the main objective of the research paper is to analyze a project or a research question of your choosing using as many of the concepts of this course as possible. Ideally you will cover cost and schedule estimation and management, risks, quality, ethics, and contracts. Then, you are to provide recommendations as if you were the project manager.

The goals of the paper are for students to:

1. Select a topic relevant to this course and acquire the appropriate research and data about the topic.
2. Apply the concepts, tools, and techniques of the course to your project or research question
3. Analyze the research
4. Make interesting and useful recommendations.

The topic or subject of the paper must be one that is covered in the course lectures. For example, if you work for an entertainment company you might want to focus your research on cost and schedule management for a film budget. If your company can provide data on their cost and schedule management all the better. Questions you might ask are: What are the major cost and schedule risks in film budgeting? How are those risks mitigated at your company? How do you monitor the risks? What are the environmental factors that impact your budget and schedule? How can these environmental factors be controlled?

You may not be able to find answers to all your questions, so one or two may be sufficient. You may also do a literature review where you may find supporting research on cost and schedule management in the entertainment industry. However, it is strongly recommended that you pick a topic, organization or company you are familiar with so that you can ask for and obtain relevant data and information . Using a known organization also shortens the learning curve. Do not select a topic that is overwhelming – keep it simple and focused. We are available to assist you throughout the course in defining your topic.

At the end of this document you will find a list or resources along with possible topics that may help you generate your own ideas for resources and research topics. There are thousands of topics you could choose from but you only need to select one that is relevant to the course but also your professional interests.

2.Content and Format

Length:

The length of the paper should be approximately 10 double-spaced pages. The title page, abstract, references, and appendices do not count in the 10 pages, so you are encouraged to add supporting graphics and data in the appendices.

Use Microsoft Word for your paper, 12-point font, and number the pages.

Appendices should immediately follow the body of the document. All charts, graphics, and tables included in the appendices or in the body of the document should be appropriately referenced. A References section should be at the end of your document following your appendices. You are encouraged to focus on academic references.

You may include as many appendices as you like. The appendices may contain figures, charts, graphs, tables, and data, and these should not include much text beyond that necessary to explain the figure, or to provide a title or reference for the figure. These can be in any format that you find convenient.

Format:

This is a research paper. The paper should follow the APA Research Paper. Proper attribution is required for all sources, and citation & references must be in APA format. Sample APA format documents are available at Blackboard. On the other hand, if you want to format your paper slightly differently, e.g., numbering the sections, which is not strictly APA-aligned, that will be acceptable as well. However, ensure that you include a title page, an abstract, the body of the paper, appendices, and references in that order.

We expect a detailed analysis, supported by charts and graphs. We recommend that you put the textual analysis in the paper and place as much data as possible in Appendixes, which can be referred to in the text. You are encouraged to place in the body of the paper any important charts, graphs, and tables (or relevant pieces of them) that are needed to emphasize a point or to back up the conclusions and recommendations.

Avoid the temptation to write too much about the project’s description. Assume the audience knows about the project and is primarily interested in your analysis.

Recommendations:

There must be a final recommendations section. Recommendations should be based on your research and analysis. This is a research paper, so the recommendations should be supported by research.