COIT20274: Information Systems for Business Professionals

COIT20274 Assignment Requirements - Term one, 2016 Page 1 of 4 COIT20274: Information Systems for Business Professionals, Term One 2016 Assignments 1 & 2 Requirements Assignment 1 – Due 5 pm, Friday of Week 4 Assignment 2 – Due 5 pm, Friday of Week 10 The requirements for assignments 1 and 2 are presented together as they are closely related. Note carefully their different due dates (refer to Academic Calendar for the current term). These assignments offer you the opportunity to consolidate what you learned in this course and further research; then apply to a case study. Read the “Case Study – Excellent Education International” first to get a general idea, then complete the tasks detailed for each assignment. Submit the reports by their due dates. Penalties of 5% per day will be applied for late submission. Assignments overview In Assignment 1, you will undertake a literature search to identify some references relevant to the case study questions. Although you should consider the case study and questions in identifying relevant references, you do not need to provide the answers in assignment 1. This literature search assignment helps you to understand the topic areas related to the case study questions and prepare you for assignment 2, in which you will prepare a full report to address the case study questions. You must do assignment 1 on an individual basis, not as a group. Note that Assignment 1 is not a formal literature review, that is, you are not summarising, evaluating, or clarifying all literature on the topic. You are only justifying the use of some relevant references for Assignment 2. Assignment 1 will be assessed on the appropriateness of your choice of references and the justifications you presented. In Assignment 2, you will prepare a non-technical report in which you present research findings, analysis and recommendations related to the Case Study Questions. You will use the references chosen in assignment 1, adjusted appropriately according to assessment feedback. You must submit your report in the format as specified in the assignment requirements. Students may work on this assignment on an individual basis, or form a group of up to three members to work as a group assignment. Assignment 2 will be assessed according to criteria listed in the downloadable marking criteria sheet. The content requirements follow directly on from the Case Study and Case Study Questions. Correct referencing For both assignments, use HARVARD referencing style for in-text references and for the Reference List. Please refer to the CQU Harvard referencing guide. Both the 2015 or 2016 versions may be used. https://www(dot)cqu(dot)edu(dot)au/student-life/services-and-facilities/referencing/cquniversity-referencing-guides Copy/plagiarism detection process On submission, assignments are scanned by the copy detection software, Turnitin. Your assignment is checked against external sources and submitted assignments from current and previous terms for this course and other courses. Any copying found may be investigated. On investigation, marks can be deducted for any part of the work that is categorised as plagiarism, and further, any student identified in the copy detection process may be subject to penalties including deduction in marks, failure in course or expulsion from the University. Full details of the University’s plagiarism policies are available from the CQU website. COIT20274 Assignment Requirements - Term one, 2016 Page 2 of 4 Assignment requirements and report structure for ASSIGNMENT 1 First, read the Case Study and the questions carefully. Next, you must identify a total of six unique references that will help you to answer some or all the Case Study Questions in assignment 2. The following CQU library guide has links to useful resources, such as using ‘Discover It’ to search on relevant journal articles and books: http://libguides(dot)library(dot)cqu(dot)edu(dot)au/ICT Your list of proposed references must include at least three academic (scholarly) references and at most three general credible references. This means you can use more academic references and fewer general references, but not vice versa. The academic references must be from academic (scholarly) journals. The general references may be from relevant textbooks, high quality books or industry magazines. You should use your prescribed textbook as one of your general references. Using multiple quotes or material from different pages in the same reference is only counted as one reference. The references can be from printed or online sources and must be current (i.e., within the last five years). You can use material from organisational web sites as an example to support your arguments but these will not be counted towards the references’ quota (i.e., six references). Some websites are not acceptable as reference sources in research tasks. These include general encyclopaedic sites such as Wikipedia and student study sites that publish papers in various school or university study categories. Likewise, general printed encyclopaedias, popular magazines and newspapers are not considered to be scholarly references. In the body of the report, in your own words, write a justification for each selected reference, how each reference is relevant to one or more Case Study questions. Use in-text reference to acknowledge the source. Each justification would therefore include at least one in-text reference. The assignment 1 report must include the sections in the order shown below:  Title page - must include: assignment title, a suitable report title, your name and student number, course code and name, term and year, your local lecturer / tutor, due date, and the date submitted. Place title page on its own page.  Introduction - State the purpose of the report, and outline the scope of the report.  Justification - Present six sections. Each section focuses on one selected reference. Present the justification on why it is relevant to one or more Case Study questions. Present the relevant sub-topic areas in words, with the relevant question numbers (Q1-7). Use a suitable sub-heading for each section, reflecting the relevant sub-topic areas. Use concise writing style to cover essential ideas. Present all justifications (six sections) in 2-3 pages. In-text references must be in CQU Harvard referencing format.  