EM1973 Research methods and Project Design (BUSS1008)

 

Research methods and Project Design (BUSS1008) – Spring– 19–CW2– QP 

In Semester Assessment 

Spring 2019 

CW 2 - Project Proposal 

Level: 6 Max. Marks: 100 

Submission: Week 8 (Scale down to 30) 

Objective: This is an individual assignment aimed to give students the experience to design and 

implement an effective project proposal relating to business and information systems. This will 

help the students to achieve all learning outcomes while conducting own project proposal. 

Learning Outcomes covered: 

1. Design and implement an effective project proposal relating to business and information 

system. 

2. Critically review existing academic literature relevant to an area of research. 

3. Appraise the different research techniques and tools. 

4. Evaluate, assess and choose research methods. 

1. Instructions to students 

As part of your bachelor program you are expected to complete a “Project”. Select an appropriate 

project from the given below which you will be doing as part of your final year project for XYZ 

organization and submit a Project Proposal for the same. You are expected to work individually in 

preparing the project proposal. 

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Research methods and Project Design (BUSS1008) – Spring– 19–CW2– QP 

2. Deliverables: 

Task: (100 marks) 

Submit a project proposal by the end of week 8 which must include: 

• Project title 

o Prepare a clear and well defined working title. 

• Background of the study 

o Give a detailed introduction to the project undertaken specifying the general 

aim of your project. Prepare your understanding of the field of study by 

critically analyzing the pertinent work of other investigators (5-7-literature 

review) leading up to your proposed work. 

• Research Objectives 

o Prepare objectives following the SMART. 

• Research questions 

o Prepare the research questions that sets out to answer the research problem 

specific to the project chosen 

• Proposed methodology 

o Prepare the research methods you intend to go about investigating the 

research questions. Also provide justification of your choice. 

• Scope of the Study 

o Prepare the scope of the research with its beneficiary and relevancy 

• Bibliography 

o Prepare the referred articles using CU Harvard referencing style. Citations 

should be added. 

• Timeline 

o Prepare the timeline with respect to the project undertaken. Timeline should 

provide only the requirements of this coursework. 

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• Oral Presentation: submission of task 2 will be followed by an oral presentation. 

3. Project Guide 

Project title: The title of your research should explain in sufficient detail what you are doing. 

Therefore the project title should be well-defined and concise that describes the chosen project. 

The abstract is supposed to be a quick summary of your project and it is generally a paragraph or 

two in length. A title can also provide the reader an understanding of the basic point of your project. 

Background study: 

Introduction: This provides a description of the problem that will be addressed. The background 

information on the organization / client chosen for the project (if any) can be included. Details of 

specific department or functions, if required, can be provided. Also this includes the rationale for 

the project (why). 

Project aim: Describes what the project is all about e.g., “are you trying to build an application / 

website / framework etc.” Emphasize what is to be accomplished. 

Literature: Describes the existing system / any problem or issues faced by the organization / client, 

which requires this project to be undertaken. This must start with a background of selected topic, 

the relevant literature identified and give reviews of background reading. Students are expected to 

review/evaluate the literature in comparison with their project tasks. The literature review must 

include a clear statement of approach to be taken to solve the problem with reference to the 

background reading. Keep in mind the following questions. 

What kinds of research have been done before? 

What relevant kinds of studies or techniques need to be mastered to do your project? 

Where is the state of the art today? 

How have others gone about trying to solve problems you want to tackle, and in what ways will 

your approach build on and vary from previous work? 

Research questions: Well-thought-out and focused questions that identifies the phenomenon to 

be studied. 

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Research methods and Project Design (BUSS1008) – Spring– 19–CW2– QP 

Research objectives: Steps you are going to take to answer your research questions or a specific 

list of tasks needed to accomplish the aim of the project 

Proposed methodology: Select methodologies to answer the research questions. The reason for 

choosing the particular methodology must be justified properly. Need to mention regarding 

research design, sampling techniques, etc. 

Bibliography: All citations in the literature review section should be mentioned in bibliography, 

but not all in the bibliography is important enough to be mentioned in the literature review. In 

other words, this section is a comment on the most valuable material you have identified which 

you will need to assimilate to do your project. Please refer to the Writing Manual by Center of 

Academic Writing. 

Timeline: The realistic timeline (plan) of the project helps to minimize any interruption to the 

project activities. Timeline is a step by step guide to the stages of the research over the time period. 

Develop a Gantt chart to achieve this. 

4. Evaluation Criteria: 

You would be evaluated on the following: 

• Originality of answer: Writing in your own words with some amount of referenced material with correct spelling and grammar. 

• Oral examination: Your Assignment marks are based on the PRESENTATION which will be conducted upon submission of assignment. The VIVA will be based on the task given in the assignment. ZERO mark will be awarded to the student if she / he is absent for PRESENTATION. 

• Correct information analysis and presentation in document form. 

