CET351 Assignment 2: Research Paper
This research paper is worth 50% of the module mark
The deadline for this work is specified on the module website
Please read all of these instructions carefully!
This is a negotiated research assignment. You are to propose and gain approval for a research paper title on one narrow topic that is relevant to your degree. This paper must be focussed on one narrow aspect of computing research and must not be the same as any other research you are doing, or will be required to do, for any other module while doing your degree. Guidance will be given on your proposed title by your local tutor but it is your responsibility to ensure you follow this advice and ensure that the paper you submit in the end has an appropriate title.
Your research paper should describe and evaluate current research evidence (research aims, methods, experimental results and a researcher conclusions) and in doing so present your analysis and your conclusions. See the many good exemplars in the module materials.
Applied Business Computing Students… should write a research paper that is applicable to applied business computing. For example evaluating current research that aims to:
- improve the design of computer systems in an application specific, but non-business specific, setting (e.g. predicting stock market trends, applying business intelligence in marketing, business intelligence to support research)
- improve the efficiency of businesses by developing new and novel computing systems (e.g. managing climate change, novel health care systems or enhancing criminal, legal or government systems)
- improve any aspect of software enterprise or user experienced design (e.g. adoption of enterprise application software or testing user experience through eye tracking)
- develop novel business applications (e.g. wearable technologies, 5G applications, new medical informatics or diagnostic systems)
- Note: a very wide definition of business applies here so this includes computing used within a public sector setting e.g. hospitals, within the voluntary sector e.g. charities or within a social setting e.g. online communications.
Computer Systems Engineering students… should write a research paper that is applicable to the design or development of computing systems. For example evaluating current research that aims to:
- enhance the design or development of databases (e.g distributed database design or text mining and database fusion)
- enhance the design or development mobile systems (e.g. usability issues, performance analysis, analysing smart phone data or lifestyle and health applications)
- enhance the development of any advanced computing technique (e.g. artificial intelligence applied to medical diagnosis, scalable deep learning, natural language processing or machine vision)
- enhance any aspect of cyber security (e.g. risk assessment, anomaly detection, real time IDS, mitigation of attacks or security architecture)
- enhance any aspect of the software lifecycle (e.g. large scale collaborative agile development, quality assurance for deep learning)
- develop novel applications (e.g. Internet of Things, wearable technologies, medical implants, smart cities)
Network Systems Engineering students… should write a research paper that is applicable to the design or development of network systems. For example evaluating current research that aims to:
- Improve network security (e.g. securing the Control, Data or Management Planes of networking devices, the Internet of Things, frameworks for security visualizations, intrusion detection methods or WAN communication)
- Improve network efficiency (e.g. tuning quality of service for real time traffic flows, traffic engineering or routing protocols)
- Improve one aspect of cloud computing (e.g. failure management, scheduling or optimisation)
- Improve any aspect of mobile networks or telecommunications (e.g. protocol for wireless LANs or distributed and scalable frameworks)
- Improve underpinning technologies or customer experience (e.g. Internet of Things, 5G, access in remote locations)
Mobile and Web Technologies students… should write a research paper that is applicable to the design or development of mobile or web information systems. For example evaluating current research that aims to:
- enhance the design or development mobile systems (e.g. usability issues, performance analysis, analysing smart phone data or mobile lifestyle and health applications)
- enhance the design or development web based systems (e.g. web-based learning environments, web-based geographical information systems or enhancing web security)
- improve any aspect of web or mobile design or user experience (e.g. mobile game design or behaviour profiling on mobile devices)
- Improve any aspect of underpinning technology (e.g. telecommunications, operating systems, or wearable devices)
- develop novel applications (e.g. medical informatics & diagnostics)
Business Intelligence and Data Analytics students… should write a research paper that is applicable to the use of Business Intelligence and Data Analytics within a business or social setting. For example evaluating current research that aims to:
- Improve data visualisation, user modelling or customer insights,
- Resolve current ethical issues (e.g. algorithm fairness, transparency or accountability)
- Improve any aspect of underpinning technology (e.g. databases, artificial intelligence, deep learning or anomaly detection and prediction)
- Improve any aspect of the application of theory (e.g. enhancing business strategy, operations, risk management or enterprise migration strategies)
- develop novel applications (e.g. medical informatics, home energy management, manufacturing or education).
