Week 8: Summative Task Guidelines
Module title: Research Design Assessment Point: Summative assessment
Assessment task: Research Proposal
Word count limit: 4500 words
Submission deadline: Please consult the VLE.
Submission procedure: Please submit via the submission link on the VLE.
Extenuating circumstances
If you are experiencing unforeseen personal circumstances that are affecting your ability to submit within the stipulated deadlines, you are required to communicate these issues to the Unicaf Extenuating Circumstances team in the first instance, via extenuating.circumstances@unicaf.org, for further information on how to make a personal circumstances application for consideration.
Personal circumstances requests may usually only be made within 5 working days of the original deadline unless valid justification, along with appropriate evidence, exists to show that you could not have reasonably communicated the issues any earlier. It is important to keep in mind that if the claim is not upheld and you have not submitted by the deadline, the module shall be failed as a result of no submission of the summative assessment.
Academic misconduct including plagiarism
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By submitting your work you acknowledge that you have read and agree with the above statements.
General Guidance
Your assignment should be word processed (handwritten assignments are not accepted), using time new roman size 12 font, double spaced, with numbered pages and your student number printed as a footer on every page.
The word limits stated for this assignment excludes the reference list at the end of the assignment but includes all text in the main body of the assignment (including direct quotations, in-text citations, footnotes, tables, diagrams and graphs).
Please be aware that exceeding the word count limit will affect the academic judgement of the piece of work and may result in the award of a lower mark.
Appendices are not considered a supplement, and thus, will not be assessed as part of the content of the assignment. As such, they will not contribute to the grade awarded, however it may be appropriate to use an Appendices section for any material which is a useful reference for the reader. Please note that appendices are not included in the word count.
The majority of references should come from primary sources (e.g., journal articles, conference papers, reports, etc.) although you can also utilise area specific textbooks. You must ensure that you use the Harvard style of referencing.
Please indicate the word count length at the end of your assignment.
Marking and assessment
Your summative assessment consists is a Research Proposal (4,500 word element) whichwill be
graded out of 100.
Learning outcomes assessed in this assessment
i. Develop a research proposal paradigm.
ii. Identify the research population, research sampling techniques for the final research
(dissertation).
iii. Describe the research approach and the research design
iv. Discuss on the research data collection methods, the research design and the data analysis
v. Identify ethical issues in research.
Assessment Guidelines
Written assignment topics to choose from:
It is expected by you to write a proposal on a topic you are thinking to examine for your dissertation. The topic should be relevant to the objectives of the MA Leadership in Education in general.
Some examples consist the following:
• Investigating the role of leadership in promoting change in education as it emerges in a Public school.
• An examination of the role of vision and organizational culture in leading change in educational settings.
Structure of the Research Design Proposal
Your work should include and cover the following sections/aspects and content (as shown and stated in the table below). The specific percentage marks allocated to each section/aspect of your work is stated below. Please also note that the Level 7 marking criteria (located towards the end of this assessment brief) will also be used to reflect this overall grade. Please remember that achievement and demonstration of both learning outcomes (1 and 2) is being assessed in this assessment.
Title of section
Further Explanation
Marks available 100/100
Cover page
Assignment code, title of the assignment and personal details.
Introduction
Introduce what the assignment’s focus will be Give some background here on your first thoughts.
Provide the context and the rationale of your literature review and possible debates around this research area.
10
Research paradigm
Explain the philosophical status of your study focusing on the ontological and epistemological stance and justify your philosophical position.
10
Research Approach
Show the appropriate research approach to be used and give a brief explanation as to why you chose that approach.
10
Research Design
Show the appropriate research Design to be used and give a brief explanation as to why you chose that approach.
10
Research population Research sample Sampling procedure Data collection methods
Data Analysis Ethical issues
Show the appropriate research population. 05
Show the appropriate research sample and give justification 10 for the sample.
Show the appropriate sampling techniques, tools and give 10 justification for the use of such techniques and tools.
Show the correct data collection methods. 10
Show the correct data analysis process. 10 Show how you are going to protect the participants. 05
Presentation
Cover Page, Table of Contents, Page numbering, Line spacing, Appendices (if it is necessary), Font consistency, Separation of paragraphs.
05
Harvard reference guide
Citations and reference list according to Harvard referencing guide.
05
LJMU LEVEL 7 GRADING CRITERIA
Mark range
Performance characteristic
Grading criteria
90-100
Exceptional Pass
• Exemplary attainment of all learning outcomes
• Demonstrates an outstanding synthesis of varied theoretical positions in
the analysis of key issues in the subject area
• Wide-ranging emphasis on knowledge and ideas that are at the forefront of the discipline
• Offers an exhaustive exploration of the literature and evidence-base
• The material covered is accurate and relevant
• The argument is highly sophisticated
• The standard of writing is refined
• No errors in the use of the specified referencing system
• Well-presented and organised in an appropriate academic style.
