Research Paper
(These instructions are also attached here as a Word document)
This assignment has two goals: 1) have students increase their understanding of the
concept of Protecting Personal Information (PPI) and other ethical issues related to the
use of information technology through research, and 2) learn to correctly use the tools
and techniques within Word to format a research paper including using Word’s citation
tools. These skills will be valuable throughout students’ academic career. The paper will
require a title page, 2-3 pages of content with incorporation of a minimum of 3 external
resources from credible sources, and a References page.
You are required to use APA format and utilize the References feature in Word for
the required footnotes and for the creation of citations and the References list.
Note that although MS Word used Bibliography or Works Cited as the title for the
References list, you will need to change the words to “References.”
Good resources include the UMUC Library website, the chapters on Microsoft Word in
your hands-on textbook, the Williams/Sawyer textbook, and the resources that can be
found under Course Content in your WebTycho classroom: Writing Resources, the Online
Guide to Writing and Research, and the APA Tutorial.
A list of topics from which students can choose is provided below.
Topics for Research Paper
1. Personally Identifiable Information (PII)
2. Social Engineering
3. Employee Monitoring
4. Content Filtering
5. Information Privacy
6. Electronic Medical Records
7. Biometrics (in terms of ethical and privacy issues)
8. Identity Theft
9. Use of Cookies
10. Privacy Laws related to Information Technology use
11. Intellectual Property Rights; Copyright
If there is another topic related to Ethics that you would really like to explore, please
check with me for approval first.
Points
Allocated
Requirement
Create a Word document. Save this
document as “LastName-Research”
(e.g. Smith-Research).
Paper should be double-spaced, 1”
margins, Times New Roman 12 point
type
Deliverable does not exceed 3 -4
typed, double-spaced
Title Page (Page 1) which shows title
and author's (student's) name. Start
your paper content on page 2.
At least three (3) APA formatted intext citations.
You are required to use the
References feature in Word for
your citations and Reference List.
It is important to review the final
format for APA-style correctness
even if generated by Word.
Correct APA format for citations.
At least two (2) informational
footnotes. These cannot be simply
citations or sources that would be in
your References.
(Note: APA Style does not use
footnotes; however the style does
allow for the incorporation of
informational footnotes)
Reference Page using APA format for
references
0.5
Comments
This is the font in normal
paragraphs. Heading and title
fonts may be a larger size.
0.5
Charts and other graphical
information are not included in the
page count. Title page and
References page are not included
in page count.
Title must be appropriate for
content
1.5
These can be anywhere in the
document, but the citations must
be relevant to what is being
referenced and use the APA
format.
0.5
0.25
1.0
1.0
These can be anywhere in the
document, but the informational
footnotes must be relevant to the
associated text. The purpose of
this requirement is to effectively
incorporate the information and
demonstrate that you can use the
MS Word footnoting functionality.
All works listed must be
incorporated within the writing of
Points
Allocated
Comments
Requirement
You are required to use the
References feature in Word for
your citations and Reference List.
It is important to review the final
format for APA-style correctness
even if generated by Word.
Correct APA format for References
list
Describe the topic and ethical issue as
it relates to the use of Information
Technology
Discuss the trends, ways individuals
and/or organizations are impacted by
the issue or working to prevent the
impact.
Paper must be well-organized, clearly
written in a style appropriate for
college level work.
Paper should be grammatically correct
and contain no spelling errors.
your paper as specified in APA
style
0.25
2
2
1
Although you should use the
SpellCheck and Grammar Check
function in Word, this will not
catch all errors – you are
ultimately responsible for
proofreading.
1.5
TOTAL:
12