Final Year Independent Project Handbook Business Programmes Student Guidance Notes

2010

Contents
1 GENERAL NOTES ON THE FINAL YEAR PROJECT ........................................... 4 1.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 4 1.2 THE PURPOSE OF THE FINAL YEAR PROJECT............................................................... 4 1.3 WHAT IS THE TIME AND EFFORT A PROJECT REQUIRES? ............................................ 4 1.4 WHAT IS A PROJECT?.................................................................................................. 5 1.5 WHAT TOPIC AREAS CAN BE CHOSEN? ..................................................................... 5 1.6 STUDENT ENQUIRIES PRIOR TO SUBMISSION OF PROJECT TOPIC AND OUTLINE . 6 1.7 ASSESSMENT TEAMS .................................................................................................. 6 1.8 PROBLEMS WITH SUPERVISORS ............................................................................... 6 THE PROJECT PROPOSAL ........................................................................................ 7 2.1 THE DEADLINE ........................................................................................................... 7 2.2 DEFINITION OF TERMS ................................................................................................ 7 2.3 CONSEQUENCES OF NOT SUBMITTING A PROJECT SPECIFICATION BY THE DEADLINE .. 7 2.4 SELECTING FROM A LIST OF TITLES ............................................................................. 8 2.5 SELF DEVELOPED TITLES ............................................................................................ 8 2.6 THE STRUCTURE OF THE PROJECT PROPOSAL ............................................................. 9 2.7 SUMMARIZED PROCEDURE FOR SUBMITTING A PROJECT PROPOSAL ........................... 9 PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND PROJECT MEETINGS ................................... 11 3.1 OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................... 11 3.2 THE PROJECT PLAN .................................................................................................. 11 3.3 ORGANIZATION AND TIME MANAGEMENT ............................................................... 12 3.4 PROJECT MEETINGS ................................................................................................. 12 3.5 PLANNING FOR MEETINGS WITH THE SUPERVISOR ................................................... 13 3.6 THE PROGRESS REPORT FORM ................................................................................. 13 3.7 HOW TO FILL IN THE PROGRESS REPORT FORM ........................................................ 13 THE INTERIM REPORT ............................................................................................ 15 4.1 IS THE INTERIM REPORT MARKED? .......................................................................... 15 4.2 WHAT DO WE LOOK FOR IN AN INTERIM REPORT? ..................................................... 15 THE LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................... 17 5.1 PURPOSE OF A LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................ 17 5.2 DOING THE LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................. 17 5.3 JOURNAL ARTICLES.................................................................................................. 18 5.4 WHEN DOES THE LITERATURE REVIEW BEGIN? ........................................................ 19 5.5 WHAT KIND OF COMMENTS SHOULD BE MADE IN THE LITERATURE REVIEW? ........... 19 5.6 USEFUL HELP IN THE SEARCH .................................................................................. 19 THE FINAL REPORT ................................................................................................. 20 6.1 THE REPORT ............................................................................................................. 20 6.2 DRAFT WORK ........................................................................................................... 20 6.3 THE REPORT STRUCTURE ......................................................................................... 20 6.4 FORMATTING THE REPORT ....................................................................................... 25 ASSESSMENT .............................................................................................................. 28

APPENDICES : 1. THE PROJECT OUTLINE FORM ................................................................................ 30 2. PROJECT PROGRESS FORM ...................................................................................... 31 3. IP ASSESSMENT FORM ................................................................................................ 32 4. REFERENCING ............................................................................................................... 33 4. SUMMARY PROJECT TIME-TABLE ......................................................................... 37

IP Handbook (Management)

UCSI University

January 2010

1
1.1

General Notes on the Final Year Project

Introduction

This document is aimed at both staff and students and seeks to provide a general overview of the Independent Project process. The document is not exclusive and if there are particular project issues that are not covered in this document, students should seek advice from individual tutors. A summary project timetable is included in the appendices. Important points are noted in a shaded box like this 1.2 The purpose of the Final Year Independent Project

It is nearly always part of the conditions of an Honours degree that students undertake a major piece of independent work. On an Honours degree, the project is usually regarded as the most important part of the final year studies. By completing a project, a student can demonstrate his/her ability to: work independently on an extended piece of work work with minimum supervision draw on the material that he/she has previously studied determine what further knowledge he/she needs to obtain and how to obtain it handle advanced literature, maybe from research papers criticise or develop the work of others conceive original ideas select and use appropriate tools, software, hardware and other resources plan in advance and complete a piece of work, so that it arrives at the appropriate time express ideas cogently in written form criticise the work that has been done explain orally the work that has been done, and to answer questions on it point to possible future developments in the area

This may all seem an enormously demanding task and it is. Experience however shows that good students show high levels of competence in most of the areas listed. Students with lower levels of ability will still show competence in some of the areas listed. 1.3 What is the Time and Effort a Project Requires?

The project covers two semesters of the final year at UCSI. The project involves a weekly meeting with the project supervisor assigned to each student, in addition to the hours that the students are expected to put into independent research and carrying the tasks related to the

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project selected. However, students should be careful to make sure that the dissertation does not take up so much time that other studies suffer. Students should note that when a dissertation title/topic area has been chosen, he/she should begin thinking about what it entails. The student should start background reading, it may take some time for the library to order books or journals. It is important that students become organised from the outset. Make notes on ideas and on books that the student might want to read. Set up an index of references to articles that have been read. If the project involves learning new information or skills, now is the time to get started. 1.4 What is a Project?

