Page 1 of 2 Unit: PPMP20015, Term XXXXXXXXXX Assessment 1 (Individual) Due date and time: Monday 20 April 2020 at 9:00 am (AEST) ASSESSMENT Submit electronic copy – max file size is 50MB. Weighting:...

The topic of research--- Evaluating best practices in the value of introducing a pmbok based approach to management in the context of construction projects in Australia.


Page 1 of 2 Unit: PPMP20015, Term 1 - 2020 Assessment 1 (Individual) Due date and time: Monday 20 April 2020 at 9:00 am (AEST) ASSESSMENT Submit electronic copy – max file size is 50MB. Weighting: 40% Length: Between 2000 and 2500 words (excluding reference list but including template headings) 1 Assessment Overview This assignment requires you to identify and provide preliminary information to support a future research proposal and draws on information taught in weeks 1-5. A template is provided in the Moodle page for Assessment 1 and must be used in completing this assignment. You are required to: 1. Choose a topic area to research (using the Research Topic Generation Tool for Assignment 1 provided in the Week 1-Tutorial section of unit Moodle site and as addressed in the tutorial activity for Week 1) 2. Identify a specific gap in the scholarly research relating to your chosen topic area (based on your reading about the topic) 3. Complete each of the sections in the provided template (Instructions on how to use the template are provided within the template itself). The template requires you to provide a rationale for your proposed research, write a basic literature review to show your understanding of the research area, identify and describe the research question/s and objective/s for your research and explain, with reasons, whether you will use a quantitative, qualitative or mixed methodology approach in your research design. Your ability to demonstrate understanding of these processes will determine the marks you are given. Learning outcomes assessed for Assessment 1: 3 - Conduct a literature search to identify a problem that warrants research within the project management context 4 - Select appropriate research approaches, methods and skills for solving the research problem Referencing style The Unit Profile states the general referencing style for this unit is Harvard (Author-Date). However, for this assessment you MUST use the EndNote Harvard-CQU referencing style (see Endnote instructions in Week 4 of the unit Moodle site and Library guide at https://libguides.library.cqu.edu.au/endnote/endnote-styles ) https://libguides.library.cqu.edu.au/endnote/endnote-styles Page 2 of 2 Marking Criteria for Assessment item 1 Your assignment will be assessed on the quality and extent to which it meets each of the following criteria. (Students must also read the instructions and guide notes provided in the ‘Proposed Research Report’ template available in the Unit Moodle site page for Assessment 1). Criteria Maximum marks 1. Identify a gap in research about the chosen topic and provide a rationale for undertaking the research: The student response must: a) clearly describe the gap (maximum 1.5 marks), b) adequately identify why the gap exists (maximum 1.5 marks), c) provide a clear explanation of how the research project would help close that gap (maximum 1.5 marks), and d) provide references to scholarly articles to support the rationale (maximum 1.5 marks) 6 2. Write a literature review: The literature review provided by the student must: a) be based on ten (10) scholarly journals that are relevant to the area of focus of the chosen research topic (maximum 4 marks) b) be properly synthesised as described in Week 3 topic materials (maximum 4 marks), c) adequately: i) identify key issues related to the area of focus (maximum 2 marks) ii) describe existing research (maximum 2 marks), and iii) show any potential gaps in the current research (maximum 2 marks) d) Students must also explain how they located the articles and evaluated their credibility (maximum 2 marks) 16 3. Identify and describe research questions and objectives The student response must identify and clearly describe: a) Two research questions (maximum 2 marks), and b) Two research objectives for each question (maximum 2 marks) (Questions and objectives must be clearly linked to answering the research problem) 4 4. Choose an appropriate research methodology The student response must: a) Clearly explain the purpose for a research methodology (using references to scholarly source/s to support their explanation) (maximum 1 mark) b) Clearly describe the research methodology proposed for their research (maximum 1 mark) c) Provide a clear justification for the choice of research methodology, supported by reference to a minimum of three different scholarly literature sources about research design (maximum 4 marks). 