Higher Nationals

 Assignment Brief – BTEC (RQF)

Higher National Diploma in Business

Academic Year: 2018

Unit Number and Title	9-11 Research Project
Unit Code	R / 508 / 0522	Credit Value	30
Unit Assessor
Assignment Title	Business Research Project
Issue Date	18.10.2018
Submission Date	Research Proposal Approval
IV Name
Date	11.05.2018

Submission Format:

You should attach a cover sheet clearly stating college name, your name, surname, Cohort and the student number, together with the following learner declaration in the front of your assignment. ———————————————————————————————————————– Learner declaration:   I certify that the work submitted for this assignment is my own and research sources are fully acknowledged.    Student signature:                                                                                  Date: ————————————————————————————————————————   Identify and understand the assessment verbs. Please find a list of common assessment verbs on the last pages of this brief.     In your answers, highlight each task clearly – identifying task numbers as stated in the assignment brief.   3.  Word process in Arial; Size: 12; Line and Paragraph Spacing: 1.5, Text alignment; Justify Insert Page     Numbering (bottom centre).  4.  All sources MUST be acknowledged fully. Include a References list/Bibliography at the end of the assignment.   5. Spell check the document and read thoroughly for grammatical errors even though the mistakes in spelling and grammar would not influence assessment decisions.   6.  Your submission should be uploaded on to Turnitin in the submission period as assigned. Collusion and Plagiarism must be avoided.   7.  Assignments submitted after the deadline will not be accepted unless the evidence of mitigating circumstance is provided. Assignments submitted after the submission date may not be eligible for support towards feedbacks.  8.  Resubmission is capped to a pass. You are allowed to resubmit only once and if they fail to pass at the time   of resubmission, you would be advised to retake the unit.  9. Start each answer on a new page and pages should be numbered. Highlight each question clearly.  10.  In order to Pass you need to address all Pass criteria.  11. In order to get a Merit, you need to address all the Merit criteria along with Pass criteria.  In order to get a Distinction, you need to address all the Distinction criteria along with Pass and Merit criteria.

Tutor approved research proposal which should have the following format: –     research title research project description (brief overview of nature of project) research aim and objectives (hypothesis) reasons for choosing this research projectliterature review (critical review of key references) research approach and methodologiesactivities and timescales references   Completed research proposal and research ethics forms must be approved by your tutor before you can continue to Activities 2, 3 and 4.           A research proposal form is given in the appendix.   A Business Research Project Report including a personal reflective statement: –         Your business research project report should include the following: –   Research Title (cover page) Abstract, Acknowledgements Contents page   Chapter 1 Introduction     1.1 Research Proposal           (i) Research project description (brief overview of nature of project)       (ii) Research aim and objectives       (iii) Reasons for choosing this research project           (iv) Activities and timescales     Chapter 2: Literature review     2.1 Introduction     2.2 Literature review   Chapter 3: Methodology     3.1 Research Approach     3.2 Methodologies:           (i) Sampling – Data collection (description of how data would be collected)           (ii) Data analysis (description of how data would be presented and analysed)           (iii) Cost, access and ethical considerations   Chapter 4 Data Collection and Analysis     4.1 Data collection     4.2 Data presentation, analysis and discussion   Chapter 5: Conclusions and Recommendations     5.1 Conclusions     5.2 Recommendations   Chapter 6: Personal Reflective Statement     6.1 Areas for further research (or consideration)   References Appendices       Referencing Sources must be properly referenced using the APA system.   Plagiarism   Your business research report will not be assessed without submission to Turnitin.   Plagiarism is a serious academic offence. It arises when a student is suspected of presenting work undertaken by other people as if it were their own.  A student is liable to be found guilty of plagiarism if any work presented for individual assessment is found to contain the unacknowledged work of some other person or persons.  If this involves deliberate misrepresentation of material as the student’s own in an attempt to deceive the examiners, then the offence is very grave indeed.   All sources should be cited and all quotations from the works of other authors clearly identified as such using the APA system of referencing. If a student’s work is found to contain verbatim (or near verbatim) quotation from the work of other authors (including other students past or present) without clear acknowledgement, then plagiarism has been committed whether or not the student intended to deceive.   It is your responsibility to ensure that you are the only person who possesses your assignment material – never save anything on the hard drive of the college computers.

Unit Learning Outcomes:

LO1   Conduct appropriate research methodology which integrates knowledge into the research process. LO2   Conduct and analyse research relevant to a chosen business research project. LO3   Communicate the outcomes of a research project to identified stakeholders. LO4 Reflect on the application of research methodologies and concepts.

