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CT098-2-Research Methodology in Computing and Technology

Research Methodology in Computing and Technology (RMCT)

Assignment: Project Proposal

A. LEARNING OUTCOME:

CLO1 Revise the appropriate research techniques of the propose research (C5, PLO2)
CLO2 Demonstrate an ability to apply different approaches to the data collection to
answer current business or societal problems (A2, PLO4)
CLO3 Justify research direction on the investigation of current business or societal
problems (A3, PLO5)

B. ASSIGNMENT DETAILS:

Module Code: CT098-3-2

Research Methodology in Computing and Technology
Module Title:
(RMCT)
Module Lecturer: Ts. Dr. Se Yong
Coursework weighted 100%
1. Project Proposal (Introduction) 40%
Weighting: 2. Project Proposal (Literature Review & Methodology)
45%
3. Presentation 15%

Assessment Title: Project Proposal

Assessment Type: Individual work
Hand out date:
Submission date:

C. YOUR ASSIGNMENT:

A research concept paper acts like a proposal and enables students to define and communicate a
research/project topic to a broader audience. A well-constructed concept paper should capture the
interest of the reader and provides a clear indication of what the student intends to do, how he or she
intends to do it and the justification for doing so. For the purposes of this assessment, you will be
writing a research concept paper that acts as a proposal using the template provided.

Your paper should set out the central issues or questions that you intend to address, as well as
outline the general area of study within which your research falls, referring to the current state of

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knowledge and any recent debates on the topic. It should also demonstrate the originality of your
proposed research (system) and the potential contribution.
The paper should aim to address the following:
i. The topic is feasible in terms of the availability of resources, equipment, supervisors, data,
etc.
ii. There is a need for your proposed system; it is significant and important.
iii. The topic matches your programme of study, interests, and capabilities.
iv. The research can be completed in the expected duration.
v. You are contributing something original to the field.

Research Contribution:
Your work will make a worthwhile contribution to the field if it fulfils one or more of the
following:
i. It proposes a new solution to a new problem (Invention),
ii. It proposes a new solution to a known (established) problem (Improvement), or
iii. Applies a known solution to a new problem.

D. ASSIGNMENT REQUIREMENTS:
PART 1: PROJECT PROPOSAL (INTRODUCTION) 40%

General Structure of a Research Concept Paper:

The following sections are recommended for your proposal report. Check with your lecturer for
optional sections, variations and additional sections that may be required.
1. Research title
2. Abstract
3. Key Terms
4. Introduction
5. Problem statement
6. Research Aim
7. Research Objectives
8. Research Questions
9. Research Significance
10. Proposed System Overview
11. References

1.1. Research Title

The title summarizes the main idea or ideas of your study. A good title contains the fewest possible
words that adequately describe the contents and/or purpose of your research paper.
1.2. Abstract
One (1) paragraph which is a summary of the entire proposal, typically ranging from 150 to 250
words. It is different from a problem statement in that the abstract summarizes the entire proposal,

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not just mentioning the study’s purpose or hypothesis. A good abstract accurately reflects the
content of the paper, while at the same time being coherent, readable, and concise.

1.3. Key Terms

The purpose of key terms or also known as keywords in a research paper are to help other
researchers find your paper when they are conducting a search on the topic. Key terms define the
field, subfield, topic, research issue, etc. that are covered by the article. Most electronic search
engines, databases, or journal websites use key terms to decide whether and when to display your
paper to interested readers. key terms make your paper searchable and ensure that you get more
citations. Thus, it is important to include the most relevant key terms that will help other authors
find your paper.
1.4. Introduction
Introduce the reader to your paper, including a brief introduction to the recognised general subject
area and how your topic is related. Briefly point out why it is a significant topic and what
contribution your work will make. At the end of your introduction, you can add a paragraph to
explain the outline of your paper. The outline is the skeleton of your document. It shows how
various sections in your proposal are connected and gives the reader an indication of the logical
development of your research paper.
1.5. Problem Statement
The “Problem Statement” is an imperative part of the paper, for research to be conducted, one must
notice a problem in the existing literature that has not been previously addressed. For this section,
the following questions should be answered: Why does this research study need to be conducted?
What specific issues does this study raise that have not been observed in other literature pertaining
to the topic? Answering these questions will allow readers to understand why this particular study is
important and how the study will attempt to answer new, never-before-asked questions. The
problem statement should be strongly justified by the literature. It is recommended that you support
your problem statement with recent, strong, and reliable references.
1.6. Research Aim
It is appropriate to include a sentence saying “The main aim of this research is to … ” under this
section. Clearly identify the goal of the study in one precise sentence. Your aim is basically what
you intend to do to address the problem you have identified. Once you have developed your project
aim you can develop objectives. As mentioned above, your project has one overall aim.
1.7. Research Objectives
In order to achieve the research aim, a number of objectives should be formulated. Each objective is
a small, achievable and assessable unit, i.e. a sub-goal of the project. Objectives should be
formulated in such a way that fulfilling the objectives leads to the overall aim being satisfied.
1.8. Research Questions
It is important that the research questions for which the proposed investigation aims to find an
answer are explicitly formulated. These are sometimes referred to as sub-problems. In this regard,
ensure that collectively, the sub-problems encapsulate the import of the main Problem Statement.
1.9. Research Significance

