Software Engineering
Project 4 - Research Paper Completion (and a start on the KCP&L Undergraduate Competition)
20 Points
Due: Nov. 11, 2013 at 11:59:59pm

Introduction:

Working professionals are often asked to prepare a short research paper. Research papers can serve different purposes, but one common use it to provide a comparison between different technologies, techniques, or policies as well as a recommendation.

Objectives:

Assignment Structure:

The research paper is split into four phases. You will complete the last of these phases for Project 4 based upon the guidelines and work completed for Project 3:

1. Revisions & Final Draft (Due Nov. 11, 15 points)

The final draft should include the title page, body, and references. It should follow all the paper format guidelines. Submit a hard copy to the instructor's mailbox on the due date, by midnight.  Additionally, submit the paper and references as part of a zipped document in the eCompanion Dropbox for Project 4. Submit two peer reviews of your paper, as well.  Integrate your examples from the previous project into your final paper.  Include diagrams and code as figures at the end of your paper after your references.

2. PowerPoint Slides (Due Nov. 11, 5 points)

In addition to the final draft, develop PowerPoint slides that you will present in class.  These slides should cover the content of your paper and should include examples.  Plan to create approximately 7 to 10 slides that will be presented in a period of 5 - 7 minutes.  These slides should include a title page, body, and references.  Note that the body of the slides should be 5 to 7 slides in length and should follow the paper format guidelines. Submit a the slides as part of a zipped document in the eCompanion Dropbox for Project 4.  Note that you will be required to present these slides at a later date in class.  Your participation in this presentation is mandatory, and you will be given a grade over your presentation.  You will also be required to critique the presentations of several other students.  Your score for this presentation will not be included in the points for this project.  Instead, it will be scored as Homework 3 and will be worth an additional 5 points.

Paper Format:

Required Materials: Title Page, Body, Bibliography

Title Page Contents:

Paper title (Centered on page)
Author (Centered below the title)

Citations: APA style (http://www.library.cornell.edu/resrch/citmanage/apa)
Length: 6-8 pages (not including title and bibliography)
Font: 12 point Times New Roman
Margins: 1 inch margins on all sides
Spacing: Double spaced
Header:

The page title should be in the middle of the header.
The page number should be on the right.
No footer necessary.

Resources:

For an overview of the process of writing a research paper see: http://www.bydewey.com/1steps.html

The Writing Center (http://catpages.nwmissouri.edu/m/WC/selfhelp.html) has self-help resources as you develop your paper.

The KCP&L Research Paper Competition

      This year, Kansas City Power and Light (KCP&L) is sponsoring a research paper competition with prize money.  The amounts have not been finalized for this year, but past year’s prizes totaled $1000 cash for first, second, third, and fourth places. The competition will be based on the research papers that were submitted in 44-411 (Systems Analysis and Design) and 44-561 (Software Engineering I).

Judging Procedures

  1. A panel of CS/IS faculty members will rank the submitted papers.  To reduce the chance of bias, the panel will receive papers without the names of the authors.
  2. The instructors for 44-411 and 44-561 will not participate in the judging, and the judges will not have access to the grades that were assigned to the papers.
  3. On Dec. 5, the authors of the top six papers will make a formal presentation of their research to representatives of KCP&L.
  4. The final rankings will be determined as follows:
    1. The evaluations of the papers by the faculty panel will count 50%
    2. The evaluations of the presentations by the KCP&L panel will count 50%
    3. Any ties will be broken by the KCP&L panel

Contest Entries
      Those who enter the contest have additional tasks.

  1. Submit three printed copies of your revised paper in which your names have been replaced with your 919 numbers.
  2. If your paper is selected for presentation, you must prepare, and practice, a 10-minute presentation based on your research.