- Note: a very wide definition of business applies here so this includes computing used within a public sector setting e.g. hospitals, within the voluntary sector e.g. charities or within a social setting e.g. online communications.
Information and Communication Technology students… should write a research paper that is applicable to methods or tools for IT Service Management within a business setting, including the application of Business Intelligence or issues relating to Cybersecurity & Digital Forensics. For example evaluating current research that aims to:
- Improve any aspect of IT Service Management (e.g. business processes, technical service reporting, cost estimation, impact of cloud computing, network management, data management or out sourcing)
- Improve any aspect of the application of business intelligence theory (e.g. enhancing business strategy, operations, risk management or enterprise migration strategies)
- enhance any aspect of cyber security or digital forensics (e.g. risk assessment, anomaly detection, mitigation of attacks, security architectures or frameworks for forensics investigations)
- develop novel business modelling applications (e.g. tourism, managing climate change, environmental or sustainability applications, forecasting demand)
- Note: a very wide definition of business applies here so this includes computing used within a public sector setting e.g. hospitals, within the voluntary sector e.g. charities or within a social setting e.g. online communications.
You are to write a research paper with an appropriate title with reference to between 8 and 12 relevant conference and journal articles. Your research paper should include a detailed discussion and evaluation of current research on the topic under consideration leading to your own well-reasoned conclusions.
The word limit for this assignment is about 3000 words (with 10% more or fewer than 2000 words allowance). The 3000 word limit includes the reference list but does not include the assignment cover sheet. You must put the word count on your assignment cover sheet (details of which are provided later) and you must explain why the topic chosen is relevant to the specific degree you are studying.
Your task in doing this assignment is not to undertake the research you proposed for assignment 1 but to discuss and evaluate research published by other researchers. In doing so you are required to discuss the research described in current research papers. Therefore, providing an introductory discussion, or providing a detailed description of a technical subject will score very low marks.
Care should be taken to ensure that your paper is unbiased and accurately referenced using the Harvard referencing system (see the lecture slides and publication template for guidance on this).
Any words not your own must be in quotation marks and sources cited. Quotations should be no more than two lines long and, taken all together, should represent less than 10% of the words written. The remaining 90% of this assignment must be entirely in your own words.
Your paper should be appropriately sectioned, well structured and should clearly set out your own evaluation of the evidence, analysis and conclusions. Your conclusions should be backed up by well-reasoned arguments and should be suitably illustrated with appropriate examples. It is not enough to regurgitate or summarize material found in literature.
Good academic writing uses literature to present evidence and the conclusions reached by other researchers and discusses this literature allowing the author draw out their own concrete conclusions.
Your conclusions should come from:-
- Your evaluation of the evidence presented in research papers,
- Your comparison of the theories proposed by researchers in research papers,
- Your consideration of the potential application of these theories to real world situations.
For a good balance you should aim to spend about 50% of the space devoted to presenting research materials and 50% to your evaluation of this evidence, your comparison, your reasoned argument and your conclusions.
A reference list must be included at the end of the research paper.
Your paper should be in a format suitable for publication. A publication template is available to help with this. Students will have the opportunity to get their research papers published if their paper is good enough and correctly formatted.
Assignment Submission and Marking
Your assignment should be submitted as one document. This should start with an assignment cover sheet which includes the following information:-
- the module code,
- your name and student registration number,
- the name of the degree you are studying
- the name of the centre you are studying at (for off-campus students),
- the title of your paper
- the word count and
- a short statement that explains the relevance of this research to your degree (2 or 3 sentences should suffice for this).
The title page should then be followed by the body of the assignment which should be a correctly formatted a research paper. A research paper template is provided to help you with this within the module materials. For reasons explained later the research paper, if correctly formatted, will duplicate some of the information on the assignment cover sheet (ie. title and author name).