Assignment Brief and Guidance:

Scenario   Consider that you have recently been appointed as a researcher. You have been given a number of assignment activities to be carried out and presented to the senior management team of your organisation. You are required to fulfil the following activities in a research report format which also includes a personal reflective statement. The assignment requires that you undertake a research project related to the impact of digital technology on business activity in your chosen UK organisation. The chosen area of business activity must be related to your specialist pathway of study (human resources, marketing, operations or finance) unless you are studying a general business pathway. The unit addresses the elements that make up formal research including the research proposal, literature review, a variety of research methodologies, action planning, ethical consideration, carrying out the research itself and presenting the findings.   To complete the unit satisfactorily, you will be required to identify a specific problem or issue related to your area of business activity and write a research proposal outlining the issues as a problem statement – identifying the research aim and objectives (and/or hypothesis, if any) necessary to address your research question. Your research proposal will need to include a relevant literature review which supports and justifies your research objectives. The aim of the research project is to plan, collect and analyse relevant data related to the problem identified using appropriate sources (primary and secondary) before presenting the findings in a research report and personal reflective statement.    You must carry out and conduct the whole research project yourself to show your independent enquiry and critical analysis throughout. You must seek approval from your tutor before starting your research project.   Activity 1 – LO1:   Conduct appropriate research methodology which                                               integrates knowledge into the research process.   Based upon the impact of digital technology on business activity identified in your chosen UK organisation, producea research proposal outlining the specific aim and objectives (and/or hypothesis) that needs to be addressed to answer a specific research question.   Activity 2 – LO2:   Conduct and analyse research relevant to                               a chosen business research project.   Based on the methodology you described in your research proposal (Activity 1), conductprimary and secondary research using appropriate methods for your business research project that consider costs, access and ethical issues.    Collect and recordthe data based on the research question.    Apply appropriate analytical tools to data and research findings.   Activity 3 – LO3:   Communicate the outcomes of a research                                           project to identified stakeholders.   Based on the research proposal (Activity 1) and the research and analysis conducted (Activity 2), communicate research outcomes in an appropriate manner for the intended audience.   Your completed business research project should now be presented to the senior management team in a report format.   Activity 4 – LO4:   Reflect on the application of research methodologies and concepts.   Based on your research proposal (Activity 1) and your analysis (Activity 2) and your research conclusions and recommendations (Activity 3)  reflect on the effectiveness of research methods applied for meeting the objectives of your business research project.   Consider alternative research methodologies and lessons learnt in view of the outcomes. —————————————————————————————————————————————     Recommended Resources:     COSTLEY, C., ELLIOT, G. and GIBBS, P. (2010) Doing Work Based Research: Approaches to Enquiry for Insider-researchers. London: SAGE. FLICK, U. (2011) Introducing Research Methodology: A Beginner’s Guide to Doing a Research Project. London: SAGE. GRAY, D. (2009) Doing Research in the Real World. 2nd Ed. London: SAGE. SAUNDERS, M., LEWIS, P. and THORNHILL, A. (2012) Research Methods for Business Students. 6th Ed. Harlow: Pearson.   Journals International Journal of Quantitative and Qualitative Research. Qualitative Research Journal.

Learning Outcomes and Assessment Criteria
Learning Outcome	Pass	Merit	Distinction
LO1    (Activity 1)         Conduct appropriate research methodology which integrates knowledge into the research process.	To achieve P1 you will produce a research proposal that clearly defines a research question or hypothesis, supported by a literature review.	To achieve M1 you will be required to use the research onion in the evaluation of different approaches to research and to justify your choice of research methods.	To achieve D1 you should justify the design of the methods and techniques of data analysis.
To achieve P2 you will examine appropriate research methods and conduct primary and secondary research.
LO2    (Activity 2)            Conduct and analyze research relevant to a chosen business research project.	To achieve P3 you will conduct primary and secondary research using appropriate methods for a business research project that consider costs, access and ethical issues.	To achieve M2 you should justify the design of the methods and techniques of data collection.
To achieve P4 you will apply appropriate analytical tools to analyse research findings and data.
LO3   (Activity 3)       Communicate the outcomes of a research project to identified stakeholders.	To achieve P5 you will communicate research outcomes in an appropriate manner for the intended audience.	To achieve M3 you will need to demonstrate how your research outcomes  have met your research objectives in answering your research question.	To achieve D2 you need to demonstrate critical analysis of research outcomes to make valid and justified recommendations.
LO4   (Activity 4)   Reflect on the application of research methodologies and concepts.	To achieve P6 you will reflect on the effectiveness of research methods applied for meeting objectives of the business research project.	To achieve M4 your personal critical reflective statement should provide recommended actions for improvements and future research considerations.	To achieve D3 your personal critical reflective statement should demonstrate reflection and engagement in the resource process leading to recommended actions for future improvement.
To achieve P7 you will consider alternative research methodologies and lessons learnt in view of the outcomes.

Appendix

Research Proposal Form

Student Name          ………………………………………………………………………….                    Student number   …………………………………….

Centre Name           ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Tutor                                    ……………………………………………………………………………..                  Date   …………………………………….

Unit                          ……………………………………………………………………………..

