ICT 651 Research Methods in IT Assessment 3 Research Proposal Individual Assessment Weightage 40%

1. Assignment

Write a research proposal on any area of research in IT. 

2. Learning Outcomes 

• Analyze and evaluate research methods in IT projects, adhering to principles of good  practice. 

• Critically review, analyze and synthesize relevant literature in an area of IT. 

• Exhibit advanced written and verbal communication skills relevant to the planning,  proposal, design, and presentation of a written or verbal research project. 

• Investigate socio-cultural and technical issues affecting project success, recommending  potential solutions. 

• Advocate research ethics in conducting and reporting research, ensuring integrity, and  avoiding harm. 

3. Submission Details 

This is an individual assignment. You must discuss and finalize the chosen topic with the  instructor. Do not start working on the assignment before taking approval from the instructor.  The report is to be submitted in a word or pdf format. The assessment carries 40% weightage.  30% marks are for the report and 10% marks for the in class presentation or the Q/A session as arranged  by the lecturer. The length of the report should be between 2500 and 3000 words. The word count does not include the title page, table of contents and list of references. The similarity index of  your report should be less than 20%. The deadline for submission of the report is midnight on 

before the class of week 12. The report must be uploaded via the Turnitin links provided on the  Moodle before the deadline. Do not cut and paste from the internet or from AI tools  including ChatGPT. 

The proposal is evaluated based on two components: 

• Written Report: This accounts for 30% of the total marks. 

• Presentation and Q&A Session: This component, accounting for 10% of the total marks,  requires students to present their research and participate in a discussion or Q&A session, as per  the lecturer’s arrangements. 

Attendance Requirement: 

Students who fail to participate in the presentation or the Q&A session will receive a score of 0 for the  10% allocated to this compone.

4. Structure of the Report  

Title Page 

The title page of your report must contain: 

•The title of the report (make the title as informative as possible) •Who the report is prepared for 

•Who it is prepared by 

•The date the report is submitted

Abstract 

It should be between 200 – 300 words long (tip: write the abstract last) 

Introduction 

This section should include the following, 

• The research problem and its importance 

• Brief Literature Review 

• Research Motivation 

• Research Objectives/Questions 

• Research Methodology used. 

• Contributions 

• Organization of the report 

Theory Base 

In this section, you will provide the theoretical background of your research topic. All key  theories related to your research topic can be explained here. 

Literature Review 

In this section, you should critically evaluate, and synthesize latest articles related to your  research topic. At least eight key articles are needed in this section. 

Research Aims, Objectives and Questions 

You should clearly discuss your aims and objectives in this section. Research questions should  be clearly mentioned here. Hypothesis can also be mentioned here, if used. 

Research Methodology 

Your research methodology is discussed in this section. This will consist of type of research  design, population, sample, participants, data collection instruments e.g. survey questionnaire  etc. Attach the survey questionnaire in the appendix at the end of the report. 

Project Timeline 

Explain the key deadlines of major milestones of your research by making a Gannt chart. Anticipated Ethical Issues 

All ethical issues related to your research should be discussed here. Informed consent form  should be attached in the appendix at the end of the repo

Conclusions 

Conclude your work by providing a summary of your work. 

References 

You must use the correct APA (7th edition) for referencing various academic resources that you  have used to write this report. Your references should enable someone reading your report to  easily identify and refer to any works you have used. At least 10 recent and relevant academic  resources (i.e. peer-reviewed journal articles and conference papers etc.) are needed in the  report.