Ashcroft International Business School

Postgraduate Major Project

Department: All AIBS Departments

Module Codes:
BC430998S
BC445998S
BC460998S

Academic Year: 2011/12

Semester/Trimester: 1

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 Contents
1. Key information 3

2. Introduction 3-4

3. The major project process 4

4. Choosing a topic, issue, problem, or 5-6

question

5. Using sources and referencing 5-8

6. The format and presentation of your 8-12

major project

7. Criteria for assessing your major 12

project

8. Characteristics of a postgraduate 12-13

major project

9. Intended learning outcomes 14

10. Assessment 15

11. How will my work be assessed? 15-16

12. Assessment Offences 17-21

13. Feedback 22

14. Responsibilities of the student 22

15. Security 22

16. Learning resources 22-23

17. Module Definition Form 23

Appendix 1 Postgraduate Major project Proposal

Appendix 2 Generic Assessment Criteria & Marking

Standards

Appendix 3 Postgraduate Major project Assessment

Form
Appendix 4 Supervisor Contact Log

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1. Key Information

Module/Unit title: Postgraduate Major Project

Postgraduate
Major Project
Leader: Dr Andrew Armitage
Chelmsford/MAB 301
Extension: 6846
Email: [email protected]

IMPORTANT MESSAGE FOR ALL STUDENTS IN 2010/11

A very important change to the Academic Regulations which governs the
assessment of all modules at Anglia Ruskin and its partner institutions has been
introduced for all students with effect from the academic year 2010/11.
Full details are in Section 10 of this module guide. Please make sure you read
this section carefully.

All modules delivered by Anglia Ruskin University at its main campuses in the UK and at
partner institutions throughout the UK and overseas are governed by the Academic
Regulations. You can view these at www.anglia.ac.uk/academicregs. A printed extract of
the Academic Regulations, known as the Assessment Regulations, is available for every
student from your Faculty Office (all new students will have received a 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.

2. Introduction

In order to obtain a Masters degree you must prepare, submit, and pass a major project.
Apart from this regulation requirement there are a number of reasons why the major project
is a very important part of your studies. From the learning outcomes in the module definition
forms (available on the VLE webpage) you will see that the major project is a demanding
module. Perhaps a more attractive way of stating this is to say that it allows you an
opportunity to demonstrate, at an advanced level, several important intellectual and practical
skills. These skills are valued by employers and as the major project is your own work it is
proof that you have mastered them. In fact, sometimes your major project will help you to
obtain an interview or find the position you want.

The major project is not a taught module and this means that the research and writing up of
your findings is very much an individual effort that allows you to demonstrate both
organisational and time management skills. You will have further honed your research skills
and techniques and deepened your understanding of at least one major area of business
and/or business related areas. Other high level skills which will be developed and improved
include evaluation, synthesis, and critical thinking. Finally, a well-written major project
enables you to demonstrate communication and presentation skills.

You are advised to make yourself aware of the contents of the publication "Presentation and
Submission of Projects and Major projects for Taught Higher Degrees" booklet before you

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start your major project. You should read carefully the section on Formatting before you
start any writing-up, as your major project will not be accepted if it doesn't comply with this
section. Anglia Ruskin University regulations and guidelines do change from time to time. It
is your responsibility to make sure that you are working to current regulations and guidelines
so check that the Module Guide and Anglia Ruskin University publications you are using are
up-to-date. If in doubt consult your supervisor and/or Postgraduate Major project Tutor.

3. The Major project Process

There are a number of formal processes associated with the major project.

Registering your major project topic - this must be done on the Major project Proposal
Form (appendix 1) by the published date. Wherever possible you should include an outline
proposal as well as the title but we appreciate, in some cases, you cannot do this until you
have consulted your supervisor. It is important that you submit this form on time, to the
relevant Faculty office, as you will not be allocated a supervisor until it is submitted.
You may indicate a preferred supervisor on the form but we cannot guarantee you will be
allocated the preferred supervisor as a holistic view of staffing is taken in the Business
School. Please do not approach staff to ask if they can supervisor your major project,
the course leader assigns supervisors.

Allocating your supervisor - after you have completed and submitted your Major project
Proposal Form you will be allocated a supervisor. This will be done by your Programme
Leader. One of the roles of the Programme Leader is to utilise the staff resource in the
Business School as effectively and efficiently as possible. The Programme 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 be sent 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 Programme 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 must keep a record of your meetings with your supervisor
on the Contact Log Sheet (appendix 4) and the completed CLS must be put with your major
project when handing in.

Submitting your major project - you must submit two comb-bound copy of your major
project to the Student Information Centre (Mel 002) 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". A copy of the extension form must be submitted to the faculty office.
Please make sure you are familiar with University policy on extensions.

