Assessment Overview

This individual assignment tests your essential research competencies needed to identify a knowledge gap or a problem in the context of project management discipline that warrants research. It primarily assesses your understanding and level of engagement with learning resources at an early stage of the inquiry process. The assignment MUST be your own piece of work. You must not plagiarise, collude or get help from others.

Assignment 1 (Critical Review Report) consists of two deliverables or parts:

1. Assignment 1A, 10%: Critical Review Report, due by end of week 3
2. Assignment 1B, 10%: In-class Peer Assessment, due by end of week 4

Note: Each part will receive a mark of ZERO if not completed by the given deadline to complete the work.

Tasks

Assignment 1A:

Assignment 1A requires you to choose an initial research topic using a supplied research topic generation tool. Next, you will conduct a literature search to identify a scholarly paper relevant to your chosen topic. You will provide a detailed overview of the identified scholarly article using your own words. The review should include all components as taught in the unit (refer to weekly sources). You will provide an explanation of how the paper was identified and to what extent you think it is a credible paper. You will also identify and briefly summarise two relevant sources relevant to the identified paper as explained in the specifications below. You must include a screenshot of Turnitin similarity report showing the similarity percentage. Then, you will provide your personal reflection of your learning experience in this phase. The reflection should record your experiences, feelings and reactions during the learning experience in the last four weeks. This may include your commentary on Turnitin similarity percentage, evaluation of the adopted approaches, techniques or tutorial activities that have been helpful or unhelpful. You must also reflect on the consultation process you have had with your lecturer/tutor, peers and Moodle sources. Refer to Moodle site for the specifications and detailed requirements to complete this part.

Assignment 1B

Assignment 1B requires you to assess one report submitted by one of your peers as randomly assigned to you. You must complete the peer assessment in your tutorial class only as scheduled in week 4. You will conduct the assessment using a marking tool prepared based on the given assessment criteria. Peers will communicate the submissions and assessments double-blindly. You must provide constructive and adequate comments to your peer on each assessment criterion. You will receive ZERO marks if you fail to provide sufficient and meaningful feedback on the assigned submission. Your lecturer will monitor the peer assessment and pick a random sample of assessments for moderation to ensure that peer assessments are given as per requirements.

Assignment 1A:

Assessment will be done according to presentation, accuracy and coverage of the content for each part of the assignment 1A as set out under 'Specifications' section. The Turnitin similarity percentage must not exceed 10%. A marking tool will be available in Moodle to ease the assessment process. In particular, the following assessment criteria will be used to assess submissions:

• The research topic is relevant, logical and concise. 10%
• The selected articles are credible and relevant to the chosen topic 10%
• The reviews are comprehensive, well-structured and concise. 30%
• The identified gap or problem is promising and worthwhile. 10%
• Personal reflection is relevant, concise and well-articulated in response to the assessment task 20%
• Clarity of expression, language, format, referencing and presentation of the report with an acceptable Turnitin similarity rate. 20%

Assignment 1B:

You will receive marks for the quality of assessing yourself and assessing the assigned submission. Moodle will compare your assessment with the reviewers’ assessment of the submission. Based on how close your assessment is to the faculty's assessment of the assigned submission, you will receive a score for the quality of your assessments.

The maximum marks will be allocated as per the following table:

Overview:

This assignment requires you to follow a systematic approach in order to eventually develop a viable research proposal of high academic standards. The assignment must be developed via a randomly formed group. It comprises 80% of the total mark of this unit. You must achieve a minimum score of 50% of the available marks of this assignment task to pass this unit. The assignment consists of four deliverables or parts:

1. Part 2A, 10%: Oral presentations of the outline research proposal, due in week 8
2. Part 2B, 20%: Group interviews of draft research proposal, due in week 10
3. Part 2C, 40%: Final Research Proposal, due in week 12
4. Part 2D, 10%: Group Member Performance Evaluation, due in week 12

Group forming

Your tutor will form your group in week five. Each group will comprise 3-4 students and this range may vary depending on the number of students enroled in each class or setting. Each group member must enrol in their group online by end of week 5 to avoid mark deduction. Your group leader will initially be assigned by the tutor. The group must then confirm or defer the assignment of the group leader and negotiate group rules by completing a group charter template. Your group must meet on a regular basis and keep a record of minutes of meetings until the end of the term. Your group must use ASANA for team communication and task management. Any dysfunctional member should be given a warning by the group leader and an opportunity to improve. In case of no improvement, the member must be reported to the tutor as well as the unit coordinator.

Tasks:

Part 2A: Group Presentations (10%)

This is the first deliverable of your group that will be due in week 7. The task requires your group to develop and present the outline of your intended research project. The presentation must essentially outline the what, why and how of the group research project. Your group should prioritise projects initiated in assignment 1 and eventually agree upon the group research topic for further adoption in assignment 2. Your presentation should include the following components.

1. A description of the group research topic
2. Background of the research project.
3. Evidence of the research gap or problem and its significance.
4. Research questions or hypothesis(es)
5. Research methodology
6. Expected research findings and their implication.
7. A list of key scholarly recent studies relating to your topic.