The project is an opportunity for extended studies. Students are expected to carry out a business project or business research, which can be described as a systematic and organised effort to investigate a specific problem encountered in the work setting that needs a solution. It comprises a series of steps designed and executed, with the goal of finding answers to the issues that are of concern to the manager in the work environment. This means that the first step in research is to know where the problem areas exist in the organisation, and to identify as clearly and specifically as possible the problems that need to be studied and resolved. Once the problem that needs attention is clearly defined, then steps can be taken to gather information, analyse the data, and determine the factors that are associated with the problem and solve it by taking the necessary corrective measures. Students are therefore expected to undertake a business project by carrying out an organised, systematic, data-based, critical, objective, scientific inquiry or investigation into a specific problem, with the aim to finding answers or solutions to it. In essence, research provides the needed information that guides managers to make informed decisions to successfully deal with problems. The information provided could be the result of a careful analysis of data gathered firsthand or of data that are already available (in the company, industry, archives, etc). Data can be quantitative (as generally gathered through structured questions) or qualitative (as generated from the broad answers to specific questions in interviews, or from responses to open-ended questions in a questionnaire, or through observation, or from already available information gathered from various sources). 1.5 What Topic Areas Can Be Chosen?

Students may choose any topic area as long as it is relevant to their course of study. The project must reflect the kind of award that the student is studying i.e. if a student is studying for Marketing then the project should be in the area of Marketing. Topics from the following areas may be selected: Marketing Accounting Finance Human resource management General business (case studies and business plans)

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Students should seek the advice of their lecturers in preparing to submit a research topic, if they faced any doubts. Subsequent changing of research area/topic may mean time wasted. 1.6 Student Enquiries Prior to Submission of Project Topic and Outline

Students are actively encouraged to begin background research and planning for their final year project during the semester immediately preceding the semester in which they are to embark on the Independent Project module. Students may seek advice and help from staff members and members of staff may be approached by students in the following circumstances: 1. The member of staff has suggested a title on the project list which the student is interested in. 2. A member of staffs expertise is an area that the student is thinking of doing the project in and he/she needs guidance on suitable projects related to an area of interest . 3. The student requires some general advice on how to approach a final year project. 1.7 Assessment Teams

Each student will be allocated a primary supervisor, who will be a member of staff deemed competent in the topic area selected by the student. The main supervisor will be responsible for conducting the progress meetings with students and grade the students final dissertation according to the assessment criteria for this module. A second supervisor will be assigned to moderate the graded dissertation, and would be available should the student wishes to seek a second opinion. 1.8 Problems With Supervisors

The choice of allocated supervisor is final and students do not have the option of changing supervisor unless there are very exceptional circumstances. If there are any issues concerning supervision during the dissertation phase, the student should attempt to resolve these with the supervisor first and then approach the IP coordinator. The IP coordinator will require seeing the record of project meetings, hence it is vital that students get accustomed to having these completed at each meeting.

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2.1

The Project Proposal

The Deadline

The first stage of the dissertation process is the development of a project proposal. This should begin at the start of the semester for which the student are enrolled in the IP(A) module. The deadline for the submission of the proposal will be announced at the initial briefing session for IP students. Students should bear in mind that one of the criteria which is used to mark the dissertation is the students ability to comply with deadlines, hence all the more importance to comply with this deadline. 2.2 Definition of terms

The Project Outline (Appendix 1) is a form in which the student states the selected area of study (i.e. Marketing, Accounting, Finance, HRM, General Business) and presents a tentative topic, along with evidence of some preliminary literature review in the topic area. This document is used by the IP Coordinator to assign a suitable supervisor for the student, in line with the area of study selected. The Project Proposal is the entire document which describes the research problem, objectives, and the methodology of the research. The format is found in Section 2.6. This document, after being approved by the supervisor concerned, will be used to guide the student in making progress in the actual research. 2.3 Consequences of not submitting a project outline and proposal by the deadline

Delay in the submission of Project Outline may mean late allocation of supervisor for the student, hence leaving the student less time to seek help in preparing for the submission of the project Proposal. The deadline for the Project Proposal will usually be in 3 to 4 weeks after the supervisors are assigned. The onus is on students to submit the Project Proposal by the deadline specified. Members of staff do not have to go out of their way to ensure that students have produced these. When a students grade is allocated at the end of the dissertation period, the fact that a proposal was delivered late will be discussed in detail and may very well influence that grade. After all, the supervisor is looking at the way a student has managed the dissertation process and failing to comply with deadlines displays poor project management skills. The importance of having this document submitted on time should not be underestimated. One of the biggest mistakes that students make each year in terms of project management is to underestimate the importance of having a good project proposal submitted ON TIME. Failure to do so always causes students to find that they are playing catch-up for a large part of the dissertation phase! There are two ways in which students can get the initial idea of the dissertation topic, students can either select a title by consulting with a member of the staff, or develop their own title.

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2.4

Selecting from a list of titles

Members of staff may give an indication of their own research interests, when consulted by students; this information is used to point students who wish to develop their own proposals to the appropriate specialist member of staff. If a student is interested in the dissertation at that point, they can then proceed to submit a project outline and make a request from the IP Coordinator that the topic originated from a particular member of staff in order that the staff may be assigned as the main supervisor, where possible. However, students should not expect that they will be granted the supervisor requested, as the allocation of supervisors is subject to the availability of the staff members. Please note the following points: 1. The title originator (member of staff) is not responsible for producing a good proposal for the student; this is the sole responsibility of the student, and the title originator will only provide feedback. 2. The list of staff developed titles are only ideas, they are not complete proposals and a student selecting one of these titles must do the necessary research and development work required to produce a valid project specification. 3. There will be more than one student vying for the same title and in order to avoid disappointment, it is advisable to select a title early and let the originator know, because if the title has already been taken the title originator can inform the student accordingly. 2.5 Self developed titles

Students have option of specifying their own projects subject to approval. They should identify a member of staff that has a specialist interest in the topic area and then communicate their idea to that member of staff. In this case, as with the selection of a staff developed title, the student needs to submit a project proposal. Students have no automatic right to specify their own proposals and we reserve the right to insist that staff specified projects must be chosen. We will only consider student specified projects if: 1. We can identify a member of staff with sufficient expertise in the chosen topic to act as supervisor. 2. The project specification is valid and complies with the requirements set out in this document. 3. The project specification has been submitted by the deadline date If the self developed proposal does not conform to the above, then the student must select from a staff proposed topic and then develop that into a full project specification.

