Evidence based-descriptive analysis (COMPONENT 4 &5)

2021-Subject-Outline-CBLGBX2174generic.docx

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Subject Outline

Subject Name	Evidence Based Business Decision-Making
Subject Code	BX2174
Credit Points	3
Study Period	SP51 2021
Study Mode	Internal/External
Campus	SIN
Subject Coordinator/Division/College	Assosiate. Professor Jacob Wood Division of Tropical Environments & Societies College of Business, Law & Governance

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the lands and waters where our University is located and actively seek to contribute and support the JCU Reconciliation Statement, which exemplifies respect for Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait cultures, heritage, knowledge and the valuing of justice and equity for all Australians.

This publication is covered by copyright regulations. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism, or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process or placed in computer memory without written permission.

Pre-requisites

BU1007 OR BU1807 OR BU1010 OR MA1401 OR PY2103 AND 9 CP OF BU AND BX SUBJECTS

Subject Outline preparation

This Subject Outline has been prepared by Gianna Moscardo for the College of Business, Law & Governance, Division of Tropical Environments & Society, James Cook University. Updated [January 2021].

Q1. This subject is offered across more than one campus and/or mode and/or study period within the one calendar year.	Yes ☒	No ☐
Q2. If yes (Q1), the design of all offerings of this subject ensure the same learning outcomes and assessment types and weightings.	Yes ☒	No ☐

Subject Outline peer reviewer

Name	Associate. Prefessor Jacob Wood
Position	Coordinator
Date reviewed	2 March 2021

Teaching Staff contact details

Teaching team	Staff member	Room	Phone	Email	Consultation times*
Subject Coordinator	Associate. Professor Jacob Wood		(+65)67093768	[email protected]	NA
Lecturer	Dr. Zahra Pourabedin	C3-06	(+65) 6709 3869	[email protected]	By email
Tutor 1	Dr Zahra Pourabedin	C3-06	(+65) 6709 3869	[email protected]	By email

*Other consultation times by appointment only.

Student Support

The Student Support Officers (SSO) provides private and confidential, personalised support to first year students. SSOs provide advice, advocacy and referrals to University services. They work with students to help them achieve their educational goals, and to succeed at university by offering timely information and support when it's needed.

Make an appointment with your SSO by contacting Rachel or Natasha.

Business Online responds to requests for assistance with all learning technology and associated issues. Support is provided for LearnJCU, Pebble Pad, Blackboard Collaborate, recording presentations, Respondus LockDown Browser and Monitor, online exams, and other learning technologies. Help and Support is available please contact: [email protected]

For more student support services and related information look in the Support Folder menu item on all LearnJCU subject sites.

Contents 1 Subject at a glance 5 1.1 Student participation requirements 5 1.2 Key dates 6 2 Subject details 6 2.1 Subject description 6 2.2 Subject learning outcomes and course learning outcomes 6 2.3 Learning and teaching in this subject 7 2.4 Student feedback on subject and teaching 8 2.5 Subject resources and special requirements 8 3 Assessment details 9 3.1 Requirements for successful completion of subject 9 3.2 Feedback on student learning 9 3.3 Assessment items 10 4 Submission and return of assessment 16 4.1 Submission of assessment 16 4.2 Late submissions 17 4.3 Special Consideration (including deferrals and extensions) 17 4.4 Declaration of Assessment 17 4.5 Return of assessment and feedback 17 4.6 Review of assessment 17 5 Subject calendar 19 6 Appendix A: Assessment Methods 21 7 Appendix B: Sample rubric for written communication Error! Bookmark not defined.

Subject at a glance

Student participation requirements

The JCU Learning, Teaching and Assessment Procedure (2.1.2d) indicates a typical student workload for a three (3) credit point subject requires a 130 hour work load of study related activities, including attendance, assessment and self-directed study over the duration of the subject with equivalency across all modes of delivery.

Note that attendance at specified classes will be a mandatory requirement for satisfactory completion of some subjects (Learning, Teaching and Assessment Procedures, 3.1.8e); and that additional hours may be required per week for those students in need of English language, numeracy or other learning support.

Note for JCU Singapore students: International students are required by ICA to have an attendance percentage of 90% (attending lessons online or on-campus). Students without valid reason and have an attendance rating below 90% will be reported to ICA monthly. Singapore Local students are required to maintain a class attendance rate above 75% on a monthly basis. Attendance will be regularly monitored throughout each semester. Failure to maintain the required attendance will be subjected to disciplinary action. Students will be liable for associated academic penalty and financial penalty. If a student is unable to meet the attendance requirement, the student should discuss their reasons with a student counsellor and the relevant associate dean prior to falling behind the attendance requirement.

