Research Report Topic

Assignment Overview

• You must define a problem. This must be a real problem that currently exists and for which there has been no solution applied. It might be a problem at work, at UHD, at your church or volunteer group. The problem might be lack of proper equipment, such as an inadequate telephone system, to perform certain tasks. The problems might be lack of food services in some buildings at your work place or at UHD. The problem might be lack of child care at work or at school.
• This problem must be a real problem being faced by a real existing organization. You will take on the role of an employee of the organization, and you will be reporting to the person responsible for solving the problem you have identified. Ideally, this will be a real person who actually works for the organization you have identified. You must identify that person, real or fictional, and you will write your report for that person.
• You must propose at least one potential solution to the problem. You can propose more than one potential solution, and your study will determine which solution will provide the “best” solution to the problem.
• Your study and report will not be about the problem you have identified. Your study and report will be about your proposed solution(s). The problem can be explained in your report in two or three paragraphs (with appropriate documentation) as a valid problem. After that, your report will concentrate on the analysis of your proposed solution(s) to determine if the solution proposed is likely to be feasible and will realistically solve the problem.
• Be aware that this assignment is not a typical college term paper. You will be expected to collect real information to determine if your proposed solution will likely work or not. That may mean you will be expected to try out your proposed solution. Also please understand that negative results are just as valuable as positive results.

For the Topic Selection Assignment, please consider the following:

• You must identify the organization and the location where you are considering its application. Identify the location by its street address.
• You must identify the person and person’s position / title for whom you will be writing the report. Ideally, this is a real person who works for the organization.
• If you are evaluating more than one potential solution, describe the criteria for evaluating the best solution. If you are evaluating only one potential solution, describe the criteria you will use to determine if the proposed solution will solve the problem.
• If applicable and appropriate, consider using a questionnaire as a method of gathering real statistical information.
• You should do enough preliminary research to determine if you can obtain the information necessary to complete a study on the proposed topic.

The Assignment

• Write a descriptive title for your research study report. A descriptive title means that the reader should be able to tell what is contained in the report by reading the title.
• Identify the organization and location.
• Identify the person to whom you will be submitting the final report. Ideally, this is a real person who works for the organization you named.
• Define the problem and the organization for which you are proposing at least one potential solution.
• Describe your proposed solution(s).
• List the criteria you will use for evaluating the proposed solutions. How will you decide if the proposed solution will solve the problem?
• If you are planning to use a questionnaire, include a draft of the questionnaire with your topic.
• Provide a preliminary Reference page (APA) or a Works Cited page (MLA) listing at least three creditable sources you expect to use while researching your topic.These are preliminary sources only.You may or may not choose to use them.