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2.6

The structure of the Project Proposal This is a formal declaration and indication of what the student will be studying. The following points are indicators of a good proposal: Realistic. A proposal should be realistic in terms of its aims, objectives and deliverables. It should be realistic in terms of the resources that would be required to fulfill those aims and objectives. Resources include physical resources, but also sufficient background material. The proposal should also be realistic in terms of what is required of the student, for instance, a proposal may not be realistic if a student is weak in statistical analysis, yet the proposal suggests that a good deal of quantitative analysis will be required. Volume. The amount of work that is required to fulfill the aims and objectives should not be too much and at the same time should not be too little. Relevance to Award. The dissertation should be relevant to the award. Students studying a Marketing award should complete a dissertation in that subject area, in the same way, students studying for a Finance award should conduct a dissertation in that area. Project Plan This is discussed in more detail in the next section entitled project management and project meetings List of References This should list papers and books cited in the Proposal and Dissertation/Report; it should conform to the Harvard style or the APA style.

2.7

Summarized procedure for submitting a Project Proposal

The following is a short summary of what is involved in getting this all important document submitted: 1. Student selects title that could be self selected or selected from the list at the end of this document 2. Student begins developing a Project Outline; this may involve liaising with the member of staff that originated that title. 3. When the Project Outline has been produced it is submitted to the IP Coordinator through the Administrator at the School by the given deadline. 4. The IP Coordinator publishes a list of students and supervisors; this is the official list of who the supervisor is for a particular student. 5. The students meet with the respective supervisors to arrange a regular 1-hour weekly consultation time, and to discuss the preparation of the Project Proposal. 6. The completed Project Proposal is submitted to the Supervisor by the given deadline, who will grade and give feedback on the proposal within two weeks; student may be

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required to make changes to the proposal. The approved Project Proposal will be retained and submitted to the IP Coordinator for filing. 7. Student proceed to begin on the dissertation work.

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3.1

Project Management and Project Meetings

Overview

Time and work management are crucial factors to the success of a final year project. Good planning initially is the first essential step towards success. Monitoring progress and keeping to the plan is the second step. Remembering that there are other deadlines to achieve whilst engaged on the project is important as it can affect the time that is available at different parts of the year - the project is not performed in isolation! 3.2 The Project Plan

One of the criteria used when marking the dissertation is the way that the student managed the project. The first stage in any project is to plan the project. This involves initially identifying the major tasks that will need to be accomplished in order to fulfil the requirements. This takes the form of a project plan. This could be a Gantt chart giving an indication of how the project will proceed. The project plan should be realistic and should make provision for the holiday periods as well as the exam period. Students should try and provide a generic break down of tasks and include these in the project plan. Some of the tasks that it might include are as follows: the Literature review the design of the project (including Methodology) distribution of questionnaires or other forms of data collection expected period of response and analysis of data preparation of chapters within the dissertation preparation of the draft editing

Note that the above is by no means comprehensive and there are many other tasks that might be included, at the same time, the above is not exclusive in that all the above MUST be included in the project plan. The project plan should be discussed in the first meeting and modified if it is deemed unrealistic. At this stage, the project plan is only an indication of how the student perceives the completion of the dissertation, like the discussion of the dissertation, at this stage it is not binding and is not marked.

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3.3

Organization and Time Management

Organising the work, in the time available, is probably the hardest part of all. Many things have to be taken into consideration. The dissertation is not taking place in isolation; many factors need to be taken into account such as: other work (assignments) and deadlines holiday periods accessibility and reliability of equipment required to perform parts of the project other people contributing information that is needed for the project who will not have the same sense of urgency that the student has. 3.4 Project Meetings

Once the project proposal has been approved by the supervisor, the student should arrange a meeting with the supervisor in order to get the project underway. Students are advised to meet with their first supervisor every week for the first few weeks of semester one, i.e. during IP(A), and for the last few weeks leading up to the submission of the final report, i.e. during IP(B). At all other times meetings should take place typically once every two weeks or at what ever period agreed by the student and supervisor. These meetings will typically last around 30-60 minutes. The purpose of the meetings is to ensure that good progress is being made on the projects and that the appropriate background research is being undertaken. They can also be used to discuss difficulties, consider draft reports and for students to obtain advice. The discussions of each meeting are formally recorded in the progress report form (see Appendix 2). It is considered to be essential that students attend these meetings regularly to ensure that they remain on target and do not get into difficulties with their projects. Attendance at these meetings will be taken into consideration when the final project mark is allocated. The onus is on students to organise project meetings and not on the supervisor. Each student is required to arrange a regular meeting time of 1 hour a week with the main and 2nd supervisors respectively. Students should understand that members of staff can not be guaranteed to be in their office at every hour of the day; staff may be lecturing, in meetings, on placement visits and on annual leave, hence students should not turn up unannounced and expect the supervisor to be there. If the student has struggled throughout the project and it is seen that they maintained little contact with the supervisor, this could reflect badly on the students final grade. Although most meetings will take place with the first supervisor, it may be necessary for the student to see the second supervisor for a second opinion.

