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- This topic has 6 replies, 2 voices, and was last updated 1 year ago by j.murray01.
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- September 19, 2022 at 10:12 pm #666741
Are there any good alternatives to topic 4,5 & 8? This is for the next submission period btw. I’d like to get a move on so I don’t rush next year.
September 20, 2022 at 10:27 am #666772The feedback we are getting is that writing a report on all of the topics now is a lot harder than it was. This was justified by the Programme Lead on the basis that overall the RAP should be at the same level of other bachelor degrees at the University and be a good foundation for those who might want to proceed to a a Masters degree.
As for alternatives to 4,5 & 8 these are somewhat limited as many of the other topics require primary data collection. Usually it is a good idea to select a topic that interests you and you know something about, or you are prepared to research to learn more about.
Although Old Topic 6 was entirely on motivation previously, this has been revamped and also looks at modern aspects of the working environment which may increase the company’s effectiveness e.g. fleixble working / working from home, organisation culture – so maybe worth thinking about. It now also requires some evaluaiton of the effectiveness of the factors identified [cost benefit analysis or KPIs, possibly productivity or staff turnover ratios].. You do have to do some primary data collection [interviews and/or a questionnaire] the latter can be done using something like surveymonkey.
There may be some slight ‘tweaking’ of the new titles in the light of feedback – whether these will be made before P46 remains to be seen.
September 20, 2022 at 10:59 am #666774You mean they’ll revamp the topics to make it easier? I was looking at topics 13 & 14 that doesn’t require primary data collection. But the information pack is really vague on a lot of things while setting restrictions for so many things. I’m confused as to how I should go about my research.
September 21, 2022 at 9:22 am #666900No I do not mean that it will be made ‘easier’ – the standard has been set and it is higher than it was so that it is now the same level as on campus first degree courses.
What I said was ‘There may be some slight ‘tweaking’ of the new titles in the light of feedback.’
What I meant is that there wil be some clarification and possibly that might lead to new guidance being issued that may help students decide their topic and get to grips with how to present their work.Meanwhile you may however find it helpful to go to the mentoring website which expands upon the basic material found in the Information Pack
https://www.brookes.ac.uk/business/undergraduate/bsc-applied-accounting/webinars-and-materials
– scroll down and view some of the YouTube videos and look at the webinar content. You will find some more guidance there on Topics 13 & 14 (but you should also look at a few articles on business ethics to get a better understanding and overview of this as well)According to student feedback (as well as in our experience – see the first post on the P44 Results forum for example), it is vital to get a decent mentor from the get-go. Personal recommendations are the best way as the list of mentors issued by the University just means that someone has done the University’s online mentoring course and in short the list contains The Good, the Bad and the Ugly*.
You will find that with mentors you get what you pay for – and that going cheap may cost you more in the long run as that student post demonstrates – sadly they failed first time and they believe it was because they did not receive appropriate guidance from the mentor. So the first research you should do is investing time in finding an appropriately experienced person with a good track record in terms of successful students.
*The Ugly being those who will offer to write the paper for you and for which you will pay the price when you end up being referred to the Academic Conduct Office for what is a criminal offence in the UIK – fraud (presenting work that is not yours as your own).
PS you could look at our forum thread about Advancing the Quality of the OBU mentoring experience as we have 2 recommended mentors there accompanied by genuine student feedback. – this is not to say that no-one else is any good, but that we know these 2 mentoring organisations have been ‘tried and tested’ by dozens of students and have good credentials.
September 21, 2022 at 3:10 pm #666923Based on your experience and ignoring personal interests, which topics are the ones students usually feel is an easy life?
September 21, 2022 at 3:43 pm #666925Sorry it is probably impossible to say right now that the topics have changed and everyone is still ‘finding their feet’ – it a bit like how long is a piece of string? If you like discursive issues then Topics 13 & 14 involve those. If you want something that appears more straightforward then probably Topic 3 or, possiblly Topic 7 (if you can think of some company that has undergone a major change for the latter).
But overall I suspect there is no ‘easy life’ topic now though Topic 15 and going for marketing possibly is about the best (not too hard and very interesting) provided you have a basic understanding of the key marketing concepts and choose an appropriate company.
Otherwise you are back to square 1 with Topic 4,5 & 8!
September 22, 2022 at 12:23 pm #666982Basically my strengths are in writing and discursive topics. I’d like to avoid any topic that involves formulas. Any of the topics suit this?
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