Research Methods for Computing and Technology

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1. THE COURSEWORK OVERVIEW

The coursework is an individual based assignment where the student is supposed to

produce a proposal (according to the format appended) that specifies his / her plan for his / her final year project.

2. LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of this coursework, you should be able to: Demonstrate, create and interpret knowledge in the area of Computing and Technology based on appropriate techniques of research applied. Critically evaluate current research areas and / or related existing solutions to assist in selecting the Final Year Project title. Demonstrate the ability to formulate and justify the purpose of appropriate research questions in the area of Computing and Technology Produce a detailed research proposal for Computing and Technology that includes : o Specific and achievable aims / objectives o An appropriate research plan for the project

3. TYPE
Individual Assignment

4. RESEARCH PROPOSAL FORMAT

Refer to the research proposal format appended.

5. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS a. The research proposal should be presented in English using font size 12, Times New Roman with 1.5 line spacing. b. The cover page of the research proposal should have the researchers name, id, the programme he / she is enrolled in and the title of the final year project. c. The research proposal should include the table of contents, with page numbers. d. The text of the research proposal should not exceed 2000 words. e. The research proposal should not contain any appendices.

6. SUBMISSION a. A softcopy of the research proposal should be copied into a CD or DVD and submitted together with the hardcopy of the research proposal. b. Submission of deliverables should be made to the administrative counter on or before 7.00pm, dated 9th July 2012
Level 2 Asia Pacific University College of Technology and Innovation 2011

Research Methods for Computing and Technology

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7. MARKING CRITERIA The research proposal will be evaluated in 3 main segments

Problem Definition (15%) Criteria Title & Aims Justification Slides & Presentation Marks Allocated 5% 5% 5%

Research Proposal Report (70%) Criteria Literature Review Research Questions Research Design Personal Reflection Documentation Standards Referencing Presentation of Proposal (15%) Criteria Explanation & Justification of proposal Q&A Slides Marks Allocated 5% 5% 5% Marks Allocated 20% 10% 10% 10% 10% 10%

Level 2

Asia Pacific University College of Technology and Innovation

2011

Research Methods for Computing and Technology

Page 3 of 5

RESEARCH PROPOSAL FORMAT

A typical proposal would address the following questions: What do you plan to accomplish? Why do you want to do it? How are you going to do it?

1.

Title
The title should be descriptive yet concise. Avoid phrases such as An investigation of ... or The development of ...... Consider an appealing yet informative title.

2.

Introduction
The researcher should expand on the topic by describing what he / she hopes to accomplish in his / her final year project the desired outcomes, whether it be practical or theoretical. The researcher should imagine introducing the title to someone who is not from the Computing / Technology / Games domain area and has little or no knowledge of the title and / or the domain. Therefore, he / she is advised to avoid using jargons or technical terms in the Introduction only. The researcher is also discouraged from including references, citations and / or definitions within the Introduction only. It is recommended to explain the title in lay terms and where possible, use an analogy.

3.

Problem Statement
The research starts with a problem and ideally should end with a solution to the problem. The problem statement should explain the aim of the research which needs to be justified. The justification of the research would be rationale for the project to be done, be it the development of a new system / game, the implementation of some new features within an existing system / game and / or some improvements to the current system / game using a new technology. It is essential that the researcher provides his / her argument clearly in favour of implementing the project, whilst providing the necessary evidence. This evidence can be obtained in the form of literature / data from other researchers. The researcher is reminded to ensure that the problem is not one that is personal to him / her or to a particular organisation. The literature review is done in this stage. Include references / citations where necessary but the researcher should also provide his / her own thoughts on these references / citations. The researcher should be reminded that the literature review is a critical evaluation of existing research and should relate to the research topic. It should not be merely a summary / description of these articles and manuscripts. It is recommended that a minimum of TEN (10) relevant and related references be used for the literature review.

Level 2

Asia Pacific University College of Technology and Innovation

2011

Research Methods for Computing and Technology

Page 4 of 5

4.

Research Aims & Objectives

The research aims state the intentions or purposes of the researchers project in general terms. E.g. ......It should describe the overall ideas presented in the research proposal. Once the researcher has established his / her aim, the researcher is expected to formulate the research objectives. For a computing and technology project the objectives can typically be divided into knowledge and / or skills. The objectives would have to fulfil the requirements of the aim. The objectives should be achievable and the researcher should take into consideration the timelines for the final year. The research aims should typically be related to the development of the system and could be described in terms of the core, enhanced and special features of the proposed system. The researcher is reminded not to use the term core, enhanced and / or special but may discuss the aims in this order.

5.

Research Questions
The research questions would materialise from the research objectives. Hence, it should explicitly consist of questions the researcher would need to research on so that he / she would be able to proceed with the development of the solution. The researcher would not need to be concerned with the all the answers at the moment. Rather he / she should include information that he / she does not know and therefore intends to find out in the next semester in order to develop the final year project. However, should there be some research areas / questions which could be easily researched on at this point. The researcher may then consider seeking such information as soon as possible. The researcher is encouraged to divide these questions in specific categories and ensure that these categories are related to the aims and objectives specified above. The researcher should consider both domain and technical research.

6.

Research Design
The researcher should describe in detail the steps he / she will take in attempting to his / her research questions. It would typically contain details such as what specific type of research the researcher would be using in the final year, including where and how the data will be obtained and analysed. The research design should be specified in the most appropriate order on how the research will be carried out and the details of what would be the potential resources of the research ranging from reading materials to respondents. The research design will cover details of how both the domain and technical research will be carried out. The researchers design should then map out a proposed work plan and timeline that would fit one semester (1st semester of Level 3).

7.

Personal Reflection
The researcher is encouraged to reflect on potential limitations and alternative approaches to achieve study aims. In order to achieve this, he / she would need to first have some idea about what kind of data he / she needs and will be collecting, what statistical procedures will be used to gather the data / information to the research questions listed.

Level 2

Asia Pacific University College of Technology and Innovation

2011

Research Methods for Computing and Technology

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8.

References
The researcher should adhere to Harvard Referencing Style when referencing materials used in the proposal. The researcher is encouraged to refer to the link below: http://library.apiit.edu.my/harvard-referencing#using-harvard-referencing

Level 2

Asia Pacific University College of Technology and Innovation

2011