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This section also known as the ‘rationale’ or ‘justification’ of the study is crucial because it is one
place in which the researcher tries to convince the reader that the research is worth carrying out.
This section describes the potential value of the study and findings.
1.10. Proposed System Overview
In this section you provide an overview of the system you are proposing, explaining how it will
address the stated problem. Provide an explanation of the functionality, and provide AT LEAST
ONE FIGURE to visualise architectural designs and contextualise your system. In the case where
you are not proposing a system, you can provide an overview of your research. If possible, provide
a research flow chart to visualise your research activity.
1.11. References
List all publications cited in your proposal. Use the style recommended by the school or your
supervisor. You should use the APA referencing system (see the library webpage of APU). Use
current and reliable references from journal articles, conference proceedings, books, theses, etc. it is
recommended to use a reference manager (such as EndNote, Mendeley, etc) to help you in
formatting the references and save your time.

PART 2: PROJECT PROPOSAL (LITERATURE REVIEW & METHODOLOGY) 45%

General Structure of a Research Concept Paper:

The following sections are recommended for your proposal report. Check with your lecturer for
optional sections, variations and additional sections that may be required.
1. Literature Review
1.1 Research domains.
1.2 Similar systems.
2. Research Methodology
2.1 Identify target user.
2.2 Sampling method.
2.3 Data collection method.
3. Conclusion
4. References

1.0 Literature Review

This section provides a brief literature review and the background for the research problem and
illustrates to the reader that the researcher is knowledgeable about the scope of the theory. Research
as many studies pertaining to the topic area as possible and summarize them in a succinct manner.
The literature review should explain the relation of your topic and research aims to significant
literature and recent (and current) research in your field. The literature review should place your
proposed research topic clearly in its relevant research context and should demonstrate your
awareness of significant similar or relevant research.

2.0 Methodology
Describe your proposed methods in sufficient detail so that the reader is clear about the following:

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 What kind of information will you be using?
 From what sources will the information be obtained?
 What resources will you require?
 What methodology will you be using?
 Why have you selected this approach?
 What ethical and safety issues have you identified and how do you propose to proceed?
This section is essential to most good research proposals. How you study a problem is often as
important as the results you collect. This section includes a description of the general means
through which the goals of the study will be achieved: methods, materials, procedures, tasks, etc.
An effective methodology section should:
 Introduce the overall methodological approach for each problem, question, or objective. Is
your study qualitative or quantitative? Are you going to take a special approach, such as
action research, or use case studies?
 Describe the specific methods of data collection you are going to use—e.g. experiments,
surveys, interviews, questionnaires, observation, archival or traditional library research.
 Explain how you intend to analyse and interpret your results. Will you use statistical
analysis? Will you use specific theoretical perspectives to help you analyse a text or explain
observed behaviours?
 Address potential limitations. Are there any practical limitations that could affect your data
collection? How will you attempt to control for potential confounding variables and errors?

3.0 References
List all publications cited in your proposal. Use the style recommended by the school or your
supervisor. You should use the APA referencing system (see the library webpage of APU). Use
current and reliable references from journal articles, conference proceedings, books, theses, etc. it is
recommended to use a reference manager (such as EndNote, Mendeley, etc) to help you in
formatting the references and save your time.

