HNC/D Diploma in Business

Assignment Brief

As part of the formal assessment for the HNC/D programme you are required to submit an assignment for each module. Please refer to your Student Handbook for full details of the programme assessment scheme and general information on preparing and submitting assignments.

After completing the Research Project module you should be able to:

LO1 Understand how to formulate a research specification

LO2 Implement the research project within agreed procedures and to specification

LO3 Evaluate the research outcomes

LO4 Present the research outcomes

Assignment Task

Task 1 - Research Project Specification/ Proposal - Suggested word count is 1200 words max.

You are required to email a Research Project Proposal document to your tutor for review/approval BEFORE you commence the research project work itself.

In order to complete the Research Proposal document you should complete the following tasks:

1a) Formulate a list of possible research projects/ topics and identify the factors that contributed to your selection of your final choice of research project.

1b) Define a clear, concise hypothesis/research question for your research project, construct a detailed action plan (including methodology and allocation of resources) and undertake a critical review of key references for your planned area of research.

In order to give you some early feedback and to approve your chosen area of research you are required to submit a draft of the Research Project Proposal to the module tutor. In order to allow sufficient time for review, feedback and for you to work on the Research Project / report itself.

The tutor's email address can be found on the module front page on ilearn and you will receive feedback on the proposal within seven days.

You can alter the proposal after receiving feedback and before the final submission.

You must submit the Research Project Proposal with the rest of the Research Project Report

Task 2 - Research Project Report- Suggested word count is 3800 words max

2a) You are required to undertake the proposed research investigation in accordance with the agreed specification/proposal

2b) You must record and collate relevant research data, interpret and analyse the results of your research activities (in terms of the original research proposal), and present the outcomes of the research in a formal report format, using appropriate media.

2c) You should evaluate the success/failure of your research project/activities and make recommendations and/or justify areas for further consideration.

1. You should write this assignment in a FORMAL RESEARCH REPORT FORMAT - Further guidance on the format of the formal research report structure required can be found in the Arden University (RDI) Student Handbook (found in the induction module on ilearn) and in the Research Project ilearn study materials as follows: Module - Research Project / Unit - Presentation / Lesson - Presentation/Page 3 of 14

2. 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 in the Induction Area). Please also refer to the ‘Guide to Unfair Practice in Assessment' on the module page on ilearn.

3. 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 Bournemouth University (BU)Harvard system. The ‘My Study Skills'area contains the following useful resources; Study Skills Guide (containing a BU Harvard Referencing section) and a BU Harvard Referencing Interactive Tutorial. You must use the BU Harvard referencing method in your assignment.

4. You should use diagrams and tables of figures where appropriate ensuring to reference their source using the BU Harvard Referencing method.

5. You are required to write your assignment within 5000 words in order for your research and summarising skills to be developed, and for effective time management. You are required to ensure that the assignment addresses all of the assessment tasks.

The word count excludes the title page, 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.

Recommended Additional Resources

Textbooks

Online CORE E-Book recommended for this course:

Saunders, M., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A., 2012, Research methods for business students. Financial Times/ Prentice Hall.

Other recommended Texts:
Bell, J.Doing Your Research Project: A Guide for First-Time Researchers in Education, Health and Social Science (Open Up Study Skills) (Open University Press; 5 edition (1 May 2010)

Gill, J and Johnson, P.Research Methods for Managers (Sage Publications Ltd; Fourth Edition (21 Jan 2010)

Allison, B., 2004. The student's guide to preparing dissertations and theses. 2nd edition. London: RoutledgeFalmer.

Hair, J. F., Babin, B., Money, A. H., Samouel, P., 2011. Essentials of business research methods, 2nd edition. John Wiley & Sons.

Online ‘library' resource available via ilearn

EBSCO - Business Source Complete
Search for ‘Research' to access academic journals / articles relating to this topic

EBSCO - e book collection / Myilibrary
Saunders, M., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A., 2012, Research methods for business students. Financial Times/ Prentice Hall.

Need your help on this assignment, please go though this assignment and provide project proposal first and once its agreed by my professor, then we can go ahead for full report. Pls advise how you'd like to proceed with.

Attachment:- Assign Brief.rar