Research Project Specification / Proposal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pearson BTEC Level 5

 

 

HNC/D Diploma in Business

 

 

 

 

 

Research Project (RP)

 

 

Assessment

 

 

 

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:

 

1 Understand how to formulate a research specification

 

2 Be able to implement the research project within agreed procedures and to specification 3 Be able to evaluate the research outcomes

 

4 Be able to present the research outcomes

 

 

 

 

 

Assignment Context:

 

 

For the assessment of this module you are required to produce a report based on your own independent research into an area of business practice that interests you and will add to your professional development.

 

 

Please consider an operational issue that is relevant to an organisation of your choice and contact your tutor by email for approval of / feedback on your chosen research topic before commencing the research itself.

 

 

To give you some idea of the types of research topics that are suitable please find below some examples of research hypotheses used by students on previous cohorts:

 

“The threat of redundancy at Company X has resulted in reduced employee motivation”

 

“The sales of kitchen by Company Y is directly linked to the sale of houses in the local area”

 

 

“Poor communication from management to staff has resulted in poor levels of customer service at Company Z”

 

 

If you are having trouble deciding on an operating issue or an organisation to use for the project then please contact your module tutor as soon as possible for advice.

 

 

 

 

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Assignment Task

 

Task 1 - Research Project Specification / Proposal

 

You are required to email a Research Project Proposal document (1.4) to your tutor for approval BEFORE you commence the research itself. In order to complete the Research Proposal document you should complete the following tasks:

 

-       Formulate a list of possible research projects / topics and identify the factors that contributed to

your selection of your final choice of research project.

(1.1, 1.2)

 

-       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.

(1.3, 1.5, 2.1)

 

 

In order to give you some early feedback you are encouraged and strongly advised to submit a draft of the Research Project Proposal to your tutor. This is optional and does not contribute to the grading for the module and whether you do this or not you must still submit the Research Project Proposal with the rest of the Research Project Report on 13^th August 2015. You can alter the proposal after receiving feedback and before the final submission.

 

 

In order to receive some early feedback, and to allow sufficient time for you to work on the Research Project / report itself, the Research Project Proposal document must be emailed to the module tutor by 12^th JULY 2015.

 

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.

 

Research Project Proposal - Suggested word count is 1000 words max.

 

 

Task 2 - Research Project Report

 

-  You are required to undertake the proposed research investigation in accordance with the agreed specification/proposal (2.2)

 

-  You must record and collate relevant research data, interpret and analyse the results of your research activities (in terms of the original research specification/proposal), and present the outcomes of the research in a formal report format, using appropriate media. (2.3, 3.2, 4.1)

 

-  You should evaluate the success / failure of your research project / activities and make

recommendations and/or justify areas for further consideration.

(3.1, 3.3)

 

Research Project Report - Suggested word count is 3000 words max

 

Suggested assignment TOTAL word count = 4000 words

 

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Student Guidelines

 

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 RDI Student Handbook (found in the induction module on ilearn) and in the Research Project RDI 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 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.

 

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

 

5.  It is advised that you write your report within approximately 4000 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 .There is no penalty for being over the suggested word count, however, in the interests of good academic practice, assignments submitted with excessive word counts (e.g. over 4500 words) may be returned to students and asked to be reduced before marking.

 

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. Printed words include those contained within charts and tables.

 

6. Your assignment should be submitted as a single document. For more information please see the

 

“Guide to Submitting an Assignment” document available on the module page on iLearn.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Recommended Additional Resources

 

Textbooks

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