Kennesaw State University

DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS

Summer 2007

IS 8005/01, Informatics

MW 8PM - 10:45 PM, CL 1005

 

Course Description:

This course focuses on how to conduct and present business research. Topics include the application of statistical techniques to the management of information and the science and art of turning data into information. The course requires the student to refine technical research and authoring skills, report writing and presentation, computer-based statistical analyses, and information organization and presentation.

 

 

Prerequisites:

Full admission to the MSIS program or permission of the graduate program director.

 

 

Textbook & Resources:

American Psychological Association (2001). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (5th Ed.). Washington, DC. [ISBN 1-55798-791-2]

The textbooks will be used to support the learning outcomes for this course through readings, examples and exercises. Online cases, articles and other resources will be made available on the course web site.

Instructor:

Amy B. Woszczynski (wo-ZIN-ske), Ph.D.

Office:

CL 3005

Email Address:

awoszczy@kennesaw.edu (24/7 availability, preferred form of communication)

 

NOTE: When you send me e-mail, please use a descriptive subject and include IS 8005 in the subject field.

Phone:

770.423.6572 (may take 2-3 days to respond)

Office Hours:

Mondays, 3:30 pm-5:00 pm

Wednesdays, 3:30 pm-5:00 pm

and by appointment

**Please note that occasionally, I will have meetings or other University activities during scheduled office hours. Therefore, I strongly encourage you to make an appointment to see me.**

Fax Number:

770.423.6731

Website Address:

http://vista.kennesaw.edu

GoogleTalk ID

awoszczy

 

Course Objective:

To advance student knowledge and ability to conduct technical research and present findings in a professional, clear and concise manner to both technical and non-technical audiences.

 

Learning Outcomes:

As a result of completing this course, students will be able to:

 

  • Understand how to design and execute research studies.
  • Author and present written technical and non-technical documents.
  • Develop and conduct technical and non-technical presentations.
  • Evaluate presentations.
  • Explain how to collect and analyze data for a real-world project.
  • Understand advanced statistical methods presented in business and IT research.

 

Classroom Policies:

Make-Up Exams:

There will be no make-up assignments. It is the student’s responsibility to arrange for an excused absence before the assignment due date. A grade of zero will be assigned for all assignments missed without an excused absence. If an emergency arises on the day of an assignment, and the instructor deems that the absence is excused, then at the discretion of the instructor, either the weight of other assignments may be increased in place of the missed assignment or a substitute assignment may be given. Written verification of the excused absence must be provided to the instructor.

 

Guidelines for Submitting Work:

All hard-copy submissions should be arranged properly and stapled together. If assignments are due in class, they must be submitted at the beginning of the class period. If assignments are due on WebCT, you may not e-mail me the assignment instead of uploading it to WebCT. Late assignments will not be accepted! If you have any questions about your grades, contact me immediately. The end of the semester is too late to argue for grade changes on earlier assignments. Note that all assignments should follow APA guidelines, except where specifically instructed otherwise. Formatting guidelines will be available on WebCT, and students should adhere to standards in the APA Guide.

 

Attendance:

Class attendance is up to the student. However, high grades are clearly a function of attendance, good notes, questions, and productive studying. Active class participation is encouraged and welcomed. Late arrival, early departure, excessive conversation with other students, and the like are unacceptable.

 

Participation:  A critical component of all graduate courses is an active and debate and discussion. Feel free to offer your comments and to challenge (in a positive way please!) other class members on their observations during case study discussion periods.

 

Instructor Absence:

Normally, I will be in class on time. If I am more than 15 minutes late and prior arrangements have not been made, the class is canceled. If an emergency causes me to miss class, I will make every effort to notify students in advance. You are encouraged to check the class web site for daily updates.

 

Lecture Notes:

All lecture notes, announcements, assignment guidelines, and the like will be available on the class Web site: http://vista.kennesaw.edu.