PART 3: PRESENTATION 15%

1. Briefly describe in detail on Research Concept Paper created.

E. REPORT QUIDELINES:
i. Part 1: Project Proposal (Introduction)
Submission : Week 7
Format : Follow the paper template provided (refer to page 7)
Word count : Maximum of 3000 words excluding references.
Line spacing : 1.0 lines
Font Size : 12 (titles and headings should be Bold)
Font Type : Times New Roman

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ii. Part 2: Project Proposal (Literature Review & Methodology)

Submission : Week 14
Format : Follow the paper template provided (refer to page 8)
Word count : Maximum of 3500 words excluding references.
Line spacing : 1.0 lines
Font Size : 12 (titles and headings should be Bold)
Font Type : Times New Roman

b) Part 3: Presentation
 Starting on Week 8
 Slides deck suitable for 5-minute presentation is required

Plagiarism
Basically, 'plagiarism' means representing someone else's work as if it is your own. This is a very
serious academic offence for all students within the University regulations and is particularly
reprehensible for a researcher. Please do not even consider it. The proposal will be submitted online
via Moodle, and Turnitin Software will run automatically for plagiarism checking. Remember that
accidental plagiarism (or the appearance of it) may be avoided by referencing your work properly.
This gains you credit, not loses it! The simple rule is that you must not represent the ideas of other
people (whether they are published works or the work of other students) as your own.
The golden rule on plagiarism is DO NOT DO IT!

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PART 1 (Paper Template)

You should structure your paper as follows, using two columns:

Title

Author
Email

Abstract— Provide a clear and concise

abstract here.

Index Terms References

References here in APA format:
Enter key words or phrases in alphabetical
order, separated by commas.

1. Introduction
This section should be succinct, with no
subheadings. This heading should be Times
New Roman 12-point boldface, initially
capitalized, flush left, with one blank line
before.

2. Problem Statement
The study shows that there is a gap …….

3. Research Aim
This section may each be divided by
subheadings or may be combined

4. Research Objectives
This section may each be divided by
subheadings or may be combined

5. Research Questions

6. Research Significance

7. Overview of the Proposed

System/Research
Figure 1.0 show the proposed system
overview …..

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PART 2 (Paper Template)

You should structure your paper as follows, using two columns:

Title
Author(s)
Email

This should clearly explain the main

1. Introduction conclusions of the work highlighting its
This section should be succinct, with no importance and relevance.
subheadings. This heading should be Times
New Roman 12-point boldface, initially 5. References
capitalized, flush left, with one blank line References here in APA format:
before.

2. Literature Review
2.1 Domain 1
2.2 Domain 2
2.3 Domain 3
2.4 Similar system
The comparison of similar systems were
tabulated in Table 1. Three different
systems were compared, where these
systems were reported in three different
articles as in the Table 1. System 1 …..

Table 1 Similar system comparisons with

research gaps identified
Journal Authors Title Key Research
(Year) Findings Gaps

3. Methodology
3.1 Target user (who?)
3.2 Sampling method (How?)
3.3 Data collection method (What to
do after that?)

4. Conclusion

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RMCT Marking Sheet

First Marker
Section Criteria Weightage
(out of 100)
Part 1: Project Proposal
Grammar, formatting, citation, references 10
(Introduction)
[40%] Abstract & Key terms 10

CLO1 Problem Statement, Aim & Objectives 10 /40

Research significance & Overview of System 10 = 40%

Part 2: Project Proposal
Grammar, formatting, citation, references 5
(Literature Review &
Methodology)
Literature Review 25 /45
[45%]
Research Methodology 15 =45%
CLO2
Part 3: Presentation
Presentation 5
[15%]
Slides Quality 5 /15
CLO3
Questions and Answers 5 = 15%

Comments:
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________

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2. RMCT Assessment Criteria and Marking Scheme
Part 1: Project
Proposal
(Introduction) Distinction Merit Pass Fail
[40%]

80 - 100 70 - 79 60 - 69 50 - 59 40 - 49 0 - 39
Excellent and Clear and consistent Generally good Writing is not very Poor, grammar Falls far below the
professional writing, writing, with few writing, some good, but still sometimes makes standard for
few grammatical or grammatical or errors, inconsistent understandable, meaning difficult to submission and is
spelling mistakes. spelling errors. spellings. Citations with some errors interpret, frequently difficult
There is full, Source are generally are mostly done, and inconsistencies. Inconsistent to follow. Very
Grammar, accurate, and cited correctly, the and references are References and spelling, or poor citations,
formatting, professional citations majority of up to date, but there citations are grammar. references, and
citation, references of very recent references are recent are some outdated acceptable, but lack Inadequate citations format.
(10%) sources and reliable and reliable, and and non-reliable of high quality and of sources, outdated
references with format is mostly sources, suitable professional and unreliable
correct format. correct. format. sources, acceptable references, poor
format with some format with many
mistakes. mistakes.

