Teaching Staff:

Term 4 online
Name: Dr Larissa Statsenko

Dr Larissa Statsenko's expertise and interests are in Applied and Complex Project Management, Supply Chain Management, and Industry Clusters. She completed her PhD degree from Kazakh National Technical University in 2008, and has 12 years of academic, research and consultancy experience. She has managed and participated in mining industry-related research and consultancy projects in Kazakhstan, including companies such as ENRC and United Minerals. She is currently managing a State Government funded project in collaboration with SA mining industry aimed at identifying opportunities for and barriers to the formation of collaborative clusters in the South Australian resource and energy supply chains.

Email: larissa.statsenko@adelaide.edu.au

9th October 2017 to 15 January 2018

The overall aim of this course is to consolidate a student’s understanding of entrepreneurship practice and its relationship to entrepreneurship theory and research. A candidate should be aiming to become a subject matter expert in a particular area related to implementing an innovative or entrepreneurial project. The course contains a student driven research based project and therefore the nature of each project is negotiated with the lecturer/supervisor. A major objective is for candidates to integrate the knowledge gained through other courses and demonstrate mastery of their chosen subject domain.

To achieve the goals of this course, you will need to demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the relevance of entrepreneurship research for arriving at intended practical entrepreneurship outcomes. To present the findings of your work you will need a comprehensive understanding of the nature and purpose of written and oral communications in achieving project outcomes. Therefore it is advisable to have completed all the core courses of your program to integrate relevant knowledge from other courses into the Major Project Output (plan, report or paper).

On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1	Explain the nature and purpose of innovation and entrepreneurship research and its relationship to innovation or entrepreneurship practice
2	Generate a database of related articles and reports from academic journal databases, industry, government and general media sources
3	Examine in-depth a selected and agreed area of entrepreneurship that relates to, influences and/or underpins the entrepreneurial practice.
4	Apply effective communication skills in the development and presentation of business and research papers, reports, and plans.
5	Construct a Major Project Output (plan, report or paper) that produces evidence of an integrated and self-directed research and practical learning experience that synthesises a range of course material acquired throughout the entrepreneurship program.

Saunders, Mark N.K., Lewis P. and Thornhill, A. 2015. Research Methods for Business Students PDF eBook (7e) : 9781292016641

Useful texts include:
- Pawar, B.S. 2009. Theory building for hypothesis specification in organizational studies, Response Books, New Delhi.
- Neuman, W.L. 2008. Social research methods: Qualitative and quantitative approaches, Pearson Education.

A list containing supplementary readings will be provided before the course start date via MyUni.

It is also recommended that you read relevant journal articles. In particular, you are encouraged to read the following journals:
- Journal of Business Venturing
- Small Business Economics
- Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice

MyUni is the University of Adelaide's online learning environment. It is used to support traditional face-to-face lectures, tutorials and workshops at the University. MyUni provides access to various features including announcements, course materials, discussion boards and assessments for each online course of study.

This course is offered in blended learning mode with the online component offered as consultations with the lecturer and the participation in recommended workshops which can help students to improve their research activities.

Research workshops are available three times a year through the Researcher, Education and Development (examples: taking a critical approach, critical reading, reviewing literature, writing a proposal, and so on).

As a guide, a 3 unit course comprises a total of 156 hours work (this includes face-to-face contact, any online components and self-directed study). Therefore each learning period (6 units) will require approximately 312 hours dedicated to this course.

This is a draft schedule and session content are a guide only. The timetable may be changed during the course delivery if necessary.

Schedule

Week 1	Introduction: Taking on a Research Project
Week 2	Project Plan: Topics and Research Proposal
Week 3	Self-Directed Writing and Supervisory Assistance
Week 4	Finalising Research Proposals
Week 5	Research Report: Introduction and Literature Review	Research Proposals due in
Week 6	Supervisor/Student Meetings (Round 1)
Week 7	Research Report: Methodology, Results and Discussion
Week 8	Supervisor/Student Meetings (Round 2)
Week 9	Research Project Presentations	Presentations at lecture
Week 10	Self-Directed Writing and Supervisory Assistance	End of Trimester
Week 13	Course Completion: Final Research Report Submission	Research Reports due in

An overview of the course assessment appears in the following Table.

Assessment Task	Length	Due	Weighting	Learning Outcome
1. Research Proposal	2000 word proposal	Week 5	15%	1-5
2. Research Project       Presentation	10 - 15 minutes presentation	Week 9	15%	1-5
3. Final Research     Report	9000 word final report	Week 13	70%	1-5

Students must complete all course assessment requirements to be eligible to pass the course.

Course results are subject to moderation by the ECIC Board of Examiners.
Students will develop a research project. They can be guided in the selection of the research topic.

Supervision and progress: The lecturer in charge will supervise your progress on the project. The student will be required to meet with the lecturer in order to report and discuss progress. If the student encounters problems in the development of the project, he or she must discuss this situation immediately with the lecturer.

It is highly recommended that students carry out a preliminary investigation about the research topic selected to be sure that there is sufficient content in the area.

Research Proposal
Weighting: 15%
Due Date: Week 5

This assessment will assess your understanding of the course topics presented in the first four weeks.

Task:
The aim of the assessment is to assist you in developing your research report. It is required that students prepare a research proposal for the lecturer’s consideration.

The research proposal should include the following:

Background, aims and significance: The theoretical or practical basis or proposition for your research project. What is the aim or purpose of your project? Students also should address why this research project is important.
Objectives: this section includes research questions to be addressed.
Design: to determine the activities to be undertaken throughout the course of your research project.
Methodology: what type of methodology the student will employ?
Milestones and budget: When it will be done, and in what order, and how much it will cost to do it (only in case your research has funds).
Possible outcomes (when is it applicable) / limitations.

Length and Presentation:
Approximately 2,000 words addressing the points explained in the task (above).

Criteria by which this assessment will be marked:
1. identifying and summarising the problem/question to be investigated,
2. identifying existing, relevant knowledge and views connected with the selected topic,
3. proposing an appropriate methodology for the research report,
4. presenting some references which shows some understanding on the topic.


Assessment 2: Research Project Presentation
Weighting: 15%
Due Date: During Week 9: in class presentation

This assessment will evaluate student presentations in relation to their research project.

Task:
The Research Project Presentation will involve each student providing a PowerPoint presentation of their work to date. The presentation should be 10 minutes long with an extra 5 minutes for questions. Other students should ask questions which should be answered by the presenter.
Length and Presentation:
10 - 15 minutes presentation

The presentation should:
1. be as professional as possible,
2. have the right content,
3. wrap up all the relevant information,
4. contain a clear action plan.

Criteria by which your assessment will be marked:
1. identifying critical issues,
2. show reasoning behind statements or ideas,
3. use general or technical language in an appropriate manner,
4. stimulate interest for the audience,
5. discuss details of research activity,
6. cope with questions and arguments,
7. use of time-limit and visual aids.


Assessment 3: Final Research Report
Weighting: 70%
Due Date: Week 13

This assessment will evaluate overall student understanding via a finished research project report.

Task:
Writing your final project report will demand a time and effort. You will save some time if you have been following the guidelines and meeting regularly with the lecturer. This assignment should be prepared to a professional standard. Please ensure that your writing is grammatically correct, and that you use a cover page, indicate word count and ensure that references are correctly cited as per Harvard reference system methodology. Work should be carefully proofread for errors (an over-reliance should not be made on the computer alone in this area).

A research report normally includes the following sections:

1. Introductory elements (cover sheet, title page, words count, abstract, acknowledgement, table of contents),
2. Introduction (background of the research, gaps, research problem and research questions, key definitions; research contributions,
justification for the research, methodology overview, research limitations, report outline, and summary),
3. Literature review and contextual foundations,
4. Research Methodology,
5. Theoretical results and implications,
6. Discussion and conclusions,
7. References,
8. Appendices.

Length and Presentation:
9000 words.

Criteria by which your assessment will be marked:
1. ability to present your findings clearly and succinctly,
2. application of key relevant theories and concepts,
3. research skills and use of data to support the analysis,
4. recommendations identified in the analysis,
5. presentation: word limit, layout, adequate structure, and referencing.

All text-based assignments must be submitted via MyUni.
Please refer to step by step instructions: MyUni Learning Centre

There are a few points to note about the submission of assignments:

• Assignment Submission:  Assignments should not be emailed to the instructor; they must be lodged via the MyUni Course site (unless specified to do both). Note that assignments may be processed via TURNITIN, which is an online plagiarism prevention tool.
• Cover Sheet:  Please submit, separate to your assignment, the completed University of Adelaide Assessment Cover Sheet providing details of yourself and your team members (if applicable), your assignment, the course, date submitted, etc. as well as the declaration signed by you that this is your (your team’s) work.  Note that the declaration on any electronically submitted assignment will be deemed to have the same authority as a signed declaration.
• Backup Copy of Assignments:  You are advised to keep a copy of your assignments in case the submitted copy goes missing.  Please ensure that all assignment pages are numbered. If your assignment contains confidential information, you should discuss any concerns with the Course Lecturer prior to submission.
• Extensions of Time:  Any request for an extension of time for the submission of an assignment should be made well before the due date of the assignment to the Course Lecturer.  Normally, extensions will only be granted for a maximum of two weeks from the original assignment submission date.  Extensions will only be granted in cases of genuine extenuating circumstances and proof, such as a doctor’s certificate, may be required.
• Failure to submit: Failure to submit an assignment on time or by the agreed extension deadline may result in penalties and may incur a fail grade.  Note that a late penalty of 5% of the total available marks for that assessment item will be incurred each day an assignment is handed in late (Unless otherwise stated in 'Assessment Related Requirements' or 'Assessment Detail' above).  Assignments handed in after 14 days from the due submission date will fail even if a 100% mark is granted for the work.

Resubmission & Remarking
Resubmission of an assignment for remarking after reworking it to obtain a better mark will not normally be accepted.  Approval for resubmission will only be granted on medical or compassionate grounds.