Assessment of RAP Archives - "VM" Virtual Mentoring

How SLS is assessed by considering Self Reflection?

maq — Fri, 27 Dec 2019 06:41:49 +0000

How SLS is assessed by considering Self Reflection by OBU Examiner?

The Skills and Learning Statement is assessed (by considering Self Reflection) only as a Pass or a Fail, it does not receive a grade. Still, the student needs to dedicate equal attention to the SLS as to the Research Report, because it is necessary to pass the SLS in order to pass the whole RAP project. Self reflection in entire SLS is important and Self-reflection in other words can be called critical reflection, and is a key academic and professional skill. The reflection requires the student to review and evaluate the experiences they have had and the acquired learning. There is an emphasis on evaluation that needs to be noted. The SLS should not be a simple description of the student’s actions, it needs to be an evaluation of the experiences of performing the project work. The student needs to make some meaning of what they have experienced and make a good judgement of how good they have achieved their set objectives, and also make a conclusion about the value of the process of preparation of the RAP project.

As there is no unique or a model answer to any of the SLS questions, the student needs to make a clear and honest evaluation. Because not every experience can be a positive one, and many things may not have gone as planned, the evaluation needs to clearly reflect on the actual events no matter if they are not pleasant, and not be an idealized version that the student wishes has happened and tries to convince the OBU markers. The applied research is usually messy and unsatisfying, and the student can greatly benefit from all sorts of mishaps that have occurred during the research work. And it is also advisable that all this is reflected in the student’s Skills and Learning Statement.

In order for the student to pass the self-reflection part of the SLS, they will need to make a good attempt and address all the questions in the SLS equally. In any other case, the student will likely fail their SLS. The student needs to show their ability to reflect on the judgements that have been made and the actions they have taken while working on the RAP. The OBU markers expect to see some evidence that the student recognizes their strengths and weaknesses. If the student only provides a simple description of the events that took place while preparing the RAP, they will likely fail the SLS part of the RAP.

Click here for detail about complete guidance of Research and Analysis Project

Important Links

Click here to access Registration Form.

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RAP Viva Now Part of the OBU Marking Process

maq — Fri, 27 Dec 2019 02:41:56 +0000

RAP Viva Now Part of the OBU Marking Process

A sample students who submitted Research and Analysis Project (RA) to Oxford Brookes University (OBU) will be given a viva – an oral examination.

The RAP assessments are made and comments added by a member of the OBU staff (named the first assessor). Later, a representative sample of the assessments is reviewed by a second assessor from the OBU team. This process is later reviewed by a chief moderator and this involves the analysis made by both previous markers complete with averages, ranges ant the like.

After the internal moderation, a sample is reviewed by an External Examiner that ensures the standards of the programme are applied in a correct manner and are comparable to the standards of other similar institutions.

A sample that consist of students will be given a viva – an oral examination. This sample is selected after the submission of the RAP. Should a student be chosen for a viva, they will be contacted via the OBU ACCA office to finalize the details about the meeting and examination. This may be done face-to-face or via an online medium like Skype. The viva usually lasts about 15 minutes and the questions may relate to any part of the RAP preparation and submission. This process is used to estimate the student’s knowledge and understanding of the RAP and as a manner of confirmation that the RAP is indeed the personal work of the student.

Click here for detail about complete guidance of Research and Analysis Project

Important Links

Click here to access Registration Form.

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How marking and moderation of RAP perform?

maq — Fri, 27 Dec 2019 02:30:15 +0000

How marking and moderation of RAP perform?

Post assessment moderation approach: the assessments are made and comments added by a member of the OBU staff (named the first assessor). Later, a representative sample of the assessments is reviewed by a second assessor from the OBU team. This process is later reviewed by a chief moderator and this involves the analysis made by both previous markers complete with averages, ranges ant the like.

Click here for detail about complete guidance of Research and Analysis Project

Important Links

Click here to access Registration Form.

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Assessment to pass Research and Analysis Project (RAP)

maq — Fri, 27 Dec 2019 02:16:32 +0000

Assessment to pass Research and Analysis Project (RAP)

The RAP project is the last component necessary to pass the BSc Hons. degree in Applied Accounting from Oxford Brookes University (OBU) and it consist of two parts: the Research Report (7,500 words) and the Skills and Learning Statement (SLS) (2,000 words). The RR word count of 7,500 words contains everything from the title page and concluding with the conclusion page, not including the appendices and reference list.

