Overview
This unit is the second and final stage of your final year research project which builds upon the successful completion of Research Project 1 (PPMP20019). In this unit, you will complete the investigative study that you have undertaken in 'Research Project 1'. You will collect, analyse secondary or primary data and discuss the findings of your study. Then, you will draw conclusions and report the research findings via a rigorous scholarly paper as well as an oral presentation. You will also be required to apply your project management competencies throughout the execution and closing phases of your research project.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Prerequisite: PPMP20019 Research Project 1
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 2 - 2021
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes – in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 12-credit Postgraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 25 hours of study per week, making a total of 300 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University’s Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback – Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from Ethics office and teaching team
Students struggle to obtain timely ethics clearance to collect primary data from people.
Provide examples of exemplary ethics applications in Moodle for guidance. Direct students to avoid research design that requires ethics clearance.
- Apply project management processes, tools and techniques in executing the research project
- Use appropriate tools and techniques in undertaking a research inquiry, and collecting and analysing data
- Interpret results and draw conclusions that address the research question and objectives being investigated
- Apply ethical practices in collecting research data, analysing results and reporting research findings
- Communicate and orally present a well constructed scholarly paper of a publication standard.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Research Assignment - 80% | |||||
| 2 - Presentation - 20% | |||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Knowledge | |||||
| 2 - Communication | |||||
| 3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills | |||||
| 4 - Research | |||||
| 5 - Self-management | |||||
| 6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility | |||||
| 7 - Leadership | |||||
| 8 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | |||||
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | |
| 1 - Research Assignment - 80% | ||||||||
| 2 - Presentation - 20% | ||||||||
Textbooks
Research methods for business students
8th edition (2019)
Authors: M. N. K. Saunders, Philip Lewis & Adrian Thornhill
Pearson
New York New York
ISBN: 9781292208794
Binding: eBook
Additional Textbook Information
Both paper and eBook versions can be purchased at the CQUni Bookshop here: http://bookshop.cqu.edu.au (search on the Unit code).
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
- Endnote (available through Library - see Moodle link)
- SPSS 20.0 may be needed for data analysis
- computer lab
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: Harvard (author-date)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
s.skaik@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
- Refine and discuss your implementation plan with the Supervisor.
- Get the data collection instrument reviewed by the Supervisor.
- Secure ethics clearance (if applicable)
- Update baseline schedule including all milestones and key activities of this phase.
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Kick-off meeting with the Supervisor (Compulsory)
Module/Topic
- Finalise the sampling plan and prepare a list of all potential sources of data collection.
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Milestone:
Sampling plan and list of data sources finalised.
Module/Topic
- Proceed with pilot study (if applicable)
- Update/refine data collection instrument (if applicable).
- Proceed with mass data collection
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Progress meeting with the Supervisor and presentation of work progress and status report (Compulsory)
Module/Topic
- Continue with data collection
Chapter
Review the online resources within the relevant section of this week in Moodle site.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
- Organise, check, transcribe or code collected data.
- Discuss how to approach data analysis with your supervisor
Chapter
Review the online resources within the relevant section of this week in Moodle site.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Progress meeting with the Supervisor and presentation of work progress and status report (Compulsory)
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
- Analyse and interpret collected data.
Chapter
Review the online resources within the relevant section of this week in Moodle site.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Progress meeting with the Supervisor and presentation of work progress and status report (Compulsory)
Module/Topic
- Write the results section.
- Complete analysis section.
Chapter
Review the online resources within the relevant section of this week in Moodle site.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Milestone:
Results and analysis section complete.
Module/Topic
- Get the results and analysis reviewed by the supervisor.
- Discuss findings and make links between objectives, findings and literature.
Chapter
Review the online resources within the relevant section of this week in Moodle site.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Progress meeting with the Supervisor and presentation of work progress and status report (Compulsory)
Milestone:
Discussion section complete
Module/Topic
- Complete the conclusion section which summarises major findings in response to the research question or hypothesis, limitations, implications and directions for future research.
- Compile all completed sections to develop the dissertation.
Chapter
Review the online resources within the relevant section of this week in Moodle site.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
- Format and finalise the dissertation.