The assignment will be submitted electronically via your module space in the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). The submission is electronic and there is no requirement for any other form of submission. Uploading your assignment constitutes the submission. Late submissions will not be marked!
Please note that the assignment must be submitted as a Microsoft Word document.
Assignments are normally marked within 4 working weeks – this does not include the three week holidays period at Christmas or Easter. You can view your assignment marks and feedback by returning to the assignment link after this period.
Assignment Marking Scheme
A detailed breakdown of this marking scheme is presented at the end of this document for further guidance.
Essential Information
1) This is an individual assignment, the work must be entirely your own. The safety of your assessments is your responsibility. You must not permit another student access to your work.
2) Your assignment will be submitted electronically via the module space. You must therefore sort out any module registration \ log in problems within the first three weeks of the module and upload your assignment by the date specified. If you cannot log in and upload an assignment by the due date you will fail this assignment. You are strongly recommended to upload a draft assignment at least 1 week before the deadline and to keep uploading revised versions. Technical problems on the deadline day will not be accepted as a valid excuse for non-submission.
3) The assignment should be submitted by 4pm UK time on the date specified in the VLE however to allow for internet problems assignments will be accepted up until 23.59 without incurring late submission penalty.
4) You are required to submit your work within the bounds of the University Infringement of Assessment Regulations (see your Programme Guide). Plagiarism, paraphrasing and downloading large amounts of information from external sources, will not be tolerated and will be dealt with severely.
5) All text taken from other sources must be in quotations and the sources cited. Quotations should be no more than two lines long and, taken all together, should represent less than 10% of the words written. The remaining 90% of this assignment must be entirely in your own words.
6) You should upload a draft of your research paper via your module space early and respond to the ‘TurnItIn’ report generated. This report will indicate any non-original words in your paper including a) correctly quoted text, b) the reference list and c) and any plagiarized text. Reports that come back rated at less than 20% non-original text are usually fine. Those that come back with a score of over 25% i.e. yellow, orange or red usually need fixing. Plagiarised text will not be tolerated. Please note that the generation of originality reports can take up to 24 hours. You are likely to fail if your TurnItIn report return 40% or above.
7) You can repeatedly submit your assignment up until the deadline and the last assignment uploaded at the deadline will be marked. You will be marked online and will be able to see your marks and feedback online at the same location – usually marks and feedback will be available after 4 working weeks (this does not include holidays).
8) If you cannot complete this assignment for reasons that are outside of your control, e.g. serious illness, you can apply to the Extenuating Circumstances Panel asking for a deferral but you will need to provide appropriate evidence e.g. medical evidence covering the appropriate period. Technical problems on the day of the assignment deadline, module registration issues and failure to back up your work will not be accepted as valid excuses. Therefore you should a) ensure you can log into the module b) upload a draft assignment early and keep uploading revisions as you make changes c) keep electronic copies of your work. If you provide a good reason your local tutor can grant an extension of 72 hours but there are restrictions on this – see module guide for more details.