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3.5

Planning for Meetings with the Supervisor

The project meetings are the essential part of the project supervision, and students should plan to get the most out of them. The supervisor will not necessarily freely offer advice about what the student should be doing. He or she will, however, respond with many suggestions to ideas and questions that come from the student. So the strategy is clear. The student should show throughout the dissertation period that they have been well prepared for the meetings (as they would be expected to do in industry). At each meeting the student should be prepared to:3.6 set out the agenda for the meeting give a brief summary of what has happened since the last meeting. review research carried out and literature reviewed during this period clearly identify any difficulties with which the student needs help prepare suitable questions about what the next steps might be if the student is unsure get the progress form signed off by the supervisor The Progress Report Form

This form is to be completed at each meeting, this form acts as a record of the meeting and it serves a number of purposes, it: is a record for the student advising them of the objectives that they should be fulfilling between this meeting and the next advises students of the concerns that the supervisor may have at that point is useful in determining the students project management skills at the end of the dissertation period when allocating a grade to the dissertation can be used in case of dispute over the final grade

A blank form is included in the appendices; students should make copies of this and take a form to each meeting. A copy of these forms should be included in the appendices of the dissertation. The onus is on the student to ensure that the Progress Report Form is filled in at each meeting, signed and submitted to the supervisor. A copy of it should be kept by the student. 3.7 How to fill in the Progress Report Form

Work done since last meeting: this indicates the work that was completed since the last meeting and in particular should relate to the section on the previous progress meeting form entitled work during next period. The student should show that he/she has tried to address the points made at the last meeting and that he/she has tried to complete the work that was

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agreed for this period. It can also include any additional work that the student did during the period. This section has to be filled in by the student prior to the meeting Problems encountered/ suggested solutions: the student gives an indication of any problems encountered and the student should also suggest solutions prior to the meeting, these proposed solutions can then form a point of discussion at the meeting itself. This section has to be filled in by the student prior to the meeting People met/contacts established: this is an indication of any interviews conducted or any contacts that the student has identified as being important. This section has to be filled in by the student prior to the meeting Work during next period: this should be filled in by the student during the meeting and should be a combination of: the work that the student says that he/she will complete in the next period the work that he tutor has advised that the student should complete.

This will be used to fill in the work done since last meeting section of the progress form for the next meeting.

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The Interim Report

Towards the end of semester one, i.e. for IP(A) BB303, students are expected to submit a report (no greater than 1000 words) indicating: progress achievements to date difficulties details of any changes to original proposal/project plan

As this is a report it should comply with the format of a report, i.e. contents page, page numbers, headers/footers, introduction, summary etc. The interim report really serves two purposes: 1. To act as a record of the students progress (or lack of) to date. It is an opportunity for the student to summarize everything they have done to date, highlighting the key issues, problems and solutions, the rationale is similar to a typical interim report that might need to be delivered in an industrial project: 'What we have done, where we are now and where we will be going from here' - an opportunity to 'touch base'. It assists the lecturer in deciding a grade in terms of 'project management' when it comes to marking the dissertation at the end. E.g. if the student claims that everything is 'hunky dorey' but disaster strikes when they hand the dissertation in at the end, then this can be raised at the VIVA (If little contact is maintained after the interim report is handed in) Is the Interim Report Marked?

2.

4.1

The interim report is a vital part of the hand in requirements of the dissertation, in other words students MUST hand one in. A vital part of project management is the ability to stick to deadlines and deliver required deliverables by those deadlines. Students that fail to hand the Interim Report in will ultimately lose marks in terms of project management. However, it is not only the actual handing in of the report that counts, but also the contents of this report. If the contents are weak, then this also could result in marks being lost at the end. 4.2 What do we look for in an interim report?

The interim report should be a good record of the students experience (issues, problems, solutions, work done etc) to date, if this is a good and true record, then it is a good interim report. However, a supervisor can only really tell if this is a good record if the student has been maintaining a good contact throughout the first few weeks. There are however other points that should also be considered e.g. report format, grammar, referencing, students acknowledgment of problems and solutions, how they will go forward from here to the point of handing the dissertation in.

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If however, the student has maintained little or no contact with the supervisor (bearing in mind the onus is on the student to contact the supervisor to arrange meetings and not vice versa), then it is more difficult to ascertain whether it is actually a good record and the supervisor will only be able to work on what the student has written. E.g. if the student notes that 'such-and-such' problem was experienced, then the student should also suggest a solution. If the solution is reasonable, then the supervisor will be able to judge this when the student hands in the final proposal. The hand in date for the interim report is the end of the first IP(A) semester, by the end of Week 14. Arrangements should be made directly with the supervisor in terms of where and how this should be handed in. e.g. the supervisor may prefer an electronic copy, or a hard copy.

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The Literature Review

Although the full structure of the dissertation is given in the next section, it is necessary to discuss the Literature Review at this point. The literature review should be completed in the main in the early stages of the dissertation; however, the literature review is sometimes ongoing in many dissertations that involve more research. The literature review needs to convince the reader that the project is worth doing. Every dissertation should contain a literature review; some may include a less lengthy literature review (e.g. Business Planning), some (which involve more research) will include lengthier reviews. There is no minimum or maximum length of a literature review; students should discuss individual literature reviews with the supervisor. 5.1 Purpose of a Literature Review

A project requires that the topic is set into its subject context by reviewing the relevant literature. The following are some of the specific aims of the Literature Review. Provides an overview of the literature - helps to set the scene for the reader. Provides background knowledge and serves to prevent replication of earlier research. Provides a critical view of earlier work - the critical review will highlight major issues associated with the topic - clarifies thoughts and puts things into context. Critical review highlights gaps/shortcomings in the current state of knowledge. Clarifies the relationship between proposed study and previous work. Provides sound foundation on which to launch the contribution - shows the student is not working in a vacuum of no interest to anybody. It organises and classifies sources in a reasonable manner for the reader. It should be noted that the primary sources in a literature review should be journal articles; students can also consider books, white papers and web sites if applicable. Students that are involved in the development of a simulation or a program may also refer to products that have been developed in the past. 5.2 Doing the Literature Review

