(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 an analytical/scientific paper within their chosen area of organizational interest.

Students successfully completing this course should:

1.

Have refined their research and presentation skills.

2.

Be able to demonstrate greater familiarity with the literature in a particular area of information systems.

3.

Be able to integrate material from past courses into a framework for discussing information systems.

4.

Have a better understanding of contemporary issues and current practices in information systems.

GRADING CRITERIA:

10%

Research proposal 

35%

Research paper (in .pdf format or translatable to such)

15%

Presentation of research

10%

Examination

25%

Active and constructive participation

A

90-100

C

70-79

B

80-90

F

Below 70

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". 

Research Proposal: The one to two page Research Proposal will contain a clear statement of:

a.

the purpose of the research, research questions, and preliminary thesis;

b.

the boundaries of the research area;

c.

an outline of the research sub-topics;

d.

the methodology used, i.e., literature or field research;

e.

a preliminary reading list.

Notes:

1.

It is suggested that participants pick research topics that they want to know more about, i.e., topics which have not been adequately covered in past courses; furthermore, research should not merely leverage experience gained in work situations.

2.

Participants are encouraged also to go outside of the literature and perform "field" research, through interview and other forms of information gathering. However, participants should be aware of the condensed time frame  of the course.  It can be very difficult to have field research instruments returned in a timely manner.

3.

In line with current practices in industry, this will be a predominantly paperless class. The final paper will be submitted in .pdf format (or able to be translated into .pdf format) 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

Participants will present their research proposals to the group and will be expected to respond to each other's submissions. 

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 class and accept/provide constructive criticism from/for other class members in the course of paper preparation. Providing constructive criticism will be considered part of class participation.

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. A brief summary of the APA style can be found at http://www.ldl.net/~bill/aparev.htm A more complete description may be found at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/Files/30A.html.

Presentation of Research: Students will present their research finding and conclusions to the class using appropriate audio-visual and/or handout material. The in-class presentation should allow for 15 minutes for questions and discussion. Members of the class as well as the instructor will contribute in evaluating and providing feedback on the presentation. Evaluation and feedback are considered part of class participation.

Examinations: An exam will be given during the last class meeting. It will be an essay exam covering material discussed during class as well as material from student research presentations. Students will have a choice of questions to answer, i.e., answer 3 of the following 4 questions.

Class Participation: The essence of a seminar is the exchange of information. Seminar members are expected to come to class prepared, to accept responsibility for one or more parts of the seminar process, and to participate fully and carry their weight in class discussions.

Each class participant, for one component of class participation, will select two current topics/issues that will be of interest to the class, and will be responsible for leading the class discussion of the topic. Participants are encouraged to supply a one page handout to help focus the discussion. This handout can be in the form of a hard copy, or can be submitted via email to the class members.

TEXTBOOK:

Primarily articles from current journals and periodicals -- other materials as appropriate.  A partial list of suggestions for possible materials includes:

Business Week

Harvard Business Review

Communications of the ACM

IEEE Computer

The Economist

Journal of Systems Management

MIS Quarterly

Scientific American

Sloan Management Review

Information Week

Byte

InfoWorld

Communications Week

LAN Times

Network World

Datamation

CIO

Computer World

IEEE Software

AT&T Technical Journal

IBM Systems Journal

www.brint.com  

infoweb.nrl.navy.mil/gold_key.html  (Computer Select)

www.learn2.com  

www.intelligententerprise.com

www.whatis.com

www.experts-exchange.com

www.zdfnet.com

www.devx.com/default.asp

www.cio.com

www.microsoft.com/technet

www.business2.com  

www.fastcompany.com

www.inc.com

www.magazine-rack.com

hplus.harvard.edu   

https://portico.umuc.edu  

www.four11.com  

CLASS DISCUSSION TOPICS LIST:

Following is a [dated] list of current topics that have been used in the past.  Some of the entries are necessarily broad, and a subtopic would be more appropriate.  This list is in no way intended to be a final list that the participant must choose from.  The current literature in the field of IT will provide a much more updated list of possible topics. 

Wireless computing

Future trends

Intranets in organizations

Technology utopia

IT Careers/Opportunities

Object-oriented everything

Windows 2000

MP-3, etc., and copyright issues

Software quality

PKI -- Public Key Infrastructure

Current trends in hardware

Innovation uses of information systems for competitive advantage

Entrepreneurial opportunities in information systems

Productivity through information systems and technology

Note that this is not an exhaustive list of potential topics, and that these are only potential topics. Participants are to choose topics that would prove of interest to the members of the group.

INSTRUCTOR: J. Meinke

Mr. 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 in Small Colleges and on the Steering Committees of both the Eastern Small College Computing 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 the University of Maryland, 49-(0)6224-924471 (home), 49-(0)172-6275322 (mobile).

TENTATIVE COURSE SCHEDULE: 

1^st weekend

26 - 27 January

Introductions; course administration details: syllabus, grading, paper/presentation expectations; discussion of available research facilities; topic list development for future classes; writing the research paper

Presentation of research proposals and critiques of such.

Note that facilities will be available for power point presentations. Participants should be prepared that first weekend to present their research proposals

Due: Research proposal with thesis statement, preliminary outline, preliminary bibliography

2^nd weekend

09 - 10 February

In-progress research paper review; topic discussions

3^rd weekend

23 - 24 February

Due: Current thesis statement, detailed outline, annotated bibliography, and draft of research paper

In-progress research paper review; topic discussions

4^th weekend

09 - 10 March

Due: final research paper

Research presentations; course evaluations; examination