You must also submit 2 separate copies of the abstract along with two copies of the
assessment form (appendix 3) and an electronic copy of the major project on CD/USB.

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4. Choosing a Topic, Issue, Problem or Question
You choose your own topic but it has to be approved. You can choose a similar topic to
which may have been assessed for another module as long as it does not cover identical
ground.

As a start, remind yourself that a major project is much more than just a simple descriptive
account of some aspect of your course. Very often the success of your major project is
determined by how successful you are in finding a good issue to pursue, a problem to
investigate, a question to answer, and so on. Unless you are successful here you may be
unable to develop a coherent and well argued major project. This first stage can be difficult
so don't be afraid to spend some time on it.

You may come up with a fairly broad topic but it will have to have a focus. Even at the broad
topic stage you will have to ask yourself whether it is likely to be viable. You should also try
to come up with a topic you are interested in personally, as a large amount of your time will
be spent on background reading, fieldwork and/or other types of research, and finally writing
up your research. If you are interested in your question, etc., then all this activity is likely to
be a source of pleasure rather than an onerous and pointless burden.

The activity associated with choosing the topic, problem, etc., should be done before you
submit your Major project Proposal Form. Sometimes, even after much hard work, it may be
difficult to come up with a focused topic, but please note that a broad general area may not
be acceptable. You are advised to seek some specialist help before submitting your
proposal if you run into difficulties.

You are strongly advised to spend a good deal of time on choosing your topic. You will
probably find it helpful to discuss possibilities with other students, and try out an initial
literature search in areas you are considering. Even something quite simple such as writing
out the nature of the problem or topic can be helpful at this stage.

You are allowed to modify your topic, research question, etc., (and any necessary changes
to your methodology) if you experience problems with your original intentions, your research
throws up better and more interesting possibilities, and so on. Very occasionally, you may
have to abandon your topic and change to something completely different but this is
regarded as being exceptional.

5. Using Sources and Referencing

Do not forget that a major project 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 major project. For instance, response rates
to student questionnaires are often poor and/or slow.

Your major project may depend mainly on primary sources such as surveys, interviews,
statistics, etc. Many major projects 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.

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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, ie. 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 major project 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

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 major
project 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.

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All books etc. you have cited in the text are listed in a bibliography at the end of the major
project 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.

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:

1 To show the breadth and depth of research you have carried out (e.g. get good marks!)
2 To enable the reader to follow up on interesting ideas/research that you have discussed
3 To avoid being accused o plagiarism.

As a level 3 student you should know all of the following information, but experience tells us
that it is useful to include a re-cap.

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.

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:

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‘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

6. The Format and Presentation of Your Major project

Your major project must be written in English in typescript form on A4 paper. Your name
must not appear on the major project. One copy of the major project should be submitted.
It is advisable to retain a copy for your own records. Please note submitted major projects
will only be returned in cases of failure.

The maximum length of the major project is 20,000 words (45 credits).

Note
The maximum number of words does not include footnotes, the abstract, the bibliography,
indented quotations, appendices and tables.

When you submit the copy of your major project you may be asked to submit, either on disk,
using Word, or in manuscript, your working papers which have formed the basis of your
major project; for example, copies of articles, working notes and summaries, completed
questionnaires and tapes or notes of interviews. These may provide the basis for a viva
voce should that be necessary. These will be returned to you after the assessment process
is complete.

The cover sheet of the major project 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 major project must be prefaced by an abstract. This is not an introduction but a
summary which outlines the plan and argument of the major project. 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
major project.

A list of contents, such as the glossary, chapters, and appendices - with page references -
should be included at the front of the major project.

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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 major project 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 should also submit a copy of your major project on CD ROM or USB. This will be used
to help verify the sources you have used.

Your major project should be presented as follows, ALL major projects should include the
following (but they may include more):

Plastic Front Cover

White Card Cover
Disclaimer Page
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 (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.

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
1.1 (First Section heading)

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 1.2 (Second etc.)
1.3 (Third)

List of tables and figures

You can present a list at the beginning of your major project/ 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 major project.)

Bibliography / References
Appendices (these should only contain material which is genuinely supportive of the
argument in the main body of the major project).

Supervisor Contact Log (completed)

White Card Back
Black Comb Binding

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 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:
o 3 cms on left hand side of page to allow for binding.
o At least 1 cm on the right hand side
o 3 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. BBC

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 • All 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.

Forms of Major project

The final form your major project takes will depend on the topic and the approach you take
for the presentation of the data. Two examples are:

Example A
Chapter 1 - Introduction An explanation as to what the Major project is all about and why it is
important. The research questions or hypotheses.

Chapter 2 - Literature Review A critical analysis of what other researchers have said and
where your topic fits in. The theoretical framework.

Chapter 3 - Methodology 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 6 - Conclusions/Recommendations A description of the main lessons to be learned

from the study and what future research could be carried out.

Chapter 7 - References and Bibliography References are a detailed list of sources from
which information has been obtained and which has been cited in the text. The bibliography
is a detailed list of other sources you have used but not cited.

Appendices - Detailed data referred to but not shown elsewhere.

Example B

You may wish to elect to write a descriptive type of major project that looks for patterns,
ideas and hypotheses. If you do the quality of the major project will depend on:

• How thoroughly the issues are covered.

• How closely the facts relate to the original research question.
• Whether the data collected provides valuable and new information that is a
contribution to knowledge.
• Whether the research could be built upon by future writers.
• The extent to which creativity has been used in building the narrative.

NB - This approach is not an extended essay, but evidence of critical reflection and analysis.
The two forms of major project outlined above are given as an indication of possible formats.
It is possible that your major project may require a different approach or modification to the
above possibilities in presentation and content. Both presentation and content should be
discussed with your Major project Supervisor at an early stage.

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Remember, study at Master's level encourages innovative application of research principles
to academic work.

7. Criteria for Assessing Your Major project

The criteria for assessing your major project are shown OR the Postgraduate Major project
Assessment Criteria Form that is included as Appendix 3 in this document. They are:

Introduction – Is the abstract adequate? Is there a clear purpose and rationale for the
study? Clear set of objectives / research questions?

Research Design & Methodology – Was research design and methodology discussed?
Was the approach appropriate?

Use of Literature / Sources – Was the range suitable and adequate? Has a critical review
of the literature been adopted? Has the student made a ‘link’ between existing literature and
their own research?

Results, analysis and interpretation of data – Has the data been accurately presented
and analysed or are the findings merely a description? Appropriate theory applied?
Interpretation – Has the student made reasoned judgements on their findings?

Conclusion & recommendations – Are conclusions reasoned? Do they correspond with

the objective(s) of the major project? Has the student reflected on the extent they have
achieved their objectives? Was limitations and future research discussed?

Presentation - structure & language, Harvard Referencing correctly applied, appropriate use
of tables/diagrams

8. Characteristics of a Postgraduate Major project

You will have gained some idea of what is required in a postgraduate major project from the
learning outcomes of the module and from the assessment criteria above. In general terms
we expect an emphasis on the critical literature review and an in-depth understanding of
theory and methodology. Specifically,

Methodology - you will be expected to critically review the theoretical, empirical, and
methodology literature. The theory should be comprehensively discussed and understood,
and paradigms of inquiry and different methodologies should be explored. You should show
awareness of the soundness of the methodology you use and its rationale.

Problem formulation - you will need to be precise and rigorous about the problem
formulation and the setting of objectives. Relevance and originality in the choice of topic is
also important.

Content and Analysis - your major project should clearly meet stated objectives and
indicate the extent that arguments are based on valid and reliable evidence, and identified
and worked within a critically analysed theoretical framework.

Evaluation of Implications - the evaluation of the implications in the major project, based
upon the analysis undertaken and upon any data collected, should be of high quality and
aim for originality.

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Presentation - your major project should be well-structured in terms of both paragraphs and
chapters. There should be attention to detail, expression should be clear, the title
appropriate, and arguments coherent. Any appendices (and you are encouraged to keep
these to a minimum) should be used. The same applies to references and the bibliography.
Tables and diagrams should be of a high standard and make use of appropriate software.

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9. Intended Learning Outcomes
Learning outcomes (threshold standards)

No. Type On successful completion of this module the student

will be expected to be able to:

1 Knowledge and With reference to a chosen significant and complex area

understanding for enquiry
establish a method for investigation / exploration of key
concepts,
models and principles. (University outcome)

2 Knowledge and Critically evaluate complex issues from a variety of

understanding viewpoints

3 Knowledge and Develop effective arguments to support relevant

understanding conclusions

4 Intellectual, Critically justify and rigorously apply appropriate

practical, methodologies,
affective and techniques and practical strategies; being sensitive to the
transferable context.
skills (University outcome)

5 Intellectual, Where appropriate formulate solutions to business or

practical, management
affective and problems in discussion with peers, clients, mentors and
transferable others.
skills

6 Intellectual, Reflect critically on the process and outcomes of the

practical, investigation/
affective and enquiry.
transferable
skills

Anglia Ruskin modules are taught on the basis of intended learning outcomes and that, on
successful completion of the module, students will be expected to be able to demonstrate
they have met those outcomes.

