1. Introduction
This coursework assignment carries 30% of the total of 100% for this Module. It comprises one
requirement with one task. It is an individual not a group-based assignment. The task/requirement is
detailed in point 5 on page 4.
Please take careful note of the flowing points:
Please Note: You are permitted only one opportunity to upload your coursework in the final
submission area. Please make sure you upload the correct document, you have just one
opportunity
The focus of this assignment is:
o The identification and supporting justification of an area of research.
o The design of an approach to researching that area.
o A justification of the approach selected.
The word count is up to 3,500 words. It is your own choice as to how many words to use within this
limit. The word count does not include the title page or a Table of Contents page.
The upper limit of the word count of 3,500 words should not be exceeded – see point 3 on page 2.
You MUST state an accurate word count (excluding the list of references) on the front page of your
submission.
Note that ALL words/numbers, excluding the references list, will count towards to the total word
count. You may use foot notes, illustrations, charts, diagrams, tables but they will all count towards
the total word count.
You are not obliged to but may if you wish include an executive summary and/or an abstract. If you
choose to do so they will count towards to the total word count.
Any unauthorised work received after the submission deadline will receive a recorded mark of zero.
You must ensure that you cite references consistently. Harvard referencing system is preferred
(https://accountancy.elearning.london.ac.uk/mod/lesson/view.php?id=3808). If you use another
referencing system (e.g. APA) be consistent in its usage. You should state on your title page the
referencing system you have opted to use, even if it is Harvard.
No appendices (other than the list of references) are allowed.
For formatting guidance, please refer to the Coursework Presentation Guide on the VLE.
Submitted coursework assignments are subject to a range of quality control and scrutiny checks
including, as appropriate, double marking and/or moderation and/or scrutiny by the module’s
Internal and/or External Examiners. All submitted coursework assignments are subject to Turnitin
checking for plagiarism (see point 2 below). All results when first published are provisional until
confirmed by the Examination Board (to be held in early 2018).
Assessment criteria are referred to in point 4 on page 3 /Appendix A on page 6.
1
2. Plagiarism
This is cheating. Do not be tempted and certainly do not succumb to temptation. Plagiarised copies
are invariably rooted out and severe penalties apply. All assignment submissions are electronically
tested for plagiarism. More information may be accessed via:
https://accountancy.elearning.london.ac.uk/mod/lesson/view.php?id=3809
Please Note: You are permitted only one opportunity to upload your coursework in the final
submission area. Please make sure you upload the correct document, you have just one
opportunity.
We recommend you practice uploading the document in the Getting Started module of the VLE.
Here you can upload your coursework as many times as you like and you will be able to see the
similarity/originality score which represents what the Turnitin system identifies as work similar to
another source. The originality score can take up to 24 hours to generate. Each new upload you
make will delete the previous upload
3. Penalties for exceeding the word count
There are penalties for exceeding the specified word count.
The maximum word limit for this coursework assignment is 3,500 words (excluding the list of
references).
You may use less than 3,500 words but in so doing you may be penalizing yourself as it is likely to be
challenging to respond to the coursework brief.
You MUST state an accurate word count (excluding the list of references) at the end of your work. If
you do not state an accurate word count your mark will be reduced by 5 marks.
Diagrams and pictures and charts are not counted within the word count but any list(s) of words or
any other form of narrative should be placed in Tables in the main text and will be included in the
word count
If you submit more than 3,500 words for this assignment, the following penalties apply:
a. up to 10% more than 3,500 words – your mark will be reduced by 5 marks;
b. for more than 10% than 3,500 words you will receive zero marks for this coursework.
2
4. Guidelines regarding criteria for achieving particular grade boundaries
Appendix A details the criteria for achieving particular grades of marks, criteria being based on the
University of London’s MPAcc Programme Regulations 2016–17 for Professional Accountancy MSc,
as well as the Higher Education Qualifications Framework (HEQF) at Masters level (Level 7). The
grade standards represented by the mark ranges are:
Mark range Grade standard
86 – 100 Distinction at very high level
70 – 85 Distinction
60 – 69 Merit
50 – 59 Pass
40 – 49 Fail standard
0 – 39 Bad fail standard
In Appendix A, the areas in focus are:
A. Knowledge and understanding of field and intellectual skills;
B. Research and enquiry;
C. Scholarly practices;
D. Professional skills and attributes.
This particular coursework assignment is concerned with A, B and C. There are other assessments
within the MPAcc degree programme which focus on D. These areas of focus should be combined
within an independent piece of work.
3
5. Tasks and requirements
To be submitted by Monday 25
th
September 2017 by 1pm (1300 hours) GMT.
This coursework assignment contributes a maximum of 30% of the total marks available for this module.
