Faculty Contact Information:
John G. Meinke
UMUC - Unit 29216
APO AE 09102
meinkej@faculty.ed.umuc.edu
370-6762 DSN
49 (0) 6221 / 37 82 08 Civilian
49 (0) 6221 / 31 58 71 Fax
Home: Heidelberger Weg 2
D-69181 Leimen - St. Ilgen
49 (0) 6224 / 92 44 71
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Consultation:
One half hour before and one hour after face-to-face class meetings:
Saturday, 1st November, 09.00 - 16.00
Saturday, 13th December, 09.00 - 16.00
Saturday, 24th January, 09.00 - 16.00
Saturday, 6th March, 09.00 - 16.00
(Note: Contact the MIS Program Director, John Meinke, jmeinke@ed.umuc.edu) regarding meeting conflicts. Use of the Webboard can typically resolve such issues.)
Regularly available by telephone (both in the office and at home) and email
The webboard (http://webboard.ed.umuc.edu/~mis) will be regularly used as a means of communication for INSS 690.
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Required Texts and Readings:
Primarily articles from current journals and periodicals - other materials as appropriate. It is recommended that participants have access to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th edition, ISBN 1-55798-810-2, for preparation of the final paper in APA style.
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Supplementary Readings:
The standard for papers in the graduate program is the APA style. All participants in this course and all graduate INSS, MGMT, PUAD, and ECON courses should have a copy of the style guide:
American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th Edition. Washington DC: Author.All graduate students should be prepared to utilize the UMUC online library at http://www.umuc.edu/library/. The library contains a large number of full text academic journals that are free of charge and immediately available. The library homepage also contains a number of links related to improving students' research and writing skills.
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Recommended Journals:
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Publications of the various professional societies (such as ACM -- the Association for Computing Machinery, the IEEE Computing Society, and the various management professional societies) are strongly recommended. In addition, there are many trade journals (such as eWEEK) that MIS professionals should become familiar with, many of these being published both weekly and on-line.
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Course Description:
(3 semester hours) Prerequisites: Advancement to candidacy in the MIS program and successful completion of the graduate MIS comprehensive examination. A capstone course designed to expose the student to the various areas of information systems in the organization where concepts from other core courses can be utilized. The focus is on information science research, policy formation and issues. Students produce a professional paper within their chosen area of interest. This course is graded Pass (P) or Fail (F).
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Course Goals:
The activities and assignments for this course are designed to help the student develop accepted research skills, develop a breadth of understanding in a particular research area of Information Systems, and stay abreast of current issues in the field. In addition to the academic objectives, students are expected to improve their skills in the following areas:
1. Critical Thinking: Students should improve their ability to analyze information and
develop appropriate summarizing and reporting techniques.
2. Writing Skills: Students should improve writing skills through development of the
Research Proposal and the Research Paper.
3. Oral Presentation Skills: Students should improve their presentation skills through
their oral report on the major project, individual reports on current topics and issues, and class discussions.
4. Computer Skills: Students are expected to improve their computer skills doing
research on-line. In addition, the conduct of the course will make extensive use of the
webboard.
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Course Objectives:
At the conclusion of this course the student will be able to:
1. Distinguish a "research study" from a report or white paper
2. Evaluate the credibility of a research study
3. Identify and apply the techniques of Scientific Methodology, including: Develop an original question which needs to be answered; Perform a thorough literature review of previous studies and writings in this area; Create the hypothesis; Develop the criteria for evaluating the results of the study; Conduct the research, and Summarize and report the results
4. Develop techniques for conducting a thorough literature search in the field
5. Identify, describe and model procedures for data gathering
6. Develop data reporting and analysis techniques
7. Develop technical writing skills
8. Understand the importance of research to the MIS professional
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Grading Information:
A grade of Pass (P) will be achieved with a minimum of 80%
The grade F(a) is used to designate academic failure. F(n) is used to designate failure for non-completion. Grades of Incomplete or Withdrawal are governed by UMUC-Europe policies. For further details, please refer to the UMUC-Europe Graduate Catalog, available in your local Education Center or online at http://www.ed.umuc.edu/general_info/publications/catalogs.
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Course Requirements:
Graduate school at the masters level focuses on helping students obtain the education needed for success as professionals in their chosen fields. Thus, UMUC-Europe Graduate Programs and Bowie State University share the common goals of promoting excellence in academic scholarship through thoughtful inquiry and the skillful application of knowledge and theory for the betterment of society.
Grades for this course will be determined asa follows:
15% Research proposal and presentation
40% Final research paper (in pdf, or convertable to pdf)
15% Presentation of research
20% Presentation of seminar topics
10% Active and constructive participation
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Description of Course Requirements:
Participate in classroom discussions: You are expected to come to class prepared to engage in all
discussions in a professional and informed manner. Usually this requires two to three hours for every
hour of a face-to-face class.
Write graduate level papers or case studies: You are required to conduct professional-level research,
including appropriately citing works of others and avoiding plagiarism. Plan on committing
approximately 150 hours over the duration of this course to producing professional level deliverables,
to include programs, projects, papers, and/or case studies.
Orally/visually present prepared material: You are required to present your results in a professional
manner. In a face-to-face course, this typically means an oral presentation accompanied by
appropriate visual material. In a technologically enhanced class, this means creating a visual/textual
presentation for your instructor and classmates.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
Research Proposal: The one to two page Research Proposal will contain a clear statement of:
1. the purpose of the research, research questions, and preliminary thesis;
2. the boundaries of the research area;
3. an outline of the research sub-topics;
4. the methodology used, i.e., literature or field research;
5. a preliminary reading list.