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10. Assessment

IMPORTANT CHANGE TO ACADEMIC REGULATIONS IN 2010/11

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY

For all modules delivered from July 2010 onwards, the following regulations apply in all
locations and to all students. The important change to the assessment process (ie: different
from previous academic years) is highlighted in point (d) below:

a) You must undertake all assessment tasks which form part of the module (eg: submit all
coursework assignments by the appropriate deadline and/or attend all
presentations/examinations on the appropriate date etc.).

b) If there is a valid reason for you not being able to complete any assessed work, you
must either seek an extension from your Student Adviser or submit a claim for
mitigation (see www.anglia.ac.uk/mitigation for more information).

c) If you undertake all assessment tasks which form part of the module but you do not
pass the module, you will be allowed one further attempt to undertake some or all of
the assessment tasks (ie: resit) in order to pass the module.

d) If you do not undertake one or more of the required assessment tasks which form part
of the module (eg: you simply do not attend an examination or do not submit a
coursework assignment on time etc.) AND this is not explained by a successful claim
for mitigation, you will NOT be allowed any further attempt at assessment in the
module and are deemed to have failed the module completely.

11. How will my work be assessed?

All major projects or projects are marked first by your supervisor and then by a second
marker. In addition, a sample of major projects will be sent to an External Assessor. Major
projects are graded using the criteria set out on the major project assessment form (see
Appendix 3).

A Viva may be held if examiners feel unable to reach a final decision on a mark, based
on the written work submitted. A Viva may also be held if a student is suspected of
plagiarism.

All coursework assignments and other forms of assessment must be submitted by the
published deadline which is detailed above. It is your responsibility to know when work is
due to be submitted – ignorance of the deadline date will not be accepted as a reason for
late or non-submission.

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 the iCentre using the formal submission sheet. Academic staff
CANNOT accept work directly from you.

If you decide to submit your work to the iCentre by post, it must arrive by midday on the due
date. If you elect to post your work, you do so at your own risk and you must ensure that

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sufficient time is provided for your work to arrive at the iCentre. Posting your work the day
before a deadline, albeit by first class post, is extremely risky and not advised.

Any late work (submitted in person or by post) will NOT be accepted and a mark of zero will
be awarded for the assessment task in question.

You are requested to keep a copy of your work.

Feedback

You are entitled to written feedback on your performance for all your assessed work. For all
assessment tasks which are not examinations, this is provided by a member of academic
staff completing the assignment coversheet on which your mark and feedback will relate to
the achievement of the module’s intended learning outcomes and the assessment criteria
you were given for the task when it was first issued.

Examination scripts are retained by Anglia Ruskin and are not returned to students.
However, you are entitled to feedback on your performance in an examination and may
request a meeting with the Module Leader or Tutor to see your examination script and to
discuss your performance.

Anglia Ruskin is committed to providing you with feedback on all assessed work within 20
working days of the submission deadline or the date of an examination. This is extended to
30 days for feedback for a Major Project module (please note that working days excludes
those days when Anglia Ruskin University is officially closed; eg: between Christmas and
New Year). Personal tutors will offer to read feedback from several modules and help you to
address any common themes that may be emerging.

At the main Anglia Ruskin University campuses, each Faculty will publish details of the
arrangement for the return of your assessed work (eg: a marked essay or case study etc.).
Any work which is not collected by you from the Faculty within this timeframe is returned to
the iCentres from where you can subsequently collect it. The iCentres retain student work
for a specified period prior to its disposal.

To assure ourselves that our marking processes are comparable with other universities in
the UK, Anglia Ruskin provides samples of student assessed work to external examiners as
a routine part of our marking processes. External examiners are experienced academic staff
from other universities who scrutinise your work and provide Anglia Ruskin academic staff
with feedback and advice. Many of Anglia Ruskin’s staff act as external examiners at other
universities.

On occasion, you will receive feedback and marks for pieces of work that you completed in
the earlier stages of the module. We provide you with this feedback as part of the learning
experience and to help you prepare for other assessment tasks that you have still to
complete. It is important to note that, in these cases, the marks for these pieces of work are
unconfirmed as the processes described above for the use of external examiners will not
have been completed. This means that, potentially, marks can change, in either
direction!

Marks for modules and individual pieces of work become confirmed on the Dates for the
Official Publication of Results which can be checked at www.anglia.ac.uk/results.

16
12. Assessment Offences

You are reminded that any work that you submit must be your own. All suspected
assessment offences will be investigated and can result in severe penalties. Please note
that it is your responsibility to consult the relevant sections of the Academic Regulations
(section 10 – see www.anglia.ac.uk/academicregs) and the Student Handbook.

When you are preparing your work for submission, it is important that you understand the
various academic conventions that you are expected to follow in order to make sure that you
do not leave yourself open to accusations of plagiarism (eg: the correct use of referencing,
citations, footnotes etc.) and that your work maintains its academic integrity.

Plagiarism is theft and constitutes the presentation of another’s work as your own in order to
gain an unfair advantage. You will receive advice and guidance on how to avoid plagiarism
and other elements of poor academic practice during the early stages of your studies at
Anglia Ruskin.