Proposed  Title         …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Section One: Title, objective, responsibilities
Title or working title of research project ( in the form of a question, objective or hypothesis) Research project objectives (e.g. what is the question you want to answer? What do you want to learn how to do? What do you want to find out?):
Section Two: Reasons for choosing this research project
Reasons for choosing the project (e.g. links to other subjects you are studying, personal interest, future plans, knowledge/skills you want to improve, why the topic is important):
Section Three: Literature sources searched
Use of key literature sources to support your research question, objective or hypothesis:
Section Four: Activities and timescales
Activities to be carried out during the research project (e.g. research, development and analysis of ideas, writing, data collection, numerical analysis, tutor meetings, production of final outcome, evaluation, writing the report):	How long this will take:

Appendix

Research Proposal Form (contd.)

Milestone  one: …………………………………………………………………………….. Target date (set by tutor): …………………………………………………………………………….. Milestone  two: …………………………………………………………………………….. Target date (set by tutor): ……………………………………………………………………………..

Section Four: Research approach and methodologies

What type of research approach and methodologies are you likely to use and why? What your areas of research will cover:

Comments and agreement from tutor

Comments (optional):     I confirm that the project is not work which has been or will be submitted for another qualification and is appropriate. Agreed: …………………………………………………………………………  (name) …………………………………………………………………………  date) ………………………………………………

Comments and agreement from project proposal checker (if applicable)

Comments (optional):         I confirm that the project is appropriate. Agreed: …………………………………………………………………………  (name) …………………………………………………………………………  date) ………………………………………………

Appendix

 

Research Ethics Approval Form

All students conducting research activity that involves human participants or the use of data collected from human participants are required to gain ethical approval before commencing their research. Please answer all relevant questions and note that your form may be returned if incomplete.

For further support and guidance please see your respective Unit Tutor.

Before completing this form, we advise that you discuss your proposed research fully with your Unit Tutor. Please complete this form in good time before your research project is due to commence.

Section 1: Basic Details   Project  title:  …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..   ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….   Student name:          ……………………………………………………………………….. Student ID number: ……………………………………………………………………….. Programme:              ……………………………………………………………………….. College:                      ……………………………………………………………………….. Intended research start date: ……………………………………… Intended research end date: ………………………………………

Section 2: Project Summary Please select all research methods that you plan to use as part of your project: Interviews:                                 cQuestionnaires:                         cObservations:                             cUse of Personal Records:         cData Analysis:                            cAction Research:                       cFocus Groups:                            cOther (please specify): ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Appendix

Research Ethics Approval Form  (contd.)

Section 3: Participants  Please answer the following questions, giving full details where necessary.  Will your research involve human participants?   Ages 12-16:  c     Young People aged 17–18:  c     Adults:   c   How will participants be recruited (identified and approached)? Describe the processes you will use to inform participants about what you are doing: How will you obtain consent from participants? Will this be written? How will it be made clear to participants that they may withdraw consent to participate at any time? Studies involving questionnaires: Will participants be given the option of omitting questions they do not wish to answer?   Yes:   c    No:   c   If No please explain why below and ensure that you cover any ethical issues arising from this Studies involving observation: Confirm whether participants will be asked for their informed consent to be observed.   Yes:   c    No:   c   Will you debrief participants at the end of their participation (i.e. give them a brief explanation of the study)?   Yes:   c    No:   c   Will participants be given information about the findings of your study? (This could be a brief summary of your findings in general)   Yes:   c    No:   c

Appendix

Research Ethics Approval Form  (contd.)

Section 4: Data Storage and Security Confirm that all personal data will be stored and processed in compliance with the Data Protection Act (1998) Yes: c                 No: c Who will have access to the data and personal information? During the research: Where will the data be stored? Will mobile devices such as USB storage and laptops be used? Yes: c             No: c If yes, please provide further details: After the research: Where will the data be stored? How long will the data and records be kept for and in what format? Will data be kept for use by other researchers? Yes:  c    No:  c If yes, please provide further details:

Section 5: Ethical Issues Are there any particular features of your proposed work which may raise ethical concerns? If so, please outline how you will deal with these: It is important that you demonstrate your awareness of potential risks that may arise as a result of your research. Please consider/address all issues that may apply. Ethical concerns may include, but are not limited to the following: Informed consent.Potentially  vulnerable participants.Sensitive topics.Risks to participants and/or researchers.Confidentiality/anonymity.Disclosures/limits  to confidentiality.Data storage and security, both during and after the research (including transfer,  sharing, encryption, protection).Reporting.Dissemination and use of your findings.

Appendix

Research Ethics Approval Form  (contd.)

Pearson Education 2016 Higher Education Qualifications Summative Assignment Feedback Form

Section 6: Declaration I have read, understood and will abide by the institution’s Research and Ethics Policy: Yes: c    No: c I have discussed the ethical issues relating to my research with my Unit Tutor: Yes:  c   No:  c I confirm that to the best of my knowledge: The above information is correct and that this is a full description of the ethics issues that may arise in the course of my research. Name: ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Date: ……………………………………………………………………….. Please submit your completed form to ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

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