Capstone Project (IS 699)
Overview & Schedule

      Kindly send the instructor an email if you spot a problem or error in this Overview or anywhere on the Bb site. General questions and inquiries about the course are welcome, and you may visit the instructor's web site.

      Whenever you contact the instructor by email and ask for a response, please use an email message and subject line separate from sending your deliverables. The reason is that your deliverables are entered into a queue for reading, but the instructor will answer other email inquiries right away, typically within a few hours. If you don't receive a response to your general email inquiries, please try again. Receipt of submitted deliverables is not acknowledged, but all other email will be answered promptly. Your submitted deliverable will typically be returned by email within two or three days. If you do not have your deliverable returned within that time, feel free to contact the instructor.

      Students are responsible for all information posted on the Bb site. You are also responsible for any update or modification that may be communicated by an Announcement on Bb or by an email to your UMBC account on record. You should plan to visit the course site several times each week.

       The Capstone course offers you the opportunity to investigate a topic of your choice. It introduces you to the process of research, project development, or other creative activity that is intended to enhance your knowledge and skills that will be useful in many academic and work environments. The course is intended to help you gain confidence in your ability to seek out and use information related to an area of your interest or to respond to managerial and organizational challenges by creatively proposing and evaluating technical innovations that further an organization's objectives.

      The Capstone is intended to complete your Information Systems Master's Degree by providing a different experience that builds on the knowledge that you acquired through the courses. To complete the Capstone, you need to demonstrate that you can investigate a topic in information systems on your own and prepare a written document of your work. The "project" may have a practical orientation or it may be a research investigation into a topic of interest. The process requires you to go beyond the bounded learning experiences that have formed the basis of your Master's program so far and to demonstrate an in-depth mastery of a topic through guided and structured independent study.

      There is a wide range of acceptable work that will satisfy the Capstone, and the topic and work involved may be negotiated with the course instructor. It is a level of effort endeavor. Thus, a three credit Capstone project should require perhaps ten hours of work per week, on the average. This work will include seeking out information, analyzing what you have read, and assembling material into a completed written document. There is no fixed length requirement for your final document because the excellence of an intellectual product can not be measured in pages. Most graduate papers, however, are perhaps 20 - 30 pages in length, and a project investigation could be much longer. Examine the example papers and projects in the Course Documents folder to see what has been found acceptable in the past.

     It is important for you to work on a topic that interests you personally and perhaps has professional returns. The best work happens when you are interested in what you are doing. All papers prepared by graduate students should aim for a publishable quality document or a professional document deserving dissemination within an organization. Aim for excellence and expect it, and allow the process to take you there.

      The schedule here pertains to three-credit students. If you are expecting to study a one, two, or four credit version of the Capstone, make sure that you notify the course instructor. The course instructor will discuss the requirements with you for credit hours other than three. The practice in the past has been to reduce the number of reviews and abstracts required by two-credit students, and to increase the number of reviews required by four-credit students. It is, however, to everyone's advantage to aim for improving your level of professional competency without being preoccupied with counting credits and the number of hours that you may be working on your project.

      There are several aims of your work. The primary aim is to give you the experience of independent research and development work in which you will investigate a topic in depth. A related aim is for you to bring together competencies developed from studying earlier courses and to extend and build on those skills and that knowledge through independent study. Some students may intend to submit their work for publication in a research journal or for a conference presentation. Other students may work on a project that is to be circulated within their organization. In your writing, you should always aim to produce a publishable or professional piece of work, and sometimes students have had their papers published in journals. Your UMBC Capstone instructor will be able to advise you on the feasibility of doing this.

      A Capstone project should demonstrate a deeper mastery of skills and concepts than lower level courses. By the time you have completed the Capstone project, you should be an expert in your chosen area of investigation. You will have a Capstone instructor with whom you will identify key readings for your chosen topic. Most students will not need to acquire books, and instead they will work from journal papers, technical reports and documents, and articles in conference proceedings. Students will be guided, as needed, by their instructor to find references on which to base their work. The exact number and nature of reference sources will depend on the topic of study. In the case of highly practical projects, the number of references may be few, and the student may focus on acquiring, evaluating, and demonstrating new techniques. For other projects, the number of references may exceed 10, but on average we expect students to read 10-20 articles or other sources of information. Examine the reference lists in the example papers.

      It is to be understood, then, that some projects may not have many references, and that is acceptable. A Capstone project is a "level of effort." It is the quality of the work that is important. For a purely research paper, however, the example papers posted show what you are expected to produce. There is also one example of a technical-managerial analysis of a topic.

      The opening weeks of the course will require you to submit reviews of material that you have found and had approved by the instructor for your review. These reviews will be part of the process of moving your project to completion. As the work progresses, the deliverables will change to brief abstracts of articles, progress reports, diaries of activity, and outlines of your work. Later, a draft of your final project will be submitted. There are also examples of draft papers in the Course Documents folder. Trust the process.


