Introduction to the portfolio activities

Portfolio Overview
This portfolio of work represents 10% of your final coursework mark.
The activities will be posted on LMS each week for you to complete. You should submit to relevant drop box every week.
Week 1-5
Portfolio Activity marking Criteria
1. Is there evidence that student has failed to properly engage with the activity? Is there evidence of poor
understanding as a result of limited effort? 0-3 marks
2. Is the portfolio activity completed to a standard that allows the student to demonstrate the intended skill/ a basic level
of understanding of the topic area covered? BASIC 3-5 marks
3. Is the portfolio activity completed to a standard that demonstrates a good level of engagement with the topic? Is it
clear that the student has grasped the skill/ topic area effectively? 5-7 marks
4. Has the student fully engaged with the topic? Is there evidence of some additional reading or research? (evidenced
through referencing) Is there evidence of some attempts to be analytical, critical or reflective where necessary? 7-10
marks
Portfolio activities may not be hand-written, should be typed and printed and attached to the relevant section of your portfolio.
Before submitting save your document as PA1/MBUS2015xxx

Student name:

Student number:

ACTIVITY 1: IDENTIFYING RESEARCH TOPICS

To be completed after lecture 1 due in following week.
Utilising a variety of news sources (papers, websites etc.) identify four contemporary topics that you believe are important
issues that are related to business. For each highlight why you believe it to be important. Evidence your work with academic
literature where appropriate.

Student name:

Student number:

ACTIVITY 2: IDENTIFYING RESEARCH QUESTIONS

To be completed after lecture 2 due in following week.
This week you have covered the following areas of research methodology:
a)

Identifying a relevant topic area

b)

Identifying a problem worthy of research

c)

Identifying sources that provide existing solutions to a problem and assess their relative strengths and
weaknesses

d)

Outlining the qualities of good research questions

In order to demonstrate your understanding of these areas you must identify two areas of potential areas of research and
suggest and justify a research question for each area that is worthy of research.
Research area one
Research area
Research question and justification

Research area two

Research area
Research question and justification

In order to demonstrate your understanding of these areas you must find a piece of research related to each of these topics,
using either the library search engine, or google scholar (this could be an academic article or detailed report etc.) and answer
the following questions:
a)

Student name:

Provide the references list entry (in Harvard style) of the research and a short description of its major
findings.

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b)

Evaluate the quality of these sources and suggest why it represents good research.

ACTIVITY 3: REVIEWING LITERATURE

Student name:

Student number:

To be completed after workshop 3 due in following week.

a) What is a literature review?

b) What makes a good literature review and why?

c) Write 300 words literature review on your selected topic in activity 2?

Student name:

Student number:

ACTIVITY 4: COLLECTING EVIDENCE

To be completed after lecture 4 due in following week
This week you have covered the following areas of critical business enquiry:
a)

What represents evidence?

b)

Why such information is vital in both an organisational and academic context

c)

The different ways available to you to collect evidence

d)

The relative strengths and weaknesses of these approaches

In order to demonstrate your understanding of these areas you must complete the following tasks:
a)

Define what constitutes evidence for the purposes of research?

b)

What is primary evidence?

c)

What is secondary evidence?

d)

Imagine you are researching the one of the research discuss in Activity 2:
Briefly outline how you would collect evidence to either agree or disagree with this position and the methods
that you would use.

ACTIVITY 5:
Student name:

REVIEWING METHODS AND METHODOLOGIES

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To be completed after lecture 4 due in following week

The task for this session, which must be done before the tutorial, is to read the research paper and come
to the class prepared to answer the questions below.
Any research paper available via the library website (search for it using the authors and title). Download
the electronic version, and bring the hard copy to the class. It is really important you have access to a
hard (preferably) or soft copy during the class.
In advance of the tutorial, read the paper in detail. Complete a minimum of one typed side of A4 on
the questions below (make sure you keep the notes for your Portfolio/Learning Journal). Come to the
class prepared to discuss the following questions:
1. Write a short paragraph summarising what you see as in their paper (as if you were writing it for
your literature review).

2. Describe the way in which the authors have structured their paper. What is the logic behind their
approach?

3. Write a short paragraph summarising methodological approach (as if you were writing it for
your methodology section in your review).

4. How do they operationalise the variables they identify in the paper? Are these all equally valid
i.e. do they really measure what they are supposed to measure?

5. What are the sources of their data?

6. Outline an alternative methodology (using different industries and different data, if required) to
test the hypotheses in the paper.

Student name:

Student number: