Homework answers / question archive / Purpose This preliminary memo will help you explore a possible topic for your semester project, a feasibility report on an improvement to Santa Fe College (SFC) that embraces an opportunity, attempts to address a problem, or both

Purpose This preliminary memo will help you explore a possible topic for your semester project, a feasibility report on an improvement to Santa Fe College (SFC) that embraces an opportunity, attempts to address a problem, or both

Writing

Share With

Purpose

This preliminary memo will help you explore a possible topic for your semester project, a feasibility report on an improvement to Santa Fe College (SFC) that embraces an opportunity, attempts to address a problem, or both. So, this memo is designed to help you find and refine a usable topic for your big feasibility report; it is therefore intended to be preliminary--whether this topic will work for the report or will need modification or replacement will be a matter of discussion between you and the professor.

This memo will help you:

• • • focus on an issue
    • determine what SFC already has (for example, programs, resources, facilities) that relates to the issue
    • determine whether you believe you can find scholarly articles in the library database that will help with your research
    • begin to formulate questions that you need to research for the report
    • receive feedback on whether your topic seems workable for writing a feasibility report (e.g., applicable to SFC, narrow enough, important, supported with rich research).

Format

Write a memo, following conventions (first and second-level headings (third if needed):

• • • To, from, date, subject lines--and the completed information tabbed and aligned to create two neat columns
    • Full date format (not 1/1/2022)
    • First- and second-level headings (third if needed)
    • Left justification, not full justification
    • A sans serif font for headings; a serif font for body text
    • No paragraph indentation
    • A complete line skip between paragraphs
    • Headings positioned close to the text to which they apply; a larger gap after text and before the next heading
    • Header on second and following pages only, including recipient's name (not the writer's), date (full date format), page number)
    • In-text citation, following MLA requirements (Links to an external site.)
    • Works Cited on a separate page, using alphabetical order, hanging indent, and correct MLA format (Links to an external site.) for each entry (go here (Links to an external site.) for how to cite interviews, here (Links to an external site.) for how to cite web pages, here (Links to an external site.) for how to cite articles obtained from a database)

Elements

The memo introduction will be standard (context, purpose and scope of memo, memo coverage, and brief bottom line). 

You should cover these elements in the body of the memo:

• • • The need or opportunity you see at SFC.  You need to back this claim with primary research (specifically, discussion of materials on SFC's website, interviews, or first-hand investigation). (One reason for this focus is to avoid duplicating a program or approach that the college already has.)
    • Description of relevant programs or approaches offered by other colleges, universities or other institutions (drawing on secondary research--collected only from SFC library databases)
    • Research questions you need to explore (see additional discussion of research questions below)
    • Facts on the availability of articles in library databases establishing a) the problem or opportunity and b) approaches that have been tried by other institutions. Include for each a and b above:
      • the database names
      • the best search terms you used
      • some data on the number of "hits" for the search
      • some subjective (opinion) description of the numbers and recency of the articles that seem relevant/useful out of the total hits (this is important to establish that research will be viable.)
      • discussion of some issues that you think might limit (impair, undermine) the feasibility of the program or approach you hope to investigate

      • What Are Research Questions?

        Researchers usually talk about a single research question in driving their report. It is designed to focus the research and report on a narrow topic that can be usefully investigated. So, the research question is designed to zero in on the issue you want to explore and the specific answer the report should provide. It is NOT a thesis, as a thesis makes an argument, taking a position you will justify. Instead, a research question is open: the answer could be one that is affirmative or negative or a mix, and each outcome is perfectly acceptable. We therefore are avoiding bias. 

        But you can think of a number of questions that have to be answered in order to support of the main research question. Think of a main question and then supporting questions.