Required
There is one requirement in this section, as specified in the Task further below. The focus is the proposal
and design of a research study.
Context
This coursework assignment focuses on your own personal or professional area of interest. The area of
interest is likely to be work related but the choice of another area of focus is not excluded but if another is
chosen it should be justified in your coursework assignment. If you decide to select an area not workrelated
ensure
that
the
area
is
of
substance
and
is
not
‘light-weight’.
As
reflected
in
the
Task
detailed
below,
you
are
required
to
select,
justify
and
formulate
a
research
proposal
for
your
selected
area
of
focus.
Thus far in this module’s materials you have been introduced to and considered the methodological
underpinning of a number of aspects of the nature and logistics of, amongst others:
The nature of research: ‘what research is’.
Research objectives, hypotheses, and questions.
Research paradigms.
Literature reviews.
Research designs.
The nature of and approaches to qualitative research.
The nature of and approaches to quantitative research
The nature of and approaches to mixed methods research.
In developing your research proposal you will draw upon, as appropriate, all or some, of the aspects
introduced and considered in this module’s materials.
Task
There is one task. This is for you to construct a research proposal which captures and
articulates a research design for your chosen area of interest. This task comprises a number of
components.
4
Guidance for undertaking and completing the Task
Your proposal will be assessed by the Strategic Financial Project module team against each of the points
detailed below. You are advised to ensure that it addresses each of those points.
Your research proposal should include:
1. (Carries 20% of the marks available for this Coursework)
An account of the background to and rationale for your research proposal which should:
a) Explain the nature of your research topic, expressing your research topic in the form of a
problem which needs solving, a question that needs answering or something which you find
exciting and has aroused your curiosity. You should also, where appropriate/applicable,
provide a brief description of the organisational background and state why your research is
worth the effort from an organisational perspective. (If your focus is not on an
organisational scenario, you should still provide a background and perspective. Illustratively,
if your area of focus relates to, say, an impact on society such as medical research, or
education, or robotics, you should set a societal background/perspective.)
b) Draw on relevant literature to show why your study is important, and
c) Articulates the relevance and significance of existing research literature in the field.
2. (Carries 5% of the marks available for this Coursework)
Statement(s) of your research aims and objectives, and associated hypotheses or questions. These
statement(s) should leave the person reading and assessing your research proposal in no doubt as
to precisely what it is your research seeks to achieve. The statement(s) should be informed by your
considerations in point 1 immediately above.
3. (Carries 20% of the marks available for this Coursework)
The selection of an appropriate research philosophy, supported by discussion and justification of
your selection. Within your justification you should ensure that you explain why alternative
philosophies are inappropriate.
4. (Carries 40% of the marks available for this Coursework)
The selection of an appropriate research design, with an accompanying description, supported by a
justification of that research design. In this part of the proposal you should set out and justify:
a) your approach: whether deductive and/or inductive;
b) your type of study: whether exploratory or descriptive or explanatory
c) your strategy, justifying your selection in the context of how it is suited to enabling you to
answer your particular research questions and meet your research objectives; here you
should refer specifically to the case(s) and/or setting(s) and/or population(s) that will be the
focus for data collection;
d) the nature of the data – primary and/or secondary – you intend to collect;
e) how you intend to, if necessary, successfully negotiate access to data from institutions
and/or organisations and/or individuals;
f) your sampling strategy;
g) techniques you intend to use to collect and analyse your data.
5
Within this point 4 and specifically in relation to item 4g) in the context of 4d), if you intend to use
secondary or primary data or both types, use your knowledge about the nature and characteristics
of such data to not only identify appropriate techniques for analysis but to also justify why those
techniques are appropriate and others are not.
5. (Carries 5% of the marks available for this Coursework)
A consideration of any ethical issues that might arise in the course of the research and how you
intend to address them.
6. A relevant reference list. This should link to any references drawn upon in points 1 through to 5
immediately above. (There are no specific marks available for this list but it must link to references
drawn upon in your considerations. The marking scheme relating to points 1 through to 5 includes
marks for identification and appropriate consideration of relevant and appropriate references. That
said, where a relevant reference list is not provided marks will be reduced by 10 percentage points
i.e. 10 marks.)
Important notes:
A. Carries 10% of the marks available for this Coursework: up to 10% of the marks are available for
the thrust, flow, integration and cohesion of the research proposal, and will be awarded by the
marker on the basis of academic judgement.
B. There is no formal guidance relating to the word count for individual sections of your proposal. Any
one proposal may vary from another. You must decide how to allocate the 3,500 words yourself.
C. As specified earlier, no appendices (other than the list of references) are allowed.
6
Appendix A
7