Key subject activities

Time

Day and date

Room/Location

Lecture (2 hours per week)

View lecture content recordings on LearnJCU prior to participating in the workshop

Tuesday at 2pm via Ultra Collaborate

Online and Face-to-Face tutorial sessions (2 hours per week)

· Tutorial A: Online, Wednesday 11.00am-12.50am

· Tutorial B: Online, Wednesday 3.00pm-4.50pm

· Tutorial C: Online, Wednesday 5.00pm-6.50pm

· Tutorial D: Face-to-Face, Friday 2.00pm-3.50pm

For information regarding class registration, visit the Class Registration Schedule.

Key dates

Key dates	Date
Assessment item 1: In Class quizzes [50 %]	Four quizzes to be administered in class in Weeks 3, 5, 7, 9
Assessment item 2: Research Report Part 1 [30 %]	30 April 2021 (Fri) Week 6, 11:59 pm
Assessment item 3: Business Report Part 2 [20 %]	30 May 2021 (Sun) Week 10, 11:59 pm

Subject details

Subject description

A superior ability to collect, process, and interpret information for decision making is a major source of competitive advantage in the business marketplace. The focus of this subject is to develop knowledge and basic skills of business research concepts and methods. Specific topics include the role of information systems, knowledge management, formulation of the research problem, research design and methods including qualitative and quantitative approaches, data collection, data analysis and the interpretation and use of research results. Students gain a view of business research from the buyer's and seller's perspectives and an understanding of the code of practice which regulates business market research activities.

Subject learning outcomes and course learning outcomes

Students who successfully complete this subject will be able to:

· explain the critical importance of research for superior business performance;

· analyse a business situation, formulate a research problem and devise an appropriate research design;

· analyse data using basic qualitative and quantitative methods;

· interpret findings in a manner that facilitates business decision making;

· explain basic data collection methods, outline when the method is most suited, and evaluate the related strengths and limitations of each method in a business context; and

· demonstrate effective written communication skills.

These outcomes will contribute to your overall achievement of course learning outcomes. Your course learning outcomes can be located in the entry for your course in the electronic JCU Course and Subject Handbook 2021 (click on ‘Course Information’ bar/ select ‘Undergraduate Courses’ or ‘Postgraduate Courses’/ select relevant course/ scroll down to ‘Academic Requirements for Course Completion’, ‘Course learning outcomes’).

Learning and teaching in this subject

This subject is based an active and participatory learning approach.

Being a student is something like being a tourist in a very exotic place you’ve never visited before. Being a teacher is like being a guide to that exotic place. The guide’s job is to:-

• Provide a structure to the tour by highlighting the key elements (major issues, concepts and theories);

• Help with the language of the area (definitions and terminology);

• Direct students to key places (key references and resource materials sites;

• Answer questions that arise; and

• Use their knowledge of the area to organise an efficient itinerary to cover the essential sites (organisation of the lecture and practical material to cover the core elements of the topic area)

A really good guide gives their tourists the skills and abilities to explore on their own. A good student tourist pays attention, asks questions, is polite to the guide, their fellow students and the other people they meet along the way and makes the most of the experiences offered and the guide’s skills and knowledge.

The teaching approach to this subject is about providing sufficient orientation, structure and skills that students can explore the area on their own. In this subject we will try to achieve this by using a variety of different resources, learning activities and options. Students should make the most of these opportunities and participate in as many of the offered learning activities as possible.

Student feedback on subject and teaching

As part of our commitment at JCU to improving the quality of our courses and teaching, we regularly seek feedback on your learning experiences. Student feedback informs evaluation of subject and teaching strengths and areas that may need refinement or change. YourJCU Subject and Teaching Surveys provide a formal and confidential method for you to provide feedback about your subjects and the staff members teaching within them. These surveys are available to all students through LearnJCU. You will receive an email invitation when the survey opens. We value your feedback and ask that you provide constructive feedback about your learning experiences for each of your subjects, in accordance with responsibilities outlined in the Student Code of Conduct. Refrain from providing personal feedback on topics that do not affect your learning experiences. Malicious comments about staff are deemed unacceptable by the University.

Subject resources and special requirements

All subject readings and resources, including journal articles, book chapters, websites, videos, print and eTextbooks, are available to view online from your Readings list via your LearnJCU subject site. Textbooks are listed in your Readings list, including links to library holdings. The JCU Library has limited print copies of prescribed textbooks for two-day loan, and options for viewing available eTextbooks online.

