Research

1
Research Development Project

• Project Reporting
• March 2007

2
Session Objectives

• To give you a brief summary of the requirements
  for the assessment of the Research Development
  Project, so that you understand what is required
  of you, and what sorts of things you need to do.

3
Submission Requirements
4
What exactly should I be submitting and when?

• By the deadline of 9th May 2007 you will need to
  submit
• A Project Report
• A Project File
• During the following 2 weeks (w/b 14th May and
  21st May 2007), you will be given a 30 min slot
  in which to undertake
• A Project Viva

5
What is the Project Report?
6
What is the Project Report?

• Your Project Report is a 6000 word narrative on
  your entire Project, documenting it from start to
  finish. It has a carefully designated structure
  which is clearly-defined in Appendix C of the
  handbook
• The appendices of the report must contain the
  relevant documentation for the end product(s),
  user guides, etc.
• The project report provides the opportunity for
  you to critically assess the outcome of the
  project activity.

7
What is in the Project Report?

• An Introductory section, outlining the purpose
  and objectives of the work undertaken
• The Literature Review, discussing the theoretical
  and contextual background of the project.
• The Methodology, discussing the approach you
  adopted, the reasons for this, and the
  difficulties encountered, and how these were
  addressed.
• The Outcomes, discussing the results of your
  project and how you arrived at these results.
• Conclusions and Recommendations, consisting of a
  reflection on the project, and the process by
  which you achieved it.

8
The Audience for the Report

• You will have two markers one of whom is your
  project supervisor, and another course tutor who
  is unfamiliar with your project.
• You will therefore need to produce two hard
  copies of the report as well as an electronic
  version.
• To ensure that the second tutor is familiar with
  the project, you will need to clearly define the
  project setting and the parameters for the
  project, as well as what you have ultimately
  produced.

9
Report Presentation Format

• Your Project Report must be
• word-processed, on A4 paper
• bound with a spiral binding.
• enclosed in a soft cover.

This is essential. You will lose
marks if you do not follow these instructions.
10
Report Presentation Format

•  Headings
• Arial Bold 16pt
• Arial Bold 14pt
• Arial Bold 12pt
• Body text
• Times new Roman 12pt
• 1½ line spacing

• Header
• Name, ID, Pathway
• Footer
• Page Numbers

This is essential. You will lose
marks if you do not follow these instructions.
11
Style of the Report

• The writing style should be formal, and written
  in the third person and the past tense (refrain
  from using I, me, mine etc.), but rather The
  procedure was carried out it was decided
  that etc.
• Do not use slang or jargon any non-obvious
  acronyms e.g. JISC, MANET should be explained on
  first encounter, but CPU can be taken as
  understood.
• Formal Report Layout with Chapter Headings and
  numbering 1, 1.1. 1.1.2 etc, and sub-headings
  where appropriate.
• Check Grammar, Spelling, Punctuation. The report
  needs to be in Good English.

This is essential. You will lose
marks if you do not follow these instructions.
12
The Summary (or Abstract)

• This section should follow the title page on a
  single page of A4 (single spacing). It is a
  statement of the aims, methods of research and
  results of the work. Those students familiar with
  writing abstracts may wish to include one instead
  of a summary.
• An extract of the main points of the report.
• The situation at the time that the project was
  ended.
• What was achieved and what remains to be done.
• Significant reasons for not producing all the
  deliverables
• Any change in emphasis or direction during the
  project

These are guidelines only you may decide to
change this to suit your individual project,
13
Contents

• list of abbreviations
• illustrations/figures/tables and materials
  contained in pockets
• Individual chapters with titles

These are guidelines only you may decide to
change this to suit your individual project,
14
Chapter 1 Introduction

• An overview of the nature of the project, what
  was to be attempted and the deliverables to be
  produced.
• A guide to the remainder of the report and
  appendices
• Acknowledgements. It is a courtesy to express
  thanks for assistance given in preparation of the
  research (e.g. for access to schools, private
  archives, experts etc.).

These are guidelines only you may decide to
change this to suit your individual project,
15
Chapter 2 Literature Review

• A critical analysis of different approaches to
  your subject area.
• A conclusion with how your work fits within the
  body of knowledge on your topic.
• Reflection upon how this research influences the
  development of your product.

