Assessment Task Information

In your previous assessment you produced a research project proposal on which you have received feedback from your tutor.  Use this feedback to improve your proposal by re-writing two sections of the proposal:

1.    Research Questions

2.       Literature review

for resubmission to a potential research supervisor.  The aim of these two sections is to provide appropriate focus of your research project and literature-based evidence which can help persuade your research supervisor about the importance and need for this research project.

Project Title: Give your project a working title (15-20 words).

Section 1: Research Questions:  This section should include a description of the key questions (maximum three) that this project aims to answer. You must also provide a justification of these questions and relate these to the existing literature on your chosen topic (300 – 500 words).

Section 2: Literature Review:  In this section, you are to review the available academic literature on your chosen topic.  You should compare and contrast existing research findings in order to identify gaps which your research aims to fill, and critically evaluate the quality of existing literature on your chosen topic (1,200 – 1,500 words).

Section 3:  Reference List (excluded from the word count)

In this section you should include a list of all sources you have used to complete this assignment following the APA referencing style.

This is a secondary research task, requiring you to draw on sources to evaluate your research design and the topic you wish to research.

You should draw on knowledge and provided in lectures and seminars.  A range of sources is appropriate for this assignment:  you may wish to use informal sources for background research on your topic e.g. newspapers, reputable websites in addition to a diverse range of academic sources available to you through your college, including journals, textbooks and chapters in edited volumes.  Databases are a rich source for datasets.  A minimum of 10 sources is required for this assignment.

Please use the APA referencing style.

You are expected to write approximately 1,500 – 2,000 words to complete this assignment.  References and project title are excluded from the word count.

·         Conduct and produce a critically evaluative academic literature review appropriate to the proposed research question(s) following accepted conventions.

·         Critically reflect on academic skills & performance, responding appropriately to feedback to improve aspects of academic work.

When you submit your proposal on Turnitin, please do not include your name.  Your submission title must be your student number (e.g. P102648).

You must format your assignment following these requirements:

·         Use Arial or Calibri font, size 12

·         Use double-spaces between lines/1.5 and standard document margins

·         Include an appropriate header

·         Number all pages included in the assignment

·         Include a title page with the following information:

o   Module Code (e.g. PM600)

o   Class/Group (e.g. Group A)

o   Module Title (Research Project)

o   Assessment Type (e.g. Written Report)

o   Module Tutor Name

o   Student ID Number

o   Date of Submission

o   Word count

The following criteria will be used to evaluate your performance in this assessment:

–       Coverage and content – how well you cover available sources and identify key content

–       Critical Appraisal – how well you consider the value of the sources to your own research

–       Organisation of ideas – how well you organise your ideas into themes which will help reach your research objectives

–       Academic Expression – how well you present your ideas using academic language

You must achieve a minimum 40% to pass this assessment.

Your tutor will mark the assessment and provide you with a written feedback sheet.  You can use this feedback to guide your further learning on the module. You should use your tutor’s feedback to make changes to the research project outcome which you will have to submit at the end of the module.