      You are required to produce several deliverables during the semester. In the below presentation, the word "during" means no later than the date that will be posted on the Task Tool or the Discussion Board for each deliverable as the course progresses. The default medium below is to post your deliverable, as an attachment unless otherwise indicated, on the Discussion Board for all to see, and the instructor requests that you submit each deliverable as a Word document by email. The deliverables will be labeled D1, D2, etc. generally corresponding to the week during which the deliverable will be due. There may not, however, be a perfect mapping between the "D" number and the week number, and that will depend on adjustments made to the schedule during the course.
  1. During Week 1, post your topic idea and description on the Discussion Board. The instructor will approve your topic or give suggestions on another topic more suitable for this course. The topic first selected is not binding. As you investigate a topic, you may find your direction changing. This is acceptable, and notify the instructor that you are changing direction. Technically oriented projects should at least cover the organizational and managerial impact of the analyses in keeping with the focus of this online program. Take advantage of the postings. Read your colleagues' postings, and feel free to comment and ask questions about what you read. An exchange of ideas can be helpful.


  2. During Weeks 2 - 7, a review of an article or an evaluative review of other material should be posted on the Discussion Board. Hereafter, the term article will be used to apply to all material that you might select to read. Guidelines for preparing a journal article review are posted in the Course Documents folder, and these guidelines are generally to be followed for other material as well. This writing will eventually be used to form your final paper, if your project is a research paper. If you did not read a journal article, you should write critically about the information that you sought, discovered,  read, and evaluated. An example of this latter material might be a potential technical solution to accomplish an organization's objective. If your search for information was not productive, report what you did and give plans for changing your tactics or topic.


  3. During Week 8, submit an abstract of an article or related material. Examples of abstracts are posted in the Course Documents folder.


  4. During Week 9, submit an abstract of an article and an outline of your paper or project. Examples of outlines are presented in the Course Documents folder.


  5. During Weeks 10 - 11, submit an abstract of an article each week. At this point, you should be starting to put together your paper or project. Report progress and problems, if any.


  6. During Week 12, submit a draft of your paper or project. Examples of drafts are posted in the Course Documents folder.


  7. During Weeks 13 - 14, post your activity each week on the Discussion Board. You should be polishing your paper during this time.


  8. The paper or project is due during Week 15. Examples of final documents are posted in the Course Documents folder.
      Your Capstone instructor or assistant will comment on the deliverables. The purpose of these deliverables is to involve you in a process of scholarship or other creative activity. The schedule is not necessarily binding. The instructor may adjust the type and frequency of deliverables according to the pace of the course.

      The instructor is not able to offer the opportunity to revise your deliverables or to submit work for extra credit. The course is designed so that there is ample opportunity to improve your later work without being compromised by the initial scores. It is important, however, to understand that the Capstone project requires critical analysis and reflection. You should examine the Review Guidelines carefully and aim to craft your deliverables according to them, whenever they apply to your reading or activity. It will be very rare that your weekly work will not set the occasion for a critical or evaluative analysis.
        In general, the structure of your final paper or project is given below, and it is recommended to be written in American Psychological Association (APA) style. The reason is that doctoral dissertations and master's theses are written in that format. The APA format is available in the Writing Resources folder. Also, be sure to examine the examples of papers and projects that are presented in the Course Documents folder. There are examples of  journal article reviews there as well. The APA format is not required, however. If you want to use another format for your writing, check with the course instructor. It is substance, not document style, that counts.

Title: Give your project a descriptive title.
 
Abstract: The abstract should provide a concise overview of the aims of the paper and your conclusions. Your abstract should enable a reader to decide whether or not the paper is relevant to his or her interests and, therefore, whether it is worth reading the complete paper.
 
Keywords: List up to 5 keywords or terms that help to define what your project is about. Keywords are used for classifying and cataloging papers.

Table of Contents:
 
Introduction: The introduction should set the scene for the paper that follows. You should say why the topic is important and should be studied. Introductions vary in length; most, however, are perhaps a page in length. Examine the example papers for ideas.
 
Discussion themes: This is the main body of your paper. You must sub-divide this part with additional headings to improve the readability of the paper. Since the headings and number of them will differ between topics, we cannot provide precise guidance. But your capstone projector instructor will give you feedback. Most students will probably have  4 - 6 key themes.

Conclusions: This should be perhaps a page in length. It should succinctly summarize the key points and conclusions from your discussion and indicate areas that would benefit from future research.

Acknowledgments: You should acknowledge those who have helped you, stating briefly what they contributed to your work.

References: References should be presented in American Psychological Association (APA) format.