• Adequate referencing and citation provided 

• Examples provided 

5. Guidelines 

Follow the guidelines mentioned below for your assignment. 

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➢ Assignment documentation/report should be typed. ➢ Assignment documentation/report should be uploaded in Moodle and will undergo plagiarism detection test through Turnitin (a plagiarism detection tool) ➢ Handwritten assignments will not be accepted ➢ Assignment should have a Title Page. Title Page should contain the following 

information. 

▪ Assignment Name 

▪ Session 

▪ Student name 

▪ Student ID ➢ Report should have Table of Contents ➢ Use page numbers ➢ Assignment should be typed in your own words using Times New Roman 

font size 12. ➢ Heading should be with Font Size 14, Bold, Underline ➢ Use Diagrams and Examples to explain your topic. ➢ Reference should be included in the last page as per CU Harvard Style. Please 

refer to the Writing Manual by Center of Academic Writing. 

6. Plagiarism Policy 

Plagiarized documents, in parts or whole, submitted by the students will be rejected. 

As per MEC policy, any form of violation of academic integrity will invite severe penalty. Plagiarized documents, in part or in whole, submitted by the students will be subject to this policy. 

A. First offence of plagiarism 

a. A student will be allowed to re-submit the assignment once, within a maximum period of one week. However, a penalty of deduction of 25% of the marks obtained for the resubmitted work will be imposed. 

b. Mark deduction: When the work is resubmitted, the marking will be undertaken according to the marking criteria. In compliance with this policy, the 25% deduction is then made on the marks obtained. For example, in an assessment that carries a maximum of 50 marks, suppose a student were to obtain 30 marks for the resubmitted work, the final marks for that assessment will be 22.5 (after deducting 25% of the marks actually obtained for the resubmitted work). 

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c. Period of resubmission: The student will have to resubmit the work one week from the date he or she is advised to resubmit. For example, if the formal advice to resubmit was communicated to the student on a Sunday (latest by 5 pm), the student will have to resubmit the work latest by next Sunday 5 pm. 

d. If the re-submitted work is also detected to be plagiarized, then the work will be awarded a zero. 

e. Resubmission of the work beyond the maximum period of one week will not be accepted and the work will be awarded a zero. 

B. Any further offence of plagiarism 

a. If any student is again caught in an act of plagiarism during his/her course of study (either in the same module, same semester or in any other semester), the student will directly be awarded zero for the work in which plagiarism is detected. In such cases, the student will not be allowed to re-submit the work. 

C. Guidelines 

a. Type 1: In case plagiarism is detected in any component or part submission (submitted at different times) of one assessment (assignment), the deduction in marks will be applicable for the whole assessment (assignment), even if only the component or part submission alone needs to be resubmitted. 

b. Type 2: In case plagiarism is detected in a group assessment, all students of the group will be considered as having committed an act of plagiarism irrespective of whether plagiarism is on account of the act of all or a few or only one member. The policy will then be applied to all students. 

c. Type 3: Combination of Type 1 and Type 2: In case plagiarism is detected in any component or part submission (submitted at different times) of a group assessment (assignment), the deduction in marks will be applicable for the whole assessment (assignment), even if only the component or part submission alone needs to be resubmitted. All students of the group would be considered as having committed an act of plagiarism irrespective of whether plagiarism is on account of the act of all or a few or only one member. The policy will then be applied to all the students of the group. 

d. Type 4: Variation of Type 1 and Type 2: In cases where the assessment consists of components or part submissions that could be a group assessment component (e.g. group assignment) and an individual assessment component (e.g. individual reflection), the following will be applicable: 

1. If plagiarism is detected in the group assessment component, all students of the group will be considered as having committed an act of plagiarism, irrespective of whether plagiarism is on account of the act of all or a few or only one member. The policy will then be applied to all 

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students of the group. In such cases the group assessment component will be resubmitted as per the policy. 

2. If plagiarism is detected in the individual assessment component, the individual assessment component will be resubmitted as per the policy. The policy will then be applied to that student alone. 

3. In both cases (a) and/or (b), the deduction in marks will be applicable for the whole assessment (assignment). 

D. Amount of similar material 

a. The total amount of similar material in any form of student work from all sources put together should not exceed 30% (including direct quotations). 

b. The total amount of quoted material (direct quotations) in any form of student work from all sources put together should not exceed 10%. 

c. The total amount of similar material in any form of student work from a single source should not exceed 7 percent. However, cases having a similarity of less than 7 percent in such cases may still be investigated by the faculty depending on the seriousness of the case. 

d. If faculty member find enough merit in the case of a student work with a similarity (with a single source) of more than 7 percent as not a case of plagiarism, the faculty member should provide detailed comments/remarks to justify the case. 

7. Late Submission 

Penalty for late submission - 5% of the maximum mark specified for the assessment will be deducted for each working day. Assessment documents submitted beyond a period of one week after the last date of submission will not be accepted and will be marked as zero for that assessment. 

