ICM116: Understanding Management and Financial Research

Module code: ICM116

Module provider: ICMA Centre; Henley Business School

Credits: 20

Level: Postgraduate Masters

When you'll be taught: Semester 1

Module convenor: Professor Andrew Urquhart, email: a.j.urquhart@icmacentre.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: No

Talis reading list: No

Last updated: 28 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This module aims to equip new PhD students with clear understanding of the necessary requirements for obtaining a PhD at the Henley Business School and at the ICMA centre.  

This module examines the steps involved in carrying out a PhD at the Henley Business School and at the ICMA centre.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

• Explain the steps involved in drafting a Masters or PhD thesis and determine the appropriate form and content for such a thesis
• Describe the best ways research ideas and papers can be structured and critically evaluate good research papers
• Draft a review of an area of literature in their subject area and discuss various ethical issues that may arise when conducting research
• Present a seminal study and act as a discussant for an additional study and develop presentation, time management and communication skills.

Module content

Topic 1. Steps and aims of a PhD at the ICMA Centre/Henley Business School

Topic 2. Identifying your research question and conducting a literature review

Topic 3.Research ethics

Topic 4.Presenting and reporting your findings & discussing other researchers’ presentations

Topic 5. The publishing ecosystem and impact of research

Topic 6.Student presentations and discussions.

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

The module combines several teaching and learning methods to help students achieve the stated objectives: 

• Lectures over the first 5 weeks, 
• Additional readings provide current and applied examples of the topics, 
• Practical classes where students deliver presentations, act as discussants of seminal studies and participate in group discussions chaired by the module convenor.

Study hours

At least 20 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

PhD students: 60% weighted average mark of individual presentations and coursework.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Ongoing feedback throughout all lectures and workshops

Reassessment

Additional costs