MG3123 Issues and Controversies in Marketing Project

Project Proposal Description and Checking Guidelines

Submission Date: Thursday 19th November 2009

Date last updated: [14/08/09]

This document has two purposes. First, it is a description of what the Proposal is and what
are the requirements related to it. Second, it will provide you with a checklist to use when
preparing your Proposal and a feedback sheet for your Tutor.

A. The Individual Project Proposal is a more detailed formal exposition of your

research idea and begins to focus the scope and application of your combined
knowledge across academic, general management and experiential fields. This
proposal must be no longer than 2500 words excluding the project plan and the
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references. As an indication, the title of the research proposal should reflect the
intended focus of the project. You should be proactive in the development of your
Project Proposal and the role of the supervisor is to help you shape YOUR ideas to
address the following core components:

a. Introduction / research background: illustrate the problem which your

research will be addressing, explain its academic and industrial context in general terms.
b. Project aim and objectives: define the overall aim of the project and the
specific measurable objectives that you plan to achieve. You should phrase your
objectives in a way that once achieved will demonstrate successful achievement of the
overall aim.
c. Review of existing work / literature: demonstrate knowledge and critical
understanding of past and current work in the subject area by synthesizing at least 5
academic references of relevance to your work using the Harvard style of referencing 1,
bringing to bear not only existing concepts but also emerging themes and applications
from the “real world”.
d. Research Methodology: this should include information on the general
methodological approach you intend to adopt, and techniques to be used for data
collection and analysis.
e. Industrial or commercial research contacts: an indication of where and how
you will be able to gather and conduct research on your topic and the manner by which
you will gain access to relevant stakeholders or data.
f. Problems: identification of likely problems, limitations and methods of
resolution.
g. Timetable / Project Plan: describe the tasks you need to conduct in order to
complete the project, identifying major milestones by which you and your supervisor will
monitor the progress of your project (e.g. completion of literature review, completion of
data collection). This can be illustrated by a simple diagrammatic work plan (GANNT
chart) or similar. The work plan is not included in the words limit of the detailed research
proposal and represents a one-page ‘appendix’ to this report.

B. The checklist focuses on the key requirements that you need to achieve before
embarking on the main research Project. As you draft your Proposal, check that
you can answer ‘yes’ to each of the questions. You should also ask someone else
(e.g. a fellow student, friend or family member) to read your draft proposal and see
whether they agree with you. Please note that tutors do NOT read proposals
1

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 before submission; the learning outcomes of the module require that you
make your own judgments about whether your proposal meets the necessary
requirements. Second, the document will be used by your tutor to give you useful
individualized feedback on your Proposal. For each of the checklist questions, the
tutor will tick the relevant box to say whether your Proposal has:

 Achieved the necessary requirements – so you can proceed with your Project.
 Largely achieved the necessary requirements – so some minor revisions are
required before you proceed with your Project.
 Not achieved the necessary requirements – so you need to make major revisions, or
do a lot more work before proceeding with your Project.

If most of your feedback is in the ‘Largely achieved’ or ‘Not achieved’ areas, we strongly
recommend that you revise the Proposal for your own benefit, taking full account of the
guidance provided by your tutor, as well as any advice given in the lectures, seminars and
recommended readings.

(See checklist and feedback list below)

Brunel Business School

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 Checklist and Feedback Sheet
Section Checklist questions Tutor feedback
Title page Have you included: a working title for Achieved
your project, your name and student Largely
number, tutor’s name, word count and Not achieved
the date?

Contents Have you prepared a table of contents Achieved

on a separate page, with headings, Largely
sub-headings and page numbers? Not achieved

Introduction, Have you included a clear and Achieved

Background and succinct introduction to your research Largely
Rationale of topic? Not achieved
Project
Have you explained the background Achieved
(e.g. industry / sector / company / Largely
product) to your research topic? Not achieved

Have you justified why the research is Achieved

worth doing at the present time? (e.g. Largely
its practical or theoretical importance) Not achieved
Brunel Business School

Aims and Have you identified relevant research Achieved

Objectives aims / objectives / questions? (n.b. Largely
wording may vary between modules) Not achieved

Have you convinced us that you can Achieved

complete the research given available Largely
time and resources (i.e. that your Not achieved
Project is feasible)?

Literature Review Does the Literature Review cover Achieved

succinctly approx. 12–15 relevant Largely
references from reputable sources Not achieved
such as the Brunel Library / Electronic
Databases?
Achieved
Is there a reasonable balance Largely
between books, academic journals Not achieved
and other materials? (e.g. newspaper
articles, research reports).
Achieved
Have you identified some (i.e. around Largely
1-3) theories / models / frameworks / Not achieved
key concepts from these sources that
are particularly relevant to your topic?
Achieved
Is there an indication of any other Largely
areas of research that you will be Not achieved
looking at over the next few months?
Research Have you outlined the methods you Achieved
methods propose to use to collect and to Largely
analyse research evidence / data? Not achieved

Have you discussed alternative

research methods and justified your Achieved
choice? Largely
Not achieved
Have you considered and addressed
any ethical issues that might arise in Achieved
your research? (e.g. commercial Largely
Research confidentiality, informed consent) Not achieved
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 methods
(continued) Have you identified possible problems Achieved
and limitations to this project and how Largely
they may be overcome? Not achieved

Project Timetable Have you detailed activities and key Achieved

and Resources deadlines on a weekly basis? Largely
Not achieved

Have you prepared a realistic Achieved

timetable (e.g. periods needed for Largely
main literature review, any primary Not achieved
research, writing up and editing)?
References Have you used the Harvard Achieved
Referencing System to cite academic Largely
sources in the text (e.g. Jobber Not achieved
2007)?
Achieved
Have you included a correctly Largely
presented (i.e. alphabetically ordered Not achieved
by author) list of references following
the Harvard Referencing System?
Structure Is there a logical flow between the Achieved
sections of your proposal? (i.e. can Largely
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the reader follow your argument Not achieved

easily?; is there consistency between
what you are saying in each section?)

Are you sure that any Appendices are: Achieved

relevant, necessary and cross- Largely
referenced in the text of the Proposal? Not achieved
Presentation Is your proposal presented in report Achieved
format with clear headings, Largely
subheadings, page numbering? Not achieved

Have you used any graphs, charts, Achieved

illustrations and tables appropriately Largely
(e.g. are titles and sources included?, Not achieved
do they support / enhance the text?)

Writing Style Are issues discussed in a clear, Achieved

focused and succinct way? Largely
Not achieved

Have you checked / corrected errors Achieved

in spelling, grammar or punctuation? Largely
Not achieved
Submission Have you submitted your assignment Achieved
through U-Link, saved as a Microsoft Largely
Word file? Not achieved

Have you submitted your assignment Achieved

on time (Thursday, 19 November Largely
2009)? Not achieved

Further feedback notes

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