The student is required to present their project to their Mentor and this presentation needs to be included in the submission of the RAP to OBU.

The student gets three chances to pass their RAP. Should the student fail on the three separate occasions, they are no longer eligible to obtain a BSc degree. The student can submit the same project three times or prepare three different topics. The student should be certain that they meet the eligibility criteria before they submit a project. This is important if the student is resubmitting a project and is at risk of exceeding the ten year limit of eligibility (click here to check eligibility criteria).

In order to completely pass the RAP, the student needs to pass the Research Report (RR) and the Skills and Learning Statement (SLS). The student needs to pass both components separately within the same submission period, in the other case the student will get a Fail grade to the RAP.

For the Research Report (RR), the student will get a Pass grade (A, B, C) or a Fail grade (F). And for the SLS, the student will either get a Pass or a Fail status.

If the student receives one of the three Pass grades to the RR and a Pass status for the SLS, they will be appointed a pass status on the RAP. The final grade the student receives to the entire RAP is the grade they receive for the RR – A, B, or C. After the student gets a pass status on the RAP, they are no longer eligible for further RAP submissions.

If the student receives a Fail grade on their RR or a Fail status on the SLS, they are getting a Fail grade for the entire RAP. Should the student fail on their first attempt, they will be awarded two more submissions, but only if they fall within the established ten year time frame.

Click here for detail about complete guidance of Research and Analysis Project

Important Links

Click here to access Registration Form.

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Ideal Presentation of the Research Report

maq — Thu, 26 Dec 2019 14:00:01 +0000

What is the ideal Presentation of Research Report?

As far as the presentation of the Research Report is concerned then it needs to be processed on size A4 pages. The text needs to be in black colour against white background. The student should avoid the use of graphics or pictures behind the text, also note that italic and heavy bold letters are harder to read.

The font should also be appropriate standard business font like Arial with font size of 11 or 12. A larger font size may be appropriate for section headings. The maximum line spacing should be 1.5 lines. If using a spelling and grammar checker, the student should be careful not to unintentionally change the meaning of the text.

OBU does not mean or wish to prescribe all the different aspects of the presentation of the Research Report, and the student should identify the best practice for writing a business report which is a part of the activities of gathering information.

Click here for detail about complete guidance of Research and Analysis Project

Important Links

Click here to access Registration Form.

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Importance of Information Technology in preparation of RAP

maq — Tue, 09 Jul 2019 19:00:50 +0000

Importance of Information Technology in preparation of RAP

The student demonstrates their graduate skills by showing evidence of assessing online sources of information and using spreadsheets during the preparation of the Research Report.

An important thing for the student to consider at the beginning of the project, is how they are planning to meet this requirement. This may influence the selection of information sources and the student should carefully consider the possible impacts on the project objectives and the research questions.

The student will have to word process their Research Report, and this is a part of the graduate skills requirement. OBU also requires evidence of the using of spreadsheets for data processing. This can be shown via the use of spreadsheets for the preparation of the financial ratios or performance indicators, and the student can include the preparation of graphs, tables and charts from the questionnaire findings database. The Excel spreadsheets need to be submitted in the Appendix (as .xlsx or .xls files). The used spreadsheets need to show appropriate use of formulae. Screenshots and PDF files of spreadsheets are NOT acceptable documents.

The Skills and Learning Statement can include a reflection on the use of the student’s IT skills and their possible improvement by conducting the project research.

Click here for detail about complete guidance of Research and Analysis Project

Important Links

Click here to access Registration Form.

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Confidentiality and Anonymity in RAP

maq — Tue, 09 Jul 2019 18:43:56 +0000

The OBU requires from its students to include in the Research Report a full detail about the company investigated for the research, the used information sources and the actual data that has been collected. This provides assurance to the OBU that the work submitted is original and the gathered information and analysis in the Research Report are genuine.

If the student plans to collect the primary data from the staff of the selected company, they need to get permission for this by a senior member of the management of the company. In many cases, even though the student has obtained permission, the company may demand the research findings be kept confidential because of different concerns like confidentiality or commercial sensitivity.

If the student wishes for their Research Report to be considered confidential, in order to satisfy the requests of the selected company, then the student should send an e-mail to acca@brookes.ac.uk and request such permission. The student should state the reasons supporting this demand and the ways in which the student plans to resolve these issues during the preparation and presentation of the Research Report. The student will also have to identify the company that is the focus of the Research Report.

It is not allowed that the student submit a project with amended data in order to try and cover/disguise the company’s identity.

OBU reminds the students that all submitted RAP projects are confidential and securely stored. They are never published, and are reviewed only by the OBU marker and moderator and in some cases by an external examiner.

Click here for detail about complete guidance of Research and Analysis Project

Important Links

Click here to access Registration Form.

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How to avoid Plagiarism in RAP of OBU?

maq — Tue, 09 Jul 2019 18:18:27 +0000

Accounting is a profession and as such, along with the ACCA as a global accounting body, are both base on the clear principles of honesty, integrity and proper ethical conduct. These important principles are ingrained within the assessing of every ACCA exam, and integrally within the OBU degree requirements.

The student should know that their research work and preparation of the RAP falls under the OBU academic regulations. This includes the OBU regulations on cheating that can be seen on the ACCA and the OBU websites. If any ACCA member or an ACCA student is caught and found guilty of such infractions, this leads to permanent expulsion from the OBU and a disciplinary action by the ACCA.

This means that the submitted RAP needs to be the student’s own work and the research to be done specifically for the purposes of the RAP. The student is not allowed to take a workplace research or a consultancy report and repurpose it to be fit for the RAP. Also, the student should not use or submit a research that has been previously submitted to another educative institution for a different academic purpose.

It is mandatory for the student to use a proper referencing system citing all the used sources in the Research Report. The proper referencing is a part of the graduate skills that the student needs to demonstrate while making the Research Report. The correct use of references is important from several reasons:

Acknowledgement of the other people’s idea and work;
Allowing the reader of the project to easily find the cited referenced sources, and easily evaluate the student’s interpretation on the used ideas;
Avoidance of plagiarism (taking other people’s ideas, thoughts and work and using them as own);
Showing evidence of the extent of the student’s reading material.

The student needs to use the Harvard Referencing System in their Research Report, or an equivalent of this system. The Harvard Referencing System and the manner of its application to separate references in the Research Report and the preparation of the List of References at the end of the Report are explained in detail in the Oxford Brookes Business School guide to citing and referencing found in Appendix 3 of Information Pack.

All students should read and examine this document. The student needs to comply to the outlined requirements in order to demonstrate their graduate skills in gathering of information and proper referencing. If the student identifies the correct reference for every used source, after identifying the source, it will be very simple and straightforward to prepare a list of references that will contain all the necessary references at the end of the project.

The student may use sources that are not originally in English, and these sources need to be translated versions and this should be noted in the Research Report. The student needs to highlight any area that they found difficult to translate or explain, and how they have overcome these problems.

Mary Davis from the Oxford Brookes International has created an online plagiarism test which any student may use so they will see how well they understand referencing and plagiarism, before the student marks the field that says they confirm that the submitted work is their own and not plagiarised.

Available at http://cw.routledge.com/textbooks/bailey/questions.asp?unit=1

Davis, M. (2011) Plagiarism quiz for Bailey, S. ‘Academic Writing: A Handbook for International Students’ 3^rd Ed [Online]

The OBU requires from all its students that are taking a research, that they need to comply to the University’s Code of Practice ‘’Ethical Standards for Research involving Human Participants’. Before the research for the Research Report commences, the student needs to consider these questions:

Does your proposed research involve any of the following?

Deception of participants,
Financial inducements,
Possible psychological stress,
Access to confidential information,
Any other special circumstances?

If you have answered ‘yes’ to any of the issues identified above, how will you deal with these issues?

Are you likely to need to preserve participants’ anonymity and/or confidentiality? If you have answered ‘yes’, how do you intend to do this?

If the student selects a topic that only uses secondary sources of information and do not involve staff interaction within the selected company, they are still encouraged to read the University’s Code of Practice so the students are familiar with the possible ethical issues that are associated with research.

Click here for detail about complete guidance of Research and Analysis Project

Important Links

Click here to access Registration Form.

The post How to avoid Plagiarism in RAP of OBU? appeared first on "VM" Virtual Mentoring.