RES611 Critical Literature Review Assignment

Assessment Task

Develop a Project Statement for scholarly research in your chosen field.

Context

The Project Statement should be seen as the first stage of a developed project proposal that students may develop if completing RES612 Project Proposal. This assessment is the conceptualisation phase and orientation to the literature and problem scope. You will demonstrate, via this assignment that your chosen inquiry is tenable and is based upon basic and/or applied research.

The Project Statement has the following objectives:

• Contextualising the inquiry in extant research
• Articulating the problem that forms the basis of the research inquiry.
• Presenting the purpose of the research
• Listing the research questions and the associated hypotheses
• Broadly Indicating the possible research design

The project proposal, especially its problem component, should be firmly grounded on existing and recent research to evidence that the inquiry is current, do-able, meaningful and will contribute to the published body of knowledge in the area.

Instructions

A Project Statement is expected to introduce the topic, articulate the problem that is sought to be resolved, present the purpose of the research and specific the research questions that will be answered and the hypotheses/propositions that will be tested. Often, the project statement will include a brief research review (which you have already completed as Assessment2) and a tentative outline of the research design (which you will further develop in RES612 Project Proposal).

Address each of the following sections in your submission:

Introduction Section-Introduce the topic of enquiry

While in Assessment 2, you may have taken an approach of introducing the topic within the broader context of the literature, herein the introduction should be written in a manner as to lead the audience to the problem being investigated. You must conclude this section by listing the remaining sections to follow.

Problem statement-Identify the need for the research

Something must be broken that needs to be fixed, and this may also include opportunities that are yet to be realized. Address the following aspects in your problem statement:

1. Clarify what it is that is broken. Be sure not to propose a solution or your tentative thoughts of what a solution might look like- if you already know the solution, there isn't any need for any research. Remember a problem cannot be your opinion or hearsay. It has to emanate from the literature.

1. Support the problem statement with references to recent literature.A rule of thumb is that your literature should be dated to the last 5 years, or seminal. This problem needs to have a basis in the literature gap that you identified in Assessment 2.

1. Indicate the magnitude and severity of the problem. What are the consequences of the problem remaining unsolved? Articulate any attempts to resolve the problem

Documented in the literature thus far, and the outcomes of such research. This will enable you to distinguish your own inquiry from others. This will form the foundation of your research. This will contribute to your articulation of the significance of the problem and the need for advanced investigation.

Purpose statement-State what you are setting out to achieve

Address the following aspects in your purpose statement:

1. State what your research will encompass and what it will not, so that the audience is clear on what your claims are. It is against this statement that the deliverables of your research will be eventually evaluated.

1. State in a paragraph, the tentative research design. It is acknowledged that your knowledge of research design is not yet complete, and the purpose statement will be evaluated on that basis. As an indication, you can state whether the proposed research design is quantitative, qualitative, or mixed method.

1. Present a rationale for the appropriateness of the research design. Why did you choose this design over other alternatives? Why do you believe that this design best aligns with the purpose and research questions? This section, in this form, enables your mentor, and learning facilitator, to understand your point of view and advise you on the design and suggest learning resources.

Research Questions and Hypotheses/Propositions-State the question(s) that you will ask and the hypotheses or proposition you will test

Flowing seamlessly from the problem and purpose statements, the research questions will unambiguously state the questions that you will ask of the data that you will collect in the process of your research. You can have more than one research question but having more than four may make the research unwieldy. Each question will be associated with a testable hypothesis or proposition statement. This hypothesis will be presented as the null hypothesis, and its alternative should also be stated. A proposition used in qualitative research will be presented as a statement.

Use the framework below to present these. If Quantitative:

RQ1:

Null Hypothesis 1:

Alternative Hypothesis 1: If Qualitative:

RQ1:

Proposition:

Brief Literature Review-Contextualise the Project Statement

Refine the direction of your assessment 1 to flow-onto the Problem Statement, Purpose Statement and Research Questions. This section will help your audience understand the context in which your Project Statement is situated.

Conclusion-Recap the Problem Statement, Purpose and path to finding a solution

In the conclusion section, recap the problem statement, state the purpose and indicate how answering your listed research questions will lead to a solution to the identified problem.

State how your research is distinguished from other works in the literature.

Please refer to the Assessment Rubric for details on how your submission will be assessed.

Referencing

The references list should contain the sources of information you used and cited in your paper. Only include those cited in the text (this is not a bibliography) but include every citation.

It is essential that you use appropriate APA style for citing and referencing research. Please see more information on referencing in the Academic Skills webpage.

Submission Instructions

Submit your Assessment 3 Project Statement using the following naming convention: RES611_A_Jones_Assessment 3.doc (word document.) Submit your report via the Assessment link in Blackboard. Your Learning Facilitator will provide feedback via the Grade Centre. Feedback can be viewed in My Grades.

Academic Integrity

All students are responsible for ensuring that all work submitted is their own and is appropriately referenced and academically written according to the Academic Writing Guide. Students also need to have read and be aware of Torrens University Australia Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure and subsequent penalties for academic misconduct. These are viewable online. Students also must keep a copy of all submitted material and any assessment drafts.

Assessment Rubric