Folio Recommendation: Papers/Reports

Prior to beginning work on the Final Project, you are encouraged to review the required reading materials. You will have two choices for your final project: a research paper or a mock service learning project. Regardless of your choice you will be uploading your project to Folio. You are also required to prepare a 5-minute video that summarizes and explains your project and will be shared to the Week 5 discussion board. Both the video and the paper are to be uploaded to your ePortfolio in Folio, that you previously set up.

Choose only one of the following projects:

Option 1: Research Paper

For this option, you will select a health and human services topic of interest and prepare a research paper based on this topic. You will identify a theory or theoretical perspective that offers insight or explanation regarding your chosen topic and present the results of your literature-based research, offering conclusions and/or recommendations. For example, you may want to research current trends in health and human services leadership, and offer recommendations for leadership approaches that would be effective in health and human services organizations today. Or you may want to explore the major challenges health and human services professionals face in delivering services to a chosen population offering recommendation on how they should be addressed.

In your Research Paper you will

• Identify the selected health a human services topic.
• Identify a theory or theoretical perspective that explains your topic.
• Present the results of your literature review.
• Draw conclusions and/or make recommendations that address problems in your topic.

View the Ashford Writing Center’s resource on Writing a Research Paper (Links to an external site.) for additional support.

Option 2: Mock Service-Learning Project

You will work with the MHHS Case Study  downloadto identify a service project and will prepare a paper that addresses one of the issues you have identified in the case. Please note there are several ideas at the end of the case that you can use or you can suggest one of your own. The end result of your project might be a series of documents. For example, you may decide to create a fundraising plan for the organization. Your plan might include a paper describing each of the fundraising endeavors as well as a fundraising budget.

In your Mock Service-Learning Project you will

• Identify a service project from the MHHS Case Study to explore.
• Explain the service project in detail and how it supports the MHHS Case Study.
• Identify a theory or theoretical perspective that explains your service project.
• Prepare the necessary documents containing conclusions/recommendations that will support your service project.

A word of caution: You may not repurpose any work you have previously submitted. All of your work must be original.

 Folio Recommendation: Papers/Reports

Considering that your ePortfolio is intended for future employers to evaluate your knowledge, skills, abilities, and professionalism, it is recommended that you edit your artifact in the following way.

• Remove the cover page that connects the paper to the academic institution.
• Add language to the Introduction section that appeals to your professional target audience.
• Edit language in the Introduction and key sections to demonstrate a professional voice.

Your final project

• Must be 10 to 12 double-spaced pages in length (not including title and references pages) and formatted according to APA Style (Links to an external site.) as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center (Links to an external site.).
• Must include a separate title page with the following:
  • Title of project
  • Student’s name
  • Course name and number
  • Instructor’s name
  • Date submitted
• For further assistance with the formatting and the title page, refer to APA Formatting for Word 2013 (Links to an external site.).
• Must utilize academic voice. See the Academic Voice (Links to an external site.) resource for additional guidance.
• For assistance on writing Introductions & Conclusions (Links to an external site.) as well as Writing a Thesis Statement (Links to an external site.), refer to the Ashford Writing Center resources.
• Must use at least six credible sources.
  • The Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources (Links to an external site.) table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source for a particular assignment.
• To assist you in completing the research required for this assignment, view this Ashford University Library Quick ‘n’ Dirty (Links to an external site.) tutorial, which introduces the Ashford University Library and the research process, and provides some library search tips.
• Must document all sources in APA Style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center’s APA: Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.) guide.
• Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA Style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. See the APA: Formatting Your References List (Links to an external site.) resource in the Ashford Writing Center for specifications.

Carefully review the Grading Rubric (Links to an external site.) for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.