6 5. Provide a submission which is appropriately structured, properly presented and uses appropriate referencing The student response must provide a submission which: a) Is correctly structured using the template (maximum 2 mark) b) Has clarity of expression (maximum 2 mark) c) Uses correct grammar and spelling (maximum 2 mark) d) Uses appropriate Endnote Harvard-CQU referencing (maximum 2 mark) 8 Sub-Total 40 NOTE: Where the overall word count is below or above the required range by up to 250 words, a penalty of 2 marks will be applied. Where it is below or above by more than 250 words, a penalty of 4 marks will be applied. (Template section headings are to be included in the word count but the reference list is to be excluded from the word count). Late penalties will also apply Total Marks Assessment Overview Learning outcomes assessed for Assessment 1: Referencing style Marking Criteria for Assessment item 1 CQU University: PPMP20015 Term 1-2020 Assessment 1: Proposed Research Report Student Name: _____________________Date: ______________ Student No: _____________________ Note: Remove all text in BLUE before submission. It is only given to guide you in writing your report. Word counts are also provided in some sections as a guide to the expected length of submission. (Refer to the Assessment 1 information for overall word count details and penalties) You MUST use the headings as shown in this template. Proposed research topic (This is chosen by using the ‘Topic Generation Tool for Week 1’ in the unit Moodle site and as addressed in the tutorial activity for Week 1. For example: ‘Examining the challenges in controlling labour costs in construction projects in Perth’) 1. Research gap and rationale for undertaking the proposed research (Reading articles for your literature review will help in identifying a gap in the current research that warrants further investigation. You must a) clearly describe the gap, b) identify why you believe the gap exists and c) explain how you think this research project will help to close that gap. You must use references to the scholarly articles you have read to support your argument.) (Approx. 500 words) 2. Literature review of ten (10) scholarly journal articles a) Literature review (The articles used must be relevant to the area of focus of your topic and must be synthesised as described in the lecture for Week 3. Annotated bibliographies of each article will not be acceptable. The literature review must identify key issues related to the area of focus, describe existing research, and show any potential gaps in the current research) (Approx. 900 words). b) Credibility of articles used in the literature review (Approx. 200 words) i) General process for locating articles: (Explain how you located the articles, i.e. using keyword combinations, search engines, etc.) ii) Evaluation and description of credibility of each article (Use at least two of the following Credibility Indicators, as described in Week 3 lecture materials, for each article: a. Check if the journal has genuine peer review b. Journal index in scientific data bases c. International ranking of the journal d. Journal does not require a payment from authors e. The reputation of editorial board of the Journal) 3. Research questions and objectives (Identify and describe TWO questions and TWO Objectives for EACH question, based on the process discussed in the Week 2 Lecture slides) (Approx. 100 words) a) Research Question 1: ……………………. Research Objective 1: …………… Research Objective 2: …………… b) Research Question 2: ……………………. Research Objective 1: …………… Research Objective 2: …………… 4. Research methodology for the proposed research (Refer to Week 5 lecture notes about deciding the Research Methodology) (Approx. 500 words, in total) i) Purpose of a research methodology (Briefly explain the purpose of a research methodology. Remember to cite the references of all scholarly source/s you use to answer this section) ii) Proposed research methodology (State the research methodology you propose using, i.e. Quantitative, Qualitative or Mixed Methods) iii) Justification for choosing the proposed research methodology (Explain, in detail, the reason for your choice of research methodology. Your justification MUST refer to a minimum of three different scholarly literature sources about research design) 5. Reference List (Provide your reference list using Harvard-CQU referencing style) 6. Word count (Provide the word count for your submission. The word count is to be between 2000 and 2500 words including the template headings but excluding the reference list. Penalties will apply for being below or above the required word count range) Page 2 of 2 26 Page 2 of 2