FOUNDATION CERTIFICATE IN MARKETING, DIPLOMA AND GRADUATESHIP
WRITTEN PROJECTS
The project is an integral part of the course in all stages of the Graduateship Programme. It is an exercise in investigative study which is designed to give the student an opportunity to put into practice the theory studied in each stage. Interpretation of the brief is part of the project and no assistance in this regard can be given by the Education Staff of the Institute.
Project Guidelines
The guidelines below will provide details on the background and objectives required for the project together with notes on the Examiner's expectations.
Stage 1 Project Guidelines
Stage 2 Project Guidelines
Stage 3 Project Guidelines
Stage 4 Project Guidelines
In order to pass a stage the candidate has to pass the project and the same progression and compensation rules apply to projects as to examination subjects.
May Examinations
All registered students must download a copy of the project specification in November each year (see Important Dates) and are asked to submit the completed project within a three month period (February). Candidates should commence work on the project on receipt of the specification. Students may be able to complete the project within a shorter period and submit it earlier. As the deadline is a major feature of the discipline of report writing, projects submitted after the due date will not be accepted. If due to illness/bereavement during the three months, a candidate feels he/she will not meet the deadline, an extension may be allowed. In order to be considered for an extension, candidates must contact the Institute well in advance of the due date. The May project cannot be submitted for the August examinations.
August Examinations
The project brief for the August examinations is available to download from the end of June and projects must be returned by mid August (see Important Dates for specific dates). As the timescale for the August sitting is shorter, students are recommended to submit for the May sitting.
SEE PREVIOUS PROJECT OUTLINES/REPORTS
2010 Project Outlines
2009 Project Outlines
2008 Project Outlines (August only)
2000-2007 and May 2008 Project Outlines
Examiners' Reports
PLAGIARISM
Note on Referencing
Citations and references openly acknowledge the sources of information you have used in a project or essay. The Marketing Institute uses the Harvard System.
There are usually two parts to acknowledging the sources of any information or ideas you use. Firstly, is the ‘in-text’ abbreviated citation: where you acknowledge the use of a source in the main body of the document itself, e.g. (Blattberg, 1994). This lets the reader know that you have just taken an idea or perspective from a source, used the writer’s ideas in your own words, or even quoted directly. Secondly, is a list at the end of the work which is headed ‘References’ or ‘Bibliography’, e.g.
Blattberg, R.C. (1994) ‘Modelling Market Responses’, in R.C. Blattberg, R. Glazer and J.D.C. Little (eds) The Marketing Information Revolution, pp. 13752. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
(Source: Amended from DIT Style Guide 2006/2007)
Rules of Citations and Referencing
• Ideas coming from sources other than you must be acknowledged through appropriate citation and referencing.
• Material such as phrases, sentences, paragraphs or whole sections of text borrowed directly from many sources, use quotations marks and must be acknowledged through appropriate citation and referencing.
• Material from any source that is paraphrased or summarized in your own words must be acknowledged through appropriate citation and referencing.
Anything less is PLAGIARISM and Rule 9 (below) on the project outline will apply:
The same sanction applies to copying and to plagiarism: all subjects in the sitting are deemed to have been failed and the candidate may not register as a student with The Marketing Institute thereafter.
