MNG10720
Associate Professor Martin Young
Unit Assessor
martin.young@scu.edu.au
Assignment 3: Research Proposal and
Literature Review
? Due: Week 8 – Friday 27th April 2018
? Length: 1800 words
? Weighing: 40%
? Covers:
? Topic 1: Introducing Tourism Research
? Topic 2: Beginning Research
? Topic 3: The Literature Review
? Topic 4: Research Design
Resubmission of Failed Assessments
? Students are permitted to resubmit Assignment 2 if the
student has failed that assessment item
? Failed assessment must be resubmitted within ten (10)
business days of notification
? No other resubmissions will be permitted (e.g. Assignment
3)
? The maximum grade awarded to a resubmit is a Pass
Submission Method
1) Submit a copy on-line via this unit’s blackboard site
? You need to submit using TurnItIn
? The link is located under the ‘assessment details’ folder
in Blackboard
? The electronic copy of your assignment must be
submitted as a Word Document (.doc or .docx)
Late submissions
? Late submission will lose 5% per day.
? Assignment extensions need to be applied for via
special consideration procedures.
? These are now eforms submitted via ‘My Enrolment’
? For details on special consideration visit
http://scu.edu.au/students/index.php/30
Reference Style: Harvard
? The required reference style for this unit is the
Harvard style
? Click on the ‘Topic 3’ folder within the blackboard
site for this unit and upload the referencing
chapter from Summers and Smith’s (2006)
? It provides you with examples and everything you
need to know about the Harvard referencing style
? Make sure that your referencing is consistent
Assignment Text
? You are required to think of an interesting business-research idea and
develop this idea into a formal, clearly-articulated research question – a
problem-statement. This question will be used as the organising
framework for a critical literature review of previous academic research
in the area.
? Assignment 3 has two related stages. The first is to convert your idea
into a researchable questionusing the techniques taught in the first
two weeks of the unit. The second is to write a critical literature
review using the methods taught in week 3 of the unit.
? The overall objective is to produce a formal research question and set of
research objectives based on a rigorous assessment of the available
evidence on the topic. This will be the basis for your development of the
project report in Assignment 3.
? You are encouraged to discuss your research idea(s) with your lecturer
and fellow students in the workshops/tutorials as well as study the
materials for the first three weeks of the unit carefully. You will start
with a general research idea and, as you go through the literature
review, you will modify and hone your question into a clear and concise
statement that could form the basis of a research design.
Marking Criteria
? Your Assignment 3 will be marked based on the following
criteria
Assignment Text
? Instructions
1) Prepare a research proposal that addresses the
following criteria:
i. Background (250 words) – provide a brief
overview describing the industry-related research
situation relevant to the research idea you would
like to develop.
Tips for the Background Section
? This section sets up for the reader a background to the
context for the research
? It ‘sets the scene’ for the research project
? Tell the reader why the study is being conducted
? Describe the locationof the phenomenon you are
researching and the experiences it offers
? E.g. if you are studying client satisfaction in hotels,
you may want to describe the location of the hotels and
the experiences that the hotels offer to clients
Assignment Text
ii. Significance (250 words) explain the
significance and need for this research from the
perspective of the business or organisation.
Tips for the Significance Section
? This section should explain the significance and need for
your research project to be undertaken from the
perspective of the management and marketing of the
attraction
? E.g. if you are studying client satisfaction in hotels, how
will your research help the hotels in regards to its operations,
management and marketing functions?
? If you are aiming at a high grade for Assignment 3, you
may also want to justify the significance of your research by
referring to relevant academic literature
? A ‘gap’ in the literature, or a limited amount of research
having previously been conducted in this area
Assignment Text
iii. Scope (150 words max) – explain the
geographical, temporal and demographic
scope of the proposed research
Tips for the Scope Section
? Be specific! Ask yourself the following questions:
? What(concepts)/who am I studying in my research project?
(demographic scope)
? E.g. Client satisfaction of hotel guests travelling for business aged
40-60 years visiting the Star City Hotel and Casino in Sydney
? Where will my research participants be drawn from?
(geographical scope)
? E.g. Only domestic hotel guests – that is, hotel guests who live
permanently within the geographical country border of Australia
? When will the research be conducted? (temporal scope)
? E.g. in the Australian winter period, from June-August 2012
? If your answer to these questions are ambiguous, you need
to refine the scope further and be more specific
Assignment Text
iv. Problem statement and objectives (150 words
max) – determine a clear and concise problem
statement and 2-4 research objectives that
relate to your research proposal
Tips for the Problem Statement and Objectives
? Include the demographic, geographical, and temporal
scope in your problem statement
? Use the correct instruction word/s, e.g. examine, explore,
describe etc.
? Consult a dictionary if you are not sure
? Keep sentences short – try not to exceed 2 sentences in
your problem statement
? Pay attention to grammar and expression
? Be critical: does the problem statement say exactly what
you intend to research?
? Make sure that your sub objectives are relevant to solve
the overall ‘problem’ (i.e. the problem statement)
Assignment Text
? Instructions
v) Prepare a literature review that critically evaluates
at least five (5) references from the academic
literature (books and/or academic journal articles)
relevant to your research idea (1000 words).
Tips for the Literature Review
? High grade in this unit- go far beyond 5 references
? Source academic journal articles from the library’s
databases
? High grade in this unit – be critical in your writing
? being critical means to look at a particular approach from
many different angles, comparing/contrasting it with
other approaches, and not automatically adopting it by
its face value
Example of Being Critical
? This author is NOT being critical:
Job satisfaction is defined as being in ‘a pleasurable or positive
emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s job or job
experiences’ (Locke, 1976, p. 1304).
? This author IS being critical:
According to Locke (1976, p. 1304), job satisfaction can be defined as
being in ‘a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the
appraisal of one’s job or job experiences’. As opposed to this affective
approach to job satisfaction, however, other researchers (Eagly&
Chaiken 1993; Kaplan et al. 2009) have presented a more cognitive view
of job satisfaction. From this perspective…
? Based on this discussion, you would make up your own opinion on
how you think it is appropriate to define job satisfaction for the
purpose of yourresearch study
Assignment Text
? Instructions
Provide a reference list (Harvard – see Summers
and Smith’s (2006) referencing guide) for
academic literature sources you use to justify your
final research proposal
Assignment Text
? Note:
Your assignment is a hypothetical exercise only,
that is designed to give you opportunity to learn, in a
small but practical situation, about the research
process and its place within business and tourism.
Under no circumstances are you to approach any
employee of a tourist organisation or tourist
attraction for assistance with this assignment and
also Assignment 3.
Format of Assignment 3
? Title Page
? Background
? Significance
? Problem Statement and Objectives
? Scope
? Literature Review
? Reference List
? Appendices
Word Limit and Assignment Sections
? The cover sheet, title page, reference list, and
appendices are not included in the 1800 word
limit
? I recommend that you use headings (and
subheadings, if necessary) within your
assignment
Physical Presentation
? Double spaced
? At least 2.5 cm margins
? Use section headings
? Insert page numbers
? Prefer the use 3
rd person (instead of writing ‘I’, refer to
yourself as ‘the researcher’ or similar term)
Final Notes
? Focus on the marking criteria of the assignment –
this is your guide to ensure that you have included all
necessary elements into the assignment that you will
be marked on
? Start early – last minute assignments written the
night before the due date seldom obtain a high grade
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