ENGM040 Research Ethics and Methodology
Coursework 3 – Planning a research project
This piece of assessment is 50% of the overall module assessment.
You are required to produce a report of maximum 2,000 words in total including the references list.
You must choose a topic which should be different than your MSc dissertation. The report should
summarise the current state of knowledge regarding your topic. This includes the main theories and
research methods used to explain and investigate the chosen topic.
You may use any available tool or source to complete your report (e.g. Google Scholar, Wikipedia,
LLMs, academic papers, books). The authors of each piece of information provided must be properly
indicated in the text and in the references list. Please note that Google Search, Wikipedia, LLMs
(such as Chat GPT) or other similar search engines and information aggregators are not the authors.
You must identify the real authors of any piece of information indicated in the text. You must use
Harvard referencing style. Here is a link to the referencing guidance and to the Harvard Referencing
Style.
The report should have the following structure:
Title of your report
1. Introduction (max 300 words) – a brief explanation of why the chosen topic is important
2. Content – a summary of the current state of the knowledge regarding the chosen topic
(max 1000 words)
3. Conclusions (max 300 words) – a brief summary of the content section
4. References list (max 400 words)
Marking scheme
Clarity of the explanation of the importance of the chosen topic (20%)
Ability to structure and explain the main theories and research methods regarding
the chosen topic (30%)
Quality of the conclusions (30%)
Authenticity of the sources used (10%)
Correctness of referencing using Harvard style (10%)
Deadline of the report submission: 28 March 2025 at noon.
The link for the report submission will be provided on this ELE page in due course