Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing and Business

Management

Module: Research Project

Module Code: RPJ310

RESEARCH PROJECT GUIDE

TABLE OF CONTENTS

(i) IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO SUPERVISORS AND STUDENTS .......................................... 3

(ii) RESEARCH TOPIC ................................................................................................................. 4
(iii) ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................ 4
(iv) DECLARATION OF AUTHENTICITY ...................................................................................... 4
(v) DEDICATIONS ........................................................................................................................ 4
(vi) ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................................. 4
(vii) TABLE OF CONTENTS........................................................................................................... 4
(viii) LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................. 5
(ix) LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................... 5
(x) DEFINITION OF TERMS ......................................................................................................... 5
(xi) LIST OF ACRONYMS ............................................................................................................. 5
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND BACKGOUND ........................................................................... 6
1.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 6
1.2 Background of the study .......................................................................................................... 6
1.3 The Problem Statement ........................................................................................................... 6
1.4 Aim of the Study ...................................................................................................................... 6
1.5 Research Objectives ................................................................................................................ 6
1.6 Research Questions or Research Hypothesis ......................................................................... 6
1.7 Literature Review ..................................................................................................................... 6
1.8 Methodological plan ................................................................................................................. 9
1.9 Research Methods/Design ...................................................................................................... 9
1.10 Population of the Study .......................................................................................................... 10
1.11 Sampling ................................................................................................................................ 10
1.12 Possible Limitations ............................................................................................................... 10
1.13 The Research Outline ............................................................................................................ 11
1.14 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 11
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ......................................................................................... 12
2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 12
2.2 LMS Defined ............................................................................................................................... 12
2.3 Common LMS Functional Tools .................................................................................................. 12
2.4 The necessity for Digital skills among users ............................................................................... 12
2.5 The benefits of an LMS ............................................................................................................... 12
2.6 The role of leadership when introducing an LMS ....................................................................... 12
2.7 The need for adequate resources ............................................................................................... 12
2.8 Organisational vision and mission .............................................................................................. 12
2.9 Challenges of Introducing an LMS .............................................................................................. 12
2.10 The theoretical framework......................................................................................................... 12
2.11 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 13

1
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY .......................................................................... 14
3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 14
3.2 Research Methods/Design .......................................................................................................... 14
3.3 Population of the Study .......................................................................................................... 14
3.4 Sampling ................................................................................................................................ 14
3.5 Design of Research Instruments ........................................................................................... 15
3.6 Validity and reliability ............................................................................................................. 15
3.7 Ethical Concerns .................................................................................................................... 15
3.8 Data processing ..................................................................................................................... 15
3.9 Research Limitations ............................................................................................................. 15
3.10 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 16
CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS PRESENTATION ............................................................................... 17
4.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 17
4.2 Demographic Information ...................................................................................................... 17
4.11 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 17
CHAPTER 5: SUMMARY OF FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS ...................................................... 18
5.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 18
5.2 Summary of Fidings .................................................................................................................... 18
5.3 Conclusions ................................................................................................................................. 18
CHAPTER 6: RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH ................. 19
6.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 19
6.2 Recommendations ...................................................................................................................... 19
6.3 Research Limitations ................................................................................................................... 19
6.4 Suggestions for Future Research ............................................................................................... 19
6.5 Conclusions ................................................................................................................................. 19
ANNEXURE A: RESEARCH PROPOSAL MARKING RUBRIC......................................................... 20
ANNEXURE B: RESEARCH PROJECT CHAPTERS ONE TO THREE MARKING RUBRIC ........... 23
ANNEXURE C: RESEARCH PROJECT CHAPTERS FOUR TO SIX MARKING RUBRIC & OVERL
CONSOLIDATION ................................................................................................................. 25
REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................... 28

2
(i) IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO SUPERVISORS AND STUDENTS
This document provides a step by step guideline to the research process. It is therefore
important to refer to the guideline at all times during the course of the research. The marking
rubric is designed according to this guideline and failure to comply with the guideline can result
in the student’s research being rejected or loss of marks. In addition, Research Project is a
third-year module that will be externally moderated based on this guideline.

