Final Project and Paper Overview
Final Project and Paper Overview
MACS265: INNOVATION ILLINOIS
Presentation Due: Monday, December 4, 12:00 pm. Email slides to MACS265TeachingTeam@gmail.com)
Presentation Day: Tuesday, December 5 (last day of class)
Paper Due: Monday, December 12, by 9:00 a.m. (Email to MACS265TeachingTeam@gmail.com
Workflow:
- Late September/early October - Your project is born – begin formulating and planning
- October/early November – Class survey design; conduct your interviews
- Mid-late November/early December - Compile your research and draft your slides/paper
- Early December - Get feedback on your drafts, present, make final edits
Description:
Students will develop a research project that explores innovation’s connection to new mechanisms/accommodations for student and campus safety, and survey innovation practices across UIUC’s campus in relation to safety themes. In class, students will develop a survey that gathers feedback on what inspires, supports and fosters safety in innovation practices in diverse settings across the campus – and will gather resources from archives to develop insights on relevant past innovation practices, attending to safety, security, or sanctuary as related themes.
All projects will incorporate materials/draw analysis from the University Archives, coverage from news sources (e.g. The Daily Illini and/or other Illinois news resources), online data, and data from an interview conducted with a campus expert/contact/leader from UIUC’s past or present. Interviewees can include:
- A relevant leader/contact from a key campus organization (including those covered in class, such as DRES or the BSA)
- A representative/contact from any of our site visits: a DRES coach, a University and Student Life Archivist, an Alice Campbell Hall Exhibit Curator, etc.
- A contact from a key report or document found in the archives (who might have been part of a student or campus organization)
- A contact from a key report or document from an organization relevant to your topic area
- A contact from a contemporary campus actor who represents “innovation” practice related to your topic
- Others, just check with us!
Students will also design an outreach and communications strategy for the survey we’ll design together in class as part of your project. This should map a multi-pronged plan that can gather 10 or more individual responses for the survey. Your outreach plan should be included with your final paper’s submission as an appendix.
Students will write a research paper (8-10 pages, double-spaced, 12-point font, 1-inch margins) that summarizes insights from the survey process and results from your research. Papers should draw on readings from the syllabus and resources from the class and assignments to put your findings in dialogue with past innovation practices, and any other appropriate secondary resources. (ie. Wikipedia doesn’t count, although: feel free to use it to find secondary resources)
Final papers should present a bibliography of sources, properly incorporated and cited (in a citation style of your choosing; for information on citation, see Purdue OWL). Include 2 sources/readings from the class syllabus. You should also include at least 2 additional secondary sources, and at least 2 additional primary sources (ie. materials from the archives, photos, external reports, etc).
Students will prepare a visual presentation (8 minutes, with time for questions) of their project work at the end of the semester. Standard PowerPoint or Keynote slides are great. If you’re inclined toward other multimedia formats, you may create something alternative with instructor approval (examples include: videos, podcasts, apps, etc.).
Paper Checklist:
_____ 8-10 written pages* (double-spaced, 12-point Time New Roman, 1-inch margins)
_____ Integration of your interview
_____ Integration of survey data
_____ Your own data visualization (i.e. from Excel)
_____ Reference at least two readings/texts/films/etc. from class (either primary or secondary)
_____ Reference at least two additional primary sources (e.g. archival texts, photos, etc.)
_____ Reference at least two additional secondary sources (e.g. articles or books)
_____ Bibliography (citing primary and secondary sources, our class Survey, your interview with date)
_____ Consent form for your interview (attached at the end as an appendix)*
_____ Original 1-page transcription of your interview (attached at the end as an appendix)*
* keep in mind: your paper should include 8-10 pages of written analysis. Images, bibliographies, and outreach plans do not count towards paper length.
Presentation Checklist:
_____ Presentation of 8 minutes (approximately 5-10 slides for a slideshow or multimedia format w/ prior instructor approval).
_____ Your own data visualizations for the survey (i.e. from Excel, or Word Cloud tool like https://tagcrowd.com/ or Voyant)
_____ Representation of your interview (i.e. key quotes)
_____ Representation of visual materials from the archives or other historical sources