Research topic and proposal

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MITS6011-Assessments.pdf

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MITS6011/ MITS6012

Advanced Research Topics in IT/ IS

Assessment Document

Please Read Carefully

MITS6011 Assessments

Important Note:

This Unit does not have a Final Exam but is based on your semester work and a final presentation

at a subject symposium to be arranged at the end of the semester. The assessments will be based

on a research question that you will develop throughout the semester. There will be a number of

check points throughout the semester, and each one of these will form a deliverable related to the

research question and contribute towards your final grade. Because of the nature of the subject

there are a number of deliverables (assignments) outlined in Table 1 below. While this may seem

a lot, please remember there is no exam, and the assessments are designed to keep you working

consistently throughout the semester. Again, this is necessary given the nature of the Unit of Study.

*** As this is an introduction to research subject there will be zero tolerance for plagiarism

The overall marks are to be allocated as follows (as per the Unit Descriptor)

Assessment Component Weighting Hurdle Research Proposal 20% Research Report 60% Yes Presentation 20% Yes

The breakdown of the above components into deliverables and weeks are given in Table 1:

Table 1 Unit of Study Deliverables

Component Weight Deliverable Deliverable Weight

Week

Research Proposal Research Question 5

} Research question/ abstract 10 3 Abstract 5 Full Proposal 10 Full proposal 10 5

Research Paper Full Abstract 5

} Introduction/ full abstract 15 7 Introduction 10

Literature Review 20 Concept Map 5 8 First Page 5 9 Full Literature Review 10 10

Methodology 15 First Page 5 11 Methodology 10 12

Full Submission 10 Full submission 10 13

Presentation 20 20 14

MITS6011 Assessments

INSTRUCTIONS

Students will need to consider a research problem in Information Technology or Information

Systems. The problem could arise from many different fields, for example, medical, business,

science, engineering, hospitality, banking etc … The selection of the research problem will need

to take place early, in session 1 or 2 as the first deliverable is in session 3. This is necessary given

the nature of the subject. All the remaining work throughout the semester will stem from the basic

research problem. The idea is that this Unit of Study will mimic the research process and provide

you with the understanding and tools to undertake future research. In the first session, we will

extensively discuss finding research problems and from there formulating research questions. This

then gives us the foundation for proceeding with the remainder of the unit.

Deliverables

Below is a brief explanation of each of the deliverables including submission guidelines and

deadlines, though the deadlines have already been given in the Table 1 above.

Research Question and Abstract ( 10 Marks Due session 3)

The research question lies at the heart of your research project. After considering a research

problem (whatever the field of study) from there you will develop the research question. We will

discuss formulating research questions in session one and two, but within the research problem the

research question focuses specifically on one aspect of the problem that you will undertake as part

of the research programme. There are many ways to present the research question, and these will

be discussed during the sessions.

Along with the presentation of the Research question, you will also provide an abstract. An abstract

at this stage is a carefully written single paragraph which succinctly describes the background and

research problem that is being investigated by the researcher. The general approach can also be

outlined here. The format of the abstract will be discussed in the first two sessions.

Submit your assignment in one document file by the due date and time to the assignment drop-

box.

Full Proposal ( 10 Marks Due session 5)

The full proposal is a document that contains your entire proposal for the research to be undertake.

These documents are normally required by academic departments before students are admitted to

undertake research degrees such as a Masters research degree or a PhD. This document will contain

your abstract and research question from the previous submission but integrated into a coherent

MITS6011 Assessments

document along with other components that will be discussed in class. A selection of references

that you will use in developing your research paper will also be included at the stage.

The format of the full proposal can be found in the example document (proposal.doc). Use this

document as a starting point to develop your full proposal and submit by the due date and time to

the assignment drop-box.

Introduction and Full Abstract ( 15 Marks Due session 7)

The Introduction of the research report contains a full introduction to the research you have

undertaken. The Introduction normally contains a statement of the problem (including the initial

research question, the Significance of the problem, some historical background. The purpose, or

goal to be gained from a better understanding of the research question, statement of hypothesis,

any assumptions and limitations as well as any possible ethical considerations. Perhaps also a brief

overview of the methodology.

The format of the Introduction can be found in the example document (report.doc, chapter 1). Use

this document as a starting point to develop your Introduction (add and delete sections as

appropriate).

Your submission also contains the full abstract. This is an extension of the initial abstract submitted

with the proposal document and summarizes the report including the hypotheses, procedures, and

major findings (you will not be conducting the research, so you won’t have any findings). The Full

abstract should be no more than one page.

Submit this chapter by the due date and time to the assignment drop-box.

