Assessment Task: Report

Word Count Limit: 4000 words +/- 10% (excluding references and appendices)

Procedure   in   the   event   of   illness   or   other   valid   cause   (extenuating circumstances)

If you believe that:

• your performance in assessment or reassessment has been impaired, or;
• you were unable to attend for an assessment or reassessment, or;
• you were unable to submit assessed or reassessed work by the scheduled date due to illness or other valid cause (as defined in the Procedures Governing Extenuating Circumstances), may submit an application for extenuation for the relevant component(s) to Unicaf Extenuating Circumstances team (extenuating.circumstances@unicaf.org).

*Once a component has been capped, extenuation does not uncap it.

Academic Misconduct including Plagiarism

Ensure that you are familiar with the relevant regulations regarding academic misconduct. By submitting the assignment, you declare that it is your own work and that the material and sources of information used, including internet sources, have been fully identified and properly acknowledged. In addition, you confirm that the presented work has not been submitted for any other assessment. You also acknowledge that the faculty reserves the right to investigate allegations of plagiarism and other forms of academic misconduct which, if proven and dependent on the severity level of the offence, may result in a penalty that could affect your progress.

By submitting your work, you acknowledge that you have read and agreed with the above statements.

General Guidance

Your assignment should be MS Word processed (handwritten assignments are not accepted), using Times New Roman size 12 font, double spaced, with numbered pages and your student number printed as a footer on every page. Note this is a report supported by academic research so you should adhere to the appropriate referencing guidance. The word limit stated for this assignment excludes the list of references at the end of the assignment but includes all text in the main body of the assignment (including direct quotations, in-text citations, footnotes, tables, diagrams and graphs). Please be aware that exceeding the word limit will affect the academic judgement of the piece of work and may result in the award of a

lower mark. Appendices are not considered a supplement and will not be assessed as part of the content of the assignment. As such, they will not contribute to the grade awarded; however, it may be appropriate to use an Appendices section for any material which is a useful reference for the reader. Please note that appendices are not included in the word count. The majority of references should come from secondary sources (e.g., journal articles, conference papers, reports, etc.) although you can also utilise area specific textbooks. You must ensure that you use the Harvard style of referencing. Please indicate the word count length at the end of your assignment.

Marking and Assessment

This assignment will be marked out of 100% and contributes to 100% of the total module mark. The pass mark is 50%.

The marking rubric is attached, which offers guidance on the assessment criteria and weighting.

Late Submission

There will be a stipulated deadline date for all assignments. All assignments will need to be submitted by the set time on the stipulated deadline date. Assignments submitted up to 24 hours late will be accepted, but the assignment mark will be subject to a deduction of 5 marks from the mark awarded.

Learning Outcomes Applied in this Assessment

1. (Critically)   evaluate   the   impact   of   current   and   emerging   trends   on organizations.
2. Express mastery the ecological approach and field work data collection processes.
3. Articulate the need to collect data and manage data from an ecological perspective in order to solve problems in society.
4. Demonstrate an ability to effectively analyse, visualise problems and issues employing a range of appropriate concepts, theories and approaches relevant to human needs.
5. Establish and articulate the data quality process, where the problems come from and how they can be resolved.
6. Apply tools and techniques of strategic and operations analysis on how technology addresses human needs.
7. Develop succinct business reports.

Assessment Guidelines

Produce a 4000-word report (+/- 10%) (excluding the list of references) which offers students the ability to demonstrate their developing knowledge and application of the teaching and learning material covered in weeks 1 to 12. It also encourages students to develop their thoughts and perspectives on contemporary data science issues, and be intellectually creative (underpinned by credible resources).

Task

Coursework Specification

DS7001_CW: Evaluative Review.

This carries 100% of the marks for this Module.

The coursework takes the form of two parts. The two parts are Part 1 which is a Summative Assessment (Evaluative Review) and has 100% marks for the final assessment. Part 2 is the Formative Assessment (Portfolio Items) which does not have a contribution to the final mark.

Part 1 (Summative Assessment = contributes 100% of final mark) is an evaluative review of the data ecology surrounding an application area, organisation or aspect of society. The title/theme of this year’s coursework is:

Should the Government promote or control developments in machine learning and AI?

It will have 4,000 words maximum. Whilst the focus of the essay is likely to be machine learning and Artificial Intelligence, the student may wish to focus on specific areas that are a type of application and/or technologies and/or a specific type of organisation. Choose an area you already have some familiarity with (perhaps you are working in or regularly engage with) or strategically you would like to understand for your future research. The review should be critically evaluative, that is, it should be critically framed, using the literature and other resources, to bring together arguments that support and question what is going on. In other words, just a description is not sufficient. The evaluative review should broadly include the following sections:

• a half page abstract summarising the main points;
• with reference to the key literature, an introduction to the topic, its historical context and why any particular application area, technologies and/or type of organisation was chosen;
• a short explanation of the approach (methodology) used to produce the review;
• a presentation of the main elements (and their dynamics) of the aspects that you are focusing on together with a consideration of the pros and cons;
• a critical discussion of the relevant data ecology and impacts for data science and on society;
• draw your conclusions and any hypotheses you may raise for further research;
• a list of references cited in the text according to the Harvard convention.

Part 2(Formative Assessment = No contribution to the final mark) is a portfolio of results from the class exercises given in the 5 worksheets.

You should submit a single Word file only. The file name must contain your student number as follows: R10910Z9367412_DS7001.docx.

Submission of Drafts and Final Assessments Timetable:

Brief outline of Part 1(Evaluative Review) as a formative assessment by WEEK 4 confirming application area, technologies and/or type of organisation that will be the focus together with a list of readings so far.

Final submission of Part 2(Portfolio = No contribution to the final mark) coursework as a formative assessment by WEEK 10.

Final submission of Part 1(Evaluative Review = 100% contribution to the final mark) should first be submitted to Turnitin and then to the final summative assessment link by WEEK 12.

NB: Observations

1. Week 4: submit the outline for Part 1 (Evaluative Review).
   1. Week 10: present the final submission of the Portfolio (Part 2 = No contribution to the final mark) in a single word file only.
   1. Week 12: present the final submission of the Evaluative Review (Part 1

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REPORT FORMAT

What is a Report?

A report is written for a clear purpose and to a particular audience. Specific information and evidence are presented, analysed and applied to a particular problem or issue. The information is presented in a clearly structured format making use of sections and headings so that the information is easy to locate and follow.

When you are asked to write a report, you will usually be given a report brief which provides you with instructions and guidelines. The report brief may outline the purpose, audience and problem or issue that your report must address, together with any specific requirements for format or structure. This guide offers a general introduction to report writing.

What makes a Good Report?

Two of the reasons why reports are used as forms of written assessment are:

• to find out what you have learned from your reading, research or experience;
  • to give you experience of an important skill that is widely used in the work place.

An effective report presents and analyses facts and evidence that are relevant to the specific problem or issue of the report brief. All sources used should be acknowledged and referenced throughout, in accordance with the preferred method of your department.

The style of writing in a report is usually less discursive than in an essay, with a more direct and economic use of language. A well written report will demonstrate your ability to:

• understand the purpose of the report brief and adhere to its specifications;
  • gather, evaluate and analyse relevant information;
  • structure material in a logical and coherent order;
  • present your report in a consistent manner according to the instructions of the report brief;
  • make appropriate conclusions that are supported by the evidence and analysis of the report;
  • make thoughtful and practical recommendations where required.

The structure of a Report

The main features of a report are described below to provide a general guide. These should be used in conjunction with the instructions or guidelines provided by your department.

Title Page

This should briefly but explicitly describe the purpose of the report (if this is not obvious from the title of the work); remember to add your name and student number/assessment number, and which assessment it pertains to.

Summary (Abstract)

The summary should briefly describe the content of the report. It should cover the aims of the report, what was found and a brief review of the conclusions. Aim for about 1/2 a page in length and avoid detail or discussion; just outline the main points. Remember that the summary is the first thing that is read. It should provide the reader with a clear, helpful overview of the content of the report.

Contents (Table of Contents)

The contents page should list the different chapters and/or headings together with the page numbers. Your contents page should be presented in such a way that the reader can quickly scan the list of headings and locate a particular part of the report. You may want to number chapter headings and subheadings in addition to providing page references. Whatever numbering system you use, be sure that it is clear and consistent throughout.

Introduction

The introduction sets the scene for the main body of the report. The aims and objectives of the report should be explained in detail. Any problems or limitations in the scope of the report should be identified, and a description of research methods, the parameters of the research and any necessary background history should be included.

Methods

Information under this heading may include: a list of research methods used (e.g. literature review using ProQuest resources and the filter criteria applied for each search) and other sources of information and details of selection/rejection; reference to any problems encountered and subsequent changes in procedure.

Discussion

The main body of the report is where you discuss your material. The literature and evidence you have gathered should be summarised, analysed and discussed with specific reference to the problem or issue. If your discussion section is lengthy you might divide it into section headings. Your points should be grouped and arranged in an order that is logical and easy to follow. Use headings and subheadings to create a clear structure for your material. Use bullet points to present a series of points in an easy-to-follow list. As with the whole report, all sources used should be acknowledged and correctly referenced (remember to use the most credible resources available).

Conclusion

In the conclusion you should show the overall significance of what has been covered. You may want to remind the reader of the most important points that have been made in the report or highlight what you consider to be the most central issues or findings. However, no new material should be introduced in the conclusion. Remember to specifically answer the initial questions posed.

Appendices

Under this heading you should include all the supporting information you have used that is not published. This might include tables, graphs, questionnaires, surveys or transcripts. Refer to the appendices in the body of your report.

List of References

A key feature of academic writing, the list of references should list – in alphabetical order by author – all published sources referred to in your report. There are different styles of using references so be sure to refer to the study guide and check your departmental handbook for guidelines.