These are guidelines only you may decide to
change this to suit your individual project,
16
Chapter 3 Methodology

• The next section of your report is where you
  describe in detail how the work was carried out,
  in which the work carried out is described in
  detail. This will be different according to the
  type of Project you are undertaking.
• Type 1 Product Development Implementation
• Type 2 Research Development Implementation

These are guidelines only you may decide to
change this to suit your individual project,
17
Methodology- Type 1Product Development
Implementation

• This is a description of the methods you used in
  order to create your software product.
• Clarify the Product Specifications (these will
  normally have been decided and agreed in the
  Design Proposals)
• The developmental approach adopted / methodology
• Resources and facilities used.
• Set backs The problems encountered and their
  solutions

These are guidelines only you may decide to
change this to suit your individual project,
18
Methodology- Type 2Research Development
Implementation

• This is a fully justified account of the methods
  used to carry out the research
• Specify the Research Questions to be answered
• Specify your methodology what methods did you
  adopt why what research instruments did you
  devise how was any sampling done?
• Implementation of the Research problems
  encountered and their solutions.

These are guidelines only you may decide to
change this to suit your individual project,
19
Chapter 4 Outcomes

• In this section of the report, you describe in
  detail what you have produced as a result of all
  this activity. Again, this will depend on the
  type of project you are undertaking
• Type 1 Product Development Implementation
• Type 2 Research Development Implementation

These are guidelines only you may decide to
change this to suit your individual project,
20
Outcomes - Type 1 Product Development
Implementation

• This is the main section where you describe your
  product, and give examples of screenshots etc.
  The main product will be produced on a CD ROM,
  DVD, or installed on a machine or website.
• A full description and explanation of the main
  project deliverables.
• An exposition on how the deliverables satisfy the
  objectives outlined in the Product Specification.
• How it was established that the deliverables meet
  the objectives.
• Evaluations of the deliverables by users or other
  parties.
• Involvement of the project sponsor and reaction
  to the product.

These are guidelines only you may decide to
change this to suit your individual project,
21
Outcomes - Type 2 Research Development
Implementation

• This is the main section of the research where
  you present the data, summarise, analyse and
  interpret the results
• Results, Analysis and Interpretation
• Conclusions and how these relate to expectations
  from the literature.
• Involvement of the project client/sponsor and
  their reaction to the outcomes.

These are guidelines only you may decide to
change this to suit your individual project,
22
Chapter 5 Conclusions Recommendations

• A critical assessment with hindsight of the
  project activity. 
• A brief summary of findings
• A self-assessment on the quality of deliverables,
  in relation to the original terms of Reference of
  Your Project in the NLA.
• Any recommendations for future improvements? e.g.
  could the findings of your research be worked on
  by next years students?
• A summary of what you have learnt on this module,
  incorporating an evaluation of the extent to
  which you have met each of the Learning Outcomes,
  and Lessons to be learned from the process

These are guidelines only you may decide to
change this to suit your individual project,
23
References Bibliography

• References must be presented using the Harvard
  referencing system (see guide on the website).
• Full reference section for all sections.
• Bibliography in Harvard Style
• Remember
• Cases of unattributed direct quotations or
  paraphrasing can constitute plagiarism and will
  be regarded as a serious breach of academic
  discipline.
• Incorrect referencing can also lead to
  penalisation of marks

This is essential. You will lose
marks if you do not follow these instructions.
24
Appendices (1)

• Titled as Appendix A, Appendix B etc.
• These may include any relevant material to
  support the report, which if presented in the
  main body of the report would interfere with its
  flow e.g.
• Terms of Reference
• Project Schedule
• Record of Work
• Raw data sets
• Design and program documentation
• Trial plan, test data and expected results.
• User Guide
• Operating instructions.

