Task Description
ASSIGNMENT TASK
Assignment 1 comprises three main components: 1) a review of four scholarly articles relating to a project management field of your choice; 2) a critical evaluation of the four sources and 3) formulating a proposed research topic in response to identified gaps in the reviewed resources. This assignment aims to help you to gain the necessary knowledge in a specific area and decide a suitable research topic relevant to your domain and aligned with your own interest, passion and career goals.
The assignment will help you understand how to conduct preliminary search for specific and credible literature on a certain topic and how to review the resources in order to generate and refine your research ideas and identify a gap in literature that warrants research. The first component of the assignment requires you to select a project management field that you are interested to research about (i.e. leadership). You may also be interested in an initial topic within that field (i.e. Impact of PM leadership on project team loyalty).
The more focused is your initial topic, the easier it is for you to find resources and produce worthwhile critical review report. Should you have no preference about a particular topic, you may select one of the fields addressed in the PMI Talent Triangle under three areas of focus. This Triangle represents the ideal skill set for competent project managers which is a combination of technical, leadership and strategic and business & management expertise.
You are encouraged to select topics from the following popular areas of researcht:
Project management education.
Innovative project management
Ethical and legal compliance
Conflict and dispute resolution.
Lean project management.
Leadership competences
You are encouraged to start each review on a new page. The total length of each review should be no longer than one page. Your review of each article should cover the following itemized components:
Purpose: Identify the research aim, questions or hypotheses of the paper
Method: Summarize the research design or method used in the paper
Key concepts: Identify the key arguments (NOT facts) raised in the paper.
Findings: Summarize the main outcomes of the paper
Significance/Implications: Explain the practical outcomes or impacts that paper makes.
Limitation: Identify the opportunities for further research.
Reflection: Summarize your personal reflection about the reliability of the research method(s) adopted in the paper.
The second component of the assignment includes a critical evaluation of the four articles. The critical evaluation should comprise an analysis of the major relationships including similarities and differences, trends, themes or patterns in the four papers. You are encouraged to present your analysis by using a table or matri
You must source their articles form credible peer review journals. A non-executive list of credible PM journals is provided below where the CQU library has full subscription. If you struggle to access any of those journals or to find resources on your chosen topic, you are encouraged to visit the Research skills Moodle site, library guide and/or liaise with a librarian to help you with that.
- International journal of project management
- Project Management journal.
- Construction Engineering and Economics.
- Construction management and economics.
- International journal of construction management.
- Journal of construction engineering and management.
The third component of the assignment is the formulation of your research topic in light of the research gaps identified in your review. You should propose a research topic. A good research topic should not exceed 15 words. You will get feedback whether or not the topic is appropriate for adoption in your research proposal (Assignment 2). As an example of a good topic, you may articulate a focused topic after your critical review of resources relating to project leadership as follows:
The impact of effective project manager’s soft skills on the project team loyalty in large construction projects in India, OR;
The success factors of project leadership to maintain the loyalty of project team in Victoria.
Instructions for submission:
- Your submission must take the form of an academic report (including cover sheet, executive summary, body, conclusion and references)
- Each review should be conducted in a separate page using the full reference as a title of that page
- Use the sub-headings for review as per the assignment requirements
- Submit your assignment in WORD format (DOC or DOCx)
- Zip the four resources used for the review and upload them as one file along with your assignment
Assessment Criteria:
The assignment report will be generally assessed on the quality of the work presented, the extent and coverage of the key aspects and understanding of the issues involved. More specifically, your assignment will be assessed on the extent and quality to which it meets each of the following criteria.
Selection of credible sources relevant to one topic (10%)
Complete and well formulated review of the resources in response to the assessment task (40%)
Demonstration of critical engagement in analysing the literature and identifying patterns and themes (25%)
Selection of a focused research topic to address identified gaps (15%)
Clarity of expression, language, format and presentation of the report (10%)
Learning Outcomes Assessed
Apply project management processes, tools and techniques in articulating, designing and planning for the execution of a research project
Develop and employ ethical practices that consider social, cultural and legal responsibilities of researchers Conduct a literature search to identify a problem that warrants research within the project management context
Graduate Attributes
Knowledge
Communication
Cognitive, technical and creative skills
Research
Self-management
Ethical and Professional Responsibility
Leadership
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