Literature Review ( 20 Marks Due session 8, 9, 10)

The literature review gives the reader (and the examiner) the necessary background to understand

the study by citing the investigations and findings of previous researchers and documents the

researcher's knowledge and preparation to investigate the problem.

Studying the existing literature is one of the essential preliminary tasks when you undertake a

research study. This enables you to acquaint yourself with the available body of knowledge in your

specific area of research. “The literature review is an integral part of the research process and

makes a valuable contribution to almost every operational step” (Kumar, R. Research

Methodology: a step-by-step guide for beginners, 3rd ed, Sage 2011).

The literature review will be discussed in class and examples given, the literature review would

MITS6011 Assessments

normally constitute Chapter 2 in a research report, see suggested guidelines in (report.doc, chapter

The submission for the Literature Review has been divided into a number of submissions so the

Unit lecturer can gauge the students progression on this important topic early.

Session 8 Submission – Concept Map

This will not be submitted online, but checked in class only during the individual discussions with

each of the students. The concept map is a graphical representation of your intended structure of

the literature review. From the concept map we should be able to discern the structure of the

literature review and how you intend to proceed, including any thematic partitioning of the

references.

Session 9 Submission – First Page

This will not be submitted online, but checked in class only during the individual discussions with

each of the students. This will be the first page of Literature Review including any references cited

in the first page.

Session 10 Submission – Full Literature Review

Submit this chapter by the due date and time to the assignment drop-box.

Methodology ( 15 Marks Due session 12)

In this section you clearly outline what methodology you used in your research i.e. what you intend

to do and how you intend to do it. It must be clearly written so that it would be easy for another

researcher to duplicate your research if they wished. Most researchers will use one or more of a

number of well documented and acceptable methods understood by the research community. We

will discuss a number or research methodologies in different sessions, but there will be many others

you can choose from

The structure of a methodology chapter will be discussed in class and examples given. The

Methodology would normally constitute Chapter 3 in a research report, see suggested guidelines

in (report.doc, chapter 3).

The submission for the Methodology has been divided into a number of submissions so the Unit

lecturer can gauge the students progression in this topic.

MITS6011 Assessments

Session 11 Submission – First Page

This will not be submitted online, but checked in class only during the individual discussions with

each of the students. This will be the first page of Methodology component including any

references cited in the first page.

Session 2 Submission – Full Methodology

Submit this chapter by the due date and time to the assignment drop-box.

Full Research Paper ( 10 Marks Due session 13)

In this submission you incorporate the previous three submissions into a final document and submit

by the due date and time. This submission will incorporate the Full Abstract and Introduction, The

Literature Review and the Methodology chapters into one document. This will give you a chance

to take on board any comments given by your instructor in the previous submissions, make

corrections and possibly recover some marks which may have been deducted in the previous

submission.

Submit this document by the due date and time to the assignment drop-box.

Presentation ( 20 Marks To be arranged – typically in the equivalent of session 14)

For this component you will be required to give a 10 - 15 minute presentation on your research

report and answer any questions from the audience. The presentations will be conducted in a

symposium type setting after the end of the semester, typically in week 15. There is no submission

for this component of assessment, you will be graded on your presentation and ability to answer

any questions put to you. The structure of the presentation will be discussed during the semester

and a suggested format will for the presentation will be made available in a sample set of

powerpoint slides, see (presentation.ppt).

As this component is based on your presentation, you will need to present in order to be allocated

any grade for this component

Submission guidelines

All submissions are to be submitted through turn-it-in. Drop-boxes linked to turn-it-in will be set

up in the Unit of Study Moodle site. Assignments not submitted through these drop-boxes will not

MITS6011 Assessments

be considered.

Submissions must be made by the due date and time (which will be in the session detailed above)

and determined by your Unit coordinator. Submissions made after the due date and time will be

penalized at the rate of 10% per day (including weekend days).

As previously stated, this is a research subject and as such your own effort is required. There will

be a zero tolerance for plagiarism and the turn-it-in similarity score will be used in determining

the level if any of plagiarism. Turn-it-in will check conference web-sites, Journal articles, the

Web and your own class member submissions for plagiarism. You can see your turn-it-in

similarity score when you submit your assignment to the appropriate drop-box. If this is a concern

you will have a chance to change your assignment and re-submit. However, re-submission is only

allowed prior to the submission due date and time. After the due date and time have elapsed you

cannot make re-submissions and you will have to live with the similarity score as there will be no

chance for changing. Thus, plan early and submit early to take advantage of this feature. You can

make multiple submissions, but please remember we only see the last submission, and the date and

time you submitted will be taken from that submission.