These are guidelines only you may decide to
change this to suit your individual project,
25
Appendices (2)

• If the project contains programming (or the
  creation of an application) then the following
  should be included
• Annotated listings of key parts of the source
  code.
• An overview of the structure of the software as
  created
• A description of the strategy used for testing
  and evidence of that testing
• A description of the software development
• An analysis of the resulting software
• Plans for future development
• A disk(s), together with a user guide

These are guidelines only you may decide to
change this to suit your individual project,
26
What is the Project File?
27
The Project FileHow are the elements related?
File of Evidence
Written Report An account of the project
demonstrating that you have achieved all of the
Learning Outcomes in the NLA..
1. Negotiated Learning Agreement Learning Outcomes
Action Planning Evidence that you have been able
to plan and execute a complex project
Project Reporting
Viva Demonstration of the product, and whether
it has met its specifications.
Literature Review Portfolio of Practical
Work Documents related to the project itself
exemplifying what you have achieved
28
The Purpose of the File

• The file serves two purposes
• Firstly, to establish a trail of project
  development where markers are able to see how the
  project has progressed, what stages it has gone
  through and how you have managed the project over
  the year.
• Secondly, in the case where things have not gone
  to plan, to see how you have coped with this, and
  to allow markers to allocate marks in those cases
  where you maybe not have achieved what you set
  out to do at the start for example if software
  does not run, or your if your client changed the
  spec on you at the last minute.

29
Possible File Contents

• Essential
• Negotiated Learning Agreement
• Project planning and monitoring documentation
  (inc. Project Logs)
• Documentation for results of Project Reviews
• Documentation for results of Quality Assurance
  Reviews
• Design Study for the Project
• Annotated bibliography
• Literature Review Notes (essential only if
  original has been amended)

• Non-Essential
• Research Seminar papers
• Background information
• Specimens of documents collected during
  investigation
• Records of interviews, meetings etc.
• Correspondence
• Evidence of skill development
• Examples of Research Instruments
• Notes to the file
• Raw data preliminary analysis
• Draft product documentation
• Research findings
• Investigations undertaken to explore ideas.
• Product testing Evaluation

30
How should the the Project File be presented?

• You should present
• A coherent file, fully labelled, well-sectioned
  with dividers and a contents page.
• There should be a contents section which gives
  the structure of the file.
• Each section should have a clear purpose.

This is essential. You will lose
marks if you do not follow these instructions.
31
Essential File Elements 1 The Negotiated
Learning Agreement

• The Negotiated Learning Agreement is submitted as
  evidence that you have been able to negotiate a
  project, and to plan it effectively.
• You have already submitted this and have an
  Advisory Grade as part of this process you may
  have been told that certain elements might be
  amended.
• If you choose to amend the NLA, you should
  include the original NLA, and the original Mark
  Sheet together with the section (or sections)
  which have been rewritten, clearly indicated.

This is essential. You will lose
marks if you do not follow these instructions.
32
Essential File Elements 2Project Management

• The Project Planning and Management section is
  submitted as evidence that you have been able to
  plan, organise, manage, monitor and evaluate your
  own performance effectively.
• The Action Planning consists of three parts
• The Initial Planning Documents
• Project Logs
• A Final Evaluation.

This is essential. You will lose
marks if you do not follow these instructions.
33
Essential File Elements 2Project Management-
Planning

• This should consist of
• Project Tasks derived from the original Terms of
  Reference with estimated completion times
• Planning Charts showing what will be done and
  when. (i.e. Gantt Chart or
  equivalent)
• You will already have an advisory grade for this
  element within your NLA. You may, if you wish
  replace any of these items with an improved copy.
  However, please ensure that any change to the TOR
  has been signed, and if there has been a
  substantial change from the NLA or original TOR,
  you need a Change of Control form signed by the
  supervisor.

These are guidelines only you may decide to
change this to suit your individual project,
34
Essential File Elements 2Project Management-
Project Logs

• At regular intervals during the project, you
  should have completed a project logs documenting
  your progress and evaluating what you have done .
  
• You may have amended your Gantt Chart as a result.

These are guidelines only you may decide to
change this to suit your individual project,
35
Essential File Elements 2Project Management-
Evaluation

• There is one essential element here
• Final Gantt Chart showing what was actually done
  and when.
• In addition, you may have
• A Review of Targets Achieved
• Evaluation of Deliverables
• Evaluation by your client or sponsor.

These are guidelines only you may decide to
change this to suit your individual project,
36
Essential File Elements 3Project Reviews

• In this section you should document the Project
  Reviews that you have undertaken, how you
  prepared for them, and what you have done as a
  result.
• As a minimum, it must contain four fully
  documented and graded Project Review Sheets.

