Need help with research topics

[graceandglory13 () sbcglobal net]

Hello, 
  This is my first posting.  I am a PhD student at Nova and I needed some help finding new research topics to write 
about in the areas of Computer Forensics, Network Security, Information Security etc.  I am new to this school and I 
haven't done much research before.  My problem is that to me it seems that everything has been done before.  I am also 
afraid of choosing a topic that I will not be able to write code for or build later (in two months).
  Below is the assignment:
For those in DCIS 830, a reminder.  I need for you to include in your proposal what you are planning to do.  Exactly 
what you are planning to do.  Phrases like "I plan to investigate...", 
"I will review...", and "I would like to research..." don't tell me much.  Alternatively, phrases like "I will develop 
a prototype _____ and use data from ____ to test the effectiveness of this approach", or "I will conduct a case study 
of four ______ efforts and create a set of best practices from the lessons learned" are much more specific.  I don't 
need to know your 
results (you won't have those until you've finished the work) but I do need to understand the research process that you 
will be following.
Dr. C

The objective of this exercise is to provide students with the experience of
conducting research and writing an article on information security for
submission to a peer reviewed journal. The project involves the submission of
a preliminary report and the final paper.
(Note: Topics must be approved in advance by the instructor)
Proposal (Due October 8, 2006)
The preliminary report should be in the form of a research plan. You must state
the targeted journal for your manuscript. The preliminary report should follow
the style required by the journal and address the following issues:
1. Problem addressed
Clearly state the research problem that you plan to address.
2. Prior research
Briefly discuss the body of literature that is used to motivate the
research. Emphasize the shortcomings in the prior literature that
you plan to address.
3. Significance
Explain why you think your work makes a significant contribution
to the field. Cite references wherever possible to establish that
there is a consensus among researchers that the problem
addressed in the article is indeed an important one.
4. Methodology
Discuss the methodology you plan to use for the study. Justify the
appropriateness of the selected methodology. Be as precise as
you can. Identify the knowledge representation scheme and the
search strategy where appropriate.
Make sure that you cite all relevant articles that are referenced in your paper.
Please submit a copy of the paper that you believe is most significant in
motivating your work. If relevant, you may also send copies of any other
supporting articles.
Final Report 
This is the final manuscript that you plan to submit to the targeted journal. You
should use the style and the format that is appropriate for the journal, (note: the
use of the GSCIS Idea Paper format is not acceptable). A suggested guideline
for the article is presented below. Note that this is just a suggested outline and
that your article need not have the same structure.
1. Introduction
Provide the necessary background and discuss the relevant
literature to motivate the research problem that your article
addresses.
2. The Problem
Discuss the problem in detail and formulate it a manner that
makes it tractable.
3. The Method
Describe the method used to address the problem. Justify the
approach that you have adopted.

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