1. The Report: Prepare your Recommendation Report and create an artifact your audience can use to solve a problem or complete a task. The report is addressed to the supervisor, office, or organization that has commissioned it. It explains how research was conducted, what results were obtained, and what conclusions can be drawn. The general structure of the report is described below; complete instructions are provided in the A7 file attached at the bottom of this page.


Structure of Recommendation Report

Front Matter

1. Letter of transmittal
2. Cover
3. Title page
4. Contents (TOC)
5. Abstract

Body of the Report
Back Matter (Appendices-References, Interview/Survey Questions)

Essentially, the body of the report answers these questions:

1. Problem: What is it, and how will the reader benefit if it is solved?
2. Facts: What is known about the situation? Where and how was that information obtained?
3. Assumptions: What can be assumed on the basis of the facts?
4. Recommendations: What should the reader do, and why will that action (or those actions) solve the problem?

The body can be organized into these sections:

1. Introduction
2. Methods
3. Results
4. Conclusions
5. Recommendation(s)

However, avoid generic headings and instead create headings that are informative and specific following the guidelines in Ch. 9.

2. The Artifact: Create the artifact that you have in mind for your intended audience. The artifact should be a one or two-page "document," which may take a variety of formats:

• flier or brochure (specify in A7 how this document would be distributed or where it would be available)
• poster (specify in A7 where it would be posted)
• PowerPoint presentation (specify in A7 where, when, to whom it would be presented)
• podcast (specify in A7 where it would be available)
• "training" video
• web site or a web page to be linked to a specific web site (provide link in A7. Remember that you need to create only one page or segment; you may imagine that additional information could be created later)

The artifact should be contained in or posted to the group's web site and linked here in the assignment tool. Include on the group web site homepage a description of when and where your audience would come into contact with the artifact.

If you decide to create a presentation for a seminar/class, etc. you might want to try a new technology called Prezi:

Prezi demo

If you want to create a video tutorial that individuals can access at will, you might try a new technology called
Jing


3. During Week 15 groups will present the results of their research and their artifacts to the class. Each group will have 15 minutes, and each member will contribute.