Guidance on being honest in your work

Introduction

Being honest in your work is at the heart of studying and working at university. To be honest
in your work you must acknowledge the ideas and work of others you use, and you must not
try to get an advantage over others by being dishonest. It is important that you understand
what it means to be honest in your work. Although there is general agreement within the UK
academic community about the types of activity that are unacceptable, this does vary slightly
between institutions, and may be different from where you studied before.
We have developed this guidance to help you understand what it means to be honest in your
work, and what you should do to make sure that you are handing in work that meets our
expectations. This means we can make sure that we can maintain reliable standards for our
academic awards, and students continue to enjoy studying for academic qualifications that
have a good reputation. In this guidance we will:

• clearly define what being honest in your work and good practice mean, and how you can
achieve this;
• define ‘assessment offences’, including plagiarism, cheating and collusion;
• identify the resources, help and advice available to help you learn the academic skills
you need to avoid committing assessment offences;
• explain how we expect you to behave; and
• describe what happens if we think you have committed an assessment offence.

Being honest in your work and good practice

You can show good practice when you do your work independently, honestly and in a proper
academic style, using good referencing and acknowledging all of your sources.

To show good academic practice you must:

• show you understand the literature;

• use research from academics and others in your area of study;
• discuss and evaluate ideas and theories;
• develop your own independent evaluation of academic issues; and
• develop your own arguments.

17
To support your own good practice you will need to develop your:

• skills at studying and getting information (for example, reading, taking notes, research
and so on);
• skills in looking at an argument and making your own evaluation (for example, having a
balanced opinion, using reasoning and argument);
• writing skills for essays, reports, major projects and so on;
• referencing skills (how you include your sources of information in your work); and
• exam techniques (for example, revising and timing).

Achieving good practice is not as complicated as it may appear. You need to do the
following.

• Know the rules.

• Make sure you reference all of your information sources. Poor practice or dishonesty in
your work (such as plagiarism, cheating, fraud and so on) can be a result of you not
knowing what you are allowed to do.
• Develop your own style. Sometimes students include too much original text from the
work of others, as they believe that they cannot ‘put it any better’. Although you should
try to express ideas in your own words, quoting or summing up ideas from academic
sources is fine, as long as you say where you have taken this from. You must also
reference other people’s performances or art in your own work. It fine to use other
people’s performances and art, but you must be completely clear about why you are
using that work, and make sure it is obvious that it isn’t your own.

Definitions of assessment offences

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is when you present someone else’s work, words, images, ideas, opinions or
discoveries, whether published or not, as your own. It is also when you take the artwork,
images or computer-generated work of others, without properly acknowledging where this is
from or you do this without their permission.

You can commit plagiarism in examinations, but is most likely to happen in coursework,
assignments, portfolios, essays, major projects and so on.

Examples of plagiarism include:

• directly copying from written work, physical work, performances, recorded work or
images, without saying where this is from;
• using information from the internet or electronic media (such as DVDs and CDs) which
belongs to someone else, and presenting it as your own;
• rewording someone else’s work, without referencing them; and
• handing in something for assessment which has been produced by another student or
person.

It is important that you do not plagiarise – intentionally or unintentionally – because the work
of others and their ideas are their own. There are benefits to producing original ideas in
terms of awards, prizes, qualifications, reputation and so on. To use someone else’s work,
words, images, ideas or discoveries is a form of theft.

18
Collusion

Collusion is similar to plagiarism as it is an attempt to present another’s work as your own.

In plagiarism the original owner of the work is not aware you are using it, in collusion two or
more people may be involved in trying to produce one piece of work to benefit one individual,
or plagiarising another person’s work.

Examples of collusion include:

• agreeing with others to cheat;

• getting someone else to produce part or all of your work;
• copying the work of another person (with their permission);
• submitting work from essay banks;
• paying someone to produce work for you; and
• allowing another student to copy your own work.

Many parts of university life need students to work together. Working as a team, as directed
by your tutor, and producing group work is not collusion. Collusion only happens if you
produce joint work to benefit of one or more person and try to deceive another (for example
the assessor).

Cheating

Cheating is when someone aims to get unfair advantage over others.

Examples of cheating include:

• taking unauthorised material into the examination room;

• inventing results (including experiments, research, interviews and observations);
• handing your own previously graded work back in;
• getting an examination paper before it is released;
• behaving in a way that means other students perform poorly;
• pretending to be another student; and
• trying to bribe members of staff or examiners.

Help to avoid assessment offences

Most of our students are honest and want to avoid making assessment offences. We have a
variety of resources, advice and guidance available to help make sure you can develop good
academic skills. We will make sure that we make available consistent statements about
what we expect in this document, and in student handbooks and module guides. You will be
able to do tutorials on being honest in your work from the library and other central support
services and faculties, and you will be able to test your written work for plagiarism using
‘Turnitin®UK’ (a software package that detects plagiarism).