- Go through the given checklist and ensure you tick all boxes before submission
Chapter
Review the online resources within the relevant section of this week in Moodle site.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Progress meeting with the Supervisor and presentation of work progress and status report (Compulsory)
Milestones
Dissertation
Dissertation Due: Week 10 Friday (24 Sept 2021) 5:00 pm AEST
Module/Topic
- Present and defend project findings via an oral presentation in the PM Research Seminar.
Chapter
Review the online resources within the relevant section of this week in Moodle site.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Milestones:
Oral Defence
Oral Defence Due: Week 11 Wednesday (29 Sept 2021) 9:00 am AEST
Module/Topic
- Consider the feedback on your work and develop a publishable journal or conference paper emerging from the dissertation.
Chapter
Review the online resources within the relevant section of this week in Moodle site.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
- Proofread and edit the conference paper before submission.
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Milestones:
The publishable paper
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Research Assignment
Overview:
This assignment requires you to work independently and complete the second and final phase of your research project that you have planned in PPMP20019. Your project will be overseen and supervised by the unit coordinator who will provide the necessary strategic directions and guidance throughout the entire process and warn you if the work is not thought to be of a satisfactory standard. You should maintain contact with your supervisor throughout the preparation of your work. A common pitfall is to go long periods of time without making any contact with the co-supervisor. You must attend the six compulsory meetings with your on-campus supervisor as scheduled in the unit profile. You will be required to deliver a 5-minutes presentation about your progress in every supervisory meeting which will be the basis to proffer further discussion and feedback. You must also apply project management competencies in completing this phase of your research project.
The task
Your task is to collect and analyse primary and/or secondary data then disseminate your research via a dissertation as well as a scholarly conference paper format. The task requires you to demonstrate that you can present a piece of rigorous research in your chosen field and involves critical thinking and reasoning. The task also requires you to apply project management competencies throughout the project lifecycle. You are expected to demonstrate a high level of project management and leadership competencies in this unit by meeting the given milestones, maintaining meeting records, effectively tracking and updating your work progress and mitigating risks or delays. This assignment consists of two main deliverables or parts per the following table:
| Assessment item | Weight |
| Part 1A: Dissertation (week 10) | 60% |
| Part 1B: Publishable Paper (week 13) | 20% |
Part 1A: Dissertation
This part requires you to submit your dissertation by the end of week 10. The sections/components of the dissertation should appear in the following order. A dissertation template with clear guidelines on how to write keys sections is available in Moodle for your use.
- Cover page
- Acknowledgment
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Rationale including research questions (500 words max)
- Focused literature review (2000 words max)
- Research Design
- Results & Analysis
- Discussion
- Conclusion, implications, limitations and recommendation of further research.
- Reflective statement (300-500 words): summarising your experiences, feelings, reactions towards practising research project management in completing your project and approaches to deal with incurred risks or delays and what resources or feedback you found to be helpful or unhelpful in managing your research project.
- References
- Appendices (data collection instrument, figures, tables, research data, raw data, supplementary information, supervisory meeting records & status reports, final ethics report, etc.)
For guidance, the dissertation should be 10,000-12,000 words in length excluding references and appendices. Moodle site includes useful resources to help you complete your dissertation. More details of the research report formatting and submission checklist are provided in the Moodle site.
Part 1B: Publishable Paper
This is the final part of your submissions in this unit which is due in week 13. The part requires you to develop a publishable paper to disseminate the findings of your research to the wider community. You will build upon the dissertation to prepare a succinct, concise and focused paper of publication standards. You must provide a compliance statement by listing all feedback and comments on your dissertation and your response as to how you complied with the given feedback/comment in developing the paper. You must shortlist three suitable journals or conferences for publishing your paper and consult your supervisor on the preferred publisher. You must follow the author guidelines provided by the publisher for formatting the paper. Unless specified otherwise in author guidelines, the paper should ideally be between 6000-9000 words excluding compliance statement and references and must appear in the following order. Make sure you reformat your graphs and/or tables to fit within the space limits.
- Cover sheet
- Abstract
- Table of content
- Acknowledgement
- Introduction including background, aim, need, significance and research questions.
