Posted: September 13th, 2017

ASSIGNMENT SPECIFICATION

ASSIGNMENT SPECIFICATION

TASK DESCRIPTION
Identify an area of study, relevant to your degree pathway, in which you would like to conduct your own research for your B.Sc. final year research dissertation or project.

Produce a dissertation or project proposal in which you introduce and justify your chosen research.  The document should contain the following sections:

1.  INTRODUCTION / BACKGROUND TO THE PROPOSED RESEARCH
•    Give your research a working title.
•    Describe clearly the background to the subject area of study.  This should involve a mini critical review of the literature pertaining to your research topic (diverse sources such as academic, governmental and industrial literature).  Ensure that all literature sources identified are referenced correctly (use the numeric system of referencing, & append a bibliography).
•    Provide the reader with an understanding of the field in which your study lies and an idea of where and how your study fits into this field.  In other words, you must justify a rationale for the study, based on the literature review.  Why is the research worth doing? Is it topical, interesting, controversial, applied in a new context, etc? Have there been similar studies? Is there a gap?
•    If relevant, introduce the industry/organisation/context that is being investigated.
•    Define one overarching aim of the study (the research purpose). Construct a series of objectives that specify what you will do to achieve the aim (typically 3 or 4 objectives).  The objectives represent major components that direct your activity, i.e. to breakdown the study into identifiable sub-tasks. Ensure that they are SMARTly phrased, incorporating higher order verbs (to analyse…, to evaluate…, to design and develop… etc.).
•    Expected outcomes/deliverables? What will you submit at the end of the study? A set of recommendations based on synthesis of primary and secondary research? Models and algorithms developed to address specific problems? Web design guidelines?  …and so on

2.  RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT METHODS
(Note that dissertations require a more in-depth discussion of research methods than projects, but projects must also discuss development methods)
•    Where relevant, identify and justify the research methods that you will use to gather your data and/or evaluate your results. This may include:
o    Research philosophy and approach (positivism or phenomenology? Induction or deduction?)
o    Research strategy (action research, experiment, case study, survey, etc.)
o    The study population and sample (who are they, do you have access?)
o    Data collection methods for each objective (interview, questionnaire, observation, document review, etc.).
o    Reliability and validity
•    If relevant, identify and justify any development methods and techniques that you will use as part of systems development  (e.g. lifecycle models, RAD approach, DSDM, OO approach, prototyping, UML, storyboards, hybrid/customised model, etc.).
•    Identify risks/limitations/ethical/legal issues and ways that you might deal with those risks.
•    How will you analyse the data/evaluate your results? (e.g. SPSS, content analysis, compare with user requirements and aims and objectives, software tests, user tests, benchmarks, etc.)

3.  RESOURCES & PLANNING
•    Identify any resources required (computer systems, application packages and programming languages, etc. to be used, access to journals).
•    Construct a Gantt chart that demonstrates evidence of project planning and management. Identify the timescales for each component of the study.

As well as general proposal guidance from Dr Nik Whitehead, you will need to talk to a subject specialist (supervising lecturer) who will help you to develop your proposal.  Take his/her advice on issues unique to your proposal. You should include the name of the subject specialist on the cover page of your project proposal.