You can get advice on how to honestly use the work of others in your own work from the
library website (www.libweb.anglia.ac.uk/referencing/referencing.htm) and your lecturer and
personal tutor.

You will have an opportunity to do a ‘formative’ assignment before you finish and hand in
your first ‘summative’ assignment. A ‘formative’ assignment is one in which you can talk
about your work thoroughly with your tutor to make sure that you are working at the correct

19
level for your award, and that you understand what is meant by good practice (a ‘summative’
assignment counts towards the assessment for your course).

You will be able to use ‘Turnitin®UK’, a special software package which is used to detect
plagiarism. Turnitin®UK will produce a report which clearly shows if passages in your work
have been taken from somewhere else. You may talk about this with your personal tutor to
see where you may need to improve your academic practice. We will not see these
formative Turnitin®UK reports as assessment offences.

If you are not sure whether the way you are working meets our requirements, you should talk
to your personal tutor. They will be able to help you and tell you about other resources
which will help you develop your academic skills.

What we expect from you

We will make sure you have the chance to practice your academic skills and avoid
accidentally breaking our Academic Regulations. On page nine of the Student Charter (see
http://web.anglia.ac.uk/anet/students/pdfs/09_student_charter.pdf), it says you have to ‘be
aware of the academic rules relating to your studies’.

To make sure that you are aware of the rules, we expect you to agree to:

• read this guidance and make sure you thoroughly understand it;
• work through ‘PILOT’, the online tutorial available on our library website
(http://libweb.anglia.ac.uk/pilot/), which aims to help you learn good practice and has a
useful section on plagiarism;
• make sure that you are familiar with how to reference (acknowledge other people’s
work);
• correctly reference all the sources for the information you have included in your work;
• identify information you have downloaded from the internet;
• never use someone else’s ideas for a performance, film or TV programme, their
artwork, graphics (including graphs, spreadsheets and so on and information from the
internet) as if they are yours;
• only hand in your own original work;
• never use another person’s work as if it were your own; and
• never let other students use or copy your work.

What we will do for you

To help you avoid making assessment offences, our staff will:

• make sure they are familiar with the guidance on being honest in your work and the
Academic Regulations;
• tell you clearly about the guidance on being honest in your work and any guidelines on
misconduct, and record the dates for future reference;
• arrange library information sessions for you;
• promote the resources on the library website and put links to them in module guides and
student handbooks;
• include statements on academic honesty in each module guide, making sure they are
consistent throughout our university;
• make you aware of the punishments for misconduct early in the course;
• give you effective guidance on how you should acknowledge the information you have
used;

20
• tell you, in writing if possible, how far you may work with other students in your
coursework;
• plan procedures for assessing work in a way that reduces plagiarism, cheating and
collusion;
• be aware that you may have worked differently in the past and make sure that you are
aware of good practice in the UK;
• familiarise themselves with ‘Turnitin®UK’ and its reports; and
• report all suspected misconduct using the proper disciplinary procedures.

Procedures for assessment offences

An assessment offence is the general term used to define cases where a student has tried to
get unfair academic advantage in an assessment for themselves or another student.

We will aim to give you as much help as possible to avoid an assessment offence. We listed
a number of possible assessment offences earlier in the document. These and any relevant
breaks of the Academic Regulations are dishonest, unacceptable and not allowed. We will
fully investigate all cases of suspected assessment offences. If we prove that you have
committed an assessment offence, we will take action against you using our disciplinary
procedures.

For full details of what punishments you may receive for assessment offences, see the
Academic Regulations, section 10 at: www.anglia.ac.uk/academicregs

And finally

One of the main aims of university is to give you the ability to learn, have independent
judgment, academic rigour and intellectual honesty.

You should encourage people to ask questions, to show personal and professional honesty,
and have mutual respect.

You, university teachers and support staff are responsible for working together to achieve
this aim.

References

Adapted from Scott, M, (2000), Academic Misconduct Policy. A model for the FE Sector.
(Copyright _ Association of Colleges 2000)

More information

Academic Regulations, section 10 (www.anglia.ac.uk/academicregs)

PILOT, the online tutorial in academic practice (www.libweb.anglia.ac.uk/pilot/ )
Referencing procedures (http://libweb.anglia.ac.uk/referencing/referencing.htm)
RefWorks, a bibliographic management service that allows you to create a personal
database and collect bibliographies in a variety of styles
(www.libweb.anglia.ac.uk/referencing/refworks.htm)
The Student Charter
(http://web.anglia.ac.uk/anet/students/pdfs/09_student_charter.pdf)

21
13. Feedback
A completed Report Form for the major project will be sent to you. The major project
remains the property of Anglia Ruskin University and will not be returned to you. You should
therefore make an additional copy for your own use.