The literature search should start from day one. The review is based on the literature that has been researched on the current work in the field of the project. Students review literature in order to build up background knowledge of the chosen topic, students should not review every single article read, only the ones that are relevant to the chosen topic area. A literature review may begin with older literature in order to set the scene of the dissertation, current literature however is most crucial and students should seek to identify current literature very early in the dissertation.
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5.3

Journal Articles

Libraries are the most obvious source of literature for research. Searching without method, through thousands of journals and magazines, is non-productive and time wasting. It is important to be organised in the way that the library is used. Defining a list of keywords associated with the topic will help to use indices and databases that can point to the actual journals containing relevant material. Keywords can be found by doing a little background reading and asking people who are knowledgeable in the area. Reading the bibliography in up to date material on the topic can also be a useful way to produce a chain of suitable references. There are numerous internet search engines available which can assist researchers to locate journal articles on a particular topic; hence students should take advantage of this facility. Journal articles are available in the following ways: physically in the University library on-line from any machine connected to the internet (whether on campus or off campus) on-line but only from machines in the library (that is because the University has been granted or has paid for online access to those journals) at another University or institution in which case the University of Derby library may be able to order a copy in for students. It should be noted that if a journal article is not available in the library, the library can normally order it in, however, this process can take up to eight weeks and students should therefore bear this in mind at the beginning of the dissertation.

Students should not underestimate the importance of journal articles, as far as academic sources are concerned; these are generally considered the single most important source for any dissertation. Dissertations that have a large research based emphasis would tend to require more journal sources, whereas those with a more practical emphasis will require less journal sources. The important thing to note about journal sources is that: a. They must be relevant. One should not include journal references to pad out the references section; each and every journal must be relevant. Students will find that some journal articles will be much more relevant than others, some may almost seem irrelevant except for a few points made in a couple of paragraphs within that article, nevertheless, both are important sources and are useful to students b. They should be as current as possible. When searching for literature, students should try and locate as current literature as possible. For example, a student researching the performance of current network protocols will find literature that was written about network protocols 15 years ago less relevant (perhaps not completely irrelevant though), the most important literature in this case is that which has been written on the current performance of current protocols.

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5.4

When does the Literature Review begin?

Time management is a crucial deciding factor when a grade is awarded to a dissertation. One of the common issues that let students down in an independent project is that of relevant sources. Often, students can fail to appreciate the importance of suitable and relevant literature, by the time it is realized, it is often too late to begin searching for it. This means that is possible, students should try and identify relevant material if possible even before the dissertation begins (perhaps over the summer period). Officially however, the literature review begins in the first week of the autumn semester. Students should identify relevant literature as early as possible so that enough time has been left for the student to be able to access it if it is not available locally and so that it can be used suitably within the dissertation. Students can not use the excuse later on that a required journal article was not received in time to be considered for whatever purpose in the dissertation 5.5 What kind of comments should be made in the literature review?

When writing a literature review, students should consider the value of the literature: what may good about it was it used to base further research is it quoted as a standard what is fact and what is opinion and on the other side - what may not be valuable what may have been proved to be erroneous in the light of further research what aspects were not considered in the work do the conclusions follow the arguments?

It is important to be objective when reporting relevant studies - it would be unfair and unwise to omit papers that contradict the viewpoint that the student is trying to endorse. 5.6 Useful Help in the Search

Subject Librarian The person in a library with the responsibility for the topic area is likely to be familiar with the librarys stock on the subject needed by students. The subject librarian may be able to provide students with shortcuts for a search. Subject Catalogue Useful for location of keyword items in the book stock.

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Periodicals Index This is a list of the periodicals that the library holds and their location. It also gives information on back copies kept from journals no longer being taken. Remember journals belonging to business studies may also contain articles of interest for computing topics. CD-ROM Databases A selection of these are held in the University libraries and are very useful sources of information. The library can provide further information on which databases it holds. Specialised Libraries of Professional Bodies A number of professional bodies and institutions maintain their own libraries where they have collections of papers and reports relevant to their specialist field of interest. Access to such libraries is for research purposes only and by prior agreement with the librarian.

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The Final Report

The most important focal point of every IP is the final report. The hand in date for the final report is the end of the second semester, i.e. IP(B), usually at the end of Week 14. It is important that the student hands in the report by the stipuated deadline, as a late penalty will be imposed as follows: One day late: 30% marks deducted; 2 days late: 60% marks deducted; 3 days late: 90% marks deducted. Zero marks awarded if the report is submitted after 3 days (weekend inclusive).

6.1

The Report

Students should not underestimate the time required to word process a report of the length and quality required. When planning the word processing of the report allowances should be made for hardware difficulties that could cause delays. Time must be allocated for adequate proof reading and correction and for the binding of the final version. Extensions are not granted for loss of work due to crashed hard drives, or lost floppy disks! 6.2 Draft Work

It is always a good idea to ask the supervisor to comment on draft work throughout the dissertation process. This becomes more important as the hand in date of the report approaches. However students should note that: supervisors will not comment on what mark the draft work would attract if it was handed in as is or if it was handed in with any comments made by the tutor taken into account. supervisors are under no obligation to read every page of a draft and provide detailed feedback on how it can be improved, hence students should not be disappointed if generalised feedback is provided on certain parts of the work Members of staff are under no obligation to read the draft at all, more particularly so if the draft is presented too late for the member of staff to be able to comment on it Members of staff may be more difficult to contact over the Easter period due to annual leave students should bear this in mind when preparing draft work for consideration

Ideally, students should aim to complete a draft version of the report by week 7/8 of semester two, i.e. IP(B) BB311

