Your objective is to ultimately submit a project ofof up to 6000 words in total.Note that although this is the overall word limit for the project, a

Assessment Information

Your objective is to ultimately submit a project ofof up to 6000 words in total.Note that although this is the overall word limit for the project, assessment of components of the project takes place at different times over the year. Specifically, you need to submit:

YourIntroduction and Literature Reviewchapters of a combined length ofamaximumof 2,500 wordsthrough Turnitin by9th Mayat 1:00 p.m. (13:00 hrs). This is worth40% of the marks for the project.

Your overall final projectincludingthe above chapters through Turnitin by18th Septemberat 1:00 p.m. (13:00 hrs). Although you submit your full project, at this stage of assessmentonly your Methodology, Analysis and Results and Conclusion chapters will be marked,and these chapters should be of a combined length ofamaximumof 3,500 words. This is worth60% of the marks for the project.

Your final project document should also include an appendix that details any changes thatthat you made to your research question, aims, objectives, and literature review following feedback from your first-stage assessment.Up to 10% of the marks from your second stage of assessment are allocated to this.

Note the use of the word maximum. These are strict word limits.

Submission formatPlease follow the guidelines below in developing and submitting your project

Formatting Guidelines:

Project submissions must be word-processed (single sided on A4 paper) as a word document.

Text should be double-spaced, size 12 (font / typeface should be professional/appropriate)

Page margins should be 1-inch left margin, 1-inch right margin, 1-inch top margin and 1-inch bottom margin

Headers and footers are optional

Pages must be numbered consecutively

Specifically project assessment submissions should include the following:

(Assessment 1) Introduction and Literature Review (2,500 words):

Title page (see template)

Table of contents (including statement of total word count)

A list of figures and tables (where appropriate)

Chapters 1 and 2 then follow and then include a

Reference list

(Assessment 2) Complete Project (6,000 words)

Title page (see template);Statement of originality (see template);

Abstract (see examples);

Acknowledgments of support

Table of contents (including statement of total word count)

A list of figures and tables (where appropriate)

The main chapters of the project follow. After the main chapters the project should contain:

Reference list

Relevant appendices.

Chapters should be numbered. It is desirable to use subheadings, and these should be printed with consistency of style and size of font for each level. Using Microsoft Word, for example, Heading 1 might be used as a chapter heading, Heading 2 may be a major division within the chapter, Heading 3 a subdivision of the major division, etc.

Diagrams and tables should have titles and numbers associated with them. Diagrams are often referred to as Figures. The numbers should refer to the chapter that they come from and also their order (e.g. Table 4.1 or Figure 4.1 for the first Table or Figure in Chapter 4). Any sources drawn upon should be presented underneath the Table or Figure.

ReferencingA reference list of sources specifically cited in the project is essential and should be included. Do not include a bibliography which list works on a particular topic that may include work that is not cited.

The style of referencing, citations, and footnotes (if footnotes are used) must be consistent throughout the project and should adhere to either Harvard or APA (check with supervisors for their preferred referencing method). Students can minimise the time needed to compile reference lists by making sure that each time an item is read, a full reference is recorded/retained. A great deal of student time may be wasted later in trying to identify the full references for items that are referred to in the main text of Project. It will be helpful to use a bibliographical database such as Mendeley to save and format any reference entered. Guidance on referencing is available from:

https://www.lboro.ac.uk/services/library/students/learningsupport/referencesandcitations/Word limits

The maximum overall 6,000-word limit (and word limits for each component of your assessment) applies to everything in the main body of the project only. Consequently, the word countdoes not include: the title page, statement of originality, contents page, acknowledgements, abstract, statistical tables, references and appendices. With this information in mind, studentsmightwant to consider the following soft word limits on sections of their projects (this allocation of word lengths per chapter is, however, a suggestion, and it should be remembered that individual projects may differ):

Suggested word limits

Section SuggestedWord Limit (all approx.) Included in

6,000 Word Limit?

Title page No word limit no

Statement of originality No word limit no

Abstract200 - 250 words no

Acknowledgements No word limit no

Table of Contents No word limit no

List of Tables No word limit no

List of Figures No word limit no

List of Abbreviations No word limit no

Introduction 700 words (including any footnotes) yes

Literature Review 1,800 words (including any footnotes) yes

Methods 1,400 words (including any footnotes) yes

Results / Analysis & Discussion 1,400 words (including any footnotes) yes

Statistical/numerical tables n/a no

Conclusion 700 words (including any footnotes) yes

References No word limit (use APA or Harvard though) no

Appendices No word limit no

Although the word limit is tight, writing up your research to a specified word limit is an important skill. You will disadvantage yourself if you do not keep this requirement in mind at all stages. Producing a project that is too long will NOT be construed as evidence of hard work to be rewarded: it might, in fact, be seen as a weakness, displaying a lack of ability to select and prioritise the material at your disposal, and to write succinctly. It follows that you should aim to keep your draft chapters as close to these limits because your supervisor can only advise you to cut words if you look like exceeding normal limits. Thus, planning the content of your chapters is important.

Guidance on chapter content

Although projects will vary, and you can plan your specific structure with your supervisor, the following gives you some insight into a typical project structure and chapter contents for a project that employs data. If you are undertaking a different form of project, then your supervisor will advise you:

Chapter 1.Introduction

This will explicitly state the research question(s), aim and objectives of the project and any hypotheses being tested. This will tell the reader and the examiners (including the external Examiner who may be non-expert in this topic area), at a glance, exactly what the project is seeking to achieve. The Introduction will also provide an indication of the context and significance of the work being undertaken for the development of knowledge in the specific field of study.

Chapter 2.Literature Review

This will provide a foundation for the study, identifying and defining the key concepts drawn upon in the project as well as presenting and evaluating key literature that develops the important theoretical and/or empirical insights in your area of work and to which you seek to make a contribution. You will need to undertake literature searches and read extensively but strategically. The Literature Review should directly inform the research questions identified for your study.

Chapter 3. Methodology

This will incorporate discussion of the philosophical foundations of the research (ontology and epistemology), the research design, methods to be employed, instruments developed, procedures adopted in fieldwork, samples used and timescale for various phases of the study (including use of pilot-studies if applicable). Discussion should include a critical evaluation of the design, the methods and procedures employed, data reliability and validity, and ethics. Research instruments may be referred to in this chapter and presented fully as an appendix.

Chapter(s) 4 (and 5). Results and Discussion

Depending on your supervisor and your preference you may offer a chapter that presents the main outcomes of your data analysis and then one that discusses the results in the light of your research question, identifying the contribution to the literature and drawing theoretical and practical implications. Alternatively, you may undertake these tasks in one chapter

Chapter(s) 5 (and 6).Conclusion

This chapter may summarise the key points made in the results and/or discussion chapters but should normally do so by explicit reference to the research question(s), aim and objectives cited in the Introduction. It should also point to issues to be further pursued in future research, limitations of the research conducted and summarise the implications for sport management, policy, development etc.