14. Responsibilities of the Student

It is your responsibility to prepare and present your major project by the deadline given.
Failure to submit by that date will result in the major project being assessed as a FAIL.
There will be NO EXTENSIONS allowed except in highly exceptional circumstances agreed
by the Student Adviser.

You should also be aware that you are responsible for:

• Submitting an initial synopsis (outline of your topic and title) by the specified date.
• Submitting a proposed timetable of work and research by the specified date.
• Building a substantial contingency into your timetable to allow for unforeseen and
unexpected problems.
• Undertaking the necessary research.
• Ensuring that your Supervisor is kept informed of your progress.
• Ensuring that all progress reports, drafts etc are submitted to your Supervisor by the
specified date.
• Arranging for the major project to be presented according to the guidelines given in
this guide.

15. Security

As your work for the major project is of great importance, you should keep copies of all
relevant material to guard against loss. It is advisable to have back-up copies of any disks
on which you have stored information.

16. Learning Resources

Recommended Reading:

Wilson, J. (2010), ‘Essentials of business research: a guide to doing your research project,
London: Sage Publications.

Bell, J. (2010), ‘Doing your research project: a guide for first-time researchers in education,
health and social science’, Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill.

Burnett, J. (2009), ‘Doing your social science major project’, London: Sage Publications.

Fisher, C.M. (2010), ‘Researching and writing a major project: an essential guide for
business students’, Harlow: Prentice Hall.

O’Leary, Z. (2009), ‘The essential guide to doing your research project’, London: Sage
Publications.
White B (2000), ‘Major project Skills for Business and Management Students’, Cassell.

22
Recommended Internet Resources
Your supervisor may be able to recommend internet resources of particular relevance to
your area of research.

Other Resources
Use of a copyright library (letters will be provided by the Project supervisor to enable
students to access a copyright library).
Anglia Ruskin Digital Library: http://libweb.anglia.ac.uk/diglib.htm

Link to the University Library catalogue and Digital Library http://libweb.anglia.ac.uk/

Link to Harvard Referencing guide http://libweb.anglia.ac.uk/referencing/harvard.htm

Faculty Liaison Librarians

AIBS
Diana Garfield ([email protected]) extn 3192

Specialist Learning Resources

None.

17. Module Definition Form

Please access the VLE/web environment in order to view the MDF for this module.

23
Appendix 1

POSTGRADUATE MAJOR PROJECT PROPOSAL

Student Name: Student Number:

Degree Programme: Managing Field:

Major project to be submitted: April/June/November (delete as appropriate)

Area of Major project - This must be a minimum of 2-3 paragraphs and include an
overview of the research topic, along with aims and objectives. An additional page
can be attached if required.

Please tick the most appropriate subject area for your Major project (one box only)
Accounting and Finance θ Business Decision Making θ
Business Economics θ Corporate Strategy θ
Organisational Behaviour θ Marketing θ
HRM θ Information Technology θ

Signature of Student: Date:

Please hand this form into the Faculty Office and you will be allocated a Supervisor.
Lists of allocations will be posted on the general notice board to the right of COS009.

Office Use Only

Proposed Major project Supervisor:

24
Appendix 2. Generic Assessment Criteria and Marking Standards
ANGLIA RUSKIN UNIVERSITY GENERIC ASSESSMENT CRITERIA AND MARKING STANDARDS
LEVEL 4
Marking standards (by mark band)
Assessment criteria by level
70%+ 60-69% 50-59% 40-49% 30-39% 1-29%
Generic Achieves a
Learning Fails marginally
Achieves module marginal pass in Fails to achieve
Characteristics of student Achieves module Achieves module to achieve
Outcomes outcome/s the module module
outcome/s related outcome/s related module
achievement per mark band → to this GLO at this
related to this
to this GLO at this
outcome/s
outcome/s
outcome/s
(Academic GLO at this related to this related to this
Level of Study Level of Study related to this
Regulations, Section 2) Level of Study GLO at this Level GLO
GLO
of Study
Level 4 (FHEQ level 7) is characterised by an DISTINCTION MERIT PASS PASS
expectation of students’ expertise in their As MERIT but Good analysis of Satisfactory Basic knowledge Limited Inadequate
specialism. Students are semi-autonomous, showing key issues/ knowledge of key of key issues/ information base, information base.
demonstrating independence in the negotiation of independence of Concepts/ethics. issues/ concepts/ concepts/ understanding or Lack of
assessment tasks (including the major project) thought, a high Development of ethics in discipline. ethics in research skills in understanding of
Knowledge and
Understanding

and the ability to evaluate, challenge, modify and level of intellectual conceptual Descriptive in discipline. discipline. key issues
develop theory and practice. Students are rigour and structures and parts but some Largely and/or research
expected to demonstrate an ability to isolate and consistency. argument ability to descriptive, with skills in
focus on the significant features of problems and making synthesise restricted discipline.
to offer synthetic and coherent solutions, with consistent use of scholarship and synthesis of
some students producing original or innovative scholarly argument. Minor existing
work in their specialism that is worthy of conventions. lapses in use of scholarship and
publication or public performance or display. scholarly little argument.
conventions Use of scholarly
conventions
inconsistent.