Chapters one to three should be completed and assessed/marked in the first semester out of
100%. Chapters four to six should be completed and assessed/marked in the second
semester out of 100%. The final mark will be half of the first-semester mark plus half of second-
semester mark. Chapters four to six are marked on the consolidated project with chapters one
to six and the required preliminary sections.

NB: Chapters one to three should be completed in the first semester. Students who fail to
complete chapters one to three in the first semester will be required repeat their research
project in the next academic year. The following guideline in Table 1 should be observed.

Table 1: General Project Requirements

Item Requirement
Font Aerial size 12
Spacing 1,5
Margins Normal
Number of words 15 000 to 20 000 words (excluding preliminary sections such
as the reference list, abstract etc.)

If you use the provided template correctly, you automatically comply with font requirements.

In this project, you are required to ensure that your project address at least the highlighted
competency areas to ensure that it is pitched at NQF level 7.

Table 2: NQF 7 Competency Descriptors

Competency Area NQF 7 Key Descriptors

Scope of knowledge Were you able to demonstrate the ability to integrate
knowledge of the central areas from various fields?
Knowledge Literacy Were you able to evaluate different knowledge types?
Methods and procedures Were you able to apply a range of methods to solve the
research problem?
Problem solving Did you supply evidence/theory based solutions to your
research problem?
Ethics and professional Were research ethics guidelines adhered to and justified?
practice
Accessing, Processing and Did you demonstrate the ability to process and validate
Managing Information information?
Producing and Did you demonstrate to your supervisor the ability
Communicating communicate academic and professional arguments
Information authoritatively?
Context and Systems Were you able to relate the solution of the research problem to
contexts and systems?

3
 Management of Learning Did you collaborate with your classmates, lecturers and the
supervisor during the course of your research?
Accountability Were you able to take full responsibility for own work?

(ii) RESEARCH TOPIC

A good research topic should: accurately reflect the contents of the project in a clear, brief
and simple format; avoid abbreviations and jargon and include research keywords (Bavdekar,
2016). According to Kumar (2013), when drafting a research topic, it is important to:

• Summarise the paper’s main themes in a few words

• Word the topic in a manner that attracts the readers’ attention
• Ensure that the topic is different from other papers of the same subject area
•
Before crafting a research topic, it is important to write ideas down, read some
articles/journals/textbooks around the idea. You can then discuss your ideas with colleagues
and your supervisor to get guidance on how to express the idea into a researchable topic.

(iii) ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Write a paragraph or two acknowledging and thanking all the individuals who assisted you in
your research project. These individuals could be your supervisor, classmates, lecturers,
friends or even family members.

(iv) DECLARATION OF AUTHENTICITY

In this section, students are expected to declare that the research project is their original work.
Please remember to sign this section before submitting your project.

(v) DEDICATIONS
This section is optional. Please complete if you wish to dedicate your project to someone, for
example, parents, wife, husband and children.

(vi) ABSTRACT
An abstract of the research should be completed when the whole research is done. It is a
summary of the whole research project that gives the reader a snapshot of what is contained
in the full dissertation. It is therefore very vital to write an abstract in a manner that attracts or
arouse the reader’s interest. An abstract should contain the following information in a
compressed format:

• The aim or main objective of the study

• The research problem
• The research objectives
• The methodology used in the research
• The findings of the research

An abstract should be between half a page and three-quarters of a page in length.

(vii) TABLE OF CONTENTS

The research template is designed to enable you to auto update it once you select your level
1 and level 2 headings (please consult your End User Computing lecturer if you do not know
what this means).

4
(viii) LIST OF FIGURES
All the figures in the research project should be listed in this section with corresponding figure
titles and page numbers as shown in the example.

(ix) LIST OF TABLES

All the tables in the research project should be listed in this section with corresponding table
titles and page numbers as shown in the example.

(x) DEFINITION OF TERMS

The key terms of the research project should be defined (see an example provided in the
template).

(xi) LIST OF ACRONYMS

All the abbreviations used in your research project should be listed and defined as
demonstrated in the example.

