Planning stage
Choosing your topic and planning your investigation
选择你的话题和计划你的调查
This section covers the Planning stage of your investigation.
This has two aspects:
-
developing a brief
and
-
preparing a plan to carry out the brief
Both of these take place before the investigation begins. You will not be allowed to proceed with your investigation unless you have successfully completed this stage.
You must maintain your activity log throughout the Planning stage.
Personal skills assessment
个人能力评估
It is important that you identify your personal skills at the start of the investigation. Your assessment should be realistic and reflective and is likely to focus not just on your strengths, but also areas in which you could make improvements. You will be asked in the Evaluating stage of the project to make an assessment of the new skills and knowledge gained during the process of the investigation. Your initial assessment will provide a benchmark against which you can realistically judge your progress at the end of the investigation.
Picking a topic for your investigation
选择调研题目
It is up to you to decide on the topic that you will investigate. Before making a final choice, you must discuss it with your project tutor/lecturer. Your lecturer can give you help and advice and may also give you suggestions for possible topics, if you find it difficult to make a choice.
You can choose a topic which relates to one financial services organisation/government agency or one that can be linked to a number of organisations/agencies.
Setting objectives for your investigation
设定调研目标
Your objectives should cover what you intend to achieve from your investigation. As a general rule, they should be as specific as possible and, if appropriate, include a time scale.
Choosing your sources of information
选择调研信息来源
You need to think carefully about what sources of information are available to you. Some will be secondary information such as textbooks, magazine and journal articles and the internet. Others will be primary information such as data you collect from interviews or surveys.
Deciding on the methods you will use in your investigation
决定你在调查中使用的方法
You also have to decide on the methods that you will use to gather data and those, which you will use to analyse and make sense of the data you collect. The methods you use to gather data will depend on the sources of information you choose. For example, a desk search is a suitable method of gathering data from textbooks or the internet.
Planning your investigation
计划你的调查
All the above relate to the brief for your investigation. However, you must also devise a plan for it. In particular, you have to devise suitable time scales and identify the resources you will need. Your plan should be consistent with your objectives and the methods you have chosen for your investigation.
Writing up your brief and your plan
写下你的简报和计划
In order to complete the Planning stage of your investigation, you must write up your brief and your plan.
Marking your brief and plan
给自己的简报和计划打分
There are a maximum of 18 marks for the brief and 6 marks for the plan. You must gain at least 9/18 and 3/6 marks respectively in order to go on to actually carry out your investigation.