REM502 Research Methodologies Assessment 1

Task Summary

This assessment task is designed to enhance your skills to critically assess the studies that have been conducted on your research topic and to synthesise the findings in a coherent manner. You will write a critical literature review, which is the base for and will lead towards defining your Research Proposal(Assessment3). This assessment task is the beginning step of your research design and will play an important role in carrying out your research.

Please refer to the Task Instructions for details on how to complete this task.

Context

Research is an iterative process. The abstract, research statement, research gaps, research question(s), aims and objectives may well change depending on what is discovered during your literature search, the methodologies chosen and proposed methods. Feedback from the Learning Facilitator will also help you refine these elements.

The purpose of a literature review is to gain an understanding of the existing body of research, current industry ICT trends and debates relevant to a particular topic or area of study. It involves the presentation of the accumulated knowledge in the form of a summary and a critical evaluation of the sources accessed. This summary presents an analysis of the points presented in academic and/or professional sources and an evaluation of their strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, by conducting a literature review, you can acquire knowledge about the foundational and important concepts, research methods, and experimental techniques used in your relevant field of study. You also gain an insight into how researchers apply the concepts learnt in the course to real world problems. Another great benefit of producing a literature review is that, as you progress in your writing of it, you develop a better understanding of how research findings are presented and discussed in your discipline of study.In addition,conducting a literature review helps to strengthen the currency of the knowledge-base in a given field of study.

For this assessment task, you must produce a critical Literature Review. This task is formative in nature and is the starting point in working towards your final Research Proposal(Assessmenttask3). Each assessment task in this subject is designed to build your proficiency level in research methodologies and is not a stand-alone task. The Critical Literature Review is designed to provide academic substantiation and methodology rationale to your Assessment 3 Research Proposal—a report and presentation you will deliver in Week 12.

Task Instructions

Write a critical literature review—an analysis and evaluation of published and unpublished materials which helps establish the current challenges and issues related to the topic understudy. It should provide the reader with an overview of the research that has been already carried out on the topic and what challenges are yet to be overcome. It will also help identify research gaps.

You should address the following:

• Point out gaps in the literature or identify problems/issues to be solved.
• Highlight key issues essential to your ICT research.
• Summarise relevant academic/ professional resources and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses to demonstrate your critical understanding of the literature.
• Demonstrate that your research is rigorous and up-to-date by engaging with seminal and current work.

Guidelines to carryout a critical literature review:

• Browse discipline specific or area specific recent papers from reputable sources (academic and professional). (Note: 80% of the papers reviewed must be credible and reputable)

• Current sources published within the last 5 years are the best ones to consider since they reflect the newest discoveries and help avoid duplication of work, theories, processes, or best practices.

• Aminimumof8recentlypublishedpeer-reviewedsourcesincludingjournal

  articles, books, and conference papers are to be considered. (Note: 80% of the papers reviewed must be journal articles, books, and conference papers)

• Refer to the library website to search for sources:

  https://library.torrens.edu.au/home

• On the left-hand side, go to the “All databases” link and, once there, use the Popular Databases on the right-hand side. These links give you access to peer- reviewed papers that you may use in addition to those that you can locate in the main search area.

• Avoid using online blogs and non-peer-reviewed sources.Edited books are a good source of information because they have undergone an editorial process. Detailed commentary on the analysis and critical evaluation presenting the strengths and weaknesses of the work must be provided for every resource. DO NOT JUST CUT AND PASTE THE ABSTRACT. You need to summarize the key findings from the papers, add their interpretations where appropriate, and emphasize the significance of their findings in relation to your topic.

• The APA 7th referencing style guidelines should be used for both in-text referencing as well as the reference list.

Remember, the literature review is part of the research process. Like data collection and analysis, it should be systematic and thorough.

This assessment task will later form part of the introduction of your final Research Proposal(Assessmenttask3). The proposal may change depending on what is found in the literature search, and as the most suitable methodology is chosen.

Referencing

It is essential that you use appropriate APA style for citing and referencing research. Please see more information on reference here http://library.laureate.net.au/research_skills/referencing

Submission Instructions

Assessment Task1 is to be submitted via the Assessment link in the main navigation menu in REM502 Research Methodologies. The Learning Facilitator will provide feedback via the Grade Centre in the LMS Portal.

Feedback can be viewed in MyGrades.

Academic Integrity Declaration

I declare that,except where I have referenced, the work I am submitting for this assessment task is my own work. I have read and am aware of Torrens University Australia Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure viewable online at http://www.torrens.edu.au/policies-and-forms

I am aware that I need to keep a copy of all submitted material and their drafts, and I will do so accordingly