Research Proposal

Overview

The purpose of this assessment is to enable students to demonstrate a critical awareness of previous research in
an IT context within a chosen topic area through a basic understanding of research theory and techniques. It
requires clear communication of ideas in a professional manner so that the reader can easily understand the
purpose and results of your research. Overall goals of this assignment are to help you to:

• Become more knowledgeable about finding and using varied research sources in your chosen area in IT.
• Further develop your critical thinking skills and back up your points with evidence.
• Become more adept at synthesizing information and developing informed views.
• Discipline yourself to follow a scholarly research format to document in-text sources and a references page (bibliography).
• Compose a well-organized, clear, concise, research paper to expand your knowledge on a research question in your chosen area.

You may work on this report individually or in groups of two or three

Learning Outcomes Assessed
The following course learning outcomes are assessed by completing this assessment:

Knowledge:
K1. Determine the role IT research plays in contributing to organisational innovation, and success.
K2. Critique advanced communication theory for organisations.
K3. Identify appropriate research philosophies for IT projects, which match organisational approaches.
K4. Identify appropriate methodologies and methods, for an organisational IT research project.

Skills:
S1. Utilise effective communication practice in organisations.
S2. Demonstrate expert English language skills in academic and professional contexts.
S3. Evaluate the quality and utility of literature sourced.

S4. Undertake a literature review for an organisational IT research project.

Application of knowledge and skills:
A1. Compose a research proposal and report on a topic related to an organisational IT research project.
A2. Present written and oral reports to academic and organisational audiences.

Assessment Details
Background
The mini research report provides a detailed description of a proposed research idea. It is similar to an essay and needs to be in a formal style with introduction, body and conclusion. In addition it requires a critical analysis and a coherent presentation.

Requirements
Each group is required to submit a mini research report (3000-3500 words excluding the title, abstract, table of
contents and references/bibliography). The purpose of this task is to assist students to prepare and write a scholarly paper at an appropriate standard for this level of study.

You have already done quite a bit of work for this research in tutorials: you should have a tentative research issue, strategies and evidence to persuade your readers about the significance of the problem you’re researching, as well as the validity of your research issues. You also should consider opposing views or good counter-arguments that you can address in order to help establish your credibility and enhance the relevance of your paper.

A. Report Layout (20%)
The mini research report must contain the following sections, submitted in the order as listed below-

• Title Page – selection of an informative title
• Abstract – summarization of the significant concepts in the study focusing on key aspects (major results and conclusions)
• Table of Contents.
• Introduction – outline of the thesis, problem, question, etc. (stating the thesis/theory in terms of relationship among variables and examining the problem or investigating the question, or the like) and preview of the structure of the paper.
• Literature Review- demonstration of the ability to find significant sources, familiarity with the existing body of knowledge, analysis of existing research, and learning through a careful reading of existing scholarship.
• Methods (and Methodology)- procedures and processes undertaken in your investigation/study including the research design– study type, research question, hypotheses, variables, and data collection methods (as applicable).
• Conclusion – briefly restate the research highlighting the implications of your research
• References- include relevant literature sources (in-text citation and a list of full-text references)
• Appendices (if applicable) – tables, graphs, charts or any other- related to the study not included in the main paper but referred to.

B. Reflective Journal (10%)
You are required to produce a Reflective Journal (approximately 1000 words) that has been ongoing and progressive in terms of reporting ideas developed and other findings for the purposes of the research work.

For this part of the assignment, write up a Reflective Journal of all work relating to your research topic and research idea as you have progressed through on a weekly basis, based on your weekly work/exercises in Part B of your Tutorial-Workshops from weeks 1-10.

• A Reflective Journal is a tool that allows students to reflect on and write about their progress in their learning. They can identify and reflect on success and challenges. Its purpose is:
  • To record the development of your ideas and insights through the weekly exercises
  • To reflect on your own learning process
  • To analyze and discuss key issues covered by class work and/or readings
• In other words, a Reflective Journal is a personal record of your progress and your developments in thinking about a subject or a topic. Although it’s a more informal style of writing than other academic assignments, you now need to submit it as regular entries developed over a period of time- from week 1 till week 10. Your reflective journal forms the basis of your research report.
• Consider the following when writing a reflective journal:
  • Describe events and your experience on weekly basis (weeks 1-10 based on the
    Tutorial-Workshops Part B) – What did I do/hear/see?
  • Interpret and evaluate the events from your perspective – What do I think about it
    now? How does it relate to other things that I know?
  • Explain your experience- reveal your new insights, connections with other learning, your hypotheses, and your conclusions.
  • Have I changed how I think about the situation? How have I used these to help organize my writing?
• Create individual weekly headings to reflect on and add a brief conclusion on the reflections at the end, all as suggested above.

C – Ethics Application(10%)
Include a fully completed ethics application in your submission. Refer to the lecture slides from week 7 for details of how to complete each section and to tutorial 7 for the links to the appropriate documentation

Submission
Submit an electronic copy of the Research Report along with your Reflective Journal and Ethics Application via the Turnitin submission link on the course Moodle page. Please refer to the Course Description for information regarding late assignments, extensions, special consideration, and plagiarism. A reminder all academic regulations can be accessed via the university’s website, see: http://federation.edu.au/staff/governance/legal/feduni-legislation

Research Proposal via the Turnitin link
You will be able to view the originality report immediately after submission. You are advised to submit earlier so that you can check the originality report and make necessary changes (by paraphrasing, adding appropriate in-text citation/referencing etc.) to eliminate matching and avoid PLAGIARISM. You may re-submit the assignment until the due date/time.