Additionally, you can find the most appropriate library subject resources, including dedicated discipline-specific Library Guides, relevant databases and access to library services and staff through the Your Library tool, in your LearnJCU subject site.

Prescribed Text: E. Barends and D.M. Rousseau. (2018). Evidence-Based Management. London: Kogan Page.

Highly Recommended Text: Saunders, M., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2019). Research methods for business students. 8th Edition. Harlow: Pearson Education. Note: It is possible to use the previous edition of this text – the new edition has more examples but basic content is the same.

Readings and Copyright

Use the Readings platform for all your readings and other resources, including prescribed textbooks, eTextbooks, journal articles, digitised chapters, websites, links to Library Guides, LinkedIn Learning, relevant referencing style guides and video content (e.g. YouTube, LinkedIn Learning, Kanopy, Anatomy TV, Vetstream etc.). Readings is linked to your LearnJCU site through an LTI in the tools menu. Assistance with using the Readings platform is available from the Readings at JCU Guide.

JCU has undertaken to implement systems and practices to ensure copyright compliance as part of its institutional copyright licence agreement. Using Readings to create resource lists enables the library to manage copyright risk. Further information is available at the Copyright for teaching staff @ JCU Guide.

Your Library

The Your Library LTI tool uses metadata to link the most appropriate library subject resources to your LearnJCU site, including discipline-specific Library Guides, relevant databases, and access to library services and staff.

Direct any queries regarding this section to [email protected].

Assessment details

Requirements for successful completion of subject

In order to pass this subject, you must:

Achieve an overall percentage of 50% or more

Demonstrate a reasonable attempt on all assessment items. Students who have completed less than 100% of the assessment will be subject to review by the College Assessment Committee which could result in an ‘X’ grade (Fail).

Students who have completed less than 80% of assessment requirements will receive an ‘X’ grade (Fail)

Demonstrate regular attendance and engagement with the content of this subject in accordance with student participation requirements as outlined above, including but not limited to any mandatory face to face attendance or online session participatory attendance.

Note that the bullet points above represent the JCU minimum passing requirement.

Assessment items and final grades will be reviewed through moderation processes (Learning, Teaching and Assessment Procedure, 3.6). It is important to be aware that assessment results “must always undergo final ratification for each study period. No single grade or mark represents a final result in a subject” (Learning, Teaching and Assessment Procedure, 3.7.4.).

Final results for this subject will be graded as described in the Student Results Policy.

Graded = HD, D, C, P, N etc

Assessment in this subject may involve the use of Respondus with camera surveillance or webcams. Respondus can record an assessment attempt, and that recording will be used for the investigation of cheating or any other conduct which may contravene JCU Policies and Procedures. Footage will only be accessed by persons authorised by the University to do so and may be shared with internal or external investigators. The footage constitutes personal information and will be stored and accessed in accordance with JCU’s Information Privacy Policy.

Feedback on student learning

Attendance at classes will provide students with the opportunity to get in time feedback on their work, especially for assessments.

Formal assessments with feedback will be returned in class and/or through online systems within 21 days of submission.

Assessment items

ASSESSMENT ITEM 1: Online Quizes

Aligned subject learning outcomes	explain the critical importance of research for superior business performance analyse a business situation, formulate a research problem and devise an appropriate research design analyse data using basic qualitative and quantitative methods interpret findings in a manner that facilitates business decision making explain basic data collection methods, outline when the method is most suited, and evaluate the related strengths and limitations of each method in a business context
Aligned with course learning outcomes	CLO 1: Demonstrate essential knowledge necessary for a career in business-related professions CLO 2: Synthesise underlying principles and concepts for making business decisions CLO 4: Critically evaluate data & resources in the context of relevant academic literature CLO 5: Apply critical thinking to address issues in business
Group or individual	Individual
Weighting	50%
Due date	In class in weeks 3, 5, 7 and 9 Quiz 1: Session 4 Tuesday 30/03/2021 Quiz 2: Session 6 Tuesday 13/04/2021 Quiz 3: Session 7 Tuesday 4/05/2021 Quiz 4: Session 10 Tuesday 18/05/2021

ASSESSMENT ITEM 1: DESCRIPTION

A multiple choice, short answer quiz covering material from the previous two weeks will be administered at the start of the workshop or relevant class.

Weeks 1 and 2 tested in Week 3; weeks 3 and 4 tested in week 5, weeks 5 and 6 tested in week 7 and weeks 7 and 8 tested in week 9.

