MITS6011/ MITS6012 Advanced Research Topics in IT/ IS

INSTRUCTIONS
Students will need to consider a research problem in Information Technology or Information
Systems. The problem could arise from many different fields, for example, medical, business,
science, engineering, hospitality, banking etc ... The selection of the research problem will need
to take place early, in session 1 or 2 as the first deliverable is in session 3. This is necessary given
the nature of the subject. All the remaining work throughout the semester will stem from the basic
research problem. The idea is that this Unit of Study will mimic the research process and provide
you with the understanding and tools to undertake future research. In the first session, we will
extensively discuss finding research problems and from there formulating research questions. This
then gives us the foundation for proceeding with the remainder of the unit.

Deliverables
Below is a brief explanation of each of the deliverables including submission guidelines and
deadlines, though the deadlines have already been given in the Table 1 above.

Research Question and Abstract ( 10 Marks Due session 3)
The research question lies at the heart of your research project. After considering a research
problem (whatever the field of study) from there you will develop the research question. We will
discuss formulating research questions in session one and two, but within the research problem the
research question focuses specifically on one aspect of the problem that you will undertake as part
of the research programme. There are many ways to present the research question, and these will
be discussed during the sessions.
Along with the presentation of the Research question, you will also provide an abstract. An abstract
at this stage is a carefully written single paragraph which succinctly describes the background and
research problem that is being investigated by the researcher. The general approach can also be
outlined here. The format of the abstract will be discussed in the first two sessions.
Submit your assignment in one document file by the due date and time to the assignment dropbox.

Full Proposal ( 10 Marks Due session 5)
The full proposal is a document that contains your entire proposal for the research to be undertake.
These documents are normally required by academic departments before students are admitted
undertaking research degrees such as a Masters research degree or a PhD. This document will
contain your abstract and research question from the previous submission but integrated into a coherent document along with other components that will be discussed in class. A selection of
references that you will use in developing your research paper will also be included at the stage.
The format of the full proposal can be found in the example document (proposal.doc). Use this
document as a starting point to develop your full proposal and submit by the due date and time to
the assignment drop-box.

Introduction and Full Abstract ( 15 Marks Due session 7)
The Introduction of the research report contains a full introduction to the research you have
undertaken. The Introduction normally contains a statement of the problem (including the initial
research question, the Significance of the problem, some historical background. The purpose, or
goal to be gained from a better understanding of the research question, statement of hypothesis,
any assumptions and limitations as well as any possible ethical considerations. Perhaps also a brief
overview of the methodology.
The format of the Introduction can be found in the example document (report.doc, chapter 1). Use
this document as a starting point to develop your Introduction (add and delete sections as
appropriate).
Your submission also contains the full abstract. This is an extension of the initial abstract submitted
with the proposal document and summarizes the report including the hypotheses, procedures, and
major findings (you will not be conducting the research, so you won’t have any findings). The Full
abstract should be no more than one page.
Submit this chapter by the due date and time to the assignment drop-box.

Literature Review ( 20 Marks Due session 8, 9, 10)
The literature review gives the reader (and the examiner) the necessary background to understand
the study by citing the investigations and findings of previous researchers and documents the
researcher's knowledge and preparation to investigate the problem.
Studying the existing literature is one of the essential preliminary tasks when you undertake a
research study. This enables you to acquaint yourself with the available body of knowledge in your
specific area of research. “The literature review is an integral part of the research process and
makes a valuable contribution to almost every operational step” (Kumar, R. Research
Methodology: a step-by-step guide for beginners, 3rd ed, Sage 2011).

The literature review will be discussed in class and examples given, the literature review would
normally constitute Chapter 2 in a research report, see suggested guidelines in (report.doc, chapter
2)
The submission for the Literature Review has been divided into a number of submissions so the
Unit lecturer can gauge the student’s progression on this important topic early.
Session 8 Discussion – Concept Map
This will not be submitted online but checked in class only during the individual discussions with
each of the students. The concept map is a graphical representation of your intended structure of
the literature review. From the concept map we should be able to discern the structure of the
literature review and how you intend to proceed, including any thematic partitioning of the
references.
Session 9 Discussion – First Page
This will not be submitted online but checked in class only during the individual discussions with
each of the students. This will be the first page of Literature Review including any references cited
in the first page.
Session 10 Submission – Full Literature Review
Submit this chapter by the due date and time to the assignment drop-box. The submission must
include your concept map and first page of literature review that were discussed with the lecturer
during session 8 and 9.

Methodology ( 15 Marks Due session 12)
In this section you clearly outline what methodology you used in your research i.e. what you intend
to do and how you intend to do it. It must be clearly written so that it would be easy for another
researcher to duplicate your research if they wished. Most researchers will use one or more of a
number of well documented and acceptable methods understood by the research community. We
will discuss a number or research methodologies in different sessions, but there will be many others
you can choose from
The structure of a methodology chapter will be discussed in class and examples given. The
Methodology would normally constitute Chapter 3 in a research report, see suggested guidelines
in (report.doc, chapter 3).

The submission for the Methodology has been divided into a number of submissions so the Unit
lecturer can gauge the student’s progression in this topic.
Session 11 Discussion – First Page
This will not be submitted online but checked in class only during the individual discussions with
each of the students. This will be the first page of Methodology component including any
references cited in the first page.
Session 2 Submission – Full Methodology
Submit this chapter by the due date and time to the assignment drop-box.

Full Research Paper ( 10 Marks Due session 13)
In this submission you incorporate the previous three submissions into a final document and submit
by the due date and time. This submission will incorporate the Full Abstract and Introduction, The
Literature Review and the Methodology chapters into one document. This will give you a chance
to take on board any comments given by your instructor in the previous submissions, make
corrections and possibly recover some marks which may have been deducted in the previous
submission.
Submit this document by the due date and time to the assignment drop-box.

Presentation ( 20 Marks To be arranged – typically in the equivalent of session 14)
For this component you will be required to give a 10 - 15-minute presentation on your research
report and answer any questions from the audience. The presentations will be conducted in a
symposium type setting after the end of the semester, typically in week 15. There is no submission
for this component of assessment, you will be graded on your presentation and ability to answer
any questions put to you. The structure of the presentation will be discussed during the semester
and a suggested format will for the presentation will be made available in a sample set of
PowerPoint slides, see (presentation.ppt).
As this component is based on your presentation, you will need to present in order to be allocated
any grade for this component.

Submission guidelines

All submissions are to be submitted through turn-it-in. Drop-boxes linked to turn-it-in will be set
up in the Unit of Study Moodle site. Assignments not submitted through these drop-boxes will not
be considered.
Submissions must be made by the due date and time (which will be in the session detailed above)
and determined by your Unit coordinator. Submissions made after the due date and time will be
penalized at the rate of 10% per day (including weekend days).
As previously stated, this is a research subject and as such your own effort is required. There will
be a zero tolerance for plagiarism and the turn-it-in similarity score will be used in determining the
level if any of plagiarism. Turn-it-in will check conference websites, Journal articles, the Web
and your own class member submissions for plagiarism. You can see your turn-it-in similarity
score when you submit your assignment to the appropriate drop-box. If this is a concern you will
have a chance to change your assignment and re-submit. However, re-submission is only allowed
prior to the submission due date and time. After the due date and time have elapsed you cannot
make re-submissions and you will have to live with the similarity score as there will be no chance
for changing. Thus, plan early and submit early to take advantage of this feature. You can make
multiple submissions, but please remember we only see the last submission, and the date and time
you submitted will be taken from that submission.