will not be
accepted.
§ Each section header centered and underlined in
14-point bold typeface.
§ Subsections to appear left-justified, 12-point bold typeface.
§ Alternatively, technical reports only can use left-justified leveled
numbering (1, 1.1, 1.1.1) for section headers
Reports will be evaluated by the supervisor, with consultation by the course instructor. To see the evaluation form, click here.
Types of Research Projects
Research projects are many in nature, but for this course, three kinds are most appropriate:
o Case study: Understanding one or a small number of instances or cases
o Literature review: Putting together an exhaustive review of literature on a particular topic
o Survey: Gathering data in order to illuminate a general tendency in a relatively narrow region of knowledge
Research Report Structure
The structure of a research report is relatively standard. The following is suggested for graduate-level (masters and doctoral) theses, but is applicable for all knowledge-generation exercises:
1. Introduction: Broad problem or topic statement, the necessity for research, definitions and terms of reference
2. Literature survey: Prior research on this topic
3. Research question: Hypotheses to be tested or developed
4. Methodology: Method of gathering data
5. Data/results: The actual data collected
6. Analysis: Analytic techniques to test the hypotheses against the data
7. Conclusions: Discussion about how the data do or do not demonstrate the hypotheses and implications thereof
8. Comments on process: Alternative explanations, limitations of the research, future research, lessons learned
Types of Research Studies
The studies leading to research reports may be quantitative, qualitative or bibliographic.
Quantitative research deals with essentially numerical data and attempts to demonstrate or "prove" a theory using what is called the "hypothetico-deductive method". This method relies on logic. The researcher sets up a difficult test for a theory by trying to disprove one of its implications (hypotheses). If the hypothesis is denied (i.e., shown to be false), then the theory must be false in one or more of its aspects. Of course the test might be very weak and hence the major task of research is to design a strong enough test (methodology); otherwise, passing the test is too easy (this is called a Type I error). The test might, however, be too strong, hence denying even true implications. This is called a Type II error. There are many ways to conduct quantitative research, but for a course of this duration, the most common method is a survey, either through paper (mail-out or hand-out, for example) or interview (in person or on the telephone).
Qualitative research deals with essentially non-numerical data and generally (but not always) does not try to prove a theory. Instead, qualitative research attempts to increase understanding through experience. A common method for performing qualitative research is the case study, in which one or a small number of cases or instances of something are extensively experienced and those experiences recorded systematically. There are many qualitative methods, but since most of these methods require a lot of data collection over a long period of time, case studies are recommended for this course. By the way, case studies can be used to test theories -- in a negative way! If a theory makes a general statement, then finding a single case that contradicts the theory in effect disproves it.
Bibliographic research is the basis of all academic understanding. Finding out what is already known or suspected or even at issue is necessary before embarking on any endeavor. However, an exhaustive literature review may be appropriate as a project in itself. Some problems are so poorly defined that only through an extensive literature review can the wide range of thought available -- perhaps in many fields -- be brought together for comparison and discussion. Hence an large literature review can also be a contribution to knowledge. Most bibliographic research is directed in the sense that a specific problem is being examined and thought on that problem being brought together. One common form of bibliographic research is intended to develop an evaluation framework. For example, one might review the literature on evaluating software development methods in developing countries in order to determine a list of characteristics identifying "best practice."
1. Types of Campaigns
Campaigns are of an infinite variety, because the world is so diverse and complex. For the purposes of this course, three kinds of campaigns seem most appropriate:
1.1 System development: Specification, development, implementation, installation and use of an information system. Generally this will be limited to software, usually a single application, as the time frame for the course seriously constrains how much can be done
1.2 Management interventions: Specification, development, implementation and execution of a set of management-level activities to improve the chances of meeting an organizational goal. This might include new procedures, new policies, system or organizational evaluations and the like
1.3 Simulations: Creation of models that can be used to predict the behavior of organizations or systems. In MIS 650, these models will be computer-based, although the systems simulated do not have to be computer-based themselves
2. Technical Report Structure
The structure of a technical report on an intervention depends to some extent on the kind of intervention. However, we can identify general sections as follows:
2.1 Introduction: Background to the problem, need for a solution, basic definitions and description of the environment or setting.
2.2 Problem statement: Description of what is wrong and how one would recognize an improvement (goals for improvement); this would normally include a literature survey pertinent to this sort of problem.
2.3 Problem analysis: A taking apart of the problem to determine where there is a possibility for improvement through intervention.
2.4 Design: Specification of what improvements to make and how they should be made (i.e., the proposed intervention)
2.5 Implementation: Description of how the improvements were made (i.e., what was done in the intervention and evidence the intervention actually took place as designed)
2.6 Demonstration: Description of the improvements in action (images of the intervention, records of activities, etc.)
2.7 Evaluation: "Proof" that the improvements work and accomplish the goals (i.e., demonstration that the intervention actually brought about positive, useful results)
2.8 Lessons learned: What should be done in the future, limitations of the intervention, side-effects, things to be avoided.
One of the major challenges in an intervention is developing measures whose values are to be "improved". Presumably the "unimproved" values represent "now" and the "improved" values represent what happens at some point after the intervention. This also raises questions of timing (when to measure) as well as the effects of measurement itself! In many ways, campaigns are far harder than research since so much is left uncontrolled. Thus it is harder to "learn" things, because without useful measures, we might not know (1) that the intervention actually took place (i.e., happened the way we planned), (2) the intervention was effective (i.e., caused the results we observed) or (3) the intervention was efficient (the results were positive and worth the effort).
This webpage last updated on September 12, 2005