INSTRUCTIONS

 Students will need to consider a research problem in Information Technology or Information Systems. The problem could arise from many different fields, for example, medical, business, science, engineering, hospitality, banking etc … The selection of the research problem will need to take place early, in session 1 or 2 as the first deliverable is in session 3. This is necessary given the nature of the subject. All the remaining work throughout the semester will stem from the basic research problem. The idea is that this Unit of Study will mimic the research process and provide you with the understanding and tools to undertake future research. In the first session, we will extensively discuss finding research problems and from there formulating research questions. This then gives us the foundation for proceeding with the remainder of the unit.

Deliverables

Below is a brief explanation of each of the deliverables including submission guidelines and deadlines, though the deadlines have already been given in the Table 1 above.

Research Question and Abstract ( 10 Marks       Due session 3)

The research question lies at the heart of your research project. After considering a research problem (whatever the field of study) from there you will develop the research question. We will discuss formulating research questions in session one and two, but within the research problem the research question focuses specifically on one aspect of the problem that you will undertake as part of the research programme. There are many ways to present the research question, and these will be discussed during the sessions.

Along with the presentation of the Research question, you will also provide an abstract. An abstract at this stage is a carefully written single paragraph which succinctly describes the background and research problem that is being investigated by the researcher. The general approach can also be outlined here. The format of the abstract will be discussed in the first two sessions.

Submit your assignment in one document file by the due date and time to the assignment dropbox.

Full Proposal  ( 10 Marks       Due session  5)

The full proposal is a document that contains your entire proposal for the research to be undertake. These documents are normally required by academic departments before students are admitted undertaking research degrees such as a Masters research degree or a PhD. This document will contain your abstract and research question from the previous submission but integrated into a

coherent document along with other components that will be discussed in class. A selection of references that you will use in developing your research paper will also be included at the stage.

The format of the full proposal can be found in the example document (proposal.doc). Use this document as a starting point to develop your full proposal and submit by the due date and time to the assignment drop-box.

Introduction and Full Abstract ( 15 Marks       Due session 7)

The Introduction of the research report contains a full introduction to the research you have undertaken. The Introduction normally contains a statement of the problem (including the initial research question, the Significance of the problem, some historical background. The purpose, or goal to be gained from a better understanding of the research question, statement of hypothesis, any assumptions and limitations as well as any possible ethical considerations. Perhaps also a brief overview of the methodology.

The format of the Introduction can be found in the example document (report.doc, chapter 1). Use this document as  a starting point to develop your Introduction (add and delete sections as appropriate).

Your submission also contains the full abstract. This is an extension of the initial abstract submitted with the proposal document and summarizes the report including the hypotheses, procedures, and major findings (you will not be conducting the research, so you won’t have any findings). The Full abstract should be no more than one page.

Submit this chapter by the due date and time to the assignment drop-box.

Literature Review ( 20 Marks       Due session 8, 9, 10)

The literature review gives the reader (and the examiner) the necessary background to understand the study by citing the investigations and findings of previous researchers and documents the researcher's knowledge and preparation to investigate the problem.

Studying the existing literature is one of the essential preliminary tasks when you undertake a research study. This enables you to acquaint yourself with the available body of knowledge in your specific area of research. “The literature review is an integral part of the research process and makes a valuable contribution to almost every operational step” (Kumar, R. Research Methodology: a step-by-step guide for beginners, 3^rd ed, Sage 2011).

The literature review will be discussed in class and examples given, the literature review would normally constitute Chapter 2 in a research report, see suggested guidelines in (report.doc, chapter 2)

The submission for the Literature Review has been divided into a number of submissions so the Unit lecturer can gauge the student’s progression on this important topic early.

Session 8 Discussion – Concept Map

This will not be submitted online but checked in class only during the individual discussions with each of the students. The concept map is a graphical representation of your intended structure of the literature review. From the concept map we should be able to discern the structure of the literature review and how you intend to proceed, including any thematic partitioning of the references.

Session 9 Discussion – First Page

This will not be submitted online but checked in class only during the individual discussions with each of the students. This will be the first page of Literature Review including any references cited in the first page.

Session 10 Submission – Full Literature Review

Submit this chapter by the due date and time to the assignment drop-box. The submission must include your concept map and first page of literature review that were discussed with the lecturer during session 8 and 9.

Methodology ( 15 Marks       Due session 12)

In this section you clearly outline what methodology you used in your research i.e. what you intend to do and how you intend to do it. It must be clearly written so that it would be easy for another researcher to duplicate your research if they wished. Most researchers will use one or more of a number of well documented and acceptable methods understood by the research community. We will discuss a number or research methodologies in different sessions, but there will be many others you can choose from

The structure of a methodology chapter will be discussed in class and examples given. The Methodology would normally constitute Chapter 3 in a research report, see suggested guidelines in (report.doc, chapter 3).

The submission for the Methodology has been divided into a number of submissions so the Unit lecturer can gauge the student’s progression in this topic.

Session 11 Discussion – First Page

This will not be submitted online but checked in class only during the individual discussions with each of the students. This will be the first page of Methodology component including any references cited in the first page.

Session 2 Submission – Full Methodology

Submit this chapter by the due date and time to the assignment drop-box.

Full Research Paper ( 10 Marks       Due session 13)

In this submission you incorporate the previous three submissions into a final document and submit by the due date and time. This submission will incorporate the Full Abstract and Introduction, The Literature Review and the Methodology chapters into one document. This will give you a chance to take on board any comments given by your instructor in the previous submissions, make corrections and possibly recover some marks which may have been deducted in the previous submission.

Submit this document by the due date and time to the assignment drop-box.

Presentation ( 20 Marks       To be arranged – typically in the equivalent of session 14)

For this component you will be required to give a 10 - 15-minute presentation on your research report and answer any questions from the audience. The presentations will be conducted in a symposium type setting after the end of the semester, typically in week 15. There is no submission for this component of assessment, you will be graded on your presentation and ability to answer any questions put to you. The structure of the presentation will be discussed during the semester and a suggested format will for the presentation will be made available in a sample set of PowerPoint slides, see (presentation.ppt).

As this component is based on your presentation, you will need to present in order to be allocated any grade for this component.

Submission guidelines

All submissions are to be submitted through turn-it-in. Drop-boxes linked to turn-it-in will be set up in the Unit of Study Moodle site. Questions not submitted through these drop-boxes will not be considered.

Submissions must be made by the due date and time (which will be in the session detailed above) and determined by your Unit coordinator. Submissions made after the due date and time will be penalized at the rate of 10% per day (including weekend days).

As previously stated, this is a research subject and as such your own effort is required. There will be a zero tolerance for plagiarism and the turn-it-in similarity score will be used in determining the level if any of plagiarism. Turn-it-in will check conference websites, Journal articles, the Web and your own class member submissions for plagiarism. You can see your turn-it-in similarity score when you submit your assignment to the appropriate drop-box. If this is a concern you will have a chance to change your assignment and re-submit. However, re-submission is only allowed prior to the submission due date and time. After the due date and time have elapsed you cannot make re-submissions and you will have to live with the similarity score as there will be no chance for changing. Thus, plan early and submit early to take advantage of this feature. You can make multiple submissions, but please remember we only see the last submission, and the date and time you submitted will be taken from that submission.