ASSESSMENT ITEM 2: RESEARCH REPORT PART 1 (LITERATURE REVIEW AND eXISTING dATA aNALYSIS

Aligned subject learning outcomes	· explain the critical importance of research for superior business performance · interpret findings in a manner that facilitates business decision making effective written communication skills.
Aligned with course learning outcomes	CLO 1: Demonstrate essential knowledge necessary for a career in business-related professions CLO 2: Synthesise underlying principles and concepts for making business decisions CLO 3: Critically analyse the core professional obligations, values and operations of organisations including sustainability CLO 4: Critically evaluate data & resources in the context of relevant academic literature CLO 5: Apply critical thinking to address issues in business CLO 6: Convey information clearly and fluently, in high quality written form appropriate for their audience CLO 9: Apply technical skills, including numeracy, necessary for professional practice in business
Group or individual	Individual
Weighting	30%
Due date	30.04.2021 by 11:59pm

ASSESSMENT ITEM 2: DESCRIPTION

In this assessment you will complete the first three components of a business research report

Component 1 Literature Review (1000 words): You should conduct a formal academic literature review of refereed journal articles available through the library’s internet search engines. Find and report on a minimum of 10 articles from academic journals relevant to the research problem area. Details on the research problem area will be provided in Week 2 classes and in the assessment folders on the Learnjcu site.

You need to find articles to help you understand relevant research in this field and to assist in formulating research questions and your approach to tackling the research problem. Then you should write a critical/thematic literature review. Do not organise this review reference by reference, sometimes referred to as an annotated bibliography (see http://www.library.arizona.edu/help/tutorials/litreviews/whatis.html , http://www.literaturereviewhq.com/the-annotated-bibliography-literature-review-friend-or-foe/ for an explanation of the difference). From your search for existing information summarize the type of information found and any key conclusions that you can draw relevant to the decision or problem. At the end you should have a section summarizing the gaps and limitations in the information found and a few sentences describing your overall conclusions.

While the minimum requirement is 10 academic articles – they must be relevant to the research problem area. To find 10 relevant papers it is likely that you will have to read at least 20. So your search will include a larger number of papers. Therefore the assessment must also include a table at the end which lists all the academic papers you read, including those you did not use in your report. This table should include all the papers you found and a summary of the five key pieces of information you got from each and an assessment of how relevant each one was to the research problem. This assessment of relevance should only be a sentence or two long. If you evaluate a paper as relevant but did not include in the literature review you must also explain why not.

Component 2 Business Problem Analysis (300 words): In this section you describe your analysis of the business problem (you may use a diagram to assist in this explanation) and identify and describe the information that you would need to address it. You should identify the main variables that you would need to measure to answer this research question.

Component 3 Simple Descriptive Analysis of Relevant Existing Data (1200 words): Students will be given quantitative data relevant to the research problem area. Students will analyse this data (it is expected that students will need to use only the simple descriptive and bivariate approaches covered in first year data analysis level only) and present key findings using tables and figures.

Overall Details:

This assessment should be approximately 2500 words in length not including the reference list and any tables or figures that you may use.

You must list all references used in APA style (http://libguides.jcu.edu.au/apa ). You must use in text citations (see http://libguides.jcu.edu.au/c.php?g=162354&p=1063055 for an example and http://libguides.jcu.edu.au/c.php?g=162333&p=1063240 for more information).

ASSESSMENT ITEM 2: CRITERIA SHEET (OR RUBRIC)

All students must achieve the following minimum standards on core criteria to pass. In other words if you don’t achieve the following criteria you fail no matter the content and other features of the assessment. Students who exceed the minimum standard may be awarded additional marks for their extra effort. Submissions that are identified as having significant numbers of unacknowledged sources will be referred to the Academic Head for a potential student academic misconduct process.

Criteria

Unsatisfactory

Minimum Standard Required for a Pass

Presentation & Style

Convey information clearly and fluently, in high quality written form appropriate for target audiences

(SLO 6) (CLO6)

Presented work that demonstrates a lack of literacy and rudimentary writing skills. Does not convey specific meaning, has a number of grammatical and English expression errors and uses poor referencing.

Employs appropriate language and accepted principles of English and APA citation. Communicates clearly and coherently but not always concisely with very few errors in expression and referencing

Presentation & Style

Full and proper acknowledgment of sources

(SLO 6)(CLO6)

Plagiarism software identified issues with material taken from sources without appropriate acknowledgment

No identification of direct quotes or a failure to use in text citation with page numbers for direct quotes

Poor referencing

More than 5 direct quotes

All sources are acknowledged with in text citations and proper and complete APA style references

All direct quotes are identified with quotation marks, author and date and page number

Plagiarism software does not identify issues with close paraphrasing

Uses 5 or fewer direct quotes

Content

Must report on at least 10 relevant academic articles (SLO 1)(CLO4)

Fewer than the required number

At least the required number

Scope

Must include a table summarizing all papers read with five key points and an assessment of relevance for each paper read

Not included or not completed according to directions

Included and completed as directed

SLO – Subject Learning Outcome

If these criteria are met the assessment will marked using the following rubric.