 

Withdrawal Policy:

The last day to withdraw without academic penalty is 6/29/07. Ceasing to attend class or oral notice thereof DOES NOT constitute official withdrawal from the course. Students who simply stop attending classes without officially withdrawing usually are assigned failing grades. Students wishing to withdraw after the scheduled change period (add/drop) must obtain and complete a withdrawal form from the Academic Services Department in the Registrar’s Office.

 

Email Policy:

 

The instructor will reply to e-mails that list the course number and section in the subject line of the e-mail (IS 8005/01). E-mails with other subject lines may not reach the instructor’s mailbox.

 

WebCT Vista does not currently allow you to forward messages to an external account. Therefore, I strongly encourage you to check Vista messages frequently for class updates.

 

Enrollment Policy:

Only those students who are enrolled in the class may attend lectures, receive assignments, take quizzes and exams, and receive a grade in the class. If a student is administratively withdrawn from this course, they will not be permitted to attend class nor will they receive any grade for the class.

 

Electronic Devices

In order to minimize the level of distraction, all beepers and cellular phones must be on quiet mode during class meeting times. Students who wish to use a computer/PDA for note taking need prior approval of the instructor since key clicks and other noises can distract other students. Recording of lectures by any method requires prior approval of the instructor.

 

 

 

Tentative Course Schedule: Subject to change

 

Week

Date

Topic

Readings

 

1

5/30

 

 

6/4

Introduction to Course

Introduction to Research

 

Content and Organization of a Manuscript

Ethical Standards in Research

Expressing Ideas & Reducing Bias in Language

Issues in Academic Integrity

 

 

 

A: Appendix C

A: Ch 2-4

 

2

6/6

 

6/11

Online Activities, no class

 

Bibliographic Instruction, Dewi Wilson, Librarian, KSU (guest speaker)

Creating an Annotated Bibliography

Online Assignment #1a

 

Online Assignment #1b

 

3

6/13

 

6/18

No class, online activities

 

Prof. Carola Mattord, Writing Across the Curriculum, Georgia State University (guest speaker)

Assignment #1: IRB

 

Assignment #2: Annotated Bibliography

Online Assignment #2a

 

4

6/20

 

 

 

6/25

Scientific Investigation

The Research Process

Discussion of research paper and topics

 

No class, online activities

Online Assignment #2b

 

 

 

 

 

5

6/27

 

7/2

ORAL PRESENTATIONS

 

No class, online activities

Assignment #3: Presentation

 

Online Assignment #3a

 

6

7/4

 

7/9

No class, holiday

 

Research Design

Experimental Designs

Online Assignment #3b

 

7

7/11

 

 

 

7/16

Statistical Data Analysis

Measurement and Data Collection

Sampling and Data Analysis

 

No class, group project workday

Assignment #4: Individual Paper

 

 

 

Online Assignment #4a

 

8

7/18

 

 

 

7/23

No class, online activities          

 

 

 

GROUP PROJECT PRESENTATIONS

Online Assignment #4b

Assignment #5: Statistics Activity

 

Assignment #6a: Group Project Presentations

 

FINAL

7/25

8PM

Final Projects Due

Assignment #6b: Group Project Paper Due

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

READINGS/CHAPTERS LEGEND:

A: American Psychological Association (2001). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). Washington, DC.

 

 

Special Dates:

 

 

Last day to withdraw without penalty

6/29/2007

 

Holiday, no class

7/4/2007

 

Last day of class

7/24/2007

 

Graduation

7/30/2007

 

Grades Due

7/31/2007 at 10:00am

 

Notes:

  • Any student who needs special assistance or accommodations, please see me after class.
  • Refer to University material for information on date changes.

Class Format:

This class will follow a hybrid method of instruction. For some of the scheduled class meetings, we will meet in-class with lecture and discussion format. For a portion of the scheduled class meetings, you will complete online activities. In the online activities, it is critical that you spend a significant portion of time checking WebCT discussion board postings and interacting with your classmates. Students will be expected to gain familiarity with statistical analysis toolkits outside of the classroom.