          This format is not fixed. The format of your paper or project will depend upon the nature of the work and the disciplines that you identify with. See the examples in the Course Documents folder. Ask the instructor if you would like to depart from this general format.
      There will be a numerical grade for each deliverable. The review deliverables posted on the Discussion Board will be worth 25 points, and the abstracts will be worth 10 points. The outline will be worth 10 points. The paper draft will be worth 75 points, and the final paper will be worth 200 points. These point values are somewhat arbitrary, and they may be adjusted according to the pace of the course and the credit hours. It is assumed that all students at this stage are professionals who are motivated to achieve excellence in independent creative work rather than being preoccupied with counting points. The Capstone project is an avenue for you to achieve and demonstrate that excellence in an area of your choice.

      You are expected to present coherent, well planned work that is grammatically correct, given your ability at the present time. It is understood that students using English as a second language will not always be able to do that. This is not a problem for you to worry about. Put your energy on the excellence of your ideas. There is assistance available to polish a paper that may need tuning for publication or dissemination.

      Some instructors will advise you to write the abstract of a paper first. In my professional writing, however, I always write the abstract last, and I find that the introduction and conclusion will evolve as I read more articles. I have posted in the Discussion Folder the iterations that I wrote in the preparation of a journal article, having been reviewed, revised, and finally accepted. Compare the first and the last iterations, and you will see, hopefully, how things changed. Writing is an iterative process, and it is never finished. If you find research and writing to be difficult, that is the correct feeling to have.

      Please understand that assigning numbers to a professional product is an art, not a science. Numerical grades are based upon the collective experience of the instructor, and they are not negotiable. Your participation in this course indicates your acceptance of this model. The above guidelines are obviously general. You should spend the time necessary to achieve excellence on all aspects of your work without regard to numerical weights. At this point in your development, you are working as a professional colleague with your fellow students and your Capstone instructor.
Grades

      Letter grades in the course are typically based on total points earned:

A = 89.5% - 100%
B = 79.5% - 89.4%
C = 69.5% - 79.4%

      These grading criteria assume that you have participated in this process oriented course by submitting your deliverables on time. Final letter grades will be reduced, at the discretion of the instructor, for students who are frequently behind schedule in their deliverables or who submit several deliverables at once. It is at the discretion of the instructor not to accept late deliverables. Any student who has need to be late for a particular deliverable should send an email of explanation to the instructor.

      It is at the discretion of the instructor, then, to post a letter grade that may not always correspond with the numerical categories, although such a grade will never be arbitrary or capricious. Under such conditions, the professional judgment of the instructor regarding the quality of the final project will determine a grade. It is at the discretion of the instructor to make this adjustment in a final letter grade, irrespective of points earned. All serious students, however, will have no problem completing the capstone sucessfully.

      Your participation in this course indicates that you accept this policy.

     Routine incompletes are not an option in this course. The only circumstances that will justify even a consideration of an incomplete is a documented medical or family emergency close to the end of the course. Whether or not to award an incomplete is the instructor's decision. If you anticipate not having sufficient time to take this course now, you should postpone your enrollment until another semester. The academic demands of the Capstone course will remain constant for everyone.

Acknowledgement of the Capstone Project

      Your Capstone project may lead to a journal publication, conference presentation, or other form of public or proprietary dissemination. Under those circumstances, it is customary for you to include an acknowledgement, such as the following: This paper is based upon a Capstone project completed in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the online MS degree in Information Systems, UMBC.

Academic Integrity

          Be very careful about academic integrity . Never copy another author's sentences exactly, unless you use quotes. The Capstone project is an opportunity for you to become an expert in an area and to practice writing your own sentences and ideas. You should view this process as an enhancement of your professional knowledge and value. Read this statement about academic integrity .

          Maintain a dialog with the Capstone instructor as needed to insure that you are on the right track.

      Students need models and examples so that they will know when they are on the right track to reach an objective. It is to be understood, then,  that your deliverables in the course may be posted anonymously as examples of completed work in this course. You are the author and owner of your work, however, and no one else may use your work without explicit permission.        

Email Etiquette

         Email will be the primary medium of our relationship. Because of the amount of email we all have to deal with, my strategy is not to acknowledge information emails with a return "Thanks" or something like that. If you want to make certain that your email was received, use a return receipt or explicitly request a reply. Also, I will dispense with salutations and signing my name at the end. For example, when I return a deliverable, typically I will write "Attached here" in the body of the email to you. This will seem rude to some people at first, but if we all practice this to reduce the time for typing and reading email, it is to our advantage. I do, however, need to be able to identify who you are. If you don't have a signature file, probably you should give your name in the email. These suggestions also apply to your email to me.
  • Lessons Learned
    • Presented here are invited and anonymous comments made by students who have completed this course.
  • Review Guidelines
    • Presented here are the guidelines that students follow to write a review of a journal article or other approved material.