Reference no: EM134027473 , Length: Word Count:4500

Assessment 1

Topic: BIM & Risk Management OR Sustainability & Environmental Impact (choice)

Research Methods

Learning Outcomes

After completing this assessment, the students should be able to:

Demonstrate a critical understanding of methodologies and theoretical approaches.

Critically evaluate and identify appropriate resources in order to undertake research.

Assessment guidelines

Compose a research review essay of approximately 2000 words (excluding references and appendices) centered on a topic of your research interest.

You should analyse and synthesise relevant academic literature, critically engaging with the field of scholarship. In the essay, you should discuss how your research topic will fit within existing published work. You should find at least 12-15 sources of literature (mainly academic) connected to your proposed research and analyse them to show how your research will attempt to contribute to existing knowledge and research gap. You should aim to compare and contrast the sources and make appropriate links with your proposed research. Remember that you should paraphrase the material retrieved from sources in your own words (and cite and reference the sources appropriately), and you should synthesise the potential contribution of these sources to your research. Your literature review should not be presented as a ‘list' of articles.

For guidance on developing an effective research design, you may refer to research methodology concepts. If you need general academic support, essay writing report writing help and assignment help resources may also be useful.

Assessment 2

Assessment point: Assessment point 2 (Week 8)
Assessment task: Proposal

After completing this assessment, the students should be able to:

• Demonstrate a critical understanding of methodologies and theoretical approaches.
• Critically evaluate and identify appropriate resources in order to undertake research.
• Critically plan and implement research tasks and communicate an understanding of the research process.

Assessment guidelines

In this assessment, you will prepare a proposal, outlining further details of your chosen research that will form the basis of your final module.

It is recommended that you utilise the research topic that you selected for ‘Assessment Point 1 (Week 4) - Research Review Essay' in your Proposal. It is important to ensure that any material used is paraphrased appropriately. If you require additional academic guidance while preparing your proposal, you may refer to Assignment Help.

For this assignment, you will not collect and analyse any data.

The Proposal should be structured as follows:

Title page: Clearly state your student details and the proposed research title.

Introduction (400 words): In this section, you should present your research topic and explain the topic area. The section should include appropriate background information and explain the rationale for selecting this research topic and the potential contribution of the proposed research. It should encompass the following elements:

Background information
Broad Research Problem area
Definition of the Research Problem
Research Aim
Research Objectives
Research Questions
Research Methodology
Research Justification

Indicative Literature Review and Research Gap (600 words): In the literature review section, you should analyse and synthesise relevant academic literature, critically engaging with the field of scholarship and demonstrating how it contributes to existing knowledge and research gap. You should aim to compare and contrast the sources and make appropriate links with your proposed research.

In the research gap section, you should demonstrate that you have thoroughly reviewed the existing literature and identified a clear and significant gap in knowledge or practice that your proposed research aims to address. You should explain why the research gap you have identified is significant and why it is important to address this gap and research problem. This could be in terms of the potential impact of your research on theory, practice, or policy, or the potential benefits for the wider community or industry. Guidance on developing a research plan and identifying research objectives can also be supported by Develop Research Plan and Defining Research Objectives.

Proposed Methodology, Methods and Ethical Considerations (800 words): In this section, you should discuss your proposed research methodology and data analysis techniques. You should consider your research philosophy and how this impacts your research design. Also, you should discuss your proposed data collection methods as well as the types of data that you will collect for your research and the sources of this data. You should be able to justify your choice of methodology and methods referring to your research aim, objectives and questions. Also, you should comment on your research's feasibility and ability to access and analyse the required data. Finally, this section should outline the ethical considerations related to your research.

Remember that at this stage, you will not collect any data. You are allowed to collect only open-source/publicly available secondary data. You should not collect any primary data involving human participants. Therefore, your proposed research methodology should consider the above Programme requirements. Students looking for additional guidance on selecting appropriate methods may find Real Reseach Methodology, Quantitative Research Techniques, and Business Ethics useful for understanding methodological and ethical considerations.

Expected Results (500 words): In this section, you should include a clear and concise description of the expected results of the proposed research. The expected results should be based on the research aim, objectives and questions outlined in the proposal and should be presented in a way that demonstrates how the research will contribute to existing knowledge in the field. The expected results should also be presented in a way consistent with the proposed research methodology and data analysis techniques. This will help to ensure that the results are reliable and valid. Additionally, the expected results should include a discussion of the potential implications of the research findings and how they may be relevant to practitioners, policymakers, or other stakeholders in the field. This will help to demonstrate the significance and importance of the research.

Research Planning and Schedule (200 words): In this section, you should outline the key milestones for completing your research project and propose the time each milestone will require. You should try to be as realistic as possible and consider things like work schedules, busy work periods, holidays, and other breaks. It will be helpful to present your schedule/plan on a table listing the milestones, the duration of each milestone as well as a brief note for each milestone that will offer a description of the role of the milestone in the process and a justification or the assigned duration, including any concerns, contingency plans, or limitations to completing the milestone.

References: There should be clarity of writing, including organisation, structure, and coherence and a high-quality presentation that conforms to academic writing principles and contains minimal sentence construction, grammar, and punctuation errors. The Proposal should follow appropriate academic conventions regarding in-text citations and references according to the Harvard Reference style.

Note: All references used in your paper must be from 2020 onwards.