INLS 210 (078) - ICTs, Organizations and Knowledge Management

Spring 2006

Course Project or Research Paper

Paper or project idea proposal due: February 21

A one-page description of your paper or project idea.

Class presentations of work: April 25 & 27

An in-class review and discussion of your paper or project. You may use presentation software, conduct a demonstration, or merely take a few minutes to discuss your work. Presentations should not exceed 15 minutes.

Final paper or project due:  May 9

Students will complete either a research paper or a project for the course. Students who choose the research paper option must work alone, but students who choose the project option may work with other students if they choose.

Option I. Research Paper

This option might be useful for students who may pursue their master's paper in the area of social informatics or organizational use of information communication technologies, or for students who are interested in the uses of technology in organizational settings. Students will start with a question or problem. For example, "Are there business applications for which iPods are suited?" or "Can PDAs be employed to facilitate technical services in libraries?" or "What is the most challenging knowledge management problem for IT departments in an organization and how can ICTs help them to manage it?"  or "How has increased use of cell phones affected social relationships?"  There are any number of such questions that may be of interest to you that are related to course content.

The goal of the research paper is not so much to answer the question as to review the literature and describe what others have found related to the topic. Why is this an important problem to address? What are the relevant theories that apply to the problem? What are the different aspects of the problem and what research has addressed each aspect? What conclusions can be drawn from the work others have done and what new questions are raised as a result? 

The research paper should be formatted and include references and bibliography according to the style manual of your choice. (My preference is APA format. It is also the easiest to use).  Be sure to edit your work carefully and cite sources when you quote directly or borrow the ideas of others. A good research paper should be approximately 20-30 pages in length, double-spaced.

Option II. Project

This option may be a group or an individual project. The purpose of the project is to allow students who have a greater interest in technology to pursue a practical application of course concepts.

Some examples of project ideas include:

• Designing an application for the Health Sciences Library collaboratory
• Designing a training program for people in an organization that takes advantage of ICT capability
• Capturing information through an ICT and using it to improve knowledge-sharing in an organization
• Developing a wiki for knowledge sharing in an organization

Any application that interests you or that may relate to other work you are may apply in addition to the ideas listed above.  If you choose the project option, then your "deliverable" on May 9 will depend upon the scope of the project and we will need to negotiate this after you submit your proposal. Your presentation should include a description of the project and why you chose it, what methodology you used to analyze the situation and implement the project, what obstacles you faced, and how the solution turned out.