Criteria	Unsatisfactory 0‐49%	Pass 50‐64%	Credit 65 – 74%	Distinction 75 – 84%	High distinction 85 – 100%
Relevance of the literature reviewed (20 marks) (SLO 2)(CLO4)	Sufficient but irrelevant references	Just enough relevant references to provide meaningful but limited evidence/coverage of key issues	Enough relevant references to provide meaningful and adequate evidence/coverage of most key issues	More than enough relevant references to provide meaningful and sound evidence/coverage of all key issues	Extensive use of relevant references to provide a detailed coverage of key issues
Critical analysis of literature reviewed (20 marks) (SLO 1)(CLO4,CLO5)	No critical analysis of the literature reviewed with insufficient coverage of the main themes supported by evidence and/or presentation of links without appropriate supporting evidence	Sufficient but limited critical analysis of the literature reviewed with coverage of the core main themes supported by evidence	Sound critical analysis of the literature reviewed with coverage of most of the main themes supported by evidence	Good critical analysis of the literature reviewed with coverage of all of the main themes supported by appropriate evidence	Sophisticated and concise critical analysis of the literature reviewed with coverage of all the main themes supported by appropriate evidence
Analysis of the decision or problem & identification of required information Synthesize underlying principles & concepts for making business decisions (20 Marks) (SLO 2)(CLO1,CLO3 CLO5)	Limited and or logically flawed consideration of the decision and problem, identifies the limited or irrelevant information	Demonstrates a sound consideration of the decision and problem, identifies some of the most important sets of information necessary – Limited logical connections are made to the business problem	Demonstrates a sound consideration of the decision and problem, identifies some of the most important sets of information necessary and establishes a clear logical connection to the business problem	Demonstrates a sound consideration of the decision and problem, identifies the most important sets of information necessary and establishes a logical connection to the business problem	Demonstrates a thorough consideration of the decision and problem, clearly identifies the most important set of information necessary and establishes a detailed and logical connection to the business problem
Results – choice and scope Analyze research data using basic quantitative methods (10 marks) (SLO 3)(CLO9)	Use of inappropriate and/or insufficient statistics to address the research need	Use of appropriate descriptive statistics sufficient to address most aspects of the research need	Use of both appropriate and sufficient descriptive and inferential statistics to address most parts of the research need	Good use of both appropriate and sufficient descriptive and inferential statistics to address all parts of the research need	Extensive use of appropriate descriptive, inferential and multivariate statistics to address all parts of the research need Sophisticated combinations of statistics to develop detailed answers to the questions
Results – presentation Demonstrates the ability to communicate information clearly using a mixture of text, tables and diagrams (10 Marks) (SLO 3 &4)(CLO 6)	Presentation of results lacks coherent or logical structure. Inappropriate or limited use of tables and diagrams to present results Insufficient detail for the reader to follow what was done	Results in basic but logical sequence. Some limited use of tables and diagrams to present results Just sufficient detail for the reader to follow what was done	Results presented in coherent, logical sequence Adequate use of tables and diagrams to present all results More details provided for the reader	Results presented in coherent, logical sequence Good use of tables and diagrams to present all results Good details provided for the reader	Results presented in coherent, logical sequence Sophisticated use of complex tables and diagrams to present all results Extensive details provided for the reader
Discussion Demonstrates understanding of the results and what they mean (20 marks) (SLO 4)(CLO6)	Inappropriate and/or accurate interpretations of the meanings of the results Limited description of how the results are relevant to the business problem	Acceptable interpretations of the meanings of the results Adequate description of how the results are relevant to the business problem	Appropriate and accurate interpretations of the meanings of the results Adequate description providing some detail of how the results are relevant to the business problem	Appropriate and accurate interpretations of the meanings of the results Adequate description providing detail of how the results are relevant to the business problem	Sophisticated and accurate interpretations of the meanings of the results Extensive description of how the results are relevant to the business problem

