FPostgraduate Major Project (MA HRM) Department: Human resource & Organisational behaviour Module Code: MOD007550 Level: 7 Academic Year: 2020/21 Trimester: 2-3/3 Contents 1. Key information, Introduction to the Module and Learning Outcomes 3 1.1Key Information 3 1.2Introduction to the Module 3 1.3Learning Outcomes 4 2. Employability Skills in this Module 4 3. Outline Delivery and Reading Lists @ Anglia 4 3.1 Dissertation Process 5 3.2 Supervision 5 3.3 Ethical Approval guidance 6 4. Using Sources and Referencing 7 4.1 Example of Harvard referencing 7 4.2 Good scholarship, referencing and academic misconduct 8 4.3 What is good scholarship? 8 4.4 What do I reference? 9 5. Assessment: Dissertation Structure and Formatting 10 5.1 Format of Your Dissertation 10 5.2 Presentation of Your Dissertation 11 5.3 Submitting Your Work 12 5.4 Feedback 14 6. Assessment Criteria and Marking Standards 15 6.1 Assessment Criteria 15 6.2 How is My Work Marked? 15 7. Re-Assessment (Resit) 18 8. Assessment Offences 18 Definitions of Assessment Offences 18 9. Reading List and Learning Resources 19 10. Responsibilities of the Student 20 11. Security 20 12. Module Evaluation 20 Appendix 1: Cover Sheet 21 Appendix 2: Supervisor Contact Log 22 Appendix 3: FBL Postgraduate Dissertation Assessment Form 23 Key information, Introduction to the Module and Learning OutcomesKey Information Module title: Postgraduate Major Project (HRM) Module Leader: Dr Mengyi Xu Email: mengyi.xu@aru.ac.uk Module Tutors: various Every module has a Module Definition Form (MDF) which is the officially validated record of the module. You can access the MDF for this module in three ways via: the Canvasthe My.Anglia Module Catalogue at www.anglia.ac.uk/modulecatalogueAnglia Ruskin’s module search engine facility at www.anglia.ac.uk/modules All modules delivered by Anglia Ruskin University at its main campuses in the UK and at Associate Colleges throughout the UK and overseas are governed by the Academic Regulations. You can view these at www.anglia.ac.uk/academicregs. An extract of the Academic Regulations, known as the Assessment Regulations, is available at this website too (all new students will have received a printed copy as part of their welcome pack). In the unlikely event of any discrepancy between the Academic Regulations and any other publication, including this module guide, the Academic Regulations, as the definitive document, take precedence over all other publications and will be applied in all cases. Introduction to the Module Welcome to MOD007750 Postgraduate Major Project (HRM). This module support students in the preparation and submission of a Master stage project, Dissertation. For 45 credits this involves a length of 12,000 words. The major project enables you to demonstrate some or all of the following: the ability to raise significant and meaningful questions in relation to your specialism;depth of knowledge which may involve working at the current limits of theoretical and or research understanding;critical understanding of method and its relationship to knowledge;awareness of and ability to develop solutions to ethical dilemmas likely to arise in your research or professional practice;the ability to draw meaningful and justifiable conclusions from information which may be complex or contradictory;the capability to expand or redefine existing knowledge; to develop new approaches to changing situations; and contribute to the development of best practice;the ability to communicate these processes in a clear and effective manner, as appropriate to the ‘audience’; andthe capability to evaluate your work from the perspective of an autonomous reflective learner. One of the main focuses for the design of this module has been the further development of relevant employability and professional skills. Such skills are implicit in the learning outcomes. The project is developed in conjunction with a specified supervisor and must be in the area of study of the Masters course being undertaken. The Major Project should enable you to demonstrate the ability to explore important and relevant questions in the context of your specialist area. You should be able to explore detailed knowledge of the research area, demonstrating depth and/or breadth as appropriate; a critical understanding of appropriate methodologies and theories; the ability to present well-argued conclusions from a range of different sources, using material that may be complex and challenging, as appropriate. You should be able to recognise and propose solutions to issues raised in the course of research. Learning Outcomes This module, like all modules at Anglia Ruskin, is taught on the basis of achieving intended learning outcomes. On successful completion of the module, the student will be expected to be able to demonstrate the following: LO1 Knowledge and Understanding: Define the scope of an appropriate area for structured desk-based investigation/design/development; LO2 Knowledge and Understanding: Collect, organise, and interpret information from a variety of appropriate resources; LO3 Knowledge and Understanding: Identify, select and justify the use of appropriate techniques, methods and development strategies; LO4 Intellectual, practical, affective and transferable skills: Undertake a systematic analysis of quantitative and/or qualitative information and present results in a structured format; LO5 Intellectual, practical, affective and transferable skills: Critically evaluate evidence to justify and support conclusions/ recommendations; LO6 Intellectual, practical, affective and transferable skills: Communicate effectively in a form appropriate to the chosen topic and audience, and present detailed, coherent and persuasive outputs. The assessment is based on meeting these learning outcomes, shown explicitly in section 4, where the assessment task is linked to these learning outcomes. Employability Skills in this Module It is important that we help you develop employability skills throughout your course which will assist you in securing employment and supporting you in your future career. During your course you will acquire a wide range of key skills. In this module, you will develop those identified below: SkillSkills acquired in this moduleCommunication (oral)XCommunication (written)XCommercial AwarenessXCultural sensitivityXCustomer focusXData HandlingXDecision makingXEnterprisingXFlexibilityXInitiativeXInterpersonal SkillsXLeadership/Management of othersNetworkingXOrganisational adaptabilityXProject ManagementXProblem Solving and analytical skillsXResponsibilityXTeam workingXTime ManagementXOther Content guidelines Ideally, the dissertation will relate to an issue in a specified organisation or in a work placement organisation. Investigation can involve the collection and analysis of primary data or can be based on the identification and analysis of secondary data from reputable sources. In either case, the aims and objectives need to be clear and be focused towards the chosen approach. In order to achieve the best mark possible, you need to be using critical evaluation throughout the dissertation i.e. critically evaluate, analyse. Project ideas/topic • Identification of a suitable project in terms of feasibility and organisational relevance • Your dissertation requires planning and designing a project that demonstrates awareness of strategic issues and that has the potential to add value and contribute to sustained organisational performance • Explain and critically evaluate, and justify the rationale for the project and its aims and objectives. 3.1 Dissertation Process There are a number of formal processes associated with the dissertation. Dissertation topic and supervisor allocation – on basis of the intended research topic you submit, you will be allocated a supervisor. This will be done by the Postgraduate Major Project Module Leader. One of the roles of the Postgraduate Major Project Module Leader is to utilise the staff resource in the Business School as effectively and efficiently as possible. The Postgraduate Major Project Module Leader will also endeavour to match your topic to staff expertise.Meeting your supervisor – you are strongly advised to meet your supervisor as soon as possible. The supervisor will have access to a copy of your proposal. Thereafter, you should meet regularly with your supervisor to discuss progress, resolve any problems you may have, etc. It is your responsibility to make and keep the appointments. If you have any problems in making appointments then please inform your Course Portfolio Leader immediately. Sometimes face-to-face meetings are not possible. In this case other means of communication, such as email, may be appropriate.Recording your meetings – you should keep a record of your meetings with your supervisor on the Contact Log Sheet (CLS).Submitting your dissertation – you must upload a copy of your dissertation to Turnitin on or before the submission date. You will know this date by the time you commence stage three of your programme. If you think you have a good reason for a later submission you must ask for an extension (maximum 10 days). Only the Student Advisor can give you permission. Do not ask for an extension at the “last minute”. Please make sure you are familiar with University policy on extensions. 3.2 Supervision Based on your proposal, you will be allocated a supervisor who will provide general guidance and help. Extensive reading and commenting on draft chapters is not included in the role of the supervisor. (It is a University regulation that only a maximum of 20% of a draft can be read by the Supervisor). Students should provide their supervisor with a brief outline of their proposed dissertation, line of inquiry etc. as soon as possible. Following this, your supervisor will discuss the presentation and methodology of the dissertation, possible titles, and give guidance on how to focus the work. Supervisors are not required to be expert in the chosen topic. Students are entitled to a minimum of 6 hours of supervision over the period in which the dissertation is being written. Normally, it will be advantageous if this is divided into a number of shorter periods. You are strongly advised to make full use of these consultation sessions. Supervisors will indicate their availability and students must then make arrangements for supervision sessions. In Appendix 2 you will find a Supervisor Contact Log Sheet. You are strongly advised to use this form to record your supervision meetings. Your supervisor will expect to receive regular reports on your progress. It is important that you provide your Supervisor with detailed evidence of your progress for two reasons: the assistance he/she can give will be limited in the absence of information; and, if you submit a document which your supervisor cannot vouch for as your own work because you have not provided evidence to him/her during the course of your research, you will have to undergo a viva voce examination. There may also be additional opportunities for attending group sessions on various specific aspects of the dissertation – look out for information on these sessions. 3.3 Ethical Approval guidance You are strongly advised to meet your supervisor for ethics application support. Students proceeding with primary data research are required to fill in an ethics form in partnership with the nominated supervisor. It is the supervisor’s responsibility to ensure that all application documents are completed well in advance of the fieldwork. Please see the ethics application guidance at https://web.anglia.ac.uk/anet/rido/ethics/Stage%201%20UG.phtml. Documents you may need to submit for your ethics application (depending on nature and demands of your research): Stage 1 Research Ethics Application From.Confirmation of passing the Introduction to Research and Professional Ethics online course (screenshot as the evidence) Participant Information Sheet.if applicable to your research. Note you can add or delete sections to fit your own research.Participant Consent Form. if applicable to your researchMandatory data protection section. for Participant Information Sheet if not using the template.Confirmation of passing the Safeguarding course.(if applicable). Please refer to Section 4.4 in the Code of Practice for Applying for Ethical Approval.If applicable, Gatekeeper approval letter (e.g. CEO, Managing director, HR director of the case organisation(s)). Using Sources and Referencing Do not forget that a dissertation depends crucially on source material. From the assessment criteria listed in a later section of this document you will see that you will be evaluated on the way you use your sources. Thus, before you finalise your topic and title, make sure that adequate and appropriate sources are available. This is particularly important if empirical research is a part of your dissertation. For instance, response rates to student questionnaires are often poor and/or slow. Your dissertation may depend mainly on primary sources such as surveys, interviews, statistics, etc. Many dissertations depend more on secondary sources such as books, articles, and the internet. As you can see from the assessment criteria below, supervisors will look for evidence that you have located a good selection of appropriate sources and understood them. Make sure that you have acknowledged these sources. If you don’t this will be viewed as passing off other people’s words and ideas as your own, i.e. cheating, and you will be penalised for this dishonesty. Good references are an indication that you have found and used available sources, and this will be taken into account when your dissertation is marked. As all quotations and paraphrases must be acknowledged this means that you will need to keep careful records of your research and reading. The use of references can cause difficulties. You must use the Harvard System of Referencing. The essence of this system is that whenever you quote from a primary or secondary source you add in brackets, immediately after the quotation, the surname of the author, the year of publication, and the page reference The referencing system outlined can be found at the following website: http://libweb.anglia.ac.uk/subjects/reference/harvard.php 4.1 Example of Harvard referencing Carter persisted with the ‘responsible’ import based recovery programme, hoping that the Germans and Japanese would ultimately follow their example. As a consequence of this policy the US trade deficit increased from $9.5 billion in 1976 to $31.1 billion in 1977 (Stein 1998, p159). (Stein 1998, p159) would appear after a direct quotation, or as in this case, the presentation of an idea. Direct quotes of more than 30 words or so should be indented on either side. Example: In my view, and notwithstanding some of the really important theoretical insights and results that the concept has generated, there are problems in trying to apply the concept of utility that have not had the attention they deserve. However, economists are now beginning to take more interest in the extent to which psychological evidence can inform the development of economic models. (Anand, 2006, p223) All books etc. you have cited in the text are listed in a reference list at the end of the dissertation in alphabetical order: author, initials, date, title, place of publication, publisher. Stein would thus appear as: Stein, J (1998) The Locomotive Loses Power: The Trade and Industrial Policies of Jimmy Carter; in Fink, G & Graham, HD (eds) The Carter Presidency: Policy Choices in the Post New-Deal Era, Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas. Note that this is a chapter in a publication edited by someone else. The full volume also needs to be cited thus: Fink, G & Graham, HD (1998) The Carter Presidency: Policy Choices in the Post New-Deal Era, Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas. Note the use of italics in these two examples. It is always the title of the book that is italicised. All books etc. you have cited in the text are listed in a bibliography at the end of the dissertation in alphabetical order: author, initials, title, publisher, date. Mansfield would appear as: Mansfield, E.; Microeconomics: Theory & Applications, Norton and Company, 1995 If there is more than one book, journal article etc. by the same author your references will normally be distinguished by the year of publication. If the author has published more than one work in the same year, show them as 1992a, 1992b etc. Ensure that your document is spell-checked and pay particular attention to grammatical and punctuation errors. 4.2 Good scholarship, referencing and academic misconduct In your project, as with all academic work you will be expected to demonstrate a high standard of academic referencing. To recap, this is for three reasons: To show the breadth and depth of research you have carried out (e.g. get good marks!)To enable the reader to follow up on interesting ideas/research that you have discussedTo avoid being accused of plagiarism. As a level 7 student you should know all of the following information, but experience tells us that it is useful to include a re-cap. 4.3 What is good scholarship? Academics (including you!) are engaged in the generation of new knowledge and insights that contribute to what we already know about the natural, supernatural and social world – this is called ‘scholarship’. Good scholarship is the result of conventions that help the readers of academic research to see exactly what is new, what is the work of others and how it all fits together – the main way this is done is through the referencing system. Put simply, authors (including you) need to make it clear what are not their own ‘new’ ideas, by adding a citation after every idea or set of ideas they write about that are not their own. There are several different ways of doing this that have evolved from different academic disciplines (just as there are lots of different world languages). In the Business School we use the Harvard Referencing System. An excellent resource about referencing can also be found at the following website: http://www.learnhigher.org.uk/site/index.php We suggest that you select ‘in depth’ mode from the drop-down menu on the bottom left of the page. 4.4 What do I reference? As the above section suggests, you should attribute all your sources regardless of the medium the material comes in (e.g. You Tube video, journal article, blog, radio programme, book chapter etc.) There is a general rule of thumb that says that which is ‘common knowledge’ does not need to be referenced, but of course, what counts as common knowledge? So-called ‘common sense’ hides many assertions and prejudices that good quality academic work should seek to expose. A useful technique to use if you want to include general assertions is to use constructions like: ‘It is generally accepted that……’ or, ‘Arguably,’ or ‘It is reasonable to assume…’ But do take care, even assertions need some justification in the text to be credible. It is also a good idea to completely avoid cutting and pasting text from the internet, even if you correctly enclose a paragraph in quotation marks and add the reference underneath, you are unlikely to get many marks since this is not your own work and does not demonstrate your understanding. Quotations are good to see, but use them judiciously for the above reasons. If you can say it just as well yourself, write it in your own words and add the citation at the end of the sentence / passage. You need to include page numbers for all direct quotations. A useful reference, particularly with regard to referencing new electronic sources is at the following: http://libweb.anglia.ac.uk/subjects/reference/citation.php Assessment: Dissertation Structure and Formatting The assessment for this module consists of one element. ElementType of assessmentWord or time limitSubmission methodFinal Submission Date010DissertationMOD007550 45 credits: 12,000 wordsTurnitin®UK GradeMarkPlease refer to your SITS/e-Vision account Important: You are allowed to submit assignments up to five working days after the published (or extended) deadline. If you do so, the element of assessment to which the assignment contributes will be capped at 40%. You are requested to keep a copy of your work. 5.1 Format of Your Dissertation Your dissertation must be written in English in typescript form on A4 paper. Your name must NOT appear on the dissertation. The maximum number of words does not include footnotes, the abstract, the bibliography, indented quotations, appendices and tables. The cover sheet (see Appendix 1) of the dissertation must include the following declaration: ‘I declare that the above work is my own and that the material contained herein has not been substantially used in any other submission for an academic award’. The dissertation must be prefaced by an abstract. This is not an introduction but a summary which outlines the plan and argument of the dissertation. It should include brief details of the methodology employed. The abstract should not be longer than 300 words. It should be included immediately after the title page and it will be examined as part of the dissertation. A list of contents, such as the glossary, chapters, and appendices – with page references – should be included at the front of the dissertation. Pages should be numbered and double-line spacing used. Diagrams, figures, tables, and illustrations should be incorporated into the text at the appropriate place, unless there is a series of them or they are continually referred to throughout the text. In this case they should be placed in appendices at the end of the work. You are advised to use a drawing package for diagrams and scan in other illustrations. The work of other authorities must be acknowledged. When quotations or general references are made they must be suitably referenced by using the Harvard system. Appendices should not contain material which is not used or referred to in the text. Similarly, illustrative material should not be included unless it is relevant, informative, and referred to in the text. A bibliography should be included at the end of the dissertation and should list, alphabetically, all the sources (including magazines and newspapers) that you have consulted. Books should be listed as: Author (surname then initials); title, edition, publisher, date. Other sources such as journals, magazines, and newspapers should be treated in a similar fashion. If sources are used which are not written in English then the English translation is required in the bibliography. You are requested to submit your dissertation on Turnitin®UK GradeMark this will be used to help verify the sources you have used. 5.2 Presentation of Your Dissertation Your Dissertation should be presented as follows, ALL dissertations should include the following (but they may include more): Abstract Set out on a page of its own immediately after the title page. The abstract is likely to be the last section to be written. It is a short (200-300 words maximum.) summary of the project (not an introduction) and should indicate the nature and scope of the work, outlining the research problem, key issues, findings and your conclusion/recommendations. Acknowledgments Table of Contents An outline of the whole project in list form, setting out the order of the sections, with page numbers. It is conventional to number the preliminary pages (abstract, table of contents) with lower case Roman numerals (i.e. (i), (ii), (iii) etc.) and the main text pages (starting with the first chapter) in Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, etc.) as shown below. Contents Page List of Tables i List of Figures ii List of Abbreviations iii Acknowledgements iv Chapter 1 (Title) 1 (First Section heading)(Second etc.)(Third) List of tables and figures You can present a list at the beginning of your dissertation/ project of the tables and figures you have included. A table is a presentation of data in tabular form; a figure is a diagrammatic representation of data or other material. Tables and figures should be clearly and consistently numbered, either above or below the table or figure. Each table and figure should have a separate heading (caption). The reader should be able to understand what the table or figure is about from this heading / caption without referring to the text for explanations. The numbers of the tables and the figures you use in the text and in the lists at the beginning should correspond exactly. Main body of document, appropriately structured (this structure may vary depending on the nature of your dissertation, one example is: Chapter 1 – Introduction (10%) An explanation as to what the Dissertation is all about and why it is important. The research questions or hypotheses. Chapter 2 – Literature Review (20%) A critical analysis of what other researchers have said and where your topic fits in. The theoretical framework. Chapter 3 – Methodology (20%) Why certain data was collected and how it was collected and analysed. Chapter 4 – Results, A presentation of your research results. Chapter 5 – Analysis and Discussion, Analysis of your results showing the contribution to knowledge you have made and acknowledgement of any weaknesses/limitations in your work. (chapter 4 and 5 could be combined as appropriate – 30% ) Chapter 6 – Conclusions/Recommendations (10%) A description of the main lessons to be learned from the study and what future research could be carried out.) Chapter 7 – Implementation Plan, this is mandatory for CIPD accreditation, the wordcount is within the 12,000 words but this part is not included in marks. The plan can be presented in a table (including recommendations, actions, outcomes, people involved and timescales). Chapter 8 – Reflective Report, this is mandatory for CIPD accreditation, the wordcount is within the 12,000 words but this part is not included in marks. How has the process helped you understand the process of business research?Think also about how your dissertation will impact on your work going forward – especially regarding the CPD part of your CIPD membership. Look at past assignments/feedback – how has your articulation of ideas changed, if someone says ‘research’ to you now, what do you think of? Have you become more critical? Ask other people whether they have noticed any changes and how these changes may be related to your research work/academic engagement with literature. References (References are a detailed list of sources from which information has been obtained and which has been cited in the text). Appendices (these should only contain material which is genuinely supportive of the argument in the main body of the dissertation). Supervisor Contact Log (completed) (See Appendix 2) Do remember that clear writing makes a good impression. If your grammar is poor, sentence construction clumsy, and spelling bad, then your communication with the reader will also be affected. You will not be penalised for poor English unless it is so bad that the meaning of what you have written cannot be understood. You are required to use the following format: Use A4 size paper only.Type 1.5 or doublespaced. (You may want to use single spacing for indented quotes, footnote materials and the bibliography).Use one side of paper only.Margins should be approximately:3 cms on left hand side of page to allow for binding.At least 1 cm on the right hand side3 cms top and bottom.Pages should be numbered in a single sequence from the contents page onwards.Short quotations can run in the text within single quotation marks (double quotation marks reserved for quotations within quotations). Quotations longer than about 30 words should be set in from the side of the page (normally the indent should be more than the paragraph indent).Always write in complete sentences. Do not resort to note form.Do not use abbreviations in the text unless they are for the organisations documents etc which are commonly initialised or referred to by acronyms eg. BBCAll abbreviations must be explained when they first appear and included in the front of the document following the contents page and the list of tables and figures. Your documents must be bound using a plastic or metal comb binding. The cover should be plain except for the title and the author’s SID number. Reprographics will copy and bind your work. There is a charge for this service. 5.3 Submitting Your Work All student work which contributes to the eventual outcome of the module (ie: if it determines whether you will pass or fail the module and counts towards the mark you achieve for the module) is submitted via GradeMark®. You CANNOT submit work for this module via the iCentres. Additionally, academic staff CANNOT accept this work directly from you. Submitting via Turnitin®UK GradeMark [Cambridge and Chelmsford students] You are required to submit your written assignment(s) online via Turnitin/Grademark. Unless stated on the assignment brief, all your assignments should be submitted online. Hard copy assignments handed into the iCentre will NOT be marked. You must put YOUR Student ID number (SID) as the submission title (details below). You will be enrolled automatically to two types of Turnitin class: 1) Grademark Classes entitled by module name, to which you will submit a ONE TIME ONLY final submission; 2) The Originality Report Class to which you can submit multiple drafts for originality checking. The Grademark class page shows the start date (when you can begin submitting work), the due date for your assignment and the post date. All assignments must be submitted by 2pm on the due date. Any late work will NOT be accepted and a mark of zero will be awarded for the assessment task in question. The post date is the date when both feedback and provisional results will be posted online. You should follow the detailed instructions provided on the VLE. When you submit your paper, remember to: Online Submission and Feedback through Grademark At the post date you will get your feedback through Turnitin/Grademark. We have implemented this online feedback system to give you the following benefits: More timely receipt of your feedback;Better quality feedback;The ability to hand in your work online;Reduction in time spent queuing to hand in and pick up your assignments;The ability to receive marker feedback when it is posted, regardless of your location;Reduction of both yours and the university’s carbon footprint by no longer printing work. How to view your feedback Click on the class that you wish to view and then you will see the assignments for the module listed. Click the blue view button to open up the document viewer. A new window will open and you will see your feedback on the right-hand side of the screen. Or click on the grey arrow to download a copy of your assignment and feedback. Points to note The due date as seen in eVision is the official submission deadline. Any late work will NOT be accepted and a mark of zero will be awarded for the assessment task in question. Do not leave it until the last minute to submit your work – the system becomes extremely busy and can be slower during the period of the deadline.Grademark final submission classes will become available 10 working days before the final submission date. Be aware that work can only be submitted ONCE to these classes and cannot be removed or changed.All work submitted MUST be entitled by your Student ID number.Any work handed in via the iCentre will NOT be marked.The Originality Report is automatically generated by Turnitin on submitting work. A paper copy of the originality report is not required.The Originality Report will not be used to make assessment decisions unless concerns arise as to poor academic practice, plagiarism, or collusion. The report may then be considered as part of the normal investigatory procedures undertaken by the academic team and the Director of Studies (again, please see Section 10 of the Assessment Regulations).Re-sits and extensions are also to be submitted via Turnitin.