Diversity Statement:

All courses offered by the Computer Science and Information Systems department will adhere to the KSU policy that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, age, disability, national origin, or sexual orientation.

Lecture Notes:

Lecture notes will be posted on WebCT Vista. See http://vista.kennesaw.edu. Notes will generally be in the form of PowerPoint slides.

 

Assignments:

Students will complete individual assignments (IRB, annotated bibliography, oral presentation, individual paper, and statistics activity) and a group project and presentation during the course. The project serves as the final exam for the course. Students will also complete various online activities.

 

Grading rubrics are available on WebCT.

 

Project Requirements:

Details on the project will be posted on WebCT and discussed in class.

 

Links:

Department web site: http://science.kennesaw.edu/csis

 

 

Computer Labs:

 

Please be aware of and follow all computer lab user policies.

Burruss Building

The labs on the fourth floor of the Burruss Building are open 7 days each week as follows:

M-Th 7:45am - 11pm
Friday 7:45am - 5pm
Sat 10am - 6pm
Sun noon - 8pm

The Burruss labs are open most holidays. Be prepared to show your current student ID card upon entering the lab. The telephone number of the Burruss Building lab is 770-423-6110.

 

Science and Mathematics Building

The lab in SC 228 of the Science and Mathematics Building is open as follows:

M-Th 10am - 9pm
Fri & Sat 10am - 3pm
Sun closed

The telephone number of the Science and Mathematics Building lab is 770-499-3351.

 

 

Owl Printing System:

 


The OwlPrint system (student network printing/copying solution) is available in the KSU library as well as all the open labs and lab/electronic classroom combinations across campus.  

 
Students must have an OwlPrint card to use printing/copying services. While in a classroom situation, faculty/staff will use their department OwlPrint cards to give student access to the printer/copier.

 

Assessment:

 

Online Activities

10%

Assignment #1: IRB

10%

Assignment #2: Oral Presentation

20%

Assignment #3: Annotated Bibliography

10%

Assignment #4: Individual Paper

20%

Assignment #5: Statistics Activity

10%

Assignment #6: Group Project

20%

TOTAL

100%

 

Grade Evaluation

 

 

 

A

90% - 100%

B

80% - 89%

C

70% - 79%

D

60% - 69%

F

59% or below

 

 

Student Course Evaluation:

A standard questionnaire will be administered during the last two weeks of the semester in all classes. Additional questions developed by the college or instructor(s) may be included as well. It is important that each student provide meaningful feedback to the instructor(s) so that changes can be made in the course to continually improve its effectiveness. We value student feedback about the course, our teaching styles, and course materials, so as to improve our teaching and your learning. At a minimum, the following two questions will be asked: 1) Identify the aspects of the course that most contributed to your learning (include examples of specific materials, exercises and/or the faculty member’s approach to teaching and mentoring), and 2) Identify the aspects of the course, if any, that might be improved (include examples of specific materials, exercises and/or the faculty member’s approach to teaching and mentoring).

Acquiring Final Grades:

In an effort to better utilize our technology resources, Kennesaw State University has instituted the reporting of end of term grades by phone. This is in addition to the web version of grades, which has been in effect for several terms. All current semester term students may call 770-420-4315 and select Option Number 4 to secure their end of term grades. With this new development, printed grade reports will not be mailed at the end of the term. Students needing verification of grades or enrollment should request either an official transcript or enrollment verification through the Office of the Registrar.

 

Academic Integrity Statement:

Every KSU student is responsible for upholding the provisions of the Student Code of Conduct, as published in the Undergraduate and Graduate Catalogs. Section II of the Student Code of Conduct addresses the policy of the University on academic honesty, including provisions regarding plagiarism and cheating, unauthorized access to University materials, misrepresentation/falsification of University records or academic work, malicious removal, retention, or destruction of library materials, malicious/intentional misuse of computer facilities and/or services, and misuse of student identification cards. Incidents of alleged academic misconduct will be handled through the established procedures of the University Judiciary Program, which includes either an informal resolution by a faculty member, resulting in a grade adjustment, or a formal hearing procedure, which may subject a student to the Code of Conduct’s minimum one semester suspension requirement.