Outstanding Very careful Evidence of Incomplete and not Fails to identify Little or no
evidence of sys- reviewing, sys- reviewing, possibly systematic, but enough of the evidence of a
tematic review using tematic complete, and using adequate to identify literature to yield an systematic
multiple searches combinations of appropriate part of the informative review. approach, incom-
and databases. The search terms. The approaches. The literature. The The significance plete review.
Abstract & Key significance and significance and significance and significance and and scope of the Significance and/or
scope of the research scope of the research scope of the scope of the study is described, scope of the study is
terms (10%)
is clearly described. is clear, but could be research is clear, research is but it is not clear or missing or contain
The research is written better. The but there is a lack moderately clear, by supported by any irrelevant
strongly justified and research is justified of strong support by weak support from reference. description, without
supported by reliable and supported by reliable references. references. any reference.
references. reliable references.

Problem The research The research The research The research The research The research
Statement, Aim & problem is clearly problem is clear and problem is problem is un- problem is not clear problem is not

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Part 1: Project
Proposal
(Introduction) Distinction Merit Pass Fail
[40%]

80 - 100 70 - 79 60 - 69 50 - 59 40 - 49 0 - 39
defined, and relevant relevant, and sup-
moderately clear derstandable, but or relevant to the understandable and
to the programme of ported by LR, butand relevant, but it not very clear and programme of relevant. RQs are
study. PS supported could be written is not strongly relevant to the study. It is not not designed well,
by very recent better. RQs are clear
supported by LR, programme of supported by LR. or not significant,
references. RQs are and relevant to PS,
and need some study. It is not RQs are not related and relevant to the
very clear and but need some minor
adjustments. RQ sufficiently to the PS, and PS. Aim, objectives
Objectives (10%) relevant to the PS. corrections. Aim and
could be written supported by LR. should be are missing or so
Aim and objectives objectives are well
better. Aim and RQ need to be revamped. Aim and poorly written
are concisely selected. Clearlyobjectives are modified. Aim and objectives are de- meaning is unclear
elaborated. Original relevant ROs are identified and Objectives are scribed in broad
and highly relevant determined. mostly relevant to described clearly, terms only. ROs
ROs are clearly project. Relevant but not biased from outlined but lacking
articulated. ROs outlined, but PS. in clarity or focus.
could be tighter in
their focus.
Research significance The significance of The significance of The significance of The significance of The significance of The significance of
& Overview of the research the research the research the research the research the research
System (10%) outcomes to the outcomes to the outcomes to the outcomes were outcomes were outcomes were
scientific community scientific community scientific partially explained. explained in an merely noticeably.
and the world were and the world were community and the Description of the unconvincing The description of
well explained. An explained world were briefly proposed system is manner. The the proposed system
excellent description sufficiently. A very explained. Clear provided, with description of the provided was
of the proposed good description of description of the some omissions in proposed system unclear.
system is provided, the proposed system proposed system is description or the was provided with
detailing the is provided, detailing provided with very deliverables. very limited
features/functionalit the little omissions. information.
y and how it features/functionality
addresses the and how it addresses
problem statement. the problem
The description is statement.
supported by

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Part 1: Project
Proposal
(Introduction) Distinction Merit Pass Fail
[40%]

80 - 100 70 - 79 60 - 69 50 - 59 40 - 49 0 - 39
appropriate
diagrams.

Part 2: Project
Proposal (Literature
Review & Distinction Merit Pass Fail
Methodology)
[45%]

80 - 100 70 - 79 60 - 69 50 - 59 40 - 49 0 - 39
Excellent and Clear and consistent Generally good Writing is not very Poor, grammar Falls far below the
professional writing, writing, with few writing, some good, but still sometimes makes standard for
few grammatical or grammatical or errors, inconsistent understandable, meaning difficult to submission and is
spelling mistakes. spelling errors. spellings. Citations with some errors interpret, frequently difficult
There is full, Source are generally are mostly done, and inconsistencies. Inconsistent to follow. Very poor
Grammar, accurate, and cited correctly, the and references are References and spelling, or citations, references,
formatting, professional majority of up to date, but there citations are grammar. and format.
citation, references citations of very references are recent are some outdated acceptable, but lack Inadequate citations
(5%) recent sources and and reliable, and and non-reliable of high quality and of sources, outdated
reliable references format is mostly sources, suitable professional and unreliable
with correct format. correct. format. sources, acceptable references, poor for-
format with some mat with many
mistakes. mistakes.