- Literature review
- Research Method
- Results and Analysis
- Discussion
- Conclusion, limitations, implications and recommendation for further research
- References
- Compliance statement with the faculty's feedback/comments
Week 10 Friday (24 Sept 2021) 5:00 pm AEST
Week 12 Friday (8 Oct 2021)
Part 1A: Dissertation
| Grade | Criteria |
| HD | As in the D category, but in addition, displaying a very high ability to comprehend the subject matter within the wider context and demonstrating considerable originality. The highest level of PM skills, thesis structure and presentation. |
| D | An extremely thorough, distinction level piece of research. Thorough understanding of the subject and issues. Demonstrates a high degree of critical appraisal analysis, clearability to formulate/construct RQs or hypotheses and excellent understanding and application of research methods. Conclusions are well supported by the content. Very well structured and presented. An excellent demonstration of project management skills throughout the project lifecycle which is evident via the reflective statement, progress presentations, meeting records, etc |
| C | A good understanding of the subject and issues. Demonstrates a clear ability to ask the right questions and/or formulate/construct hypotheses to address the issues. Good understanding and application of research methods. Critical appraisal is demonstrated and conclusions and recommendations are supported. Fairly structured and presented dissertation over and above the basic standard. One or two requirements have not been met. A good demonstration of project management skills throughout the project lifecycle which is evident via the reflective statement, progress presentations, meeting records, etc. |
| P | A reasonable understanding of the subject and issues, which asks questions and addresses potential answers, supported by a reasonable degree of analysis and critique. Acceptable consideration of research methods. Conclusions are reasonably formed and recommendations are generally supported by the work undertaken. Basic structure and presentation of the dissertation. three or more requirements were not met. A basic demonstration of project management skills throughout the project lifecycle which is evident via the reflective statement, progress presentations, meeting records, etc. |
| F | Does not meet academic standards for a dissertation. A basic piece of work that demonstrates limited knowledge/effort and understanding, supported by only little analysis and minimal review. Poor or non-existent consideration of research methods. Inadequate discussion with very poorly or unsupported conclusions. Poorly structured and presented dissertation. The submission is incomplete with many missing information. A poor or lack of demonstration of project management skills which was evident via the reflective statement, progress presentations, meeting records, etc. |
Part 1B: Publishable Paper
The publishable paper will be assessed using the following criteria:
- The compliance statement is satisfactory and all comments are incorporated 20%
- The paper is well structured, presented and formatted as per the agreed guidelines 20%
- Quality of presenting results, analysis and discussion 20%
- Quality of academic writing, punctuation, grammar & spelling 20%
- Quality of conclusion and identification of limitations 20%
- Apply project management processes, tools and techniques in executing the research project
- Use appropriate tools and techniques in undertaking a research inquiry, and collecting and analysing data
- Interpret results and draw conclusions that address the research question and objectives being investigated
- Apply ethical practices in collecting research data, analysing results and reporting research findings
- Communicate and orally present a well constructed scholarly paper of a publication standard.
- Knowledge
- Communication
- Cognitive, technical and creative skills
- Research
- Self-management
- Ethical and Professional Responsibility
- Leadership
2 Presentation
- Introduction/background
- Rationale
- Research gap/problem statement
- Research questions
- Research design
- Results and analysis
- Discussion
- Conclusion and limitations
- Reflection on practising PM in executing this project.
- Reference list
Week 11 Wednesday (29 Sept 2021) 9:00 am AEST
Oral presentations
Week 12 Friday (8 Oct 2021)
You will only receive oral feedback on your presentation.
| Assessment Criteria | Weight |
Technical Content
|
40% |
Delivery of presentation
|
40% |
Handling of Questions and Discussion
|
20% |
- Apply project management processes, tools and techniques in executing the research project
- Interpret results and draw conclusions that address the research question and objectives being investigated
- Apply ethical practices in collecting research data, analysing results and reporting research findings
- Communicate and orally present a well constructed scholarly paper of a publication standard.
- Knowledge
- Communication
- Cognitive, technical and creative skills
- Self-management
- Ethical and Professional Responsibility
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
