This course is designed to give undergraduate students the opportunity to improve their professional skills in the areas of reading and critiquing the IS literature, preparing written reviews of journal articles, making presentations, and interacting collaboratively. The content areas for this work will relate to the broad topical areas that encompass the field of information systems that you may already have encountered in your undergraduate study in other courses in the program or that you will encounter in the future. There is no assigned textbook for this course. The content will come from the IS literature. That is the reason that the title of the course includes Research Seminar.

This is a process oriented seminar specifically designed for undergraduates. Throughout the semester, students will write and submit review essays on approved journal articles that will be read by the instructor and returned with comments for improvement, as needed. Students will also share their work with their classmates by presenting PowerPoint reports of their essays within the context of a seminar discussion. Some classes may involve reading and discussing together a designated article from the literature.

Content mastery of an area is to be understood as a by-product of mastering the process of scholarship. Since students will be sharing their knowledge with each other over the semester, this sharing of information will provide the occasion for all students to become familiar with several areas in the field of information systems.

On occasion, the class may meet in the library or in another location to learn about accessing information. There will also be guest lectures by experts in the field of information technology.

Students in this seminar will be given instruction on how to seek information in the IS literature, how to write reviews of journal articles, and how to make effective presentations. The course is designed so that all students come away from the the course with enhanced professional skills, irrespective of your level of skill at the beginning of the course. The seminar will provide a safe and supportive context for you to practice your repertoire of writing, speaking, and working in teams. These skills will be invaluable to you as an IS professional or future graduate student in information systems.

In addition to these general course guidelines, the format of classes will sometimes involve collaborative peer interactions. During these interteaching sessions, students will be paired to discuss questions that pertain to a journal article designated to be read prior to the class. Answers to the questions may be submitted by each pair of students at the end of the class. Some sections may have quizzes based on the interteaching questions. Other collaborative sessions will involve discussions of a journal article by groups of three or four students and writing reflective comments as a team.

Throughout the course, a numerical score will be associated with each deliverable and class participation assignment. Final letter grades will be determined by conventional percentages: 90 - 100 = A, 80 - 89 = B, etc. Attaching numbers to a written document is an art, not a science. The numerical grades are based upon the instructor's collective experience. Because of the number of deliverables in this course, it is not difficult to move beyond a few low grades. However, all students should aim to do their best work on all assignments.

Regular and punctual class attendance is mandatory. The first few classes will provide information that will be essential to your success in the course. Your enrollment and participation in this course indicate your understanding and acceptance of the structure and policies of this course.

The above information presents a general overview of the course. The requirements for a specific section of the course may differ somewhat from these guidelines, but the general framework will remain the same as presented here.

Please contact the instructor for additional information.

E-mail: Henry Emurian

Instructor's Web Site

Here is the syllabus from an earlier section of IS 369: Example Syllabus