The purposes of this assignment are to a) help you effectively use research resources through library data bases and search engines to complete course requirements; b) improve your critical thinking skills; and c) develop your effectiveness in writing about topics relevant to course objectives and healthcare information systems. The paper explores, in greater detail than the required readings and class discussion, any healthcare information system topic identified in the course text or syllabus. Your job is to select a current issue in healthcare information systems, provide the necessary background and your position, along with a conclusion and future direction. I encourage you to select a subject in which you have interest and approach this assignment as a potential publishable work.

Read the syllabus and skim the text to locate a topic you would like to research and write about.
Your final paper is 15 pages double-spaced (excluding the executive summary, footnotes and references) with a 10 or 12 point font. Tables, graphics, and diagrams must be placed in the paper as attachments. They do not count in the page length. There is no set organizational format for the paper but your work should include, at a minimum, the following:

• Executive summary (1 page)

• Background/Introduction

• Statement and analysis of the issue / case (including your analysis of the sources of the problem, stakeholders, etc...)

• Position (a clear statement of what your position on the issue)

• Support for your position along with anticipated obstacles, stakeholders, and facilitating factors (designed to persuade the reader to your thesis and drawn from evidence and the literature)

• Conclusion and future direction

• References

While there is seldom a "right" or "wrong" position in a given paper, students are expected to clearly and articulately support their argument using course and external materials. It is very important that you include not only background on the selected issue, but your specific assessment, recommendations, ideas, and suggestions. It is your original analysis, grounded in the class material and peer-reviewed publications , that is the hallmark of solid graduate level social science writing and will serve as the main basis for your grade. Select credible information/data and use (and cite) your research in support of a persuasive stance on the topic. Edit and proofread your written work to ensure correct grammar, spelling, word choice, and sentence clarity.