Situational Analysis, Literature Review, and Data Analysis & Discussion

Section 1 — Situational Analysis (8-12 pages)

1.  Situational Analysis (8-12 pages) (This section will be completed if you do internship or collect data from a specific organization)

· Analyze the current status of the issues facing the organization.

· Integrate the analytical (theoretical or conceptual) framework with the collected data. For example, implementing the analytical framework of Situation Analysis (e.g. Internal Analysis, Customer Analysis, and External Analysis) as a guideline for the collection and analysis of data.

2. Section 3 – Literature Review and Contextual Foundation(4-6 pages)

For this section, you will perform an appropriate review of the literature relevant to the research question and then present the findings in a concise but thorough manner. The literature review should encompass not only academic journals and conference proceedings but trade/industry journals and the public press/media. This section will present current knowledge about the chosen problem/issue in a concise but informative way. Proper referencing is required and a complete bibliography must be included as an appendix. This part will build upon the preliminary literature review that you performed for the proposal.

· Compare and contrast the literature that supports and is critical of the research methodology.

· Develop an analytical (theoretical or conceptual) framework (e.g., Situation Analysis, SWOT Analysis, Porter’s Five Forces, Value Chain Model, et cetera) for the analysis of data.

· Alternative research methodologies (e.g., exploratory or conclusive research design) are discussed and

an appropriate research/analysis method is selected.

· Literature that supports the analysis in the project report should be cited in the body of the report. This should include peer reviewed sources as well as industry sources where appropriate.

3. Section 4 – Data Analysis & Discussion (4-6 pages)

Data analysis will be done using appropriate analysis tools as described in the Data Analysis section of the proposal. This section should be supported by a file containing the original data set and a file containing the analytical results output from the software package used in the analysis (examples: SPSS or Excel) Analytical results should be presented in a clear, concise and informative manner. These results will then be discussed in some detail with regard to answering the research question.

4. Section 5 – Recommendations (4-6 pages)

· Appropriate options/recommendations are selected based on thorough analysis of the options/recommendations and recommended to solve the research questions or issues stated in Section 1, and detailed implementation of the options/recommendations are more specifically and thoroughly discussed. Areas of further work/research shall also be identified.

5. Section 6 – Limitations and further opportunities (1-2 pages)

· Limitations of the analysis should be discussed.

· Are areas for further research identified

6. Section 7 – Internship /Project Reflections (2 pages)

· Student’s reflections on learning and how the Applied Project has contributed to the student’s competencies.

7. List of References – use numbered endnote referencing style for the report going to your internship mentor (see further information on referencing later in this section).

8. Appendices (as required)