ASSESSMENT ITEM 3: RESEARCH REPORT PART 2 (bUSINESS iMPLICATIONS AND pROPOSAL FOR fURTHER RESEARCH

Aligned subject learning outcomes	· analyse a business situation, formulate a research problem and devise an appropriate research design · demonstrate effective written communication skills · explain basic data collection methods, outline when the method is most suited to research questions, and evaluate the related strengths and limitations of each method in a business research context
Aligned with course learning outcomes	CLO 1: Demonstrate essential knowledge necessary for a career in business-related professions CLO 2: Synthesise underlying principles and concepts for making business decisions CLO 3: Critically analyse the core professional obligations, values and operations of organisations including sustainability CLO 4: Critically evaluate data & resources in the context of relevant academic literature CLO 5: Apply critical thinking to address issues in business CLO 6: Convey information clearly and fluently, in high quality written form appropriate for their audience CLO 9: Apply technical skills, including numeracy, necessary for professional practice in business
Group or individual	Individual
Weighting	20%
Due Date	30.05.2021 by 11:59pm
See Learning, Teaching and Assessment Policy, Learning, Teaching and Assessment Procedure, Special Consideration Procedure, Examinations Procedure

ASSESSMENT ITEM 3: DESCRIPTION

In this assessment you will complete two final components of a business research report.

Component 4 Implications and Recommendations for the Business Problem (500 words): This section should provide an accurate summary of the research results, make logical connections to the research questions/business problems and provide detailed practical recommendations that are based on the evidence presented. This section should also identify further research needs.

Component 5 Outline Further Research Required (1500 words): In this section you should take the most important further research need from those identified in the previous section and provide the outline and basic details for a research proposal to address this need. This research proposal should have the following sections:

· The Overall Research Design

Describe the key elements of your research design (including approach, type of question, and choice of data collection techniques) and justify your choices explaining why they are the best option for the research need you have chosen

· Sample Requirements & Sampling Options

In this section you must describe the details of the sample that you require for research design and data collection technique that you have chosen and describe options for accessing this sample. Explain your decisions in detail. Where appropriate, discuss what sample size might be needed and why – use of the appropriate formula must be explained and justified.

Overall Details:

This assessment should be approximately 2000 words in length not including the reference list and any tables or figures that you may use.

ASSESSMENT ITEM 3: CRITERIA (OR RUBRIC)

Criteria	Unsatisfactory	Minimum Standard Required for a Pass
Presentation & Style Convey information clearly and fluently, in high quality written form appropriate for target audiences (SLO 6)(CLO1, CLO3)	Presented work that demonstrates a lack of literacy and rudimentary writing skills. Does not convey specific meaning, has a number of grammatical and English expression errors and uses poor referencing.	Employs appropriate language and accepted principles of English and APA citation. Communicates clearly and coherently but not always concisely with very few errors in expression and referencing
Presentation & Style Full and proper acknowledgment of sources (SLO 6)(CLO4)	Plagiarism software identified issues with material taken from sources without appropriate acknowledgment No identification of direct quotes or a failure to use in text citation with page numbers for direct quotes Poor referencing More than 5 direct quotes	All sources are acknowledged with intext citations and proper and complete APA style references All direct quotes are identified with quotation marks, author and date and page number Plagiarism software does not identify issues with close paraphrasing Uses 5 or fewer direct quotes
Submission & Structure	Not all relevant sections have been completed and/or are not presented in the correct order	All relevant sections are completed and presented in the correct order

If these criteria are met the assessment will marked using the following rubric.

Criteria

Unsatisfactory

0-49%

Pass

50 – 64%

Credit

65 – 74%

Distinction

75 – 84%

High distinction

85 – 100%

Conclusions and recommendations for the business problem

Interpret research findings in a manner that facilitates business decision making

(20 marks)

(SLO 4)(CLO5,CLO6)

Poor or no summary of the research results

Limited, or inappropriate connections to the original issue

Poor or no recommendations

Adequate summary of a limited set of research results

Sufficient but limited connections to the original issue

Some recommendations based on the evidence presented

Adequate summary of the main critical research results

Logical connections to the original issue

Adequate recommendations based on the evidence presented

Accurate summary of the main critical research results

Logical connections to the original issue

Detailed recommendations based on the evidence presented

Sophisticated but succinct & accurate summary of all of the critical research results

Detailed logical connections to the original issue

Detailed and extensive recommendations based on the evidence presented

Identification of further research needs

(10 marks)

(SLO 5)(CLO1,CLO3, CLO4)

Research needs not clearly identified and/or not linked to the business problem.

Limited set of research needs identified with basic ideas about links to the business problem

Adequate set of research needs identified, and relationships to the business problem basically explained

Adequate set of research needs identified, and relationships to the business problem explained in some detail.