Presentations will take place during tutorial sessions in week 7 for on-campus students and via Zoom for online students. Each group will present its project to the respective tutor and peers. Each group will have strict 10 minutes of presentation time plus 5 minutes of Q&A and feedback time (10+5=15 mins). Each group member is required to present part of the work and be ready to answer any question by the tutor relating to the presentation. Exceeding the time limits for presentation will encounter mark deductions; therefore, you are encouraged to have adequate rehearsal in advance.

Important Note: Group members who are not available during for presentations will receive zero marks. A group member who fails to complete ALL the compulsory group activities will not be allowed to present and will receive zero marks for this part.

Part 2B: Oral examination - Group Interviews (20%)

This part involves an oral examination of each group member to explain the content of draft detailed research proposal. The draft proposal must be submitted in Moodle two business days prior to the scheduled interviews using the given template for Part 2C. Do not include the ‘Project Management Section’ and ‘Appendices’ in the draft submission. Interviews will be conducted during tutorials or via Zoom. The questions will be raised around the development of the draft detailed research proposal. Each group must attend ‘one to one’ interview with their respective tutor during the tutorial in Week 10. Interviews via Zoom will be arranged with online students as well as on-campus groups who could not complete the interviews during the scheduled tutorial. During interviews, the tutor will ask a few questions to each group member to verify the level of their contribution in the project, identify any error or misunderstanding, detect misconceptions and probe the depth of understanding of research project substance and process. Each member will receive an individual mark based on their answers to the tutor’s questions during the interview. The tutor will also give constructive feedback on the draft in order to amend or improve the final proposal.

Part 2C: Final Detailed Research Proposal (40%)

Developing a final detailed research proposal is the third and most important deliverable of the assignment. You should think of this proposal as a document that should be detailed enough so anyone else can use your plan to execute the project. You must consider the given feedback on previous assessment tasks to improve your research proposal. In developing your proposal, you must adopt the supplied template which has sufficient guidelines to complete each section.

Important Note: You must familiarise yourself with the assessment criteria of this part as it is linked with Part 2D so each group member may receive a different mark to reflect their actual performance in undertaking the group work.

Part 2D: Group Member Performance Evaluation (10%)

Evaluation of group members is the fourth and last deliverable of the assignment. In week 12, you will receive an email from the Unit Coordinator inviting you to respond to a compulsory survey. You must respond by the given deadline, mentioned in that email. The survey includes five closed-ended questions and one open-ended question. The survey aims to evaluate the performance of each group member regarding leadership, attendance of group meetings, timely action, cooperation, quality of contribution, etc. You must self-rate your performance and rate each member of your group against the given criteria. You must also provide a short feedback of not less than 30 words about the level of contribution, the reliability of contributions and performance of each group member by answering the sixth question.

Important Notes: Failing to provide appropriate qualitative feedback about each group member will encounter 5 marks deductions from the available marks of this part. You must respond to the survey independently and privately. You must be objective and honest in your assessment as you will be penalised by awarding ZERO marks for this part if your assessment is found to lack objectivity. To ensure the objectivity of your evaluation, the unit coordinator or a delegated staff member may request groups with suspicious evaluations to provide evidence of the given assessment to their peers such as communications history, minutes of meetings, earlier drafts and the like.

Part 2A: Group Presentations

This part will be assessed based on the following criteria:

1. The presentation contains sufficient, accurate and focused information (30%).
2. The ability of the group to demonstrate understanding of presented content (30%).
3. Clear alignment between rationale, research questions and methodology (20%).
4. Length of presentation is within the assigned time limits (10%).
5. The overall quality of the presentation (10%).

Part 2B: Oral examination - Group Interviews

Assessment will be done according to the level of contribution, understanding and familiarity with the content for each part of the draft detailed submission. This part will be assessed based on the tutor’s evaluation of each student in terms of their actual contribution, understanding and familiarity with the entire research project, followed research processes and key principles. It is devised to ensure you have genuinely participated in the development of the research proposal. There are no marks allocated for the draft research project but it is a compulsory requirement to submit it as it will be the basis to run your group interviews. The group members will receive a mark of zero if the draft proposal is not submitted by the deadline. If a group member fails to attend the interview, he/she will receive zero marks for this assignment. In order to pass this assessment part, you must satisfactorily answer at least two questions that ultimately test your attainment of the learning outcomes of this unit.

Part 2C: Detailed Research Proposal.

The below rubric will be used for marking this part. This part will be marked simultaneously with Part 2D. This is because the group mark in Part 2C may be further reduced for each group member to reflect their actual performance based on the group evaluation via Part 2C. For example, if the group mark for Part 2C is 80% (32 out of 40) and group evaluation of a member is 60% (6 out of 10), the maximum individual mark for Part 2C will be reduced accordingly and a student will only receive 60% (24 out of 40) for Part 2C. However, no additional marks will be awarded for individuals if they receive a better mark in the individual evaluation (Part 2D) than the mark received for Part 2C.

Part 2D: Group Member Performance Evaluation

This part will reflect the level of your engagement as a group member, your leadership, teamwork, participation in group meetings, timely action, academic integrity, reliability, cooperation, quality of contribution, etc. You will receive zero marks if you do not complete the survey by the deadline. You will also lose marks if you do not answer all rating questions and any deductions will be calculated based on the percentage completion of rating questions. You will lose 50% of the available marks of this part (e.g. 5 marks) if you fail to complete the open-ended question in the survey.