This is essential. You will lose
marks if you do not follow these instructions.
37
Essential File Elements 4Quality Assurance
Reviews

• In this section you should document the Quality
  Assurance Reviews that you have undertaken, how
  you prepared for them, and what you have done as
  a result.
• As a minimum, it must contain three fully
  documented QA Walkthrough Sheets.

This is essential. You will lose
marks if you do not follow these instructions.
38
Essential File Elements 5Design Study

• In this section you should have the Design Study
  that you created prior to undertaking the
  development work. It should consist of
• Design Brief
• Product Brief
• Any additional material which is associated with
  the design brief, such as navigation charts,
  questionnaires etc. should be included.

This is essential. You will lose
marks if you do not follow these instructions.
39
Essential File Elements 6Bibliography

• Your file should incorporate an extended
  bibliography, which includes material used for
  the Literature Review, additional material used
  within the Report, material used to develop
  skills, other material consulted but not cited or
  quoted explicitly (e.g. it was on your original
  reading list at the start of the Literature
  Review Preparation).

This is essential. You will lose
marks if you do not follow these instructions.
40
Possible Essential File Elements 7Literature
Review Section

• The Literature Review is submitted as evidence
  that you have been able to research an aspect of
  your study to a sufficiently high standard, and
  produce a piece of critical academic writing, of
  depth an quality.
• You have already submitted this and have an
  Advisory Grade as part of this process you may
  have been told that certain elements might be
  amended.
• If you choose to amend the LR, you should include
  the original LR, the original Mark Sheet together
  with a copy of the rewritten review, clearly
  indicating the section (or sections) which have
  been rewritten and why.

These are guidelines only you may decide to
change this to suit your individual project,
41
What else do do I need to submit for the Project
File?

• The Project File is submitted as the major part
  of the evidence on which you will draw to
  demonstrate that you have achieved the learning
  outcomes, and have successfully completed the
  workplace project.
• It is impossible to state clearly what will be
  the content of your file. It will depend on the
  project that you have done, and your learning
  outcomes.
• The File you submit should contain work from
  almost all the stages of your project, from the
  initial planning to the completed items.
• In addition it should go beyond what you might
  have done in the workplace to evaluate the worth
  of the project
• An important rule is that everything in your
  portfolio must be written, or annotated by you.

42
Some possible contents of the File

• Client/Sponsor-Related Material
• Work you have undertaken for the client
• Commentaries on the organisation and management
  of the clients business
• Material you have consulted in order to
  understand the sponsors research focus.
• Analysis commentary on a clients workplace
  practices or the sponsors research.

These are guidelines only you may decide to
change this to suit your individual project,
43
Some possible contents of the File

• Project Related Material
• Background Material for the Project
• Working Documents towards the project
• The Completed Project
• Technical Details of the Product
• Product User Guide
• Results of testing and/or critical analysis of
  the Product

These are guidelines only you may decide to
change this to suit your individual project,
44
Some possible contents of the File

• Other Material
• Evidence of material studied in order to enhance
  your knowledge and skills
• Summaries of authoritative academic material you
  have consulted
• Reading Lists, Draft Bibliographies
• Notes and other evidence

These are guidelines only you may decide to
change this to suit your individual project,
45
A Word of Caution

• You should not
• Rewrite handwritten working notes, type up
  results of interviews etc.
• Include everything but the kitchen sink. (For
  example, if you have done lots of questionnaires,
  you should include only one or two. If you have
  completed exercises towards achieving your
  current level of HTML, include summary examples
  to show the highpoints.)
• Photocopy lots of journal or trade articles that
  you have not read or not consulted, or include
  hundreds of screen dumps of websites just to pad
  out the file.

These are guidelines only you may decide to
change this to suit your individual project,
46
Sectioning Your File

• You will need to section your file carefully, and
  decide what will go where.
• As your file will consist of a lot of diverse
  elements, some of which may be hand-written, you
  will need to ensure that the structure is
  coherent, and the purpose of each element is
  explained.
• It is a good idea to provide a brief summary at
  the start of each section.

