Project 1
How the project will be marked
Students were rated using a scale of 1‐10 (1 poor / 10 excellent) on the following elements:
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Abs: abstract (5 marks)
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Intr: introduction (10 marks)
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SAP: sap discussion (18 marks)
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OS: other software discussion (17 marks)
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Rec: recommendations(5 marks)
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Con: Conclusion (5 marks)
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Cit: Citation (10 marks)
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Ref: Reference list (5 marks)
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Ext: Extent of research (10 marks)
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Gram: Grammar (10 marks)
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Pres: Presentation (5 marks)
NOTE : THIS IS NOT YOUR ASSIGNMENT. ITS ON THE SAPPHIRE CONFERENCE ASSIGNMENT
Abstract
A good abstract summarises your overall report in 100‐150 words. It is better to think of the abstract in terms of succinctly answering: Who, What, When, Where, Why and How. The best abstracts discussed the main findings of the report. Many students use the abstract to talk about what they are going to do in their report. For example, they are going to talk about motivation to use SAP etc.. This is not a high level abstract as the same information can be gleaned by perusing the Table of Contents and in the closingsection of the introduction. The best abstracts succinctly discuss the major findings of the report. .
#p#分页标题#e#
Introduction
An excellent introduction would have contained:
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Background information about ERP systems (definition, CSFs and benefits)
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A statement of how you went about solving the research problem
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Limitations of your research
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A statement about how your report is organized
Many students thought the abstract only contains the background information. However, bear in mind that you need to mention the method for completing your report and its organization. For example, you would say something like this:
NOTE : This does not relate to your project
Given the importance of paying attention to the critical success factors mentioned, and the benefits of ERP systems, this report analyses four companies presentations from the SAPPHIRE Conference in Orlando Florida, May 2006. The purpose of this content analysis was to discover evidence of factors such as the business benefits of ERP systems, motivation to use such systems and the lessons learned.
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The report is organized as follows. In the first section the various SAP modules that companies implemented are discussed. In the section session, the motivations for implementing SAP are outlined. The third section focuses on the business benefits earned from the SAP system and the fourth section outlines the lessons leaned during the implementation process and beyond. Finally, the last section details the company’s future SAP plans as they continue to upgrade their systems.
SAP Modules
I was only looking for a few paragraphs about the modules that each company had implemented. Don’t go overboard and write a few pages about the functionality of each SAP module.#p#分页标题#e#
Motivation to use SAP
The best answers integrated the information. The features of each software is different, therefore the motivations must also be different. I think you should consider analysing the presentations from a higher‐level perspective. Look at reasons for the motivation such as: reducing the number of legacy systems, improving business processes, reducing the total cost of ownership, having better information for decision making, better integration, etc. The better reports included these factors as sub‐headings then used examples as per Melrose Health structure and business.
Moreover, I think many students need to carefully plan how they are answer each subsection of their report. That is, they need to think about the structure of their answer and stick to that structure for the entire section. It is a good idea to let the reader know what the structure is, so they can easily follow
your line of argument. For example, the first paragraph of the motivation section might go something like this:
Motivation
It was found that the main motivations for implementing an SAP system were: reduced legacy systems, increased integration, better information for decision‐making, increased competition, and reduced total cost of ownership. Each of these motivational factors are now discussed in turn.
You then go on to discuss the motivational factors in exactly the same order that you introduced them. This then leads the reader by the hand. They know upfront where you are going to take them. I love this!
Benefits from SAP, Lessons Learned, Future SAP Plans
Similar comments to these sections as the ones made in lessons learned.
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Conclusion
The conclusion should merely summarise what you had said in the main part of your report. You should not introduce new points in the conclusion and there usually is no need to cite in the conclusion (as you would have been expected to have cited that information earlier). The conclusion should not be too long (say 150 ‐ 250 words) for an essay of around 3000 words. A good conclusion stated specifically what the main findings were. Some students were very vague in their conclusion, they just said this report discussed the motivations for implementing ERP systems, or discussed the lessons learned from implementing ERP systems, etc. That is, they didn’t say anything definitive in the conclusion.
Citation
Students who scored 10 here made it clear where all (if not most) references came from. Students who scored 5 typically were only citing at the end each paragraph. It is better to include a mixture of citation methods ‐ such as at the end of a sentence, within a sentence and at the beginning of a sentence. Students who made several serious citation errors, received their assignments back to correct. That is, I don’t have the conscience to grade something that I believe belongs to someone else. While most students inadvertently plagiarize because they are not sure about the correct method for citation, I think it is a good lesson to learn that this plagiarism is not acceptable, for any reason.
Some students still believe that if they have written something in their own words, they do not have to cite the source. This is a fallacy. If you paraphrase from an article, you still must cite the source of that #p#分页标题#e#
article. If you copy large slabs of text, word‐for‐word from an article, then you must indent the text left and right. If you copy say 25 words or less, then you must enclose that text in quotation marks “ “. Remember, it must be clear where every single sentence comes from.
Reference List
To score 10, students needed to have a reference list in alphabetical order (based on surname or website source). Internet references should be complete (as per the example on our forum) and journals/books should be referenced properly. When using the Harvard referencing system, there is no need to number your references. To format the reference list, it is better that it is single spaced with 1 ½ lines between references. It should be left aligned as lengthy URLs make a mess of justified text.
Furthermore, the reference list should not be seen as the last task you do before submitting a report. A reference list is very important because it quickly shows the examiner how much research you have done. When an examiner is short on time, they probably would read the abstract, conclusion and reference list and then draw a conclusion as to what your grade should be. In my own research, I usually start with the reference list. I use a referencing program, such as Endnote, to build my reference library. From there, I then select the articles that are most relevant to my research.
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Extent of Research
In general, one source of information was the equivalent of one mark (excluding the Sapphire presentations), therefore 10 sources, equaled a score of 10. Those students who scored 4 for extent of research, typically only referenced 2 sources of information - the web sites of the software companies they had chosen. Some students put in a lot of research effort and so were rewarded accordingly. As a rule of thumb, you should access a minimum 4 source of information for each requirement. That is, four articles on CSF’s and 4 articles on Benefits, etc. The more research you do, the less opportunity there is to copy large slabs of text from a single source.#p#分页标题#e#
Grammar
I try not to penalize much for grammar as I appreciate how difficult it is to write assignments in a second language, which is the case for many of our students. So if you scored less than 10 here, it means you have a little bit of work to do before submitting an assignment.
Presentation
Some students go to a lot of effort to make their assignments look professional, while for other students it is perhaps an afterthought. So to reward students who take the care to submit professional work, a score of 5% was allocated.
Recommendations
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Make your abstracts more outcome focused
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Be mindful that an introduction contains at least some background information, the method to complete the analysis and the organization of the report.
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Make sure that it is clear where every single sentence comes from
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Undertake more research so that the temptation to simply repeat information from one article is ameliorated.
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Start each section with an introductory paragraph to guide the examiner as to where you are heading
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Be careful how you present the information in the reference list. A long reference list that has been carefully prepared really adds value to your report.
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Speaking of value, always endeavour to value-add on what is available in the public domain. Regurgitating information is not “value-adding”. Analysing information and presenting it in a format that is unique is “value-adding”.
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Do not introduce new points into your conclusion. Make sure your conclusion summarises the major findings of your analysis.
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