Sophisticated set of research needs identified, relationships to the business problem fully explained

Overall research design

(20 marks)

(SLO 5)(CLO1, CLO5)

Does not demonstrates any real understanding of research design and there is no clear and/or logical argument to support the selection of the research design for the research question.

Demonstrates a basic understanding of research design and provides some appropriate argument to support the selection of the research design for the research question.

Demonstrates a clear understanding of research design and provides a clear and logical argument to support the selection of the research design for the research question.

Demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of research design are and provides a clear, logical and succinct argument to support the selection of the research design for the research question.

Demonstrates a clear understanding of what the different research designs are and the different sorts of data they generate and provides a clear and logical argument to support the selection of the research design for the research question.

Choice and explanation of data collection technique

(20 marks)

(SLO 5)(CLO9)

Does not demonstrates any real understanding of the chosen data collection technique and there is no clear and/or logical argument to support its selection, and/or the description of its use is limited

Demonstrates a basic understanding of the chosen data collection technique, describes its basic use, and provides some appropriate argument to support its selection

Demonstrates a sound understanding of the chosen data collection technique, provides good details about its proposed use and provides a clear and logical argument to support its selection

Demonstrates a good understanding of the chosen data collection technique, provides good details about its proposed use and provides a clear and logical argument to support its selection

Demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of research design, provides clear details on its proposed use, and a clear, logical and succinct argument to support its selection

Description of sample & sampling

(30 marks)

(SLO 5)(CLO9)

The required sample described is inappropriate for the research questions, the proposed sampling procedure is not explained or is inappropriate for this sample

The required sample described is acceptable for the research questions, the proposed sampling procedure is appropriate for this sample

The required sample described is appropriate for the research questions, the proposed sampling procedure is appropriate for this sample

Some awareness of sample size determination

The required sample described is very appropriate for the research questions, the proposed sampling procedure is appropriate for this sample

Includes some information on sample size and demonstrates awareness of procedures for determining sample size

The required sample described is very appropriate for the research questions, the proposed sampling procedure is appropriate for this sample

Includes information on sample size , including calculations where appropriate, and awareness of relevant issues in sampling

Submission and return of assessment

Submission of assessment

· Assessment Task 1: On-line Quizzes submission:

To be completed on Learn JCU for each on-line quiz.

To avoid any technical problems such as internet drop out or screen freeze, please ensure you are working on a PC/Mac desktop or laptop with a decent and reliable internet connection (Wi-Fi is not recommended). Please ensure you have a LearnJCU compatible browser. There is a web browser checking tool on the login page of LearnJCU: https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/ . Do not attempt an online test or quiz on a mobile device, tablet or smart phone. Please email [email protected] for assistance with all educational technology/online challenges.

· Assessment Task 2: Research report part 1 submission

Upload your research report part 1 as a single PDF file through Learn JCU Assessment Dropbox.

· Assessment Task 3: Research report part 2 submission

Upload your research report part 2 as a single PDF file through Learn JCU Assessment Dropbox.

Late submissions

Note that the Learning, Teaching and Assessment Procedure (3.1.8d) outlines a uniform formula of penalties imposed for submission of an assessment item after the due date. This formula is 5% of the total possible marks for the assessment item per day including part-days, weekends, and public holidays. If submitted after 20 days, the assessment item thus would be awarded 0 marks (i.e. 5% x 20 = 100% of total possible marks in penalties). For assessment items weighted 0%, and submitted after 10 days a DNS grade is awarded.

If due to extenuating circumstances you are unable to submit an assessment by the due date, email your lecturer prior to the due date and request an extension, include your justification for seeking an extension.

Special Consideration (including deferrals and extensions)

JCU’s Special Consideration Procedure encourages students to access equity measures if they are affected by extenuating circumstances while undertaking the subject. All students must make themselves available for assessments and examinations at the scheduled times and will not be granted an extension or a deferral for an assessment item due to previously scheduled commitments such as weddings or holidays.

Declaration of Assessment

Students are required to lodge all non-examination items of assessment with the Assessment Declaration available through LearnJCU. The Assessment Declaration contains statements relating to academic integrity under the Coursework Academic Integrity Policy and Procedures. All instances of academic misconduct are treated very seriously by the University and students may be severely penalised for committing any form of academic misconduct.

Return of assessment and feedback

Quizzes will be marked automatically by the system and your results will be available after the closure of the quiz.

The marked assessment and feedback will be available online through LearnJCU no later than 21 days after the due date.