This is essential. You will lose
marks if you do not follow these instructions.
47
Sample Portfolio Section
These are guidelines only you may decide to
change this to suit your individual project,
48
The use of Academic Source Material

• One of the important criteria in assessing the
  report and the accompanying Project File is its
  academic rigour, which includes the use of
  academic source material to critically evaluate
  the worth of your project.
• In addition to the Literature Review, it is to be
  expected that you will have used academic source
  material during at least two phases of the
  project
• During the development phase, when you were
  trying to find out what to do, or learning new
  skills.
• During the evaluation phase when you are
  assessing whether or not what you have produced
  is any good.

49
What is the Viva?
50
What is the Viva about?

• In your Viva you will
• Give a presentation on your project
• Be questioned about the project.
• This is actually the final marking process for
  the module. More about this later.

51
The Audience for the Viva

• You will have the same two markers who have
  examined your project file.
• When you enter, the markers will have already
  decided on a provisional grade on the basis of
  your report and project file.
• They will be looking for evidence to raise this
  to a higher grade, rather than be looking to
  catch you out so they can drop grades.

52
The Structure of the Viva

• Your Viva should ideally consist of four parts
• A brief walk through of the project,
  demonstrating its major features
• A reflective account of the process, discussing
  the extent to which you have achieved the
  learning outcomes in the NLA
• A wider personal account of the journey.
• Time for questions (possibly during, but if not,
  at the end)

These are guidelines only you may decide to
change this to suit your individual project,
53
The Viva Questions

• The questions asked during or at the end of the
  Viva will probably feel very searching, and you
  may be finding yourself unable to supply the
  answers required by the examiners.
• You should not feel worried by this the
  examiners will be trying to decide whether you
  deserve the higher of two grades, and therefore
  will ask you questions at the boundaries of your
  understanding.
• Good answers will gain you the higher grade poor
  answers will not lose you marks.

54
R D Assessment
55
How is RD Assessed?

• The Marking Breaks down as follows
• NLA 10
• Literature Review 30
• Process 30
• Product 30
• Very approximately, you could say that the File
  is worth 30 (process mark), and the Report plus
  any Software or Data Analysis is worth 60
  (Literature Review plus Product)

56
The RD Assessment Process

• Two tutors (one of whom will be your supervisor)
  examine your project file and are present at the
  viva.
• One of the tutors will be looking specifically to
  see to what extent you have met the Process
  Requirements and the Learning Outcomes agreed in
  the NLA.
• The other tutors role is to focus on the Product
  elements, and the extent to which the project
  deliverables achieve the criteria of usefulness
  and quality.
• Your grade will be decided at the end of the viva.

57
Advisory Grades

• At the start of the Viva, the tutors will
  provisionally agree a set of 4 grades (NLA, LR,
  Process and Product).
• You have already been given advisory grades for
  two of these elements the NLA and the LR.
• If you have amended any of these elements your
  grade may have improved as a result. However,
  please be aware that it is possible (though not
  likely) that advisory grades be reduced.
• NB. This is very unlikely, but cannot be ruled
  out, and would occur where, for example, a
  student introduces errors in a rewrite
  plagiarism or major errors or omissions are
  detected by the second marker important events
  have occurred which render parts of the
  Literature Review obsolete, and these have not
  been addressed, or where a mark was borderline in
  the first place, and on the advice of the second
  marker or external examiner this grade is
  moderated downwards.

58
Marking Criteria (NLA)

• Three criteria are used
• Targets Set detail and aspirational level
• Project Planning Quality, level of detail and
  use of tools
• Documentation Literacy, adherence to guidelines
  and professionalism.
• Evidence Base NLA Section in the File

59
Marking Criteria (LR)

• Four criteria are used
• Surface Quality Literacy, Grammar, structure
  presentation
• Quality of Content Range relevance of material
  used manner in which it is incorporated.
• Quality of Arguments Levels of rigour and
  critical evaluation achieved. Use of source
  material
• Standard of Bibliography Surface features, such
  as Harvard Style, and range and currency of
  material.
• Evidence Base The LR in the Report and the
  Report Bibliography