Reference List - Use a new page to present, according to CQU Harvard referencing format.  Other report components such as Executive Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations are not required in assignment 1. Other requirements on format  Header (short assignment title, left aligned; course code/term/year, right aligned)  Footer (your family name and student ID, left aligned; page number, right aligned)  Header and footer should start from the page containing ‘Introduction’ heading. Use section breaks to control.  Text formatting (Times New Roman, 12pt., single-spaced). You may also make use appropriate emphasis such as bold, italics, and underscore.  Paragraph formatting (justify, single spaced and 6 pt. space after each paragraph)  Page formatting (should be in A4, portrait orientation, with 2.54cm margin all around)  Do not use bullet-point for Headings and Sub-headings. Numbering may be used. COIT20274 Assignment Requirements - Term one, 2016 Page 3 of 4 Assignment requirements and report structure for ASSIGNMENT 2 Students may work on this assignment on an individual basis, or form a group of up to three members to work as a group assignment. Students who have interest to work as a group assignment could have the opportunities to learn valuable group work skills. It can also save time and allow the sharing of tasks, but in return for this benefit, students are required to demonstrate a greater use of collaboration and communication in a small team environment. For example, you should attend group meetings and submit brief record on three group meetings as samples. Please read the additional requirements stated in the ‘Group Mode Rules’ document for details. On campus students should follow the advice and seek the approval from your local lecturer or tutor. For distance learning students, you may express your interest and gain contacts via the forum in the course web page (Moodle). If there are two to three students would like to form a group, you should discuss the feasibility of communication and collaboration, nominate a coordinator. The group coordinator should submit a proposal on forming a group to the Course Coordinator for consideration, by Monday in week 6 (18 April 2016). As the consultant, your report is to advise your clients on the possibilities that would best suit their existing and future needs. You do this by writing a non-technical report that addresses all the sub-topicsraised in the Case Study Questions and making full use of the references you identified in assignment 1 plus at least four more scholarly references, making a minimum of ten references. You are encouraged to conduct further research, on more than the minimum requirements of ten references. You should acknowledge all the references. Note that your use of the references should fully incorporate any feedback received from assignment 1 assessment. For example, if a reference was marked as inappropriate in assignment 1, then that reference cannot be used in assignment 2. You must select a new reference to replace the inappropriate one. Assignment 1 will not be marked again so do not re-submit it. The replacement reference will be marked on its merits in assignment 2. The report must include the following sections in the order shown  Title Page (same as the requirements in assignment 1)  Executive Summary (purpose of the report, summary of major findings and conclusions, specific recommendations) Place this on its own page.  Introduction (purpose and scope of assignment 2, no need to have further sub-headings within ‘Introduction’)  Discussion (follow the order of Case Study questions to address all sub-topics, use your own words in a professional style, supported by references) Good headings and sub-headings should be used to improve presentation. Do not present in question/answer format. Use concise writing style to cover essential ideas. Present the whole Discussion section (covers all sub-topics in Case Study questions) in 4-8 pages.  Conclusion and Recommendations (wrap-up on major points, based on discussion and analyses, state the recommendations on specific action)  Reference List (use CQU Harvard referencing style). Place this on its own page. Other requirements on format Follow the format requirements on assignment 1, regarding header, footer, text, paragraph, page, headings and subheadings. COIT20274 Assignment Requirements - Term one, 2016 Page 4 of 4 Notes  The assignment will be marked on the criteria listed in the marking guides that can be found on the course website. Use these marking guides to double-check you have covered all requirements.  There is no need to discuss detail hardware and software specifications, such as details on memory size or response time. You are encouraged to focus on addressing the concerns of management as detailed in the Case Study Questions, in a way that is understandable by non-technical business managers.  Make any necessary assumptions if that are not covered by the assignment materials. List your assumptions clearly.  There is no fixed “correct” solution for the report. It is possible for students to have different findings and recommendations. What is crucial is that the arguments presented are logical and consistent, demonstrate your learning and research, and clearly addresses the sub-topics stated in Case Study questions.  Prepare the report in your own words as much as possible. Learn to paraphrase the ideas from various sources. Lengthy quotes, even if referenced correctly, are not considered to be your own work. Further enquiries For on-campus students, your assignment will be marked by your local lecturer or tutor. You should forward your enquiries to and follow the advice from your local lecturer or tutor. For students in the Brisbane Campus and distance learning students, please contact the Course Coordinator. Michael Chan, COIT20274 Course Coordinator