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6.3

The Report Structure

Two copies of the report must be handed in, at least one of which must be hard bound. Getting started on writing the report can be quite difficult. A suggestion of how to begin is to write down a list of headings of topics that will be discussed in the main body of the report; these should be put in order. This provides a framework for the report and allows the work to be completed section by section. The report has to be word processed at some point - it is a good idea to begin this from day one. Correct English grammar and language should be used throughout the report and students should not use slang or Americanized terms. Any complex terms that need to be used should be explained either by the use of footnotes or by adding a glossary. If a glossary is to be included, this should be compiled as the dissertation progresses, rather than attempting to compile it at the end of the dissertation at which point it will be too difficult to complete. The following gives an indication for the format of the report. Title Page Must contain the following information only - on the front cover of the comb bound report (and in the first page of the hard bound report) A project completed as part of the requirements for the BA (Hons) <DEGREE TITLE> entitled <Title of Project> by <author> in the years <beginning year - end year> Substitute the words inside the < > for the correct details for the report. Abstract The abstract should state clearly: The intention of the report An outline of what has been done or observed Findings Conclusions

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Acknowledgments This section should be used to record thanks/acknowledgements for help received, use of facilities, information given from particular sources. Students should consult other reports to get a flavour of what is required. Table of Contents This should accurately reflect the structure and organisation of the report by listing the headings of sections, chapters, paragraphs etc. with their associated page numbers.

List of Tables (if applicable) Each table in the main body of the report should have a table number and title at the top. The list gives the number, title and the number of the page on which it appears. List of Figures, tables and Illustrations (if applicable) Each figure that appears in the report should have a title and figure number. Figures that are not numbered cannot be readily referred to in the report. The list gives the figure number and the number of the page on which it appears. Introduction The introduction should be used to state the aims of the project and provide the reader with a clear idea of the issue under investigation. It may also give the reader an outline of the work including such information as when, where and how the project was carried out. Main Body of the report This section will itself comprise of a number of sections. The following is an indication of what may be included in the main body, it is NOT an indication of exactly the headings that a student should use. Literature Review This is where the literature review may be written Precise Statement of the Scope and Aims of the Investigation Details of what is being done and how. Draw attention to any limitations here. Description of the Methodology Brief summary description of methods of investigation used, why they were chosen, reference to any techniques used, such as questionnaires, interviews, observation etc. Copies of the actual documents used should be included in the appendix. Statement of Result

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Consisting of tables, charts, graphs, text etc. Logical presentation of facts should be presented in a way that draws the readers attention to information which is important to the project. Analysis and Discussion Explanation and interpretation of data. If the research attempted to test certain hypotheses then this section should consider whether they were or were not supported by the results. Any problems with the research design and suggestions about other techniques that may have more appropriate could be stated here.

Further Research

This section is very important and should give indications of how this research can be furthered. This is very useful for students who may want to follow the dissertation up with a Masters or PhD. Furthermore, this can act as a useful indicator to other students who want to follow up this dissertation. Conclusions This section gathers up the threads of the project and comes to a conclusion. This section is an indication of what has actually been achieved; it is a summary of the dissertation. Nothing new should be presented here, i.e. nothing that has not already been discussed in the dissertation. This is another very important section; often somebody interested in the topic of the dissertation may read the introduction and then the conclusions to see if the dissertation is relevant to the study that they are conducting. The student should evaluate the work that has been conducted. The student should be critical and should outline shortcomings and problems with the research as well as of course highlight the positive points. The student should also identify how the dissertation could have been improved. The conclusion must: Relate to the topic of the investigation Be consistent with what has been considered before Reasonable and unbiased Clear, concise and possibly itemised Recommendations Only an option if the project has been to work on the solution to a specific problem. References/Bibliography Use the Harvard System or APA System as illustrated in this handbook in the section on Referencing.

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Appendices Relevant material that is not necessary to the main argument of the report can be included in here - questionnaires, field notes etc. Any supplementary material, which must be relevant not acres of raw data. Not substantial program code - this should be presented separately. Plus the items given at the beginning of this section on report construction - under Appendix. Each appendix should be identified - e.g. Appendix A

The Appendices MUST contain the following: a) A copy of the Interim Report b) The Project Proposal

6.4

Formatting the Report

Typing should be double spaced, with 1.25" margins left (to allow for binding) and 1" right, 1" at the bottom of the page and 1.5" at the top. The report should be at least 1 line spaced. Books and papers referenced should follow the format of the Harvard referencing system. The length of the report will depend partly on the type of project undertaken. A technical project or a project based on the production of an extensive piece of programming is expected to be approximately 6,000 to 8,000 words. A project of Research Type will be expected to have an approximate 10,000 to 12,000 word length. 12,000 words must not be exceeded. We regret that we cannot contribute to the cost of the production of the report. It is up to students to budget for this including the cost of paper and photocopying. Section numbering and titling system should be used for Reports. The reasons for this are: It is then possible to cross reference things you have written in the report by referring to a paragraph e.g. see section 2.11 It makes it easy for the reader to find any part of the report that he needs by consulting the index for the heading of the section.

An example of section/heading numbering 1. Section Title 1.1 Sub Section Title

Body of sub section . Ensure that spacing between heading and paragraph and the spacing between the end of a paragraph and the next are consistently applied throughout the document.

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1.2

Next sub-section Title

Body of section

1.2.1 Sub-Sub section Title bold and italics or combinations of both should be used to emphasise words and phrases. 2. Next Section Title Body of the second section 2.1 Paragraph Title

Body of paragraph .etc. etc. The use of headers and footers give the document a professional look and can also give help to the reader by being pertinent to chapters or sections, making it easy for a browser to find their way about. Footnotes1 as opposed to footers are extremely useful for adding short bits of information that may not be appropriately given in the body of the text. Each of the numbered sections should be about a complete topic with headings and subheadings that describe each facet of that topic. It is not usual to go beyond 3 levels of numbering i.e. 2.5.1 is acceptable but 2.5.1.1 would be unnecessary. If a topic needs to be expanded further then it would be better to use Roman numerals for the expansion i.e. (i), (ii) etc. Each main section (as opposed to sub-section) should begin on a new page. Whatever system is chosen for formatting the report, it is important to be consistent throughout. The following is a checklist designed to ensure that the project has been compiled correctly. Content There should be a statement to indicate why the research is significant Any strong claims that are made must be supported with arguments (and references if applicable) Students should show that the research method(s) is (are) suitable for the topic. All sources of quotes and ideas are fully quoted Any examples used should be relevant to the point made. Irrelevant arguments and comments should be removed

This is a footnote and as it can be seen it is readily distinguishable from the rest of the text. Most word processors can produce footnotes automatically.