5
 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

1.1 Introduction

The introduction provides the guidance to the reader, in the same way, that traffic signs assist
drivers to navigate through a certain route. The reader is taken through the writer's ideas in a
systematic manner (Kallestinova, 2011). An introduction, being the first point of contact with
the reader, it is important to write in a way that captures the reader’s attention, giving the
reader an appetite to continue reading the rest of the research project. In the introduction, key
themes of the research must be presented, together with the importance of the research and
the methods used to conduct the research.

1.2 Background of the study

The background to the research assists in revealing existing information about the research,
the historical setting of the matter being investigated (Hearst Seattle Media, 2017). The
background of the study helps the reader to have a deeper understanding of the research
problem under investigation. Refer to the example in paragraph 1.2 of the research project
template.

1.3 The Problem Statement

A problem statement is “an area of concern, a gap in the existing knowledge, or a deviation in
the norm or standard that points to the need for further understanding and investigation”
(Bwisa, 2017). A problem statement should be defined in such a way that it can clearly reveal
the area of concern to be researched on.

1.4 Aim of the Study

The aim of the study should clearly state what the research seeks to achieve. According to
Thompson (2014), research aim stipulates what the researcher hopes to do, what is aspired
to be at the end of the research. The aim is, therefore, a much broader aspiration for the
research. Please refer to the example in the template.

1.5 Research Objectives

Thompson (2014) advised that objectives should be “practical, do-able and achievable”.
These are active statements that clearly outline how the research aims will be achieved. A
research project can have four to six research objectives.

1.6 Research Questions or Research Hypothesis

Research questions or hypotheses are simply the research objectives re-stated as questions
or hypothesis – see example in the study guide template, paragraph 1.6.

1.7 Literature Review

A literature review is all about sifting through relevant academic literature sources that gives
insight into the research problem, objectives and questions under investigation in the research.
These sources help the researcher to identify knowledge that is already known about the
research, differences in arguments and knowledge gaps. Preferred literature sources are
recent textbooks, peer-reviewed journal articles, websites of government institutions,
universities and non-governmental organisations. BN: Wikipedia is not a recognised source of
information for academic purposes. A literature review is important in that (Emerald insight:
Online):

• Knowledge of the research area is enlarged

6
 • Research boundaries are established
• The context of the research is refined
• A rich justification and background of the research is possible
• Gaps/opposing views and arguments are discovered
• Relevant research methods are selected
• Prevents duplication of knowledge
• Continuing with other researcher’s arguments.

There is plenty of free journals on the internet that can be accessed. In the LMS system at the
PIHL example, it is easy to find journals on the benefits of an LMS as shown in the screenshot
below from the Google search box.

Figure 1: Keywords in the google search box

In figure 1 above, unnecessary sources were filtered out by the use of “journals” after the
keywords. The next task now is to select journals that have the relevant content of the research
project literature. It is important to check whether the journal is peer-reviewed and published.
It is recommended to look for the most recent journals (within the past five years) that were
also cited by other authors.

7
Figure 2: Sampling journals

In figure 2 above, the journal by Oliveira, highlighted looks interesting. It was also recently
published (2016) and was cited by three other writers so it is worth checking.

8
Figure 3: Journal abstract

The abstract can quickly show whether a journal is useful or not. From figure 3 above, it is
clear that this journal is relevant to the current research in the template. Please note that some
journals are not available for free, but you can copy the topic and paste it into the google
search box, you can be lucky and get it for free from other publishers. The internet age has
made academic life exiting as long as you know how to exploit it. The age of internet,
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) or the digital era has enabled
communication to happen at close to zero cost and the same is true for accessing academic
content.

To avoid writing a literature review that is all over the place, it is advisable to structure it using
the formulated research objectives or questions. Applying this technique will make it possible
to match literature to research methodology and the findings of the research.

NB: Students and lecturers are required to download Mendeley, a software that makes
referencing quick and easy. Mendeley is part of the Damelin software list.

1.8 Methodological plan

The methodological plan provides a brief summary of research methodologies that are used
in this research. This includes the design of the research, research population, sampling
techniques, possible limitations and the outline/ structure of the whole research.