Level 4 (FHEQ level 7) is characterised by an DISTINCTION MERIT PASS PASS Limited research Inadequate
Intellectual (thinking), Practical,

expectation of students’ expertise in their As MERIT but Good analysis of Satisfactory Basic knowledge skills impede use research skills
specialism. Students are semi-autonomous, excellent research key issues/ knowledge of key of key issues/ of learning prevent use of
Affective and Transferable

demonstrating independence in the negotiation of skills, independ- Concepts/ethics. issues/ concepts/ concepts/ resources and learning
assessment tasks (including the major project) ence of thought, a Development of ethics in discipline. ethics in problem solving. resources and
and the ability to evaluate, challenge, modify and high level of conceptual Descriptive in discipline. Major problems problem solving.
develop theory and practice. Students are intellectual rigour structures and parts but some Largely with structure/ Major problems
expected to demonstrate an ability to isolate and and consistency, argument, ability to descriptive, with accuracy in with structure/
Skills

focus on the significant features of problems and excellent express- making synthesise restricted expression. accuracy in
to offer synthetic and coherent solutions, with ive/professional consistent use of scholarship and synthesis of Team/ Practical expression. Very
some students producing original or innovative skills, and consid- scholarly argument. Minor existing /professional weak academic/
work in their specialism that is worthy of erable creativity conventions. lapses in use of scholarship and skills not yet intellectual skills.
publication or public performance or display. and originality. scholarly little argument. secure. Weak Ignorance of
Excellent acad- conventions Use of scholarly academic/ scholarly
emic/intellectual conventions intellectual skills. conventions Very
skills, and consid- inconsistent. Inconsistent use weak team/
erable creativity of scholarly practical /prof-
and originality conventions essional skills

A mark of 0% may be awarded for non-submission, poor or dangerous practice, incoherent and insufficient work, and in situations where the student fails to address the assignment
brief and related learning

25
 APPENDIX 3: ASHCROFT INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS SCHOOL, POSTGRADUATE
MAJOR PROJECT ASSESSMENT FORM
Student Number:
Major project Title:

First Marker: Suggested Mark: %

Second Marker: Suggested Mark: % Agreed Mark: %
Marking Criteria Comments Mark Weight Weighted
Mark
%
Introduction – Is the abstract 0.1
adequate? Is there a clear purpose
and rationale for the study? Clear set
of objectives / research questions?

Research Design & Methodology – 0.2

Was research design and
methodology discussed? Was the
approach appropriate?

Use of Literature / Sources – Was 0.2

the range suitable and adequate? Has
a critical review of the literature been
adopted? Has the student made a
‘link’ between existing literature and
their own research?

Results, analysis and interpretation 0.3

of data – Has the data been
accurately presented and analysed or
are the findings merely a description?
Appropriate theory applied?
Interpretation – Has the student made
reasoned judgments on their findings?

Conclusion & recommendations – 0.1

Are conclusions reasoned? Do they
correspond with the objective(s) of the
major project? Has the student
reflected on the extent they have
achieved their objectives? Limitations
and future research discussed?

Presentation - structure & language, 0.1

Harvard Referencing correctly applied,
appropriate use of tables/diagrams?

TOTAL:

Marks under each heading should be given careful consideration. If the default weight is inappropriate please indicate a
new weight and explain this in your report overleaf (e.g. a work based project might involve less attention being paid to
literature review).

26
OVERALL ASSESSMENT (please comment)
This part MUST be completed. Your comments should give justification for the marks overleaf.
In particular, comments should pay attention to:
• How well the student has displayed an understanding of the research topic.
• How well the student was able to formulate a set of research questions.
• The student’s ability to present their findings and analyse their data.
• Literacy and professional presentation of the major project.

Marker’s Comments on Major project:

27
Appendix 4 ASHCROFT INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS SCHOOL

SUPERVISOR CONTACT LOG

(TO BE SUBMITTED WITH MAJOR PROJECT)

Student Number:

Degree Programme:

Proposed Major project Title (as submitted to Faculty Office):

Agreed Title (as agreed with supervisor):

Supervisor’s Signature:

Date:

Date and time of Notes Supervisor’s

meeting initials

This form is to be submitted for signature by your supervisor on every

occasion that you consult him or her regarding your major project. The
completed log must be submitted with your major project.

28