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The contents of each section should belong in that section A copy of the interim report should be in the appendices as well as the project specification

Writing the language used should comply with good grammar the language should be English, Americanized terms should not be used, nor should slang or abbreviations. Expressions should be clear. Complex words should be avoided and where possible the student should try to explain in simple language. Sentence structures should be simple and short The introduction should indicate very clearly what the report is about

Presentation Ensure that the report is the correct length References should be checked for accuracy All tables and figures should be labelled and numbered All the titles, tables and figures should be checked for consistency with those in the Lists of Tables and Figures Spelling and grammar should be checked thoroughly The report should be proof read thoroughly, it is always a good idea to get somebody else to read it as many errors can easily be spotted by others

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7.0 ASSESSMENT An IP assessment sheet is to be completed by the primary and secondary supervisor, a blank copy of this is included in the appendices along with the marking criteria. Both supervisors must complete a separate sheet and should include a grade for the dissertation. Both supervisors will arrive at a grade independently of each other. If both supervisors do not arrive at the same result in the first instance, they should then discuss the dissertation and attempt to arrive at a result. The IP assessment sheets and the marked copy of the dissertation should be submitted to the IP coordinator. If both supervisors have not agreed on a grade for the dissertation, it will be moderated by a third member of staff who will not see the comments made by the primary and secondary supervisor. The comments returned by the third member of staff and the assessment sheets returned by the primary and secondary supervisors will be considered by the IP coordinator in order to arrive at a grade. The assessment criteria is detailed in Appendix 3. Students must pass (grade of D- or greater) the final year project at the first attempt in order to qualify for an honours degree. A student who fails to do this will only be eligible for a pass degree. The mark for the project is subject to approval by the external examiners and whilst this is unlikely to vary significantly they do have the power to alter the marks. External examiners are chosen for their wide experience of the subject area and of experience national standards in business courses. Their expertise is therefore used to ensure that we are achieving the right standards in comparison to colleagues in other institutions.

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Appendices

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Appendix 1. The Independent Project Submission Form

School of Management and Information Technology Management Division

INDEPENDENT PROJECT BB303 OUTLINE SUBMISSION

To be submitted to School Office on 24th January 2011 by 4pm. This form is required to be completed by students who wish to have their Independent Project work supervised by a staff from within the School of Management and IT. Failure to submit the form by the date indicated will delay the allocation of an appropriate supervisor.
STUDENT NAME STUDENT I.D. NUMBER PROGRAMME RESEARCH CLUSTER (Please tick) Accounting/Finance Marketing Business Administration

POSSIBLE TITLE OF WORK

.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF WHAT YOU AIM TO ACHIEVE BY YOUR STUDY

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LIST OF AT LEAST 3 RELEVANT BOOKS and ONE JOURNAL ARTICLE which you deem to be relevant to your initial stages of secondary research in the topic area

RESEARCH METHODS CONSIDERED

JUSTIFICATIONS FOR THE RESEARCH

STAFF CONSULTED FOR PROJECT TITLE (IF ANY)

NAME OF THE STAFF SIGNATURE OF THE STAFF DATE

This section to be filled by the IP Coordinator ONLY:

MAIN

SUPERVISOR

2ND

SUPERVISOR .

Remarks:

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Appendix 2. Project Progress Form

School of Management and Information Technology Management Division

INDEPENDENT PROJECT BB303/BB311 PROGRESS REPORT

Student I.D.: ________________________________Date:_____________ Name: _______________________________________________________

Name of Supervisor (Main/2nd):__________________________________

WORK DONE SINCE LAST MEETING ... ... ... PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED & SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS ... ... ... ...

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PEOPLE MET/CONTACTS ESTABLISHED ... ... ... ...

ACTION REQUIRED ... ... ... ... ...

Date of Next Meeting:

Signed (the Supervisor): Date:..

Signed (the Student): .Date:.. Note: Original Copy Student; Photocopy - Supervisor

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Appendix 3. IP Assessment Form

INDEPENDENT PROJECT (BB303 & BB311) ASSESSMENT REPORT

Name of Student Student ID Number Programme Title of Project Main Supervisor 2nd Supervisor Semester/Year ASSESSMENT CRITERIA 1. Specification and Definition of the Project. Clearly stated aims and objectives. Demonstrating relevance to management issues. Feasibility of aims of dissertation study. Information Gathering Sources and relevance of literature to the research objectives. Description of methods used, the reasons for the adoption of research methods and how the research would be carried out. Analysis and Discussion Presentation of data, quality of interpretation and analysis. Clear relationship made between aims and objectives, literature and findings. Conclusions Aims and objectives are satisfied. Effective drawing out of key issues. Presentation Organisation and layout of material. Style including spelling and grammar. Use of material, Bibliography and citations. Appropriate use of appendices. Evidence of the understanding of process in terms of linkage between chapters, the flow of the work. Reflection on the process and possible improvements. Process Pro-active approach to dissertation. Evidence of Learning and Development. Achievement of agreed milestones. TOTAL 7. Final Numeric Grade First and second markers agreed final mark * Please note: Sections 6 is for first marker only Maximum Marks 10 Main Supervisor 2nd Supervisor

2.

