Assignment on E-business strategy in an online banking services
Steps
When choosing a research topic:
What you are interested in
Your award
The discipline you would like to work in
The size of the topic
The time you have available
The resources you have available
Access issues
Topic generation techniques:
1. Brainstorming
2. Mind maps
3. Relevance trees
4. Reading relevant publications
5. Communication with module
leader/supervisor
Step one: Choose a topic
The topic should be SMART which means:
1. Specific
2. Measurable
3. Achievable
4. Realistic
5. Timed
Step Two: Introduction
The introduction must include:
1. Brief information about your topic.
2. Write your question.
3. Tie between your question & the information
Step Three: Write a question, or objective
The question should be;
1. One only
2. SMART
3. Clear
4. Simple
Step Four: Examples of secondary data
sources:
1. Selecting References:
Textbooks
Articles in academic publications
Conference papers
Reports
Published statistics
Annual reports and accounts
Popular media e.g. newspapers, broadcasts
Electronic databases
Internet
Step Four ………………………………………………………………………Cont.
2. You need at least 20 sufficient references
3. You must use Harvard Referencing system within the
assignment text and at the end of the assignment.
4. Arrange them Alphabetically
Start with:
– Books.
– Articles
– Websites
First: Conducting a literature review:
Start as soon as possible
Decide on the scope e.g. timescales or
geography
Key word identification
Identify quality research articles i.e. discuss
the methodology, results and conclusions
Use the references to guide to other sources
Second: When writing up:
Define terms
Select only relevant material
Group material into categories
Draw out important features
Make comparisons of results
Be critical
Third Writing the literature review
The literature review should:
Summarise the main ideas, issues & debates
Link these to your assignment’s question.
Link these to your findings.
Fourth: Writing style
1. Use a consistent style of writing throughout the
your project.
2. Tie the ideas you are reviewing to your own
work.
3. Discuss how your research extends ideas that
you are reviewing.
4. Compare your work to that of others.
Fifth: Ask yourself:
Have I critically analysed the literature –
comparing and assessing not just describing
and summarizing?
Have I cited and discussed studies contrary to
my perspective?
Will the reader find my literature review
informative, relevant, appropriate and useful?
Step Five: Start Reading the literature review:
First: Critical Reading:
Keep your purpose in mind when you read
Don’t let the arguments in the book distract you from
your reading agenda.
Skim the headings and the abstract of the piece;
perhaps look at the first line of each paragraph and
the conclusion
You don’t need to read everything with equal
attention.
A. For the Articles focus on the abstracts
B. For the books, check the index & the contents,
introduction & conclusion.
Second: Check Your Skills
1. Research
2. Analysis
3. Prioritisation
4. Concise writing
5. Organisation
6. Time management
7. Consistency
8. Spelling
Step Six: Conclusions
Should include:
Findings
Results
Recommendations
Step Seven: Avoid Common Mistakes
1. Never write comma after that
2. (At) always after aim
3. Poor subject choice – not enough research
4. Un-SMART objectives
5. Poor presentation
6. Little theoretical foundation
7. Descriptive and repetitive
8. Little effort
9. PLAGIARISM = Zerooooooooooo
Step Eight: Make sure that you have successful
Project:
Characteristics of successful project:
Evidence of depth and breadth of relevant and
contemporary research
Ability to analyse, evaluate and argue
Clear and logical structure
Appropriate application of theoretical
concepts and models
Professional presentation
Do Not…!
1. Leave your research to the last minute –
this assignment will take longer than you
think
2. Not communicate with your supervisor –
they are there to guide you
3. Just summarise your research findings
without adding any commentary
4. Expect to write your review once – you need
to be prepared to edit and refine
Meeting
1. Agree on a working title
2. Discuss research objectives
3. Evaluate research undertaken to date
4. Any other project related concerns
PROGRESS REPORT
Student Name : ________________________
Student ID No. : ________________________
Supervisor Name: ________________________
Date of Submission : ________________________
Project Title:___________________________________________________________.
—————————————————————————————————–
Introduction:
The aim of this project is to ___________________________________ in the setting of _____________________________________________________________________. This progress report discusses the progress made by the researcher:
Note: the author introduces this by 1) reminding what the project deals with and 2) what the progress report deals with (time period).
(Describe the activities, processes, and procedures thatwere undertaken during the months specified in each phase)
Phase I – (March 2018):
Project title conceptualization and approval
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Writing of Introduction
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Student – Adviser Conference: (include date/s when conference/s held)
Phase II – (April-May 2018):
Data gathering, identification and classification of data
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Writing of literature review
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Analysis and interpretation / corroboration of data
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Student – Adviser Conference: (include date/s when conference/s held)
Phase III – (June 2018):
Finalization and submission of the project
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Problems, issues, and limitations of the Research
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Conclusion
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Student Signature : _____________________
Date : _____________________
