Project

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

BUSS 1008 Page 1 of 11

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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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 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

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

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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 Two

Section One

Student Name:

Student Number:

Supervisor Name:

Please note the areas shaded in

grey are mandatory fields.

Simply select the pertinent

greyed area and fill it in.

The form expands as you type.

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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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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

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

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Deliverable 0.5-1 2-3 3-4 4-5 Mark

Scope of the

studies,

Significance and

Relevance

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