The requirements for an assessment’s return date, time and manner will be determined by the Subject Coordinator in line with the JCU Learning, Teaching and Assessment Procedure. Feedback will be given, and students can discuss their assessment with the marker as per clause 3.5 of the Learning, Teaching and Assessment Procedures. Students will be informed of their grade for every component of assessment in the subject under clause 3.5.1 and 3.5.2 of the Learning Teaching and Assessment Procedures.

Review of assessment

Students can seek a review of individual assessment pieces through the process contained in clause 3.8 of the Learning, Teaching and Assessment Procedures.

Students can seek a review of the final subject result through the process contained in the Review and Appeal of a Final Subject Result Procedure.

Please see the Current Students webpage for links to all student resources and support services to optimise your academic and personal success.

Please see the Learn Student Guide webpage for general advice on plagiarism, referencing and examinations. Here, you can also access individual and group assessment task cover sheets.

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Subject calendar

Please note, the sequence of some topics may change due to staff availability, resourcing, or due to unforeseen circumstances.

Trimester subject calendar

Week and date (Mondays – Week beginning)	Preparation/Readings	Lecture Topic(s)	Tutorial Activity	Relation to assessment
1	15/03/2021	Barends & Rousseau Text Chapters 1 & 4 Basham et al Introduction to Critical Thinking reading	Introduction to Critical & Evidence Based Thinking		All
2	22/03/2021	Barends & Rousseau Text Chapter 2 & 8, 6 & 16 Saunders et al 2019 Chapter 3 *(Saunders et al 2016 Chapter 3)	Analysing business problems	Analysing business problems Sources of Evidence Critical Literature Reviews Introduction to assessment topics	All
3	29/03/2021	Online books accessed through JCU e-library (just put title into onesearch in jculibrary site and follow links) From big data to big profits: success with data and analytics by Walker, Russell. 2015. Chapters 1,3,10 & 13 (all very short) Social Media Data Mining and Analytics by Szabo, Gabor; Boykin, Oscar. 2018 Chapter 6 Saunders et al 2019 Chapter 6 Ethics section *(Saunders et al 2016 Chapter 6 Ethics section)	Data Analytic & Ethics	First Quiz - 30.03.2021 Data Analytics Reading Articles efficiently Ethics around data and research	All


Week and date (Mondays – Week beginning)	Preparation/Readings	Topic	Class Sub-Topics & Activities	Relation to assessment
4	5/04/2022	Barends & Rousseau Text Chapter 5 & 7 Saunders et al 2019 Chapter 5 *(Saunders et al 2016 Chapter 5)	Introduction to empirical evidence	Overview of the Research process Basics of research design Qualitative-quantitative distinction Analysing research report problem	All
5	12/04/2021	Saunders et al 2019 Chapter 12 *(Saunders et al 2016 Chapters 12 & 14)	Revision of descriptive and simple bivariate quantitative data analysis	Second Quiz- 13.04.2021 Analysing existing data and building tables and graphs	all
Study Week - Monday 19/4/2021 – Friday 23/04/2021
6	26/04/2021	Saunders et al 2019 Chapter 7 *(Saunders et al 2016 Chapter 7)	Sampling	Building and evaluating samples	all
7	3/05/2021	Saunders et al 2019 Chapter 11 *(Saunders et al 2016 Chapter 11)	Surveys & questionnaires	Third Quiz – 4.05.2021 Evaluating surveys and designing questions for the research proposal	all
8	10/05/2021	Cooper 7 Schindler Qualitative Research reading Xun & Reynolds Applying Netnography to Market Research Reading Saunders et al 2019 Chapter 9 (Saunders et al 2016 Chapter 9) Saunders et al 2019 Chapter 10 (Saunders et al 2016 Chapter 10)	Interviews & Focus groups	Evaluating interviews and focus groups for the research proposal	all
9	17/05/2021		Archival analyses, observation, netnography	Fourth Quiz- 18.05.2021 Evaluating qualitative data collection for the research proposal	2 & 3
10	24/05/2021	Saunders et al 2019 Chapter 13 *(Saunders et al 2016 Chapter 13)	Qualitative data analysis	Analysing qualitative data examples	2 & 3
EP	EXAM PREPARATION

Appendix A: Assessment Methods

Research report

A research report is a structured document designed so readers are able to readily extract information about the aims and significance, methodology, findings, and conclusions of a research project. It describes the research methodology in sufficient detail for it to be verified by others and presents the research questions, interpretations of results, conclusions, and recommendations, in the context of related work in the field.

Test/Quiz

A short test or quiz taken online. It can have yes/no answers, true/false questions, multiple choice, extended matching questions, key feature questions, problems/computational questions, and short or long (extended) answer questions.