1.9 Research Methods/Design

Bryman and Bell (2011) posit that a framework that enables collecting and analysing data is
known as research design. In this section, it is important to state whether the research
methodology follows a qualitative, quantitative approach. Research methodologies are broken
into qualitative research and quantitative research. Qualitative research involves a small
research sample and seeks to gather depth and quality from the respondents whereas
quantitative methods involve bigger sample sizes exceeding 100 respondents and deals with

9
measurements (Hague et al, 2016). Interviews, focus groups, and ethnography are examples
of qualitative research.

Quantitative research deals with the quantification of data during the collection and analysis
process. It is aligned with the deductive and objectivist research strategy (Bryman and Bell,
2011). The research design should state whether a case study, longitudinal, cross-sectional
or experimental design is used. The example in the template is a case study research design
since the research is focusing on a single institution.

1.10 Population of the Study

According to Nel and Kotze (2003), a population of the study is the total number of respondents
targeted for the research. Unfortunately, time and resources constraints make it challenging
to consider all population elements for the collection of data (Saunders, Lewis, & Thornhill,
2007). It is important to clearly state the population of the study.

1.11 Sampling
Sampling is the process of selecting a representative portion of the population whose
characteristics are a true reflection of the total population (Wegner, 2013). The research
should state the sampling method used e.g. probability sampling or non-probability sampling.
Probability sampling includes simple random sampling, systemic sampling, stratified sampling
and cluster sampling and non-probability sampling includes quota sampling, purposive
sampling, snowball sampling self-selection sampling and convenience sampling (Saunders,
Lewis and Thornhill (2009; Quinlan et al, (2015) as shown in figure 4 below.

Figure 4: Sampling Techniques

Source: Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill (2009: 213)

Students are required to choose a sampling method that relates to the design of the research
study. Please read more on sampling techniques highlighted above in Quinlan et al (2015:
178-183).

1.12 Possible Limitations

Possible limitations are what that researcher foresees as shortcomings and conditions beyond
the researcher’s control that may have a negative impact on research methods and results.
“Limitations are potential weaknesses in your study and are out of your control” (Simon 2011).
Some of the examples of research limitations include time horizon, small sample sizes and
resources availability. The idea is not just to state the research limitations but to highlight how
they are treated in order to achieve the research objectives.

10
1.13 The Research Outline
The research outline requires the student to provide the structure of the whole research
document. Different universities have research dissertations structured in different ways with
a different number of chapters. Damelin research project should have six chapters as
demonstrated in paragraph 1.10 of the research project template.

1.14 Conclusion
The conclusion should wrap up what chapter one is all about.

11
 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction
Chapter two introduction should strictly introduce on what literature review is all about or what
chapter two is all about. Students have a tendency of rewriting an introduction that is similar
to the one in chapter one.

Chapter two should be structured as per the research objectives as demonstrated in the
template as follows:

2.2 LMS Defined

2.3 Common LMS Functional Tools

2.4 The necessity for Digital skills among users

2.5 The benefits of an LMS

2.6 The role of leadership when introducing an LMS

2.7 The need for adequate resources

2.8 Organisational vision and mission

2.9 Challenges of Introducing an LMS

2.10 The theoretical framework

In this subheading, present one to three theories that relates to the research problem,
objectives or questions. The link between the theory and the research should be explained.
The goal of reflecting on theoretical foundations is to establish if the research in consistent
with existing theories, if not then a valid explanation should be provided.

12
2.11 Conclusion

A conclusion for the chapter should be provided.

NB: LITERATURE REVIEW SHOULD HAVE AT LEAST 20 RECENT SOURCES

13
 CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction
Chapter three introduction should strictly introduce what will be presented in this chapter.
Chapter three is an elaboration of the methodological plan presented in chapter one.

3.2 Research Methods/Design

Bryman and Bell (2011) posit that a framework that enables collecting and analysing data is
known as research design. In this section, it is important to state whether the research
methodology follows a qualitative, quantitative approach. Research methodologies are broken
into qualitative research and quantitative research. Qualitative research involves a small
research sample and seeks to gather depth and quality from the respondents whereas
quantitative methods involve bigger sample sizes exceeding 100 respondents and deals with
measurements (Hague et al, 2016). Interviews, focus groups, and ethnography are examples
of qualitative research.