80-89
Outstanding Pass
• Excellent attainment of all learning outcomes, with some met to an exemplary standard
• Demonstrates a comprehensive synthesis of varied theoretical positions in the analysis of key issues in the subject area. Wide-ranging emphasis on knowledge and ideas that are at the forefront of the discipline
• Extends far beyond expected levels of engagement with the literature and evidence- base
• The material covered is accurate and relevant
• The argument is generally very astute
• The standard of writing is refined
• No errors in the use of the specified referencing system
• Well-presented and organised in an appropriate academic style.
70-79
Excellent pass
• Excellent attainment of all learning outcomes
• Demonstrates a thorough synthesis of varied theoretical positions in the
analysis of key issues in the subject area
• Strong emphasis on knowledge and ideas that are at the forefront of the discipline
• Thorough use the literature and evidence-base
• The material covered is accurate and relevant
• The argument is persuasive and there are very perceptive elements
• The standard of writing is refined
• No errors in the use of the specified referencing system
60-69
Good Pass
• Good attainment of all learning outcomes
• Demonstratesdetailedsynthesisofvariedtheoreticalpositionsin
the analysis of key issues in the subject area
• Good emphasis on knowledge and ideas that are at the forefront of the discipline
• Good consideration of the literature and evidence-base that develops from recommended readings
• The material covered is accurate and relevant
• The argument is persuasive
• The standard of writing is refined
• No errors in the use of the specified referencing system
50-59
Pass
• Adequate attainment of all learning outcomes
• Demonstrates a limited, but sufficient, synthesis of varied
theoretical positions in the analysis of key issues in the subject area
• Some emphasis on knowledge and ideas that are at the forefront of the discipline
• Sufficient consideration of the literature and evidence-base, but little consideration beyond recommended readings
• The material covered is mostly accurate and relevant
• The argument is straightforward and relatively clear
• The standard of writing is well clear and readable, with some sophisticated phrasing
• No errors in the use of the specified referencing system
40-49
Needs some improvement
• Meets most, but not all learning outcomes
• Demonstrates limited synthesis of varied theoretical positions in
the analysis of key issues in the subject area
• Less than expected emphasis on knowledge and ideas that are at the forefront of the discipline
• Basic consideration of the literature and evidence-base, but restricted to recommended readings
• Some inaccuracies or irrelevant materials that suggest confusion and misunderstanding
• The argument is relatively clear, although some elements are difficult to understand
• The standard of writing is well clear and readable, but overly simplistic
• Minor errors in the use of the specified referencing system, but meets key principles
30-39
Needs major improvement
• Approximatelyhalfthelearningoutcomesaremet
• Demonstrates very little synthesis of varied theoretical positions
in the analysis of key issues in the subject area
• Little emphasis on knowledge and ideas that are at the forefront of the discipline
• Minor consideration of the literature and evidence-base, with inadequate use of recommended reading and no exploration outside that
• Some materials is accurate, but the amount of inaccurate or irrelevant materials indicates insufficient understanding of key concepts
• The argument is poorly defined and defended
20-29
Needs significant revision
• Most learning outcomes are not met
• Demonstrates no synthesis of varied theoretical positions in the
analysis of key issues in the subject area
• Little or no emphasis on knowledge and ideas that are at the forefront of the discipline
• Superficial consideration of the literature and evidence-base
• Therearemajorinaccuraciesorsignificantamountsofirrelevant
material
• The argument is very weak
• Thestandardofwritingisreasonableandthereareveryfewareas of confusion and/or errors in spelling/grammar
• Attempts to use of the specified referencing system. Meets key principles, but there are systematic errors
• Good presentation that may include some organisational errors and/or tendency not to conform to conventions of academic presentation.
0-19
Needs substantial work
• Does not meet any learning outcomes
• Demonstrates misunderstanding of varied theoretical positions in
the analysis of key issues in the subject area
• No emphasis on knowledge and ideas that are at the forefront of the discipline
• No engagement with the literature and evidence-base
• The material covered is inaccurate or irrelevant
• The argument is incoherent
• Standardofwritingisacceptable.Thestructureisreasonable,but there are some areas of confusion and/or some errors in spelling/grammar
• Attempts to use the specified referencing system, but there are significant errors
• Acceptable presentation that may include some organisational errors and a tendency not to conform to conventions of academic presentation.
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