8. Proposal Template BUSS1008 Research Methods and Project Design – Proposal Form 

Section One 

Please note the areas shaded in 

Student Name: 

grey are mandatory fields. Simply select the pertinent Student Number: 

greyed area and fill it in. 

Supervisor Name: 

Section Two 

The form expands as you type. 

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Research methods and Project Design (BUSS1008) – Spring– 19–CW2– QP 

Please provide a short working title (click onto and write in grey box below). 

The title of your research should explain in sufficient detail what you are doing. Therefore the project title should be well-defined and concise that describes the chosen project. 

ABSTRACT 

The abstract is supposed to be a quick summary of your project and it is generally a paragraph or two in length. A good abstract will provide the reader with enough information to understand the basic point of your project. In short, abstract should introduce the project topic, significance, procedures employed to carry out the project and the anticipated conclusions (or results, application, or real world use of the project) 

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY 

Introduction Give a detailed introduction to the project undertaken specifying the aim of your project. Prepare your understanding of the field of study by critically analysing the pertinent work of other investigators (5-7 literature review) leading up to your proposed work. This provides a description of the problem that will be addressed. The background information on the organization / client chosen for the project (if any) can be included. Details of specific department or functions, if required, can be provided. Also this includes the rationale for the project (why). 

Research Questions Prepare the research questions that sets out to answer the research problem specific to the project chosen. Well- thought-out and focused questions that identifies the phenomenon to be studied. 

Project Objectives Steps you are going to take to answer your research questions or a specific list of tasks needed to accomplish the aim of the project. Prepare objectives that follows SMART system. 

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Research methods and Project Design (BUSS1008) – Spring– 19–CW2– QP 

Proposed Methodology Prepare the research methods you intend to go about investigating the research questions. Also provide justification of your choice. Select methodologies to answer the research questions. The reason for choosing the particular methodology must be justified properly. It is important to justify the research design as well the sampling techniques for your research. 

Scope of the Study Prepare the scope or area of your research and provide its relevancy and their significance. 

Bibliography All citations in the literature review section should be mentioned in bibliography, but not all in the bibliography is important enough to be mentioned in the literature review. In other words, this section is a comment on the most valuable material you have identified which you will need to assimilate to do your project. 

Timeline The realistic timeline (plan) of the project helps to minimize any interruption to the project activities. Timeline is a step by step guide to the stages of the research over the time period. Develop a Gantt chart to achieve this. 

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9. Marking Criteria 

Research methods and Project Design (BUSS1008) 

Spring 2019 

Student ID: ________________ Student Name: ____________________ 

Evaluation Grid 

Deliverable 1-2 3-6 7-11 12-15 Mark Project title Incomplete Satisfactory 

Project title and abstract 

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Good Project title and abstract Complete and precise Project title and abstract Deliverable 1-2 3-6 7-11 12-15 Mark Background of the study Vague 

background study with no project aim / literature review 

Satisfactory background study with limited introduction and literature review with critical analysis 

Good background study with sufficient introduction, project aim and literature review including critical analysis 

Complete and Excellent background study 

Deliverable 0 1-3 4-7 8-10 Mark Research questions 

No research questions 

Few / irrelevant research questions 

Good research questions 

Excellent research questions in line with the background study Deliverable 1-2 3-5 6-8 9-10 Mark Research objectives Inappropriate 

to the research questions 

Few / irrelevant objectives framed 

Good objectives SMART 

Objectives in line with research questions Deliverable 1-2 3-5 6-8 9-10 Mark Proposed methodology 

Inappropriate to achieve the objectives 

Identified methodologies with satisfactory justification 

Identified methodologies with good justification 

Clear plan of action for the methodologies selected 

Research methods and Project Design (BUSS1008) – Spring– 19–CW2– QP 

Deliverable 0.5-1 2-3 3-4 4-5 Mark 

Scope of the studies, Significance and Relevance 

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Incomplete/ Irrelevant 

Identify the scope and relevance with satisfactory justifications 

Identify the scope and relevance’s with a good justifications. 

Excellent identifications of the scope of studies and significant with excellent justifications. 

Deliverable 0 1-3 4-7 8-10 Mark 

Bibliography Missing Few / irrelevant 

bibliography / Not followed Harvard referencing style/ no citations 

Good bibliography. Followed Harvard referencing style. Citations missing or done incorrectly 

Excellent and relevant bibliography using Harvard referencing style. Citations provided Deliverable 0 1-5 6-8 9-10 Mark 

Timeline No timeline Incomplete 

timeline 

Acceptable timeline Clear and 

concise time line Deliverable 0 1-6 7-11 12-15 Mark Oral Presentation / Viva 

Unable presentation 

Presented but some relevant information are needed. Recommended major revisions. 

Presented but recommended for minor revisions 

Sufficient and relevant information were presented. 

Signature of Teacher 

Feedback: Total Marks 

Penalty 

Final Marks