Quantitative research deals with the quantification of data during the collection and analysis
process. It is aligned with the deductive and objectivist research strategy (Bryman and Bell,
2011). The research design should state whether a case study, longitudinal, cross-sectional
or experimental design is used. The example in the template is a case study research design
since the research is focusing on a single institution.

3.3 Population of the Study

According to Nel and Kotze (2003), a population of the study is the total number of respondents
targeted for the research. Unfortunately, time and resources constraints make it challenging
to consider all population elements for the collection of data (Saunders, Lewis, & Thornhill,
2007). It is important to clearly state the population of the study.

3.4 Sampling
Sampling is the process of selecting a representative portion of the population whose
characteristics are a true reflection of the total population (Wegner, 2013). The research
should state the sampling method used e.g. probability sampling or non-probability sampling.
Probability sampling includes simple random sampling, systemic sampling, stratified sampling
and cluster sampling and non-probability sampling includes quota sampling, purposive
sampling, snowball sampling self-selection sampling and convenience sampling (Saunders,
Lewis and Thornhill (2009; Quinlan et al, (2015) as shown in figure 4 below.
Figure 3.1: Sampling Techniques

Source: Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill (2009: 213)

Students are required to choose a sampling method that relates to the design of the research
study. Please read more on sampling techniques highlighted above in Quinlan et al (2015:
178-183).

3.5 Design of Research Instruments

Under this subheading, students should explain in detail their choice of designing the research
instruments. This includes whether open ended questions or closed ended questions or Likert
Scales are used and the advantages or disadvantages of a chosen design. Biber (2010)
argued that open ended questions provide further expansion, substantiation or clarification. A
pilot study can be conducted in order to test on the clarity and conciseness of the
questionnaire. Students should therefore justify why a particular design is chosen.

The use of Survey Monkey can make questionnaire design very easy because it offers flexible
options and suggestions to users.

3.6 Validity and reliability

Validity and reliability of the research should be safe guarded so that readers can trust the
accuracy of the research results. The reliability in the study can be upheld by ensuring that
the questionnaire is well designed such that it can produce the same results if administered at
different times to the same participants (Heale and Twycross, 2015). On the other hand issues
of validity can be addressed by sound questionnaire design and correct sampling procedure.

3.7 Ethical Concerns

See example in paragraph 3.7 of the research template. Students should ensure that ethical
concerns such as harm to participants, inversion of privacy, deception, informed consent and
security of collected information are appropriately addressed as advised by Quinlan et al
(2015) & Bryman and Bell (2012).

3.8 Data processing

The students should clearly explain how the data collected in the research will be processed
and presented as demonstrated in the example in paragraph 3.8 of the research project
template

3.9 Research Limitations

“Limitations are potential weaknesses in your study and are out of your control” (Simon 2011).
Some of the examples of research limitations include time horizon, small sample sizes and

15
resources availability. The idea is not just to state the research limitations but to highlight how
they are treated in order to achieve the research objectives.

3.10 Conclusion
Write a conclusion on chapter three discussed above

16
 CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS PRESENTATION

4.1 Introduction
Introduce content that will be presented in chapter four only.

4.2 Demographic Information

Results on demographic data collected is presented in this subheading, under level three
subheadings:

4.2.1 Gender of Respondents

4.2.2 Race of Respondents

NB: Figures and tables should be discussed both on top and at the bottom of the figure.

Keep results presentation short and precise as per the example.

….

….

4.11 Conclusion
Conclude on results presentation

17
 CHAPTER 5: SUMMARY OF FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS

5.1 Introduction
Introduce the content that will be discussed in chapter five (please see the example in the
template).

5.2 Summary of Fidings

When summarising research findings, it is important to reflect on literature review presented
in chapter two. The findings of the research should be supported with literature. Students can
beef up their literature at this stage in cases where literature in chapter two is not sufficient to
support research findings.

5.3 Conclusions
“Your conclusions summarize how your results support or contradict your original
hypothesis” (https://www.sciencebuddies.org, Online). “Conclusions are an important
opportunity for you to draw together your key findings and tell readers what you think it all
mean” (Australian National Univerysity, Online). The research conlusions should adress the
objectives or research questions that were formulated in the first chapter of the research.
Where hypotheses were used, conlusions should either reject or fail to reject the hypothesis.

