Find Trends in Your Profession

In this project, you will search for information that will enable you to identify the three top trends in your profession or field. Over the course of the project, you will apply information literacy skills to locating and evaluating information. From there, you’ll develop well-reasoned conclusions. After reviewing the many sources available to you, you will choose those that are relevant, timely, and helpful in understanding the issues of your industry.

Once you have identified the top trends, you will choose one that is particularly interesting to you or that you find the most problematic. You’ll focus deeper research on that trend to produce an analytical research paper for your team. Your paper is intended to prepare the search committee to interview candidates by informing them about the trend and issues surrounding it.

This project will prepare you for more complex research projects, since you will refine and hone your ability to create a statement of the problem and find the information you need to produce a well-reasoned, well-supported analysis. There are four steps that will lead you through this project.

Your research paper should accomplish two objectives:

Identify the three top trends in your industry and your rationale, based on the resources you have found, for your choices.

Discuss the issue within one of the trends that you deem important, based on the current state of the industry, and will be supported by your analysis of facts and a well-reasoned conclusion of what it means to the industry.

Your paper will be five to seven pages, not including your cover page and References page(s), double-spaced and set up in APA standard formatting. It does not require an abstract.

Your headings should follow this general pattern: Paper Title (first level position, centered, bold) Findings (first level heading, centered, bold)Top Trends of the _____ Industry (second level heading, bold, flush left)An Important Emerging Issue in a Trend and what it means in context to the industry (second level heading, bold, flush left) Conclusions (first level heading, centered, bold) References (new page, first level position, bold)Before you submit your assignment, review the competencies below, which your instructor will use to evaluate your work. A good practice would be to use each competency as a self-check to confirm you have incorporated all of them. To view the complete grading rubric, click My Tools, select Assignments from the drop-down menu, and then click the project title.1.1: Organize document or presentation clearly in a manner that promotes understanding and meets the requirements of the assignment.

1.2: Develop coherent paragraphs or points so that each is internally unified and so that each functions as part of the whole document or presentation.

1.3: Provide sufficient, correctly cited support that substantiates the writer’s ideas.

1.4: Tailor communications to the audience.

1.5: Use sentence structure appropriate to the task, message and audience.

1.6: Follow conventions of Standard Written English.

2.1: Identify and clearly explain the issue, question, or problem under critical consideration.

2.2: Locate and access sufficient information to investigate the issue or problem.

2.3: Evaluate the information in a logical and organized manner to determine its value and relevance to the problem.

2.4: Consider and analyze information in context to the issue or problem.

2.5: Develop well-reasoned ideas, conclusions or decisions, checking them against relevant criteria and benchmarks.Feedback on Draft: this draft is still lacking trends. Cloud computing is mentioned.

Cloud computing is a distinct trend so you can keep that one in the paper and find two more.