MSB015-6 Capstone Assessment 2 Portfolio Brief 2026/27 | University of Bedfordshire

Key assignment details

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Understanding the assignment brief

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What am I required to do in this assignment?

Students are required to undertake a research project based on the research proposal submitted in Assessment 1 as part of the assessment 2 submission. As part of the research project, you will be require to evidence your research project activities through a portfolio.

In Assessment 2, you are required to produce a portfolio consisting of Written component (Due by Week 12) – Weighted at 30% of the assessment

• 5000 words written research report Oral Component (Due by Week 14) - Weighted at 70% of the assessment
• 10 Minute Oral presentation followed by 15 Minute Evaluative conversation

Important points to note: 

• The oral presentation and evaluative conversation will not take place without the submission of the written research report.
  
  
• Failure to attend the oral presentation and evaluative conversation will result in a fail for Assessment 2, unless valid evidence of approved mitigation is provided.
  
  
• The oral presentation should provide a thorough reflection on the main research report, offering a critical analysis of the reasons behind its development and the process involved

AI Usage:

• Guidance on the appropriate use of AI will be provided throughout the dissertation process to support students at each stage of their research.
  
  
• Students are permitted to use Generative AI as a tool to aid in structuring arguments, generating literature reviews, refining language, and conducting data analysis. However, AI should complement, rather than replace, independent critical engagement with the research process.
  
  
• Students must clearly articulate how and why they have used AI while ensuring that their work reflects their own critical thinking, originality, and adherence to academic integrity standards.
  
  
• The oral component serves as a key mechanism for assessing students' comprehension and intellectual ownership of their work.
  
  
• Regardless of the extent to which AI is utilised, students must:

o   Articulate their arguments and research methodology in their own words.

o   Justify their decisions, including the rationale behind accepting or rejecting AI-generated content.

o   Demonstrate critical analysis by addressing research gaps, limitations, and alternative perspectives.

Acknowledgement of AI Usage

Students must acknowledge the use of AI tools in the acknowledgment section at the beginning of their dissertation. This includes specifying the extent to which AI has been utilised, whether in generating ideas, drafting content, analysing data, or any other aspect of the task. Such acknowledgment must be clearly stated in the relevant sections of the assignment or accompanying documentation.

Using AI should be transparent and properly cited where necessary. It is highlighted in the following guidelines:

• Acceptable AI usage (e.g., idea generation, summarisation, language refinement).
• Unacceptable practices (e.g., AI-generated false citations, full-paper generation without modification).

Ethics Approval Documentation

Students are required to attach a copy of their ethics approval in the appendix section of their main report. Failure to include this documentation may result in the report being deemed invalid for data collection purposes.

Guidance on 5000 words written research report 

Your written research report is concise explanation of your research that include:

•  Introduction: A definition of topic area of your interest including research aim and objectives
  
  
• Literature Review: Critical examination of existing research, theories, and concepts relevant to the research topic. It demonstrates the researcher's understanding of the current state of knowledge in the field and identifies gaps or areas for further investigation.
  
  
• Research Methodology: Describe the research design, data collection methods, sampling techniques, and data analysis procedures. The research methodology should be aligned with the research aim and objectives and should be justified based on the nature of the research questions and the available resources.
  
  
• A discussion and summation of the research findings: Present and analyse the research findings in relation to the research aim and objectives. Compare the findings with existing literature and theories, highlighting any discrepancies or areas of agreement. The discussion should be objective and supported by evidence from the research findings.
  
  
• Conclusion: Summary of the key findings of the research and their implications for the research field. It restates the research aim and objectives and discusses how they have been addressed through the research process. The conclusion may also highlight any limitations of the study and suggest avenues for future research. Overall, it provides closure to the research report by offering a synthesis of the main points and emphasizing the significance of the research contributions.

Guidance on 10 Minute Oral presentation followed by 15 Minute Evaluative conversation:

• The oral presentation should provide a thorough reflection on the main research report, offering a critical analysis of the reasons behind its development and the process involved.
  
  
• In the oral presentation students are expected to reflect on the process, their experience and research journey and a recommendation on how you would do it differently. Please make max 5 presentation slides accordingly.
  
  
• Following the presentation, students will be engaged in an evaluative conversation with the evaluators to discuss the research activities undertaken by the students throughout the unit.
  
  
• Evaluative conversation is a Q and A based on the oral presentation and the written report. It includes students’ response to the questions asked by the evaluator.

a.  The critical ability of the students on application of knowledge and understanding of research and subject

b. Flexibility and Responsiveness- breadth of knowledge and skills

c.   Exposition of Clarity and Quality – of the research activity

d.   Confidence-attitude during conversation

Mitigation against this assessment:

Preparation and support will be provided to help students prepare for the oral presentation and minimize anxiety and stress. The supervision team will provide one-on-one support for the entire portfolio submission throughout the unit. In order to ensure that students submit their own original work, the nature of the assessments are such that the majority of the student output is very closely related to original creative development and actual performance making it difficult for a student either to resort to contract plagiarism or copying from their peers.

Supervision:

To maximise your experience and indeed, your performance or grade, you need to ‘harvest’ the experience and knowledge of your supervisor, you must keep contact with your supervisor and for feedback on your progress. A research supervisor will be allocated to support each student in the project period. Throughout the unit, the supervisor and the student are scheduled to have project progress meetings at least 6 times and provide feedback to help the student improve their business report, oral presentation and preparing the evaluative conversation.

Note: Turnitin will be used for all submissions to check for similarity and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

What do I need to do to pass? How do I achieve a good grade?

The Unit Information Form states the Threshold Expectations that inform both you and markers what is the minimum needed to be demonstrated to pass the assessment. They should, therefore, answer the question "What do I need to do pass?”. During the assessment introductory session, you should be given the opportunity to check your understanding of the threshold statements and what you need to do to surpass them.

The assessment marking criteria listed below show how your work is assessed. The assessment criteria are informed by the unit’s learning outcomes and the assessment task. Carefully reading the assessment criteria should help you understand the aspects that will be used to judge your progress and achievement of the learning outcomes and offer guidance on “how do I achieve a good grade”.

Threshold expectations are the minimum students must achieve to pass the Unit and are reflected in the learning outcomes. The rubric (marking criteria) detailed in the assessment brief will set out what is expected for a pass and how higher grades can be achieved.  

The assessment brief is discussed during an in-class session with students, explaining the assessment, the rubric and marking criteria.

The following points should be observed:

A high quality research portfolio will demonstrate thorough knowledge and understanding of research methodology and methods and the ability to apply various research techniques in the relevant context. Further, an excellent research demonstrate authenticity and originality within the specific subject area, which emphasise on the significance of the research contributions.

The format is an academic structure, the style must be formal, serious and ‘research-based, therefore we recommend that you avoid writing in the first person (“I”); rather the third person is recommended (e.g. it can therefore be suggested that...).

The best report will demonstrate a deep understanding of the key issues of your debate (derived from your research) and ownership of the material resulting in critical conclusions. The main assessment criteria are listed in your unit Handbook, and the assessment grading grid is also included in this brief. It is also available to access / download on the unit’s Breo site.