60
Marking Criteria (Process)

• Five criteria are used
• Project Management Degree to which the project
  has been managed developmental audit trail
  apparent, and effectiveness of project management
  tools used.
• Quality of Resources Identified Used Level and
  quality of resources identified and used.
• Use of Meetings Quality of Preparation for and
  Documentation of meetings, Use of meeting
  follow-up, and grades for Project Reviews
• Quality Assurance Monitoring evaluation of
  work use of QA procedures, documentation of QA
  Walkthroughs.
• Process Documentation Literacy, adherence to
  guidelines and professionalism
• Evidence Base Project File, Supervisors
  Records, Viva, QA ref in Report

61
Marking Criteria (Product)

• Five criteria are used
• Quality of Deliverables Standard achieved in
  deliverables as a whole level of originality
  demonstrated.
• Meeting of Objectives Level reached in terms of
  client/sponsor expectations, and initial targets
  set.
• Technical Intellectual demands of the project
  Level of skills, knowledge and understanding
  required both to attempt the project and in the
  product as delivered.
• Look Feel of final product Quality of the
  finish to the final product level of
  professionalism achieved.
• Quality of Final Report Match to academic
  requirements adherence to guidelines, quality of
  associated materials.
• Evidence Base Report, Associated Deliverables,
  Viva, File elements

62
How to Pass the Module

• The module has been designed so that if you have
  actually worked throughout the year on a
  worthwhile project, and you have achieved some
  kind of end-product, and documented it
  effectively, you will pass. You should therefore
  ensure that
• You submit two copies of a Report, and a project
  File, together with any associated deliverables
  by the deadline.
• If your deliverables do not function
  effectively, or your results are not what you
  intended, that the documentation reflects this,
  and offers a critical evaluation of what went
  wrong.
• Attend the Viva, and give a good account of your
  years work.

63
How to Fail the Module

• Each year, some students seem determined to fail
  the module. If you are one of these students,
  just to make your life easier, here is what to do
  in order to more easily achieve your goal
• Do not seek advice from your supervisor, and do
  not attend any more Project Reviews or QA
  Walkthroughs.
• Fail to submit a Final Report.
• Ignore the advice on how to structure your
  report.
• Fail to submit a File.
• Omit from the file all the required elements.
• Plagiarise your Literature Review or any other
  part of the report or File
• Fail to rewrite a Literature Review which has
  been awarded an advisory grade of F.

64
The Final Hurdles
65
The Final Few weeks

• Ideally you should now be stopping all project
  work, and concentrating on the write-up of your
  draft report and assembling your project file
• Following this, there are two important tasks
  prior to submission
• QA Review 3
• Project Review 4

66
QA Walkthrough 3

• This Walkthrough is meant to allow you to
  undertake a review of your deliverables with
  another student. On this occasion you have
  potentially four different elements which you
  might wish to review
• Any software or other product developed
• Your final report
• Your project file
• Your viva presentation.
• You may therefore wish to undertake an extended
  version of the walkthrough on this occasion to
  cover several of these elements.

These are guidelines only you may decide to
change this to suit your individual project,
67
Project Review 4

• The purpose of Project Review 4 is twofold
• to ensure that the project has been completed
  successfully, and that project documentation has
  provided effective monitoring
• to ensure that you have a clear understanding of
  the the requirements for submission, and a clear
  plan for what you will will produce for the
  report and the file.
• Your supervisor will give you guidance on the
  report structure and on the file organisation.
• It is therefore crucial that you attend this
  meeting.

68
What do I do now?

• Firstly, ensure that you complete the project
  work.
• Secondly, go back to the module handbook, and
  read Section 5 and Appendix C on how to present
  the Report and the Project File.
• Thirdly, make arrangements with your partner to
  undertake QA Walkthrough 3
• Finally meet with your project supervisor to
  prepare for and attend Project Review 4.
• Submit the File by the Deadline
• Prepare for and attend the Viva.

69
The Timetable for Presentations and Vivas

• This will be published on the Website at the
  start of May, and you should ensure that you
  attend the session at the correct time and place.
  If the time allocated causes problems, contact
  Tony Fleet at the earliest opportunity.
• This time is allocated as part of your
  assessment. If you fail to turn up without
  medical evidence you will definitely lose marks
  and may fail the module as a result.
• While we will make every effort to keep to time,
  the times allocated can only be approximate.

70
Finally

• Good luck in finishing your project, and
  obtaining your degree.
• Submission Deadline
• 3.00pm Wednesday 9th May 2007