6. NOTES:
a. It is suggested that participants pick research topics that they want to know more, i.e., this should be an opportunity for deeper investigation of topics covered in past courses. Furthermore, research should not merely leverage experience gained in work situations.
b. Participants are encouraged also to go outside of the literature and perform "field" research, through interviews and other forms of information gathering. However, participants should be aware of the time frame of the course. It can be very difficult to have field research instruments returned in a timely manner.
c. In line with current practices in industry, this will be a predominantly paperless class. The final paper will be submitted in pdf format (or a format that is convertible to pdf) and will be published to the world wide web. To see samples of previously submitted papers, participants are encouraged to visit http://faculty.ed.umuc.edu/~meinkej/inss690/i690home.htm
d. UMUC has guidelines for doing research using human subjects. If you are considering a research project involving use of human subjects you should visit http://www.umuc.edu/policy/research13025.shtml and make certain that you are in compliance with UMUC policies.
Participants will present their research proposals to the group the first weekend and will be expected to respond to each other's submissions. Participants should be prepared the first meeting with a Power Point presentation of their proposed research topic.
Research Paper: Individually, students will write a 30 to 40 page research paper that defines the problem or research area tutorially, clearly explains current technologies and issues, elaborates on the competitive usefulness of the technologies, and provides some indications of what will happen in the future. All sources are to be referenced. The use of extensive quotations is discouraged.
Students are expected to discuss their interim results with the group and accept/provide constructive criticism from/for other group members in the course of paper preparation.
The research report evaluations will be based on content, presentation, and quality of expression.
Papers are expected to meet or exceed accepted graduate-level English and scholarship standards.
Papers should conform to the APA documentation style with minor modifications. Some general guidelines for the INSS 690 final paper can be found at http://faculty.ed.umuc.edu/~meinkej/inss690/apaguidelines.pdf. A power point summary of using references in the APA style can be found at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/workshops/pp/APA2.PPT and following the link to "Documenting Sources: Using APA Format" and a more extensive description of the APA style is available at http://faculty.ed.umuc.edu/~meinkej/inss690/apaguidelines.pdf. The general order of items in the research paper should be: Title Page, Table of Contents, List of Tables (if used), List of Figures (if used), Abstract, body of paper, References, and Appendices (if used).
Presentation of Research: Participants will present their research findings and conclusions to the class using appropriate audio-visual and handout materials. The in-class presentation should run approximately 40 minutes with another 10-15 minutes allowed for questions and discussion.
Class Participation: The essence of a seminar is the exchange of information among peers. Thus, members of the group will be expected to interact on each other's research areas in class plus via the webboard. That interaction should also involve positive comments and recommendations on how research topics can be strengthened.
DISCUSSION TOPICS: An essential component of management is remaining current on the state of the art. This involves regular reading of professional journals and trade publications. Each participant in INSS 690 will be expected to present two interactive reports on state of the art topics. Based on the fact that these reports are demonstrating maintenance of currency in the field, they should not be related directly to the research topic.
METHOD OF INSTRUCTION: As a graduate seminar, the major method of instruction is the regular exchange of ideas between members of the group. A seminar is "a small group of advanced students in a college or graduate school engaged in original research under the guidance of a professor who meets regularly with them for reports and discussions".
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Course Schedule:
Please note that this is a technologically enhanced course. That means that extensive use will be made of the webboard (http://webboard.ed.umuc.edu/~mis). It also means that the course will meet over two terms, terms 2 and 3, so the official starting date for the course is 27th October 2003 and the official ending date for the course is 12th March 2004.
There will be four face-to-face meetings during the period and the class will be expected to conduct ongoing activities using the webboard. This includes such items as presentations/discussions of current issues in the field as well as critiquing in a constructive way the intermediate submissions of classmates.
1st Meeting: 1st November 2003 -- Introductions; course administration details: syllabus, grading, paper/presentation expectations; discussion of available research facilities; topic list development for discussion topics; writing the research paper
Presentation of research proposals and critiques.
Note that facilities will be available for power point presentations. Participants should be prepared that
first weekend to present and defend their research proposals
2nd Meeting: 13th December 2003 - Due: Final statement of the hypothesis
In-progress research paper review; discussion topic presentations
3rd Meeting 24th January 2004 -- Due:, detailed outline, annotated bibliography, draft of research paper
In-progress research paper review; discussion topic presentations
4th Meeting: 6th March 2004 -- Due: final research paper
Research presentations; course evaluations
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Academic Policies:
Academic Policies: Please refer to the UMUC - Europe Graduate Catalog, available online at http://www.ed.umuc.edu/general_info/publications/catalogs/index.html or from your local Education Center, for information on the following:
Academic Integrity
Course Load
Exception to Policy
Grade Appeal Process
Make-up Examinations
Nondiscrimination
Students with Disabilities
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Faculty Bio:
John Meinke earned the BA in Mathematics and the MEd in Mathematics Education from SUNY/Buffalo, the MAT in Mathematics from the University of Montana, and the MS in Computer Science from Illinois Institute of Technology. After a period with RCA Computer Systems Division, he became involved with post-secondary education, and has been involved in teaching and curriculum development in computing for more than two decades. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges and on the Steering Committees of both the CCSC Eastern Conference and the CCSC Southeastern Conference. In addition, he serves as a consultant to the CEEB (College Board) AP (Advanced Placement) in Computer Science program.
His areas of interest include curriculum development, computer architecture and operating systems.
Email: meinkej@faculty.ed.umuc.edu or meinkej@acm.org ; Address: Heidelberger Weg 2, D-69181, Leimen/St. Ilgen, Germany. Telephone: 49-(0)6221-378208 or 370-6762/7157 (DSN) at UMUC - Europe, 49-(0)6224-924471 (home).
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