 

Students are encouraged to study together and to work together on class assignments and lab exercises; however, the provisions of the STUDENT CONDUCT REGULATIONS, II. Academic Honesty, KSU Undergraduate Catalog will be strictly enforced in this class.

 

Frequently students will be provided with take-home exams or exercises. It is the responsibility of the student to ensure they fully understand to what extent they may collaborate or discuss content with other students. No exam work may be performed with the assistance of others or outside material unless specifically instructed as permissible. If an exam or assignment is designated no outside assistance this includes, but is not limited to, peers, books, publications, the Internet and the WWW. If a student is instructed to provide citations for sources, proper use of citation support is expected. Additional information can be found at the following locations. 

 

http://www.apa.org/journals/webref.html

http://www.lib.duke.edu/libguide/citing.htm

http://bailiwick.lib.uiowa.edu/journalism/cite.html

http://www.cas.usf.edu/english/walker/papers/copyright/ipdummie.html

http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/wts/plagiarism.html
http://plagiarism.phys.virginia.edu/links.html
http://www.arts.ubc.ca/doa/plagiarism.htm
http://alexia.lis.uiuc.edu/%7ejanicke/plagiary.htm
http://webster.commnet.edu/mla/plagiarism.htm
http://www.virtualsalt.com/antiplag.htm
http://www.engr.washington.edu/~tc231/course_info/plagiarism.html
http://quarles.unbc.edu/lsc/rpplagia.html

 

 

APA Documenting Examples:

All MSIS students are required to have a copy of the American Psychological Association (APA) Publication Manual, available in the KSU bookstore and elsewhere.

 

When any portion of another author’s work is used, whether it be from a course textbook or outside work, including the World Wide Web, in whole, in part, or paraphrased, that work must be cited. Proper citation formats are provided on the reverse of this document. Failure to do so can result in Academic Misconduct Proceedings.

Acceptable Reference Formats (from North and Blade, 1998 (see below) reprinted with permission)

 

There are two components to a proper citation: the text citation and the reference or endnote. The text citation will usually consist of the author or authors’ last name(s) and the year of the publication. The endnote citation will read as follows:

 

Books

Author. (Date). Book title. City: Publisher.

 

A reference for a single-author book:

 

North, M. M. (1996). Virtual reality technology. New York: Best Press.

 

A reference for a multi-author book:

 

North, M. M. & Blade, R. A. (1998). How to build skills for research. Colorado Springs: IPO Press.

**Also note that references in APA format use hanging indent and should be double-spaced.**

 

Journals

Author. (Date). Article title. Journal Title. Volume (Issue), pages.

 

Journal Reference

 

Kelly, F. G. (1997). Networking made efficient. Journal of Computer Networking. 45 (3), 54-61.

 

(Here is an article in Volume 45, Issue 3, spanning pages 54-61)

 

Conference Proceeding

 

Conference proceedings follow the same general format as journal references but also include the conference location (in the following example, Nice, France).

 

Vanner, F. D. (1996). A survey of medical issues using virtual reality. Proceedings of the Virtual Reality Medical Technology. 119-132. Nice, France.

World Wide Web (from http://www.apa.org/books/pubmant.html):

 

Entire site no specific page

 

Kidspsych is a wonderful interactive Web site for children (http://www.kidspsych.org).

 

No reference entry is needed.

 

 

Citing Specific Documents on a Web Site:

 

American Psychological Association. (1995, September 15). APA public policy action alert: Legislation would affect grant recipients [Announcement]. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved January 25, 1996, from the World Wide Web: http://www.apa.org/ppo/istook.html

An independent document (no author identified): 1