________________________________________Independent Study Project (ISP) GuidelinesDepartment of Financial & Management Studies (DeFiMS)2015/2016________________________________________OverviewThe independent study project or dissertation provides students with the opportunity to complete a substantial piece of work on an approved topic in international management. The relevance to a course or courses taught in the degree must be made evident. The exercise of writing the dissertation is designed to give students the skills and experience to work independently and to prepare them for management careers and/or further academic study. The topic may be based on any one or more of the following approaches: a) original fieldwork; b) the critical analysis of statistical material; c) the critical analysis of research publications; d) original synthesis of material derived from secondary sources. Each student will be assigned an academic supervisor who will give academic guidance of up to a maximum of 6 hours in total. The length of the dissertation should not exceed 10,000 words. Students should read the SOAS Code of Practice Undergraduate Independent Study Project before the start of their final year of study.Topic approval & supervisor appointmentStudents taking an ISP element must submit a working title and a synopsis of 300 to 500 words of the proposed topic. Topics are required to be related to the area specific to the programme of study. The proposal is due to be submitted by Monday 19th October 2015, deadline time 11.59pm. An electronic proposal form will be emailed to students after the ISP Meeting in Term 3 (May 2015). After supervisors have been allocated by the Department, students will receive e-mail confirmation within Term 1. It should not be assumed that all proposals will be automatically approved. Academic guidance prior to submission can be sought from the relevant area-specific Programme Convenor – Dr. Tuukka Toivonen (Japan/ Korea); Dr. Matthew Haigh (China); Dr. Mark Neal (MENA). After the supervisor has been assigned, they will be able to provide guidance of up to 6 hours in total.Students who wish to change the topic or scope of the ISP after initial approval, must consult their supervisor who must agree any changes. In approving such changes, supervisors should be satisfied that students will still be able to complete the ISP within the normal time and by the deadline for submission.Supervisors may require submission of drafts in whole or part and may stipulate a timetable for submission. Supervisors are however not able to mark draft ISPs, either in part or in whole.StructureThe length of the DeFiMS ISP should not exceed 10,000 words including footnotes, but excluding bibliography and appendices. Appendices should only be used for supplementary material or raw data; all central material, evidence and text should be contained in the main body. Supervisors can provide advice to students at an early stage on word length equivalence where the subject matter demands it. Examples are ISPs including large amounts of mathematical notation. ISPs that exceed the word limit will be subject to the penalties set out in BA/BSc regulation 6.19.Format & Style• Font style: Any legible font style• Font size: 12• Line spacing: Double spaced, excluding only the bibliography & footnotes (single-spaced)• Page numbers: Yes• Work can be double sided or single sided• Binding type: To be bound in secure folders or ring comb bindersCover Page• The title of the ISP• Student name and SOAS ID• The course name: ISP in International Management• The course code: 151030016• The date of submission: Friday 22nd April 2016• The word count• The degree programme for which it is submitted: e.g. BSc International Management (China); BSc International Management (China )(Year Abroad)Second Page• Declaration: Candidates must insert and sign the following declaration in each copy submitted. Electronic versions may have typed signatures/names. No ISP will be accepted for marking unless the declaration is included.Declaration by candidateI have read and understood the School regulation concerning plagiarism and I undertake:o that all material presented for examination is my own work and has not been written for me, in whole or in part, by any other person(s);o that any quotation or paraphrase from the published or unpublished work of another person has been duly acknowledged in this ISP;o that I have not incorporated in this ISP without acknowledgement any work previously submitted by me for any other course forming part of this or any other degree.Signed ……………………………………………..(student)Date ………………………………………………..SubmissionThe deadline for submission of the ISP will be set for 22nd Apr 2016, 11.59pm, via BLE.(An electronic submission only – no paper copies required)Notification of resultsStudents will be informed by the Registry of the result of the ISP as a percentage mark when receiving their year’s grades (July 2016). Marks will not be disclosed by supervisors or others involved in the marking process prior to this. After the release of grades, comments will be provided to students.Plagiarism and incorporation of earlier work (‘self plagiarism’)Students are reminded that all work submitted as part of the requirement for any examination of the School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London) must be expressed in their own words and incorporate their own ideas and judgements. Plagiarism – that is, the presentation of another person’s thoughts or words as though they were the student’s own – must be avoided. Direct quotations from the published or unpublished work of others must always be clearly identified as such by being placed inside quotation marks, and a full reference to their source must be provided in proper form. A series of short quotations from several different sources, if not clearly identified as such, constitutes plagiarism just as much as does a single unacknowledged long quotation from a single source. Equally if students summarise another persons’ ideas and judgements, they must refer to that person in their text as the source of the ideas and judgements, and include the work referred to in their bibliography. Failure to observe these rules may result in an allegation of cheating. Students should therefore consult their tutor or supervisor if they are in any doubt about what is permissible.Where students draw on their own previous written work, whether submitted as coursework for their current degree, or for a previous degree or qualification, this must be clearly stated. Coursework essays submitted for one course may not be used for another course without acknowledgement and prior approval.Plagiarism is an examination offence.Students should read the SOAS Code of Practice: Undergraduate Independent Study Project before the start of their final year of study which can be found online on the Registry page as linked. This provides School-wide regulations for ISPs, where Departmental specific differences have been indicated here.: