Types of Final Projects

Your project needs to be one of the following types:

Thesis:

Typically, a thesis involves the empirical test of a hypothesis or idea; the historical examination of a set of ideas, practices or institutions; the analysis of the philosophical basis for certain practices or beliefs; or the examination of a topic from a particular analytical perspective. You must develop a methodological approach to undertake the type of research required for your topic. The thesis option typically involves research in particular source materials or use of specific empirical techniques appropriate for the topic of your thesis.

Position Paper:

This particular option differs from the others in that it is more clearly change and advocacy based. It is an opportunity to make a persuasive argument, supported by good research, about what should happen and how it should be implemented. Although this form of Final Project is change oriented, it still requires significant thought and research. Your position must be supported with research, grounded in a theoretical framework, and provide intelligent responses to opposing arguments. If you are interested in applying your knowledge to a specific situation that may need change or a new policy, then this option may be an appropriate way to bring together your interests and the goals of the program. The challenge in preparing a position paper involves presenting your position or policy and the arguments against your position in such a way that you convince the reader of the validity of your point of view without making a mockery of the arguments against yourself.

Case Study:

A case study can take several forms:

• the application of a theory or set of ideas to a specific institution or event;
• the close examination of a particular program, project or organization in order to draw conclusions relevant to similar situations; or
• the evaluation of a special methodology for research.

A major reason to take this approach to a research project is an interest in using a set of theories to understand some policy development, a curiosity about the issues and the central dynamics of a specific situation, or a fascination with various research tools and their applicability to your topic. This option can be especially useful in learning about the relationship between policies and their effect on the applicability of a theory, the operation of an organization or the usefulness of a methodology. This way of approaching a final project requires that you use primary materials, develop a coherent and consistent perspective, and draw conclusions with care. First, in planning to do a case study, you need to consider the availability of original documents to examine, appropriate persons to interview or question, and the accessibility of the site of the particular program, event or organization for a visit. Second, you need to develop a specific perspective to use in conducting your research. Since the amount of detail can become overwhelming, it is particularly important to select this point of view early in your work and organize your investigation accordingly. Third, in completing the project, you need to be extremely careful to draw only those conclusions that can be supported by the results of your research and can be placed within a particular theory. Conducting a case study may involve research in a variety of primary source materials including interviews, observations or questionnaires wherever possible and a paper in which you both analyze the results of that investigation and draw conclusions relevant to similar situations.

Collection of Related Papers:

Preparing a collection of related papers as a final project provides an opportunity to bring several perspectives or methodologies to a topic of your interest. Once you have determined an area of interest, you can, for example, develop a modest thesis, a modest case study and a modest position paper on that topic so that you can address the issues from those perspectives. Alternatively, if you want to examine a topic from both theoretical and practical points of view, you might develop two papers reflecting those approaches. A third option might involve a series of four papers on aspects of a particular problem or issue of concern. There are many ways to consider developing a collection of related papers; early conversations with your academic advisor may help you consider the best approach. A collection of related papers can be as few as two and as many as four. They must meet the following three criteria:

• each paper must be self-contained, of near publication quality, grounded in adequate research, and provide a coherent development of an idea or argument;
• the collection of papers must focus, coherently, around a common topic; and
• the collection of papers must be accompanied by an explanation of their coherence as a set of papers.

Practicum:

A practicum must be a learning opportunity where you develop skills and practical insights related to the development, analysis, implementation or evaluation of policy/work. It involves considerable work in a specific site or in a fieldwork setting where you can try out the ideas you have developed in this program or examine their applicability to specific situations or theories. A practicum is a very effective way to expand your education and provide an exciting and challenging culminating experience. It also allows you to use your course work and gain experience in actual field settings. It involves:

• approximately 240 hours of work in the practicum during the term (or approximately 16 hours of involvement a week for the duration of a 15 week term);
• reading and research during the term to provide theoretical insights and a broader context for the work that you will be doing;
• a log or journal of your activities and the insights gathered during the experience; and
• some field site supervision by an appropriate professional, or observations of the nature and quality of the work that you do or the projects that you undertake during the practicum.

At the end of the practicum, your field supervisor will need to provide an evaluation of the work done in the practicum and you will prepare a reflection paper – a descriptive analysis of your experience. This paper is typically 20 to 40 pages long and completed after the practicum. In this paper you will:

• analyze the experience;
• describe what you learned from your involvement;
• discuss the policy issues or other issues/theories involved;
• draw appropriate conclusions from the readings and the experience; and
• assess the ways in which you met the goals described in your final project proposal.

Creative Project (Liberal Studies students only):

This option can effectively integrate your course work with an actual creative product. It involves:

• approximately 240 hours of work on your creative project (painting, writing, etc.) during the term (or approximately 16 hours of work a week for the duration of a 15 week term);
• reading and research during the term to provide theoretical insights and a broader context for the work that you will be doing;
• a log or journal of your activities and the insights gathered during the creative experience; and
• critiques and creative supervision by an appropriate professional.

An analytic essay is also required. This should be 20 to 40 pages long and in it you will:

• analyze the experience;
• discuss issues involved with your project;
• draw appropriate conclusions from the readings and the creative experience; and
• assess the way in which you met the goals described in your final project proposal.

The analytic essays of all creative projects will be uploaded to UMI, but students working in the performing or visual arts are expected to provide a public recital, performance, or showing of the creative portion of their final project in the place of UMI publication. This event should be in a public venue and announced at least four weeks in advance. A website can be considered a public venue for appropriate creative projects. A copy of the announcement should be included with the analytic essay.