THE YORK MANAGEMENT SCHOOL

Module: Research Methods

Module Co-ordinator: Laura Mitchell
Assessment: Open
Maximum word count: 2000 Words
Release: Summer Term
Submission: Summer Term Week 6
Weighting: 50%

Important Information

A penalty of five marks will be deducted for late submissions that are made within
the first hour after the deadline. Submissions that are more than one hour late but
within the first 24 hours of the deadline will incur a penalty of ten marks. After the
first 24 hours have passed, ten marks will be deducted for every 24 hours (or part
thereof) that the submission is late for a total of 5 days. After 5 days it is treated as a
non-submission and given a mark of zero. The consequences of non-submission are
serious and can include de-registration from the University.

If you are unable to complete your open assessment by the submission date
indicated above because of Exceptional Circumstances you can apply for an
extension. If unforeseeable and exceptional circumstances do occur, you must seek
support and provide evidence as soon as possible at the time of the occurrence.
Applications must be made before the deadline to be considered.

Full details of the Exceptional Circumstances Policy and claim form can be found
here: https://www.york.ac.uk/students/studying/progress/exceptional-circumstances

If you submit your open assessment on time but feel that your performance has been
affected by Exceptional Circumstances you may submit an Exceptional
Circumstances Affecting Assessment claim form by 7 days from the published
assessment submission deadline. If you do not submit by the deadline indicated
without good reason your claim will not be considered.

Please take proper precautions to safeguard your work and remember to make
backup copies of your data. The University provides all its students with
storage space on the University server and you should save and back up any
work in progress on this server on a regular basis. Computer failure and theft
of your equipment or storage media are not considered exceptional
circumstances and extensions cannot be granted for work lost for these
reasons.

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Word count requirements

The word count for this assignment is 2000 words.

You must state on the front of your assignment the number of words used and this
will be checked.

The main text for this assignment must be word-processed in Arial, font 12, double
spacing, minimum 2cm margins all around.

You must observe the word count specified in this assignment brief. The School has
a policy of accepting variations to the recommended word count of plus or minus
10%.

What does this mean for you?

Markers will mark your work up to the word count maximum plus 10% and then will
stop marking; therefore all words which are in excess of the word count plus 10% will
not be marked.

Where your word count is more than 10% below that specified, it is likely that this will
result in a lack of analytical depth or relevant content, which will be reflected in the
mark assigned.

What is in the word count?

The word count includes:

- the main text, including in-text reference citations and quotations.

The word count does not include:

- Appendices. These may be used to include supporting data, which may be too
detailed or complex to include as a Table. They are not a device to incorporate
material, which would otherwise cause you to exceed the word limit.

- Title page
- Contents page
- Abstract/executive summary
- Tables, figures, legends
- Reference lists
- Acknowledgements

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Summative Assessment
Methodological Report – 2000 Word Limit
The Research Methods module has now outlined different approaches to data
analysis, including a range of methods or techniques used by academics and
practitioners when conducting business research. We have learnt that there are
different choices to make in research and that the suitability of our analytical
techniques is determined by our assumptions and the current state of knowledge
around our research question. We have also learnt that no data is perfect, and all
methodologies and methods have merits and limitations.

In this assignment you are required to demonstrate your understanding of the

appropriateness and suitability of data analysis techniques, by justifying, applying
and critically evaluating one of the data analysis techniques you have learned on the
module to a given research topic and data set (see below).

Your work should be fully referenced, using appropriate literature sources, drawing
from module materials and core readings, and supplemented by your own wider
reading.

In completing your report you should:

● Use data from an approved source (i.e. the tutor designated transcripts or
dataset)
● Show evidence of the application of your technique to reach your preliminary
results or findings
● Critically review the relevance or suitability of the technique to the research
question

Further guidance will be supplied to students on their specified question and data set
according to their subject specialist pathway (Mixed Methods or Advanced
Quantitative Analysis).

Data Set
Students following the Mixed Methods pathway will be given a sample set of interview
transcripts and related survey data related to diversification of a local business. Your
overall research question will be set by your tutor, but you have some scope to focus
this further in accordance with your chosen method and data analysis technique.

Students following the Advanced Quantitative Methods pathway will be given a sample
time series data set related to stock market performance. Your overall research
question will be set by your tutor, but you have some scope to focus this further in
accordance with your chosen company and data analysis technique.

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ASSIGNMENT TASK

Write a 2000-word methodological report in which you justify, apply and critically
evaluate one of the data analysis techniques you have learned on the module.

Suggested structure:

Title
Introduction (approx. 200 words)
In your introduction you should describe the approach you are taking to the research
question, including any initial assumptions or decisions.

Main body (approx. 800 words)

In this section you should justify your data analysis technique and show evidence of
your application of this technique to the data. You may wish to include;

Guide to Methods
Describe and justify the data analysis technique you are using. You might wish to
explain your assumptions or significant methodological decisions you have made
with reference to relevant academic literature.

Results
Describe the findings or results you have obtained from applying the technique to the
data. You may wish to include figures or tables to present your results concisely.
Detailed workings or full results can be included in the appendices.

Conclusion (approx. 800 words)

In this section you should discuss the suitability of your technique and give a critical
account of its challenges or limitations in the context of the research question. You
may wish to reflect upon assumptions that were necessary to your analysis or
actions you took to address data quality.

Recommendations (approx. 200 words)

Briefly describe the actions or recommendations you would propose in response to
the research question on the basis of your results. This might include
recommendations for further data gathering or research.

References
In this section you should list your references in Harvard style. This section does not
contribute towards your word count.

Appendices
In this section (if necessary) you should provide evidence to demonstrate the
application of your technique, such as data tables, coding protocols or other relevant
documentation. This section does not contribute towards your word count

END OF ASSESSMENT

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