9) The following learning outcomes are assessed by this assignment:-
Knowledge
an understanding of current research, scientific principles and research methodology within an area appropriate to the students named degree. 🗹
Skills
the ability to critically evaluate current research within an area appropriate to the students named degree and document this in the form of a research paper. 🗹
Detailed Marking Scheme
|
Criterion |
Perfect 100% |
Outstanding 90% |
Excellent 75% |
Very Good 65% |
Good 55% |
Acceptable 40% |
Insufficient 30% |
Very Poor 15% |
Missing 0% |
Total |
|
Content 20pts |
20pts A perfect description of current research is presented |
18pts A professional description of current research, experimental results and conclusions is provided that is very well developed and organised |
15pts An excellent description of current research, experimental results and conclusions is provided that is very well developed and organised |
13pts A very good description of current research and experimental results is provided on one focussed subject. |
11pts A good description of current research and experimental results is provided. |
8pts Some description of research is given but this fails to focus enough on the current research. |
6pts The description of research is insufficient. Though a topic may be described in some detail this is not research. It may also be too introductory. |
3pts Content is significantly copied, or is far too introductory, or lacks purpose and direction or is otherwise definitely flawed |
0pts Missing or virtually no content included. |
20 |
|
Critical Evaluation 15pts |
15 pts A perfect evaluation of current research is presented |
13.5pts An outstanding evaluation is provided of the claims made by researchers throughout by evaluating the research methodology and experimental research results |
11.25pts An excellent evaluation is provided of the claims made by researchers throughout by evaluating the research methodology and experimental research results |
9.75pts A very good evaluation is provided of the claims made by researchers in several places by discussing the research methodology and/or research results |
8.25pts A good attempt is made in a few places to evaluate the evidence presented by researchers. |
6pts Evidence is presented to justify the claims made in the literature but little or no attempt is made to evaluate this evidence |
4.5pts The claims made in the literature are taken entirely on trust and little or no attempt is made to present supporting evidence. |
2.25pts Evaluation is entirely inadequate or is significantly copied. |
0pts No evaluation presented |
15 |
|
Reasoned Argument 15pts |
15pts Perfectly reasoned argument is presented leading to perfect conclusions |
13.5pts Very professional reasoned argument is presented leading to strongly justified and outstanding conclusions. |
11.25pts Excellent reasoned argument is presented leading to strongly justified and specific conclusions. |
9.75pts Very good reasoned argument is presented in places leading to specific well justified conclusions. |
8.25pts Good reasoned argument is presented leading to reasonably justified, conclusions. |
6pts Sufficient reasoned argument is presented but the conclusions are very general or weakly justified. |
4.5pts Insufficient reasoned argument is presented. Taking arguments from the literature, as you may have done, is not enough. |
2.25pts Discussion is entirely inadequate or is significantly copied. |
0pts No discussion presented |
15 |
|
Citations 15pts |
15pts Citations and use of these are perfect |
13.5pts Immaculate citations and accurate reporting at a fine grained level |
11.25pts Excellent citations and accurate reporting at a fine grained level |
9.75pts Very good citations and accurate reporting overall. |
8.25pts Citations and reporting on the whole good, even if there are minor flaws in places |
6pts Acceptable citations in almost all places even if there is scope for improvement in format or use |
4.5pts Some sources are not cited or text that should be in quotes is not. |
2.25pts Sections of the text are plagiarised, not in quotes OR sources are not cited. |
0pts Large sections of this have been plagiarised. |
15 |
|
Literature Search 15pts |
15pts The reference list is perfect |
13.5pts An outstanding list of references in terms of quality, quantity and focus (11-12 journal or conference papers with full details on one coherent subject). |
11..25pts Excellent list of references in terms of quality, quantity and focus (11-12 journal or conference papers with full details on one coherent subject). |
9.75pts Very good list of references in terms of quality and quantity (8 or more journal or conference papers with virtually full details) though a few weaker sources may also have been used |
8.25pts Good list of largely quality academic references (7 or more journal or conference papers) though not quite as many as expected and some weaker sources may also have been used. |
6pts Some academic references (5 or more journal or conference papers) have been used but not enough and many weaker sources may also have been used. |
4.5pts List of references is inadequate with less than 5 journal or conference papers used. Too many weaker sources may also have been used. |
2.25pts List of references is very short or of very poor standard i.e. unreviewed literature. Or citations and references substantially do not match up. |
0pts No reference list is provided |
15 |
|
Presentation 20pts |
20pts The presentation of the research paper is perfect |
18pts Spotless presentation which is excellently structured and perfectly formatted to a professional quality |
15pts Excellent presentation which is excellently structured and excellently formatted. |
13pts Very good and consistent presentation which is well structured and very well formatted. |
11pts Good presentation, structure and formatting even if some minor aspects could be improved |
8pts Acceptable presentation and structure on the whole though further work would benefit |
6pts Shows definite flaws in presenting a structured piece of work |
3pts In very rough draft form or incomplete |
0pts The presentation is totally unacceptable |
20 |
|
Total |
100 |