Literature Review Outstanding Very careful Evidence of Incomplete and not Fails to identify Little or no

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Part 2: Project
Proposal (Literature
Review & Distinction Merit Pass Fail
Methodology)
[45%]

80 - 100 70 - 79 60 - 69 50 - 59 40 - 49 0 - 39
evidence of sys- reviewing, sys- reviewing, possibly systematic, but enough of the evidence of a
tematic review tematic complete, and using adequate to identify literature to yield an systematic
using multiple combinations of appropriate part of the literature. informative review. approach, incom-
searches and data- search terms. The approaches. The The significance The significance plete review.
bases. The significance and significance and and scope of the and scope of the Significance and/or
significance and scope of the re- scope of the research is study is described, scope of the study is
(25%) scope of the search is clear, but research is clear, but moderately clear, by but it is not clear or missing or contain
research is clearly could be written there is a lack of weak support from supported by any irrelevant
described. The better. The research strong support by references. reference. description, without
research is strongly is justified and reliable references. any reference.
justified and supported by
supported by reli- reliable references.
able references.

Methodology is Methodology is The methodology is The methodology is The methodology is The methodology is
clearly defined, and clear and relevant, moderately clear understandable, but not clear or relevant not understandable
relevant to the and supported by and relevant, but it not very clear and to the programme of and relevant with
Methodology (15%) programme of study LR, but could be is not strongly relevant to the study. It is not unclear flow.
and clearly articu- written better. written programme of supported by
lated. study. citation

Presentation (15%) Distinction Merit Pass Fail

80 - 100 70 - 79 60 - 69 50 - 59 40 - 49 0 - 39
Presentation (5%) The presentation The presentation The presentation The presentation had The presentation No presentation or
was excellent, with had a clear structure had a clear structure a moderately clear was weak in terms very poor
a clear structure and and included most and included most structure and in- of structure, presentation.
included all the of the necessary of the required cluded the required contents, and

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Presentation (15%) Distinction Merit Pass Fail

80 - 100 70 - 79 60 - 69 50 - 59 40 - 49 0 - 39
necessary parts and parts and details. sections, but some contents, but details details.
contents with de- Time Management details were not of contents are not Time management
tails. and English presented. provided. Time and English
Time management, presentation were Time management management and presentation were
and English good. and English English presentation weak.
presentation were presentation needed were satisfactory.
excellent. to be improved.

The presentation The presentation The presentation Slides were Slides were poor No slides or very
used excellent used very good used good slides, in satisfactory, but and most of feature poor slides
slides, in terms of slides, in terms of terms of content, slides are not to show a prepared.
layout, content, layout, content, but some feature of prepared in a good satisfactory
consistency of consistency of a professional slides manner in terms of presentation were
Slides Quality (5%) formatting, order of formatting, order of are not provided, or content/Inconsistency not included in
information, title information, title inconsistencies in of layout and slides/ poor layout
page, page numbers, page, page numbers, terms of layout or formatting and formatting
references, etc. etc. However it formatting.
could be improved.

Questions and The student was The student was The student was The student was able The student was not The student did not
Answers (5%) able to interpret able to interpret able to interpret to interpret correctly able to interpret answer or was not
correctly the correctly the correctly the some questions, and many questions able to interpret the
questions, and questions, and questions, and answer accordingly. correctly, and majority of
answer accordingly answer accordingly. answer accordingly. Responses to responses were not I questions, and
and very Responses to Responses to most questions were correct depth and responses were not
confidently. questions were at of questions were at mainly at the correct appropriate to the correct or in an
Responses to the correct depth, the correct depth, depth, and in an question. A low appropriate
questions were at and in an and in an appropriate language level of knowledge language.
the correct depth, appropriate appropriate given the audience. and understanding
and in an language given the language given the Knowledge of the of topic is
appropriate audience. A audience. A subject area was demonstrated by the
language given the knowledge and knowledge and satisfactory. student.
audience. A deep understanding of the understanding of the
knowledge and subject area was subject area was
understanding of the demonstrated. mostly

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Presentation (15%) Distinction Merit Pass Fail

80 - 100 70 - 79 60 - 69 50 - 59 40 - 49 0 - 39
subject area was demonstrated.
demonstrated.

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