Part 1: Topic Selection (8% of the total mark)
To get your chosen topic approved, you need to justify your choice by submitting a document that contains:
• Your selected topic,
• Summary of the selected topic, including:
o The key aspects of the topic (i.e. what is the topic about)
o The significance and relevance of the topic
• Bibliographic details (two or three references)
Your submission should be about 400 words (excluding references). A Submission URL link will be provided in Canvas. Please note that the nomination of topics is a process of -first in, best dressed-. It means that if someone else has approval for your chosen topic before you do, you will be requested to select a different topic. An updated list of approved topics will become available, and students can review the list before submitting their topic for approval.
All topics must be submitted no later than Week 4 (week beginning 24 August 2020). Students must get their selected topics approved by their tutor no later than week 5 (week beginning 31 August 2020). Topics not submitted by the end of Week 4 will not be approved.
It is highly advised to select your topic and get it approved as soon as possible, preferably by the end of Week 3. This will ensure there is enough time for topics to be reviewed and possibly revised. Remember that your final topic, at its latest, MUST be submitted for approval by the end of Week 4 (COB Friday 28 August) even if your initial choice was rejected.
N.B. Please do not leave the submission of your topic to the last minute. If you submit your topic at the end of Week 4 and your topic gets rejected, then you may not be able to get an approval for a new topic by the end of Week 5, and consequently, you may have no topic for Part 2. Topics submitted after Week 4 will not be considered unless it is requested by your tutor or an extension is granted.
Recommended Timeline:
Week 1: Review List 1 and identify a topic area(s)
Week 2: Research selected topic area(s) and chose a topic
Week 3: Write your 400 justification and submit Part 1
Week 4: Finalise your topic and resubmit for approval (if needed)
Guidelines for selecting your topic:
As a rule of thumb, general topics are not suitable for a research essay, and most likely, they will not attract approval. As a starting point, you should look at the presented topic areas on List 1.
Please note that items on List 1 CANNOT be selected as your topic of choice for your essay.
These are areas where you need to research and select a topic from.
Once you find an area (or areas) of your interests from List 1, then you should try to narrow your topic by researching resources provided on List 2 to find a suitable topic for your essay. Your focus should be on issues that are contemporary and relevant to the practice of enterprise systems. For example, you may decide to focus on a particular technology and how it works, or you may be interested in understanding unique ways that an enterprise system may affect the social fabric or the operation of an organisation.
Examples:
These are examples of topics that do not sound suitable for your essay as they are too broad and do not lend themselves to a good research essay:
• How do enterprise systems work? X
• Enterprise systems and security X
• Dara security X
These are a couple of examples of topics that sound suitable for a research essay:
• How can enterprise systems change the leadership of an organisation? ?
• What are the security concerns of using enterprise systems in hospitals and how they can be addressed? ?
*Please note that the approval of your topic is also dependent on how you justify your selection.