Research on the broad topic is a group activity and each student must contribute to that work. Each student in the group will then research, in depth, an individual component drawn from the broad research topic.
- Topics are to be undertaken as group work in a group of three or four persons
- Each topic has a general framework as well as individual components
When researching the topic:
- The work on the general framework is the responsibility of each team member
- The work on the individual components is the responsibility of the individual choosing that component. However, that individual can be helped by other group members who in turn also can help other team members
(i) The Live Presentation:
Students form into groups and nominate their broad research topic. Research on the broad topic is a group activity and each student must contribute to that work. Each student in the group will then research, in depth, an individual component drawn from the broad research topic.
The live presentation must be organised as a business presentation. Strict adherence to the ten minute limit is expected so the time should be carefully allocated to allow for a very short introduction on the broad topic followed by a few minutes allocated to each student to present their individual component.
(ii) The Written Report:
The final report on your topic will be written up as a seminar report and submitted to your lecturer by the end of the semester. You may incorporate ideas generated in the live presentation. The written report should begin with the broad research topic which is followed by each individual component identified by the individual student who prepared it.
Organisation of the research report
A key ingredient to writing a successful report involves the planning or organizing stage. Organizing can help you to sort out your ideas and to present your report in the order that communicates best to your readers. Organisation is the procedure of constructing an outline that acts as a plan for your writing task. An outline forces you to think before you write.
Your essay is to be structured and written as a business report. It, therefore, must begin with a Management (or Executive) Summary within which you state in stark form (i.e. unsupported by argument) what you are asserting in this report and you must do that in less than two pages.
As already stated above, you begin the main body of the report with some general background on the broad research topic. This introduction should end with a brief paragraph outlining the plan of the rest of the essay.
What follows is the specific issues of each individual component which were considered. As for any good business report these components should be structured into sections and sub-sections and the heading for these should be in the Table of Contents. In these individual components the in-depth discussion of the relevant issues is elaborated based on the existing literature and/or data. You must provide in-text references to your sources.
The last section of the report contains a brief summary followed by a complete list of references that are cited in the text of the essay. Follow a standard referencing method consistently.
Suggested limits are as follows:
- Management Summary: ideally one page but no more than two.
- Sections 1: Introduction 400-600 words,
- Section 2: Main body of the essay consisting of each of the individual components limit each component to approximately 1,000 words each,
- Sections 3: Conclusions 100-300 words,
- Summary and Complete List of References (5-15 references).