18
 CHAPTER 6: RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE
RESEARCH

6.1 Introduction
Introduce chapter six content only (see example in the template)

6.2 Recommendations
The research recommendations should be derived from the research conlusions in chapter
five. It is ideal to provide a recommendation per each conclusion provided. It is very easy to
write recommendations that are merely empty statements. Recommendations should state;

What? - What is being recomendend

When? - When the recommendation should be implemented

Who? – Who is the person responsible for its implementation

There are cases where more than one recommendation is provided for a single conclusion. In
such instances, the recommendations should be numbered.

6.3 Research Limitations

Restate the research limitations from chapter 3.

6.4 Suggestions for Future Research

Research limitations should point towards possible areas of future research. What the
researcher failed to do in the current research can be accomplished by other future
researchers, for example, enlargement of sample size in order to conduct the research at a
national level.

6.5 Conclusions
Conclude on the discussions made in chapter six.

19
ANNEXURE A: RESEARCH PROPOSAL MARKING RUBRIC

Name of Student: …………………………………………………………………………………….

Qualification: ………………………………………………………………………………………….

Title of the research project (10 -15 words):

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Content Yes No Remarks

Introduction & background
• Was the research theme introduced?
• Was the research problem context
provided?
• Were there literature sources
supporting the research theme?
• Does the introduction catch the
reader’s attention?
• Were the reasons for choosing the
topic stated?
The research problem
• Was the statement of the problem
clearly stated?
• Is the research problem
researchable?
• Is there depth in the research
problem?
• Is the problem statement not too
broad?
Aim and objectives
• Were the research aim and
objectives clearly stated?
• Is there a relationship between the
problem statement and research
objectives?
Research questions
• Are the research questions
connected to the problem, aim and
objectives?
• Are the research questions clearly
stated?
Literature review

20
• Does the literature address the
research problem and
questions/objectives?
• Were current sources academic
cited?
• Were at least 10 sources cited in the
literature?
• Was the literature presented
logically?
Research methods
• Was the research
quantitative/qualitative or mixed?
• Was the design case study,
experimental etc.?
• Was the population, sample of the
study defined?
• Was the research instrument clearly
explained?
• Were the possible limitations stated?
• Were the data analysis methods
stated?
References
• Was in-text referencing done Harvard
style?
• Are the cited sources appearing on
the reference list?
• Is the reference list in alphabetical
order cording to the Harvard style?

General comments
• Is there evidence of sound academic
writing (language, grammar,
presentation and logic)

Name & Signature of Supervisor: …………………………………………………………………

Date: …………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Recommendation: ……………………………………………………………………………………

21
22
ANNEXURE B: RESERCH PROJECT CHAPTERS ONE TO THREE MARKING
RUBRIC

Mark
Concept Awarded marks
allocation
Introduction & background [Chapter one]
• Was the research theme introduced?
• Was the research problem context provided?
• Were there literature sources supporting the research
5
theme?
• Does the introduction catch the reader’s attention?
Were the reasons for choosing the topic stated?

Comments:

The research problem [Chapter one]

• Was the statement of the problem clearly stated?
• Is the research problem researchable?
5
• Is there depth in the research problem?
• Is the problem statement not too broad?

Comments:

Aim and objectives [Chapter one]

• Were the research aim and objectives clearly stated?
• Was there a relationship between the problem 5
statement and research objectives?

Comments:

Research questions [Chapter one]

• Are the research questions connected to the
problem, aim and objectives? 5
• Are the research questions clearly stated?

Comments:

Literature review [Chapter two] 40

23
• Does the literature address the research problem
and questions/objectives?
• Were current sources academic cited?
• Were at least 20 sources cited in the literature?
• Was the literature presented logically?
• Were there any gaps or arguments in the presented
literature?
• Were there any theories in the literature?
• Are the theories relevant in the research problem
discussion?

