ECON1555 Business Data Analytics

Overview

This assessment task takes the form of a report, which you will prepare as part of a consulting research assignment.

A Consulting Firm in Melbourne has been approached by a client to do a consulting project on the status of Information Technology usage in businesses in Australia. The reason for this is that the client is interested in identifying strengths and areas for improvement in alignment with the Australian Government’s view that businesses need to be data ready and adept at using digital technologies including the internet to succeed in the digital economy. The client wants a ‘high-level’ view focusing on all businesses in Australia, and with an additional focus on SMEs (small and medium enterprises).

You are assigned to do this project and required to submit a short report. The project is to analyse and describe the Australian enterprises’ online presence by using a reliable dataset. Data was collected from the Business Characteristics Survey (BCS) and is available on the ABS website via the link: https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/8167.0. Further details on the background to the assignment, and scope of the research assignment etc. are provided below in the assessment details section.

Assessment criteria and weighting

• Evidence of addressing the objectives for the assignment (30 percent).
• Ability to identify and apply appropriate methods (20 percent).
• Ability to perform data analysis based on a business research objective using appropriate analytical techniques (30 percent).
• Quality of the style and structure of the report (20 percent).

Learning Outcomes

This assessment is linked to CLOs 1, 2, 3, 4. The CLOs are as follows:

CLO1: Research and critique business problems using a suitable paradigm and associated methodologies and methods and techniques.

CLO2: Analyse business data by applying data analytics techniques and models to develop business intelligence.

CLO3: Interpret business data and generate ethical and innovative solutions based on data analytics results.

CLO4: Communicate business solutions professionally and effectively to a varied set of stakeholders.

Referencing guidelines

You must acknowledge all the courses of information you have used in your assessments. 

Refer to the RMIT Easy Cite referencing tool to see examples and tips on how to reference in the appropriated style. You can also refer to the library referencing page for more tools such as EndNote, referencing tutorials and referencing guides for printing.

Use RMIT Harvard referencing style for this assessment.

Submission format

Upload as one single file via the Assignments submission page within Canvas. 

Academic integrity and plagiarism

Academic integrity is about honest presentation of your academic work. It means acknowledging the work of others while developing your own insights, knowledge and ideas.

You should take extreme care that you have:

• Acknowledged words, data, diagrams, models, frameworks and/or ideas of others you have quoted (i.e. directly copied), summarised, paraphrased, discussed or mentioned in your assessment through the appropriate referencing methods,
• Provided a reference list of the publication details so your reader can locate the source if necessary. This includes material taken from Internet sites.
• If you do not acknowledge the sources of your material, you may be accused of plagiarism because you have passed off the work and ideas of another person without appropriate referencing, as if they were your own.

RMIT University treats plagiarism as a very serious offence constituting misconduct.

Plagiarism covers a variety of inappropriate behaviours, including:

• Failure to properly document a source
• Copyright material from the internet or databases
• Collusion between students.
• For further information on our policies and procedures, please refer to the University website.

Assessment declaration

When you submit work electronically, you agree to the Assessment declaration.