30

3.

30

4.

10

5.

10

6.

10

100

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COMMENTS Please make any comments regarding the dissertation, i.e. good points, weaknesses, how the work could have been improved etc.

MAIN SUPERVISORS COMMENTS:

2ND SUPERVISORS COMMENTS:

Signed: MAIN SUPERVISOR. 2ND SUPERVISOR . Date

Date

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Appendix 4. Referencing
Students may choose to use either the Harvard referencing style of the APA referencing style. Please consult with your supervisor as to the preferred style. This section provides a general guide to the Harvard style of referencing. Why Cite References Acknowledgement of the source of material used is mandatory otherwise students can be found guilty of plagiarism. If there are any concerns or queries as to what constitutes plagiarism, students should consult the university regulations on plagiarism. Ignorance of these regulations will not be accepted as a reason for committing plagiarism. Even if a students is to put text into his/her own words the source of the work must be referenced. Any extracts used should be: put in quotes and perhaps separated from the students own text by using a line space and a smaller paragraph format - especially if it is a long quote - just a few words may be best included in the general text, but, always enclosed in quotes and always referenced A N Other (1996) Referencing in text means putting the authors name and the date of the publication after the quote (as shown above). If the author has more than one work referenced for the same year then the letters a,b,c etc. are used to discriminate between the particular work that is being referred to, the bibliography should also use the same letters e.g. Other A N (1996)(a) Referencing & Why. Derby University Press: Derby References are a crucial part of the presentation of written work and practice should be undertaken in blending references and quotes into work so that they dont appear stilted. Material obtained from the World Wide Web must also be referenced. The format should be as follows:line 1 line 2 URL - Title brief description (indented), Date accessed

The web page must be included in the appendices of the report. The List of References is where all full references are situated, if using the Harvard system, then they need to be cited in alphabetic order of the authors surname. The Harvard system has the advantages of Authors name and year appear in the text Alphabetical reference list is easy to consult Only one entry in the List of References is needed for each citation in the text

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Amendments are easy to make without renumbering

The order of the data in the Harvard system is: author/editor year - bracketed title - italics edition - if not 1st publisher & place of publication series - if any - bracketed page(s) within the item (if only a part is cited) If the place of publication is unknown enter s.l for sine loco. If the publisher is not known enter s.n. for sine nomine. Examples of the Harvard System Book with more than one author: C.Eden, S.James, D.Simes (1983) Messing about with Problems. Pergamon Contribution in a book D.Truex, H.Klein, (1991) Rejection of Structure as a Basis for Information Systems Development. In: R. Stamper and R.Lee, (eds), Collaborative Work, Social Communications and Information Systems. North-Holland, Amsterdam. Contribution in a periodical Jacquemin, C (1994) A Temporal Connectionist Approach to Natural Language. SIGART Bulletin, 5 (3) pp 123-125. Thesis GAYFER, J (1993) Controlling Wall Thickness of Extruded Polythene Pipe. BEng. Dissertation, University of Derby. OTHER, A N (1996) Referencing and Why 3rd ed. Derby University Press: Derby

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Harvard Reference System for Publication Types 1 to 11 1) Authored Books Surname, I.N.I.T.I.A.L.S. (Year). Title of book. Publisher, Place of publication, ISBN, Volume (Number) Pagination.

2) Edited Books Surname, I.N.I.T.I.A.L.S. (Year). Title of book. Ed(s): Editor(s) Surname, I.N.I.T.I.A.L.S. Publisher, Place of publication, ISBN, Volume (Number) Pagination.

3) Short Works Surname, I.N.I.T.I.A.L.S. (Year). Title of chapter. In: Title of book. Ed(s): Editor(s) Surname, I.N.I.T.I.A.L.S. Publisher, Place of publication, ISBN, Volume (Number) Pagination. 4) Conference Contributions (Refereed) Surname, I.N.I.T.I.A.L.S. (Year). Title of presentation. In: Title of conference proceedings. Ed(s): Editor(s) Surname, I.N.I.T.I.A.L.S. Publisher, Place of publication, ISBN/ISSN, Volume (Number) Pagination. 5) Conference Contributions (Other) Surname, I.N.I.T.I.A.L.S. (Year). Title of presentation. In: Title of conference proceedings. Ed(s): Editor(s) Surname, I.N.I.T.I.A.L.S. Publisher, Place of publication, ISBN/ISSN, Volume (Number) Pagination. 6) Editorships Surname, I.N.I.T.I.A.L.S. Position. Title of Journals. Start-end dates. 7) Academic Journals Surname, I.N.I.T.I.A.L.S. (Year). Title of paper, Title of journal, ISSN, Volume (Number) Pagination. 8) Professional Journals Surname, I.N.I.T.I.A.L.S. (Year). Title of paper, Title of journal, ISSN, Volume (Number) Pagination. 9) Popular Journals Surname, I.N.I.T.I.A.L.S. (Year). Title of paper, Title of journal, ISSN, Volume (Number) Pagination.

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10) Reviews of Academic Books Reviewers Surname, I.N.I.T.I.A.L.S. (Year). Title of book reviewed. ISBN, Publisher, Place of publication, Authors Surname, I.N.I.T.I.A.L. Reviewed In: Title of journal, ISSN, Volume (Number) Pagination. 11a) Guidelines/Manuals Surname, I.N.I.T.I.A.L.S. (Year). Title of work. Publisher, Place of publication, ISBN, Volume (Number) Pagination. 11b) Teaching Methods Surname, I.N.I.T.I.A.L.S. (Year). Title of work. Publisher, Place of publication, ISBN, Volume (Number) Pagination.

Students should note this short appendix may not be sufficient, and are advised to seek further information on referencing from the library, or to seek guidance from their respective supervisors.

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