Comments:

Research methods [Chapter three]

• Was the research method clearly stated e.g.
quantitative/qualitative or mixed?
• Was the research design explained e.g. case study,
experimental etc.?
• Was the population, sample of the study defined?
• Was the research instrument/design clearly
explained? 40
• Were the possible limitations stated?
• Were the data analysis methods stated?
• Was research trustworthiness and reliability fully
addressed?
• Were ethical issues observed in the research?
• Were the data processing methods fully explained?

Comments:

Total 100

General Comments:
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Supervisor: ………………………………………Signature………………………………………..

Date: ………………………………………………….

24
ANNEXURE C: RESERCH PROJECT CHAPTERS FOUR TO SIX MARKING
RUBRIC & OVERL CONSOLIDATION

Mark
Concept Awarded marks
allocation
Results Analysis/presentation [Chapter Four]

• Is there an introduction to the data presentation?

• Is the demographic information of respondents
clearly presented?
• Were appropriate methods used to analyse the
data
• Are the research results logically presented?
20
For Quantitative research:
• Did the student use figures and tables?
For Qualitative research:
• Did the student use verbatim, direct statements
etc.?
• Is there a conclusion for data analysis and
presentation

Comments:

Discussion of findings & implications

• Is there an introduction to chapter 5?
• Were the research objectives re-stated?
• Were the findings and implications logically
20
presented?
• Are the findings discussed in conjunction with
literature?

Comments:

Recommendations, Research Limitations and

future research
• Were adequate and meaningful recommendations
made? 15
• Were research limitations stated?
• Did the students suggest areas for future research,
in light of the limitations

25
Comments:

General Presentation of the whole research project

• Correct cover sheet was used
• Acknowledgements, declaration, dedications,
abstract
20
• Table of contents, list of figures, list of tables were
academically presented
• Damelin font guidelines were observed

Comments:

Harvard referencing

• In-text references are listed on the reference list as

per the Damelin referencing guide 15
• At least 25 recent academic sources were cited
(journals, books, conference papers, etc.)

Comments:

NQF Level seven pitch

• A range of methods were used to solve the
research problem
• There is evidence of knowledge integration from
10
central areas
• Information was processed and validated
• Research ethics were observed

Comments:

100
Total

General Comments:
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

26
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Supervisor: ………………………………………Signature………………………………………..

Date: ………………………………………………….

27
REFERENCES

Australian National University. (Online). Available from

http://www.anu.edu.au/students/learning-development/research-writing/conclusions,
accessed, 11 January 2018.

Bwisa, H. M. (2017). The basics of writing a statement of the problem for your research
proposal. [Online] available from: https://www.editage.com/insights/the-basics-of-
writing-a-statement-of-the-problem-for-your-research-proposal, accessed, 12
November 2017.

Bavdekar S. B. (2016). Formulating the right title for a research article. Journal of the
Association of Physicians of India, 64, 53–56.

Bryman, A. and Bell, E. 2011. Business Research Methods. 3rd ed. Oxford: New York.

Hague, P., Harrison, M., Cupman, J. and Truman, O. (2016). Market Research in Practice: An
Introduction to Gathering Greater Market Insight. Kogan Page: London.

Hearst Seattle Media, (2017). [Online] Available from:

http://education.seattlepi.com/stepbystep-background-study-thesis-1626.html,
accessed 11 November 2017.

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/science-fair/writing-conclusions,
accessed 11 January 2018.

Kallestinova, E. D. (2011). How to Write Your First Research Paper. Yale Journal of Biological
Medicine, (84) (3): 181-190

Kumar M. J. (2013) Making Your Research Paper Discoverable: Title Plays the Winning Trick.
IETE Technical Review; 30:361-3.

Quinlan, C., Babin, B., Carr, J., Griffin, M and Zikmund W. G. (2015). Business Research
Methods, 1st edition. Cengage: Hampshire.

Simon, M. K. (2011). Dissertation and scholarly research: Recipes for success (2011 Ed.).
Seattle, WA, Dissertation Success, LLC.

Thompson, P. (2014). Aims and objectives – what’s the difference? [Online] available from:
https://patthomson.net/2014/06/09/aims-and-objectives-whats-the-difference/,
accessed 12 November 2017.

28