Assignment Task
You are required to produce a research proposal for a dissertation in a management related field. The proposal prepared may be the one which you follow for your dissertation but this is not essential. If you eventually choose another topic for your dissertation you will have to go through a similar process as that required for this assessment on that topic. It would therefore be sensible to think carefully about the topic choice and decide now what your dissertation will be about. For those on an MBA named route the eventual dissertation must relate to that route.
Literature review
Demonstrate knowledge of relevant literature by identifying key debates: concepts and theories within the topic area and how the literature will be utilised to inform your research.
Methodology
Explanation of fundamental issues in methodology followed by a full description of the methodological approach to be adopted. This and your data collection methods should be justified and you should explore issues of validity, reliability and generalisability of the research proposal and make reference to ethical issues. You should also discuss relevant practical issues relating to the research to be undertaken e.g. organisational consent and timescales. A more detailed project plan should be appended.
Format:
The format should broadly follow the plan provided below. Diagrams and charts may be added to clarify and illustrate points.
Research Questions & Objectives
Explanation of the problem/issue and justify why it is important, both from an organisational and a personal perspective, and a series of precisely written objectives, to include observable outcomes, that flow from this.
Overall Structure of Proposal
Appropriate use of references. Harvard referencing to be used in both the text and bibliography - all detail to be included. Logical structure, report format.
Practical Issues
- Your assessment should be submitted as a single word or pdf file. For more information please see the "Guide to Submitting an Assignment" document available on the module page on ilearn.
- Including quotations, but exclusive of the bibliography and appendices, the assignment must not exceed 3,000 words in length.
- You are required to state the word count on the front page
- The word count excludes the title page, executive summary, reference list and appendices. Where assessment questions have been reprinted from the assessment brief these will also be excluded from the word count. ALL other printed words ARE included in the word count. Printed words include those contained within charts and tables. See ‘Word Count Policy' on the homepage of this module for more information.
- Assignments submitted late will not be accepted and will be marked as a 0% fail.
- You MUST underpin your analysis and evaluation of the key issues with appropriate and wide ranging academic research and ensure this is referenced using the Harvard system. The My Study Skills Area contains the following useful resources; Study Skills Guide (containing a Harvard Referencing section) and a Harvard Referencing Interactive Tutorial. You must use the Harvard Referencing method in your assignment.
- You must ensure that the submitted assignment is all your own work and that all sources used are correctly attributed. Penalties apply to assignments which show evidence of academic unfair practice. (See the Student Handbook which is available in the Induction Area on ilearn).