Research Methods Assignment

Assignment Brief As part of the formal assessment for the programme you are required to submit a Research Methods assignment. Please refer to your Student Handbook for full details of the programme assessment scheme and general information on preparing and submitting assignments.Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this module the student will be expected to:

1.Critically appraise and evaluate the contribution primary and secondary data sources can make to research studies, particularly with respect to sampling, statistical analysis and data presentation techniques

2.Critically appraise and evaluate research undertaken by others.

3.Undertake multidisciplinary research through the acquisition of skills relevant to the context of business and management.

4.Effectively plan and undertake personal development including the awareness of an ethical and socially responsibly dimension to decision making.

Your assignment should include: a title page containing your student number, the module name, the submission deadline and a word count; the appendices if relevant; and a reference list in Arden University (AU) Harvard format.You should address all the elements of the assignment task listed below.Note that tutors will use the assessment criteria set out below in assessing your work.Maximum word count:3000 words Please note that exceeding the word count by over 10% will result in a reduction in grade by the same percentage that the word count is exceeded.You must not include your name in your submission because Arden University operates anonymous marking, which means that markers should not be aware of the identity of the student. However, please do not forget to include your STU number.Re-sits:If you are re-sitting this assessment for the first time, you may re-work your original submission if you wish. However, if this is your third attempt at this assessment, you must submit a piece of work which is substantially different from your first two attempts.

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.Your answer should include the detail below.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.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.Overall Structure of Proposal Appropriate use of references.AU 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 onthe module page on ilearn. Including quotations, but exclusive of the bibliography and appendices, the assignment must not exceed 3,000 words in length. Students are required to indicate the exact word count on the title page of the assessment. The word count excludes the title page, executive summary, tables, figures, diagrams, footnotes, 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. 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 AU Harvard system. The My Study Skills Area contains the following useful resources:Guide to Harvard Referencinghttp://moodle.bl.rdi.co.uk/guides/HarvardRef/AU_Harvard_Quick_Ref_Guide.pdfGuide to Harvard Citationhttp://moodle.bl.rdi.co.uk/guides/HarvardRef/AU_Guide_to_Harvard_Citation.pdf

You must use the AU 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). Assessment criteria The proposal will be assessed for its overall quality; in particular the extent to which the components fit together and its suitability for masters level research. You will need to demonstrate that you have withheld pre-conceived ideas and organised your arguments logically. The proposal needs to convince the reader as to its suitability and your ability to undertake the work. A mark sheet and marking criteria are attached. The work will be marked on a percentage basis, with 40 percent being the pass mark. You should take careful note of where marks are allocated and ensure that you address these areas in your proposal.Once you have identified your area it is worth contacting your tutor with a brief outline of what you intend to do with your objectives clearly set out in order to receive some feedback before you undertake the main writing up.Getting support for your assessment The idea for the proposal is yours so we cannot make suggestions but will give feedback on a plan and tell you whether we think it viable. To do this we need you to give us: a title; some rationale for the idea; the research question, some objectives; and an indication of the theory to be used.We will also read and comment once only on a full draft of your work provided it is submitted no later than the deadline set out on ilearn. This is usually one week prior to the assessment hand in date but it is your responsibility to check ilearn for the actual date.We strongly recommend attending the online sessions.

Key to marking scheme in each section: 0 = no evidence of meeting criteria; full marks= criteria is fully met Research Questions and Objectives Clearly explains problem/issue, justifying why it is important both from an organisational and a personal perspective and provides precisely written research questions and observable outcomes that flow from this15%Indicative Literature Review Demonstrates knowledge of the relevant literature by identifying key debates, concepts and theories and explains how the literature will be used to inform the research design30%Methodology Provides an explanation of fundamental issues of research methodology. 15%Explains and justifies the research strategy and data collection methods to be used and in relation to the proposed research explores the concepts of validity, reliability and generalisability and ethical and practical issues.

A detailed project plan should be appended.30%Overall Structure Uses report format and presents items in a logical structure. Uses BU Harvard referencing in text and bibliography10%Numerical grading relates to the ‘grading criteria’ handout, whilst comments below provide qualitative feedback on your research proposal. It is strongly suggested that you use the marks allocated to each section to guide the number of words allocated to each part of the mark scheme.

Key strengths of this proposal:Main areas for improvement:Final Mark: ……… (subject to the approval of the External Examiner)First Marker………